Wanting a new computer/laptop, need some advice!

[Lord Raven]

It's not that hard.  You can switch between screens very easily by putting your mouse in the top right corner if you use a mouse.  A touchpad makes it significantly easier indeed, but I tend to mainly only use my touchpad as well so I don't have those issues.  My idea is that I'm using a laptop and it's inconvenient to setup a mouse so I get used to it.

As for the start menu, the moment you start typing you get a search screen for your applications.  I don't see how it's that hard to use regardless of whether or not you have a laptop or desktop, since I don't even use my touchpad to change apps.  I go to the corner and click them.

I do admit it's tedious to get to use though if you don't have anyone to help you through it, but it's very simple and more convenient laptop or not if you ask someone for help with it.  Personally I don't like the old start menus anyway, since this new one is far more customizable to my own preferences and it's not even as annoying to do as in a regular desktop but to each their own.

[Trainer Dave]

Yup, I figured out the screen corner thing. However, it still feels at odds with the rest of windows because standard programs have a taskbar and close/restore/minimise buttons at the top - these make it easy to flip between applications, but with the new metro interface that isn't there. I'm a mouse user and having to try to gesture to get things to open and close is annoying. Yes, you get used to it over time, but it's not a useful change to me.

The start menu is something you can adjust to as well, but I prefer the less invasive classic menu to this fullscreen version. Searching is okay but I'd like to be able to search apps and settings in one go (as with the old style). Again, a simple option to use the old style would have sufficed. I don't want a flashy start menu and so to me it feels like an unnecessarily complex feature for something that I usually have open for a second at most.

[Inferna]

Got my new laptop yesterday! My saas money won't come in until next Friday so I had to spend a little bit less than I hoped :c
I got a Samsung NP35030ec. It's got a 15.6 inch screen, Intel Core i5 2410M 2.GHz Processor, 6GB RAM, 1TB HDD, Intel HD Graphics 3000 and Windows 8. Got it for £500 which was pretty good.
Had a little trouble getting my Wacom Bamboo to work but that's sorted now. Also got SAI on it, just need to wait til next month to get CS6. Only thing I'm annoyed about is that it came with a shared graphics rather than dedicated. It said that it came with NVIDIA graphics card but it doesn't work :s well I'll see how it runs once I get PS but so far so good i guess.

[blake.]

if it said that it came with an nvidia card, it could be using something called optimus. it'll only turn on the better graphics card when it needs to, to save battery. so if you're just browsing the web/whatever it'll only use the basic one, but when you open photoshop/a game it'll start up the better one and use that, at the expense of battery use/heat, not a problem if its plugged in though.

to double check, hit the windows key, or open the start menu. type 'dxdiag' and a program will come up. under the tab 'display' it'll tell you what graphics card(s) it has.

worth a try!

[Trainer Dave]

if it said that it came with an nvidia card, it could be using something called optimus. it'll only turn on the better graphics card when it needs to, to save battery. so if you're just browsing the web/whatever it'll only use the basic one, but when you open photoshop/a game it'll start up the better one and use that, at the expense of battery use/heat, not a problem if its plugged in though.

to double check, hit the windows key, or open the start menu. type 'dxdiag' and a program will come up. under the tab 'display' it'll tell you what graphics card(s) it has.

worth a try!

Or alternatively, Nvidia are very fond of putting stickers on laptops that use their graphics cards. If there's an 'Nvidia Geforce' sticker, you have a graphics card!

It's also worth noting that in general with Optimus you need to have the laptop plugged in to make use of the graphics card. No games on battery power, at least with default settings.

[blake.]

thats what i thought was meant by 'it says it does'. the sticker.

even if it is hd3000, it'll be enough for cs6. especially with 6gb of ram

[Inferna]

There's no sticker on the laptop but it says on the box itself that there's a nvidia card? Plus on the info card instore it had the logo on it and i made sure i bought one with it.
There is a nvidia control panel in the hardware and sound section.

[Lord Raven]

Congratulations - Samsung makes solid laptops.