Upgrades and media software running on a Mk3 CF-19?

I need to upgrade the software on my CF-19 Mk3 Toughbook, so I'll probably need to update the HDD and RAM too.

It's my understanding that the CF-19 MK3 can be upgraded to 8GB RAM, but I've been reading here and elsewhere that 4GB is the maximum. That's a bit confusing, so if anyone has a definitive answer it'd be appreciated.

The HDD will be at least 500gb SSD which is about the same as in my current "desktop replacement" ASUS K55A laptop.

I know I can't do anything about the processor and onboard video, so I wonder if the machine with upgraded RAM and HDD will be able to run the software required?

I need to run the following:

- Adobe InDesign - at least CS6 so it has commonality with my day-to-day instance of Adobe InDesign CC 2015
- Adobe Photoshop - At least CS5 - the earlier versions are too clunky for me
- Adobe Acrobat Pro - at least version 9 since I can't get the Adobe PDF printer to work with the earlier version (Acrobat Pro 7) I have.
- Some sort of video editor would be good for rough cutting GoPro footage and uploading to YouTube. On the other laptop I'm running Adobe Premiere Pro CC2 015.
- MS Office or Open Office - Open Office is running fine on the Toughbook at the moment.

Does anyone else run similar programs on their CF-19Mk3? What upgrades did you need to perform?

Cheers!

 

Panasonic says 4gb, but we have found that 8gb works.
Do you have 64bit Windows? If not then 4gb is maximum for 32bit windows.
Open Office will be fine.

Did you go to the Adobe web site and look at the hardware requirements for those programs? Can you copy that information here so we have an idea what is needed? A little extra effort on your part will go a long way in us being able to help you.

Does Adobe have any of those programs listed ported for Linux?
Linux will run faster and requires much less hardware.

 

I'm sure the main problems for your tasks are:
- slow CPU
- low-resolution small TN screen
Upgrade to Asus Zenbook

 

I'd love to run some version of Linux, but I have no idea how to run it and I need to have the files I spit out on the Toughbook such as InDesign .indd to be editable on my "office" laptop.

Here's the minimum requirements for the programs I have mentioned -

Adobe Indesign CS6 -

• Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon® 64 processor
• Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 3 or Microsoft Windows 7 with Service Pack 1. Adobe® Creative Suite® 5.5 and CS6 applications also support Windows 8. See the CS6 FAQ for more information about Windows 8 support.
• 1 GB of RAM
• 1 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable flash storage devices)
• 1024 x 768 display (1280 x 800 recommended) with 16-bit color and 512 MB (1 GB recommended) of VRAM
• OpenGL 2.0–capable system

Adobe Photoshop CS5.5 Extended -

• Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon® 64 processor
• Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 3; Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 (Service Pack 2 recommended); or Windows 7
• 1GB of RAM
• 1GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable flash-based storage devices)
• 1024×768 display (1280×800 recommended) with qualified hardware-accelerated OpenGL graphics card, 16-bit color, and 256MB of VRAM
• Some GPU-accelerated features require graphics support for Shader Model 3.0 and OpenGL 2.0
• DVD-ROM drive
• QuickTime 7.6.2 software required for multimedia features
• Broadband Internet connection required for online services

Adobe Acrobat Pro 9 Extended -

• 1.3-GHz processor or higher

• Microsoft Windows XP Home, Professional, or Tablet PC Edition with Service Pack 2 or 3 (32 bit and 64 bit); Windows Server 2003 (with Service Pack 2 for 64 bit); or Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with or without Service Pack 1 (32 bit and 64 bit)
• Internet Explorer 6.0
• 512 MB of RAM
• 2.35 GB of available hard-disk space.
• 1,024 x 768 screen resolution
• DVD drive Video hardware acceleration optional

Adobe Premiere Pro CS 5 -

• Intel® Core™2 Duo or AMD Phenom® II processor; 64-bit support required
• 64-bit operating system required: Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 or Windows® 7
• 2 GB of RAM (4 GB or more recommended)
• 10 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable flash-based storage devices)
• 7200 RPM hard drive for editing compressed video formats; RAID 0 for uncompressed
• 1280 x 900 display with OpenGL 2.0-compatible video card
• Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated performance
• Adobe-certified card for capture and export to tape for SD/HD workflows
• OHCI-compatible IEEE 1394 port for DV and HDV capture, export to tape, and transmit to DV device
• Sound card compatible with ASIO protocol or Microsoft Windows Driver Model
• DVD-ROM drive compatible with dual-layer DVDs (DVD+/-R burner for burning DVDs; Blu-ray burner for creating Blu-ray Disc media)
• QuickTime 7.6.2 software required for QuickTime features
• Broadband Internet connection required for online services*

I think Premiere Pro will be a bit of a stretch since there's also specific video cards which need to be fitted to use it properly.

So these are listed as the minimum specs to allow these programs to open and run, I hope that the extra RAM and addition of an SSD will help the processor speed.

As for the RAM, my system is 64bit so 8Gb should be good to go.

In other toughbook news today...
I've decided to paint the silver alloy parts. I will go with a flat dark earth colour I think. It won't help reflect heat as much as the silver powdercoating, but it won't hold the heat anywhere near as much as black, green or gunmetal grey. Can you get replacement "Toughbook" and "Panasonic CF-19" decals anywhere? If not I'll print some out on a transparent adhesive sheet, apply them and hit the area with a matte clear coat to seal it.
Also, I swapped out a few port covers which were damaged, but it turns out the 56k modem cover I ordered is a repro Chinese cover with no rubber seal. I'll leave it in place for the time being while I source the correct cover.
Next, the main latch which was damaged has been replaced with a brand new part off ebay.
Lastly, I received a tube of JB Weld metal epoxy to fix a cracked area. I haven't begun the fix yet, but I'll create a thread detailing how I go when I do.

 

"1.3-GHz processor or higher"
yep ... and i can put a 4 cylinder 1.2 liter engine in a Cadillac and it will "work" ... not worth a damn but it will go forward .
by the time you add a decent AV/AM and few other programs that will run in the background , you'll most likely find that the "1.3 GHz" processor is nowhere near enough horsepower .

also ... none of the programs have been ported to 'nix .
forget about "play on linux" and W.I.N.E. ... unless there has been extensive research done and all the "sub programs" have been installed (after some have been made) then forget it .
i have seen POL/WINE on one machine and 'nix OS run a windows program just fine ... install the exact same OS on a different motherboard and it fails ...
change the OS (say mint 13 to mint 17) on a working motherboard and the program fails .

there are some great editing/manipulation programs available for 'nix ... but the learning curve can be steep for a while .
i also recommend not making a "dual boot" or virtual machine environment ... two separate machines is the way to go .

 

You are at the bottom edge of the hardware requirements.
You have several choices.
1)Load it all and try it. I feel any video manipulation with Adobe products will be painfully SLOW. I may be wrong.
2)Get over your dislike and "clunky" feelings of the older packages and use them. They are designed for less hardware.
3)Sell the CF19mk3 and get a CF19mk4 that has an i5 cpu.

There are a lot of Acrobat like programs that work just as well or better with a lot less hardware. I have not installed Acrobat in years. TOO much bloat.
What do you mean by Indesign CS6 "Commonality"?
Are the files readable in both versions? I assume CS6 will read the older CS5 files.

 

http://prodesigntools.com/compare-versions-differences-between-adobe-cs6-vs-cs5-5.html
What’s New in CS6 vs. CS5? A New Feature Version Comparison
Here’s a quick run-through of some of the top new features in CS6 for major applications…

— Photoshop CS6: New modern user interface, Content-Aware move/patch/extend tools, new Camera Raw 7, background save and auto-recovery, Blur Gallery, redesigned vector and 3D engines, intuitive video editing, and many more. [SEE COMPARISON]

— Illustrator CS6: Reengineered and streamlined user interface, fast Mercury Performance System for native 64-bit support on both Windows and Mac, new creative tools for pattern creation, image tracing, and gradients on strokes. [SEE COMPARISON]

— InDesign CS6: Content Collector tools, hot-linked content across pages, integration with Digital Publishing Suite, Alternate Layout, Liquid Layout, other new tools efficiently adapt layouts to a myriad of page sizes, devices, and orientations. [SEE COMPARISON]

— Dreamweaver CS6: Fluid grid layout for cross-platform design, CSS3 transitions, HTML5 code rendering with Live View and Multiscreen Preview, enhanced jQuery Mobile and PhoneGap Build framework support, optimized FTP performance. [SEE COMPARISON]

— Fireworks CS6: New screen layout tools, jQuery Mobile theme skinning, CSS sprites from comps, CSS3 code extraction, improved color swatches, better redraw performance for Mac, improved memory management for Windows 64-bit systems. [SEE COMPARISON]

— Flash Professional CS6: Sprite sheet generation, CreateJS toolkit to output HTML5, access to platform- and device-specific capabilities, prepackaged Adobe AIR captive runtimes, mobile application interaction simulation, support for the latest runtimes. [SEE COMPARISON]

— Premiere Pro CS6: Sleek and professional user interface, uninterrupted playback, Warp Stabilizer effect, dynamic timeline trimming, expanded multicam editing, rolling shutter artifacts correction, adjustment layers, and many more. [SEE COMPARISON]

— After Effects CS6: Global Performance Cache, 3D camera tracker, ray-traced text and shape extrusion, new variable mask feathering, rolling shutter repair, enhanced integration with Illustrator, new and updated effects, and many more. [SEE COMPARISON]

— Audition CS6: Real-time clip stretching, pitch and speed control, CD burning, parameter automation, control surface support, automatic speech alignment, clip grouping with group suspend, tone generation, and many more. [SEE COMPARISON]

— Encore CS6: 64-bit support for rock-solid performance, faster MPEG import with asynchronous processing.

— Prelude CS6: Full or partial ingest, tag footage with searchable temporal metadata, transcode to many formats, heads-up logging, rough cut creation, thumbnail scrubbing, speech transcription notes, success write confirmation, fully customizable.

— SpeedGrade CS6: Powerful layer-based color grading, GPU-accelerated performance, Lumetri Deep Color Engine, primary and secondary color correction, automatic scene detection, camera and color space matching, Adobe tool and workflow integration.

 

IMO it's not the best idea. MK4's i5 CPU is still low-performance and old.
MK5 is a minimum to really see the difference. Or stay with best value MK3.
But I'm sure topic starter has to think of laptop with high-rez IPS screen.

 

maybe i am missing something or perhaps it is a case of "i like my old machine and want to make it fly" .
(yep , i know the feeling)

the adobe programs you would like to run are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination .
sooo ... it seems to me that it would be wiser as investment of money goes , to get a laptop (for portability requirements) that is capable of running the programs with no problems .

of course , as has been pointed out , that the display is the final link in the chain .
the color depth , tracking , gray scale and several other items pertinent to accuracy of a display simply cannot be ignored .
it could be likened to putting a $500 dress on a pig .
even the best display calibration software and hardware is ineffective when used with a monitor that simply cannot make the grade because of inherent design limitations .

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I appreciate the responses.

I'll leave this thread at that.

Cheers.