Originally Posted by
kyunbit
They run fine on my current Core 2 Duo 2 Ghz Thinkpad. I am still not convinced this Timeline can handle it though.
When plugged in and able to use turbo, the Timeline should be at least a bit faster than a 2ghz Core 2 Duo: the two-core turbo speed is 5-bins higher (133*5 = 1.47+667mhz, or 2.133ghz, and a better core.) Without turbo, it would not be massively slower, but probably a bit slower; I'd expect it to be running at some level of turbo most of the time.
I'm not sure I'm right about which GPUs do acceleration in Photoshop and Lightroom, but my impression is none of the ones found in Core 2 Duo era laptops would do much if anything.
Interestingly, it looks like the HD3000 and HD4000 GPUs (in the newer 2###/3###-series i3/i5/i7) are supported for GPU acceleration by at least the newest versions of Photoshop, although this may be specific to CS6:
http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/...6-gpu-faq.html
I am looking at an X230 for $678+tax with the following specs. Not sure if I should bite, this config has no SSD and putting that on my own will add another $200!
Personally, that sounds like a pretty good deal for ~$900 total, although my own preference is for something faster and more durable like the X230 than a Ultrabook; you can get a very nice ultrabook with SSD at the same price (two examples follow, for a model I rather like) although depending on how heavy your Photoshop use is, going for an Ivy Bridge model might be worth it:
http://www.centralcomputers.com/ccp8...tasuux21ar.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Zenbook-UX21E-...keywords=UX21e
This may be helpful, or may be overly technical:
http://ark.intel.com/compare/65708,49664,56858
Bear in mind with the X230 you're going to need a 7mm SSD -- it doesn't add a lot of extra cost, but does reduce the number of models you an use a bit.
One example I like.