Fastest Photoshop laptops

Matthew Elliott, Section Editor September 23, 2008

The release of a new Creative Suite from Adobe is always big news, and Photoshop CS4 promises to not only introduce new features but also 64-bit support for Windows PCs (but not Macs). CNET Labs is currently testing the beta of Photoshop CS4 and plans to move our current Photoshop benchmark to the new version later this year. So, while it's too early for us to talk about CS4 performance, we can show you which are the laptops to post the fastest Photoshop CS3 scores to date.

Looking at the six laptops here, you'll notice half are running Mac OS X--two Macs and the odd Modbook. Though the MacBook's inclusion here speaks volumes about the Mac platform's ability to run Photoshop with great alacrity--the system features only a mainstream CPU, 2GB of memory, and integrated graphics--the 917V Accelerator from Xtreme Notebooks posted the fastest score, ripping through our Photoshop CS3 script in 116 seconds. But this system topped the $5,000 when we reviewed it at the end of last year, squeezing in a pair of GeForce 7950 GTX graphics card and a quad-core desktop processor in the Core 2 Quad Q6700. We doubt the Accelerator, while an impressive feat of engineering, has found its way into many homes. Apple has certainly moved more MacBook Pro units, which finished just 10 seconds behind the 917V Accelerator.

Aside from this quad-core dynamo of a laptop, the other two Windows machines included here prove that what's good for 3D graphics is also good for 2D. The Alienware Area-51 m17x and Gateway P-171XL FX are built for gamers, but their ingredients--namely a Core 2 Extreme CPU and high-end GeForce 8800 or 9800 graphics--will also lead to speedy Photoshopping. What's surprising is the Gateway's performance because it uses 32-bit Vista and only 3GB RAM--the maximum a 32-bit operating system can address--which ought to put it at a disadvantage against 64-bit systems using 4GB of RAM on a memory-intensive program like Photoshop.

Still, our advice in outfitting a laptop for heavy Photoshop use is finding the fastest processor and pairing it with the most memory and fastest graphics card you can afford. Despite the Gateway's showing here, we'd still put a priority on buying more memory than upgrading to a better graphics card.

It'll be interesting to see how the Mac vs. PC competition plays out with the 32- and 64-bit versions of Photoshop CS4. Until then, these are the six fastest laptops on Photoshop CS3 to have come through CNET Labs.