Looking to replace my Gateway C142XL with a lightweight Photoshop machine.

[gamegirl]

Hey all,
Long time no post! This forum was invaluable when I bought my first tablet, and I'm in hopes I can find another tablet just as great.
My beloved Gateway c142 xl is dying, so I think it's time I start researching a new one. I primarily used it for drawing, and 3D modeling with 3dstudiomax and Zbrush. From what I could tell, there aren't any computers comparable to my Gateway, so I'm hoping just to get something lightweight and long lasting.

General Questions.

1. What is your budget?
$2000 or less. would prefer less, but I appreciate I'm looking for a very specialized machine.

2. Would you consider purchasing used/refurbished?
Refurb yes, used no.

3. Do you prefer a Slate, Convertible or Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC)?
Convertible!

4. What size Tablet PC would you prefer?
I'm flexible with size - 10" or larger preferably. I'm more concerned with weight than size - I'd ideally like something under 6 pounds.

5. Which country do you intent to purchase from?
Doesn't matter, though I'm based in the USA.

6. Do you have any preferences to brand loyalty or dislikes?
I loved my Gateway, and can get a slight discount on Dells through work. I hear HP is nice, too.

7. How many hours battery life do you require?
5-7 if possible, since I fly cross country sometimes.

8. What will be the primary usage scenario of this tablet? (Email/Web Surfing/Drawing/Word Processing/Entertainment/Notetaking etc)
Drawing and holding my music to draw to.

9. Do you have an OS preference?
Windows

10. What software and tasks do you intend to run? (Microsoft Office or other Word Processing Suite/Photoshop/3D Studio Max/Autocad etc)
Photoshop cs3, and if it will handle it, Zbrush. Will primarily be drawing and web searching for reference though, so if necessary i can sacrifice Zbrush functionality. I have to be able to run Photoshop though.

10. Do you intend on playing Games? If so please list.
If I could at least run Skyrim on a low setting that would be useful for work.

Screen Specifics

1. What resolution do you prefer?
WXGA - 1280x768

2. Do you require the screen to be readable in sunlight?
See the above linked FAQ for guidance
Nope

3. Do you prefer your display to be glossy or matte?
Either.

4. Do you require Touch? (without pressure sensitivity) (Which one: resistive or capacitive)
No, but capacitative would be ok.

5. Do you require a Pen? (with pressure sensitivity) (Which one: Wacom or N-Trig)
See the above linked FAQ for guidance
Definitely Wacom.

Component Specifics

1. What size Hard Drive and Memory do you require?
Negotiable. I will most likely choose a laptop and then max it out.

2. Do you require an Optical (CD/DVD) Drive to be built in?
Yes

3. Do you require ability to add a second Battery or Hard Drive (Modular Bay technology)?
No


Misc
1. Other non specific items ~ please add other items you require not covered above?
USB ports aplenty - at least two i can use at the same time.

2. Additional requests ~ anything other you wish to take into consideration?
I'd like it to be somewhat lightweight.

Thanks for reading this far! If worse comes to worse and my Gateway dies tomorrow, I'll probably just try to find the lightest Photoshop machine i can and go from there.

[thatcomicsguy]

Sounds like you're a perfect candidate for the Samsung Series 7 Slate.

It'll do all you want and more, plus it's tidily within your budget.

[ZaZ]

Didn't the OP say they wanted a convertible while the Samsung is slate?

The ThinkPad X220t, HP 2760p and/or Fujitsus T731/T901 are probably you best convertible options.

[thatcomicsguy]

Didn't the OP say they wanted a convertible while the Samsung is slate?

The ThinkPad X220t, HP 2760p and/or Fujitsus T731/T901 are probably you best convertible options.

True, and I certainly can't see how one could get by with just a slate.

Samsung, however, is really in it's own category as it provides that excellent dock and keyboard combo, which makes the package a very different beast from the rest of the slate jungle's clone population.

It's not as easily portable, though. That's where the ThinkPad would be superior because you can just fold it up and go.

In terms of use as a basic drawing pad, however, I think its slim profile and long battery life would make it much easier to use than a clunky convertible.

Nobody's made the perfect solution yet. I like the transformer concept, but it's not fully developed either yet.

[gamegirl]

Thanks for the input, guys! I'd not considered the Samsung, but that's an interesting option. I'll look in to it. I've been reading a bit and it looks like the Lenovo will be my best bet, but it doesn't really have me jumping up and down. I'm slightly intrigued by the idea of Windows 8 being mobile friendly but who knows when that's ever going to happen.
Does anyone know if there are any stores that have either the Samsung or Lenovo so that I could see one in person? I'll probably swing by Best Buy, but I'm not holding my breath
Thanks again for the help!

[NamelessPlayer]

The only convertible that has any chance of running Skyrim acceptably even on low settings is the Fujitsu Lifebook T901 with the NVIDIA graphics option...and even with everything else at the entry-level bare minimum, that will still exceed your budget.

If you're far more concerned about weight, the HP EliteBook 2760p is just under 4 lbs. Add a pound if you need a slice battery on those cross-country flights. If it's anything like my 2730p, then it should easily last 7 hours with 2 or 3 hours more to spare with a slice battery.

[JJ26]

What about the Dell XT-3 (available at Dell outlet)? It sounds perfect for your description. My c142xl is having mood swings lately as well, and if I had the money, this is the machine I'd go with. Any Dell XT series owners have any thoughts?

Also, what exactly is going wrong with your gateway? Some hardware problems aren't too hard to fix.

[JJ26]

Whoops! The XT-3 is N-Trig, not Wacom. :-( My mistake!

[gamegirl]

Long story short, two on the USB ports have been stripped and were dislodged from their original positioning (NO CLUE how it happened) which leaves me with one USB port which is now only working 50% of the time. I brought it to my IT folks, and they were sad for me, heh. I actually don't know too much about N-Trig stuff, beyond what I researched when the tech was first introduced. I'll go ahead and add the Dell to my pile of tablets to research, thanks.

[alex.db]

please don't add the dell, as much as the rest of the machine is great, the n-trig is a huge deal breaker for a convertible tablet. wacom or nothing.