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Participant
January 11, 2022
Question

Laptop compatibility?

  • January 11, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 5266 views

Hello,

I'm new to InDesign and Illustrator and have questions please. I apologise if these are basic, but I'm starting with no knowledge here.

 

 

I can purchase Adobe software throughy university for a reduced rate. However, I'm not sure whether my laptop - a HP Pavilion intel core i3 7th generation (according to the sticker.... And yup, this is how basic my knowledge is)... Can run it. 

 

Can anyone help please? Where on my xomputer do I find a run down of my laptop specifications? And how do I know if this will be able to run InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop etc? 

 

With thanks,

Ro,

1 reply

BobLevine
Community Expert
Community Expert
January 11, 2022

That's a pretty low end processor but the real issue would be how much RAM that machine has and whether you're fully updated on Windows 10 (that machine will not run Windows 11)

Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
Legend
January 11, 2022

You can find some of the computer's specs from Start / Settings.

From there, click the section labeled System.

Then select the About section and look for these items:

 

To find out the computer's hard drive / storage space, click the Storage section:

 

These screen captures are from my oldest and slowest computer in my studio and it uses an i7 processor with a speed of 1.7 GHz — that's a faster processor than your HP Pavillion.

 

It has only 8 GB of RAM memory, which isn't very much for designing complex stuff in Creative Suite. Tough to have InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator running at the same time.

 

And there's only 57 GB of available storage on the drive...not much to store work and the files needed when InDesign et al are up and running.

 

Your current computer might be OK for the time being and for small projects, but don't expect it to be workable if this is your career path. I'd use it temporarily while getting a better computer.

 

What to look for in a new Windows computer:

  • i7 or newer processor
  • Windows 11 capable (Windows 10 will eventually be discontinued, and Adobe will cease developing for Windows 10 even sooner)
  • 16GB RAM (32 GB is better)
  • 500 GB SSD drive (1 TB is better)
  • A powerful enough graphics card to handle a larger external monitor.

 

I'm a former systems integrator for digital media workstations, so I'm very picky about the hardware at my studio. I purchase moderate-to-high-end gaming computers for my designers' workstations because they have the memory and graphics capability needed for digital media.

 

Costco has a good selection, and offers extended warranties and concierge services. I've had good experiences with MS Surface Pros and Asus ROG laptops.

 

 

|    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |
Dave Creamer of IDEAS
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 2, 2025

Could someone advise if this Laptop is suitable for use in Adobe Illustration, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro

Brand: DELL LATITUDE 3440

Computer spec: 

- processor: Intel Core i5 Gen 13

- RAM:16GB

- Hard drive capacity: 512GB SSD

Operating system: Win 11 Pro

intel iris Xe Graphics 

 

thank you so much!


If you want to future-proof your laptop, it's best to get the best you can afford. Some laptops solder in the RAM and hard drive, preventing them from being upgraded in the future. Watch out for those.

I suggest:

Fastest Ultra 9 or i9 processor (or better)

32-minimum RAM--64 would be better--128 would be even better.

1 TB SSD or larger

16 in uHD (not HD) screen or larger.

Best GPU card offered. 

Warning: it won't be cheap! 

I like to add Dell's hardware and accident coverage for 3-4 years. 

Max your system out and it can last many years. I'm still using my Dell XPS 15, 64-GB RAM, 2 TB SSD, i9 that was purchased in 2017. 

With 4 years coverage, and XPS 16 would cost about $4300 US.

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)