As landscape architecture and the field of design continue
to evolve, so does our need for faster, more versatile and more powerful equipment.
And with so many options now, it can be tough to decide exactly what you need and
exactly where to spend your money. So today I'll be breaking down exactly what
you need to look for in laptops, desktops and tablets, as well as talk about
some brands and personal styles and recommendations I have for you guys.
So get out a notepad, sit back and take a couple of minutes
and relax and learn about some geeky but essential things to know before you
get into landscape architecture or any design profession. What's going on,
everybody? My name is Cartier and here we talk about all things landscape architecture
and design. As some of you guys may have noticed, we are in a new backdrop.
We are now officially Bostonians. It's been a very exciting
time in my life for myself, but also a very hectic time this past month or so.
So I apologize for not getting this video out sooner. I wanted to time this a little
bit better with the start of school, but nonetheless, here we are. So before
you go out and buy your first or your next laptop, here are some key things to
consider before you make that purchase.
Knowing What To Look For
First, is that you want to be thinking about what programs
you're going to be needing during your studies or in your career. Now, your
workplace or college should be able to advise you on this, but in case they
don't. Here are some of the commonly used programs to know and consider for drafting.
You can expect to use AutoCAD, Revit, vector works and architecture for 3D
modeling. It's either SketchUp and Scape or Luminar. For 3D modeling, it's
either SketchUp 3D Max Cinema, 4D or Rhino. And lastly, for all of our graphic
work, we tend to only or most commonly use the Adobe software.
So that's Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Spark, all those
things. So what's really important to know here about this long list of programs
is that it requires a certain amount of power or usage from your computer that might
need to be above the typical or average college or professional computer or
machine. So you're going to want to look for a machine that is on par with, say,
a animator or a videographer, a gamer or a engineer.
Computer Parts Breakdown
And one of the reasons why I'm saying this is because you
can't find all of these things sometimes right off the shelf, and it might
require you to purchase them online or do a little bit more research about the
specific computer you're looking for. So that said, to help you guys out with
that journey, I've decided to synthesize a bunch of research I've done and
knowledge I've gained over the years about exactly what to look for and what
key thing about a computer or system that you want to consider and look at when
you're deciding and making these purchases. So first is a good processor, which
is known as CPU. This controls the overall speed of your machine and how fast
the overall product will run for you.
Here we're looking for more gigahertz, which is G, H, Z in
the descriptions often. And this just allows you to run programs as fast as
possible. Second, you're going to want to look for a really good graphics card,
which is known as a GPU, and this controls the overall look esthetic and
performance of these programs and features. Thirdly, you want to look for a
good screen or a good monitor. Ideally, you want to be doing at least 1920 by
1080 by a2k or four K pixel screen or monitor is the better because the more
pixels you can get on a screen, the better the quality will be. Also, you want
to look for a high refresh rate. This can be something like 144 Hearts. HD is
the acronym for that. As your screen refresh is faster and the overall quality
is better, fourth is going to be your memory.
This is known as Ram or Ram Sticks. Now why Ram and memory is
so important is because the more you have, the better your programs can run.
They can run more smoothly. You can have multiple programs at the same time,
which is going to be really important because you're definitely going to be
using a lot of programs simultaneously. So having the maximum amount of RAM
storage that your computer or laptop can handle is going to be the best for
you, especially with some of the more highly demanding rendering softwares and
programs having a lot of RAM to allocate is going to be really nice to make. It
runs faster and have you saving some time to get back outside or back doing
other things that isn't just design.
And lastly is storage. Of course, now you want to have a lot
of storage and that's fairly obvious because you're going to have a lot of
files, a lot of work saved on these devices, but also thinking about what type
of storage is key, whether it's a hard drive, a solid state or a PCI. E these
will impact and affect how fast your programs open and how fast the
applications and files run seamlessly. Now for some of you, what I just
explained may not make a whole lot of sense because you're not computer nerds
like myself. So if you want to take a deeper dove and read about all these
things more intensely, I'll put a link in the description below for you guys so
that it's there for you.
Why Knowing Your Programs Required Is SO Important
But now that you know what you need to look for in terms of
program and in terms of what operating system requirements you need, you can
then look at what the software is required and what the minimum requirements of
all those programs is. And once you know that, you can then start to look at
the computers, laptops and things like that to start to make a more educated
decision on what you need to meet all of those programs. But my personal
recommendation is if you can afford it and your budget can allow to triangle
and above and beyond the bare minimum specifications for all of these programs,
because by doing so, you're going to guarantee the longevity of your device and
you're going to be able to extend the life of that machine for 6 to 8 years as
opposed to two or three.
And when you're spending that much money on a computer,
regardless, it's going to be expensive. So if you can go a little bit higher
and maybe spend a little bit more money initially, it'll pay off in the long
run because in three years you won't have to spend another $1,000 on something
you can wait six years to, then upgrade again. And on the note of longevity,
this is where the lifelong debate of a laptop or a desktop begins. So what you
guys need to know between the two is that desktops and MacBooks will offer the
most in terms of power, customizability and longevity. But they lack and key
things like mobility and require space and permanent storage of that device. Whereas
a laptop is going to be much more versatile, much more college minded,
friendly, but it lacks more and power can't be upgraded easily and will not be
as long lasting as a desktop or a macbook.
So in my case, I personally started with a laptop in college
till about my junior or senior year where I then saved enough money to upgrade
to a desktop which then I use. Granted it was covered so I didn't need to go
back and forth to classes then, but it gave me a lot more power capability. And
then from there I went on and bought a tablet which kind of replaced my laptop,
which is where I'm at now, where I have my desktop and my tablet, which I
really enjoy that process of things. And of course, and me saying all this,
this is definitely a luxury. I was in, you know, a nice place financially where
I was able to make this. But if you don't and you could only buy one of them,
you want to just make the best decision that you think will help you the most, whether
it's having mobility or having something static, that's the most powerful. It's
really up to you.
Take your time with a decision. It's a big decision and they
all have their own pros and cons. So with that in mind for you guys, I'm going
to cover all three options the desktop, the laptop and the tablet. And in the
timestamps you can skip to whichever one you think is most appropriate to you or
you can watch them all if you like to, and just learn about the differences and
so forth.
Desktop and iMacs Breakdown
So starting with what to consider with a desktop, of course
you will need to consider if you're going to join Team Apple or are you going
to join Team Windows? Now, of course they each have their pros and cons, but
generally Windows are a little bit cheaper, can be adaptable, more can be replaced
more often, more easily, and run all of the programs a lot more smoothly and
seamlessly. But Windows are often viewed in the design world as a little bit
lackluster in terms of design capability and with kind of the more creative
programs that don't work as well as compared to, say, a MacBook or a mac
operating system.
So that said, this is where Apple excels. They really excel
with the Adobe software and all of the creative programs and are a great choice
if you're really just considering only using that for a rendering machine and
not necessarily a drafting machine. But the downside with Apple is that they
can be more expensive upfront and they don't work as well with the drafting
softwares because it's built on a Windows base. Then you have to download like
this other application to run the application through and they just don't work
as well as with Windows. So my $0.02 on this is I've always preferred Apple for
iPhones and tablets and things and I've always went the Windows or Android
route with laptops and desktops.
Now, in addition to just making that choice, you also need
to consider that with a desktop or a MacBook that you need a, you know, a monitor
and a keyboard and mouse as well as probably speakers just to get the thing
working. Whereas with a laptop you don't need those things. And not to mention
you need a permanent space or a spot to set up this thing for an extended
period of time. So if you don't have that or you're on the fly or moving all
over the place all the time, then this can be kind of tough for you.
So that said, I'll put all of my recommendations I have for
desktops and Macs in the description below, but generally I tend to go with a
prebuilt that is a Dell or an HP or a custom build that I should make on PC
part picture or some of the kind of gamer websites. Because the gamer PCs are
honestly, really amazing for design work.
Laptops Breakdown
Next, let's talk about some laptops. There's going to be a
few things you're going to want to consider with a laptop, much like the
desktop. First of all, again, you're going to have to choose whether you want
to join team Windows, Team Mac or team Google. But here again, one of the great
things to consider is how mobile it is and how it all in one. As we talk to the
desktop, you need a monitor, keyboard, a mouse and all these things. Whereas in
a computer or a laptop it's all built in there you have the screen there, the
keyboard and the trackpad, which can be a mouse. But I highly suggest getting
an external mouse for just design work because it sucks new things on the
trackpad and you can get wireless ones and it's really easy to store, so don't
worry about that.
Next, you want to consider with the laptop, the screen size,
and you want to have at least a 15 inch screen. In my opinion, I think anything
less than that becomes just really hard to see stuff. And when you're doing
design work, you want a big screen and big canvas to work on. So I highly
consider looking into a larger laptop. It's also really important here in the
laptop stage to really take a closer look at what the screen offers, whether
it's, you know, 1920 by 1080, if it's to k, if it's 60 hertz refresh rate, 120
hertz, 140, 465 and more. The more you can get in terms of the refresh rate,
the better your computer and laptop will be. Another cool thing about laptops
and desktops don't have is the new integration of the tablet or drawing tablet
on the actual laptop. A lot of laptops now will flip back. You can draw on them
or you can draw them on to begin with, and it's a really cool kind of all in
one unit.
They can be a little bit tacky sometimes and not necessarily
be what you're looking for as design student, but you can find some good ones,
so just make sure you guys check the link down below and you'll be able to see
some of my recommendations for those specific laptops if you want them. And
lastly, you want to look into getting a nice laptop kind of briefcase case or
something like that. It's going to protect the laptop, but B, it's a nice way
to store all of your stuff in one place. Like I know when I was in school and
even now professionally with my ThinkPad that I bring to and from work, I have
this kind of nice little over the shoulder bag that has all of my stuff in it.
It's got, you know, my papers, clipboards, all of those
things. So that way eliminates the backpack and I can go back and forth with
all of my stuff in one place. So I highly recommend that. And again, I'll put
all of my recommendations for all the different type of laptops in the
description down below. But generally, Dell, ACS or HP are usually the best for
these things. But things like the Lenovo ThinkPad, the MacBook, those are all
really fine, great choices as well.
Tablets Breakdown
Lastly, let's quickly talk about some tablets and if that
might be an option for you. These are, you know, your handheld portable
computers that primarily are used through touch screen or touch interfaces to
navigate and use the most popular example you guys all know now is the iPad. These
devices are the absolute best for small spaces. Storage, moving or commuting
here is going to be really important in that you want to look for all of the
things we consider with desktops and laptops, screen size, you know, pixel
size, all those things, ram storage, all those things are really important because
this device is going to be the weakest in terms of power and capability.
So being able to get the maximum use out of the tablet is
going to be key. If it's your primary device. But with that in mind, I think
that a tablet is probably your least viable option and should be viewed as more
of a supplementary option. If you can afford it towards, you know, design
rather than your primary thing, it can be a little bit cheaper, which you could
go with. But in my opinion, the screen size at its maximum is still kind of too
small to really work on, and it just lacks in so much power and capability with
all these programs that it's just not as viable to use long term.
So just keep that in mind. You can definitely go the tablet.
I love using my tablet now I use it all the time, but I don't think I would
have liked using it as much if that was my only option in school. But that
said, if you're school or something like that has a computer lab that's
dedicated to design students that you can use and has all your files, then
maybe you could go with the tablet route because you're not going to be needing
a bigger device for the harder programs and the tablet will do all of the other
normal laptop needs.