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Best economical Laptop for DSLR Photo editing
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May 22, 2017 19:38:52   #
Quantus5
 
SusanFromVermont wrote:
If you do not truly need portability, a desktop computer would be better than a laptop.

Screen size is one factor: I have a laptop for travel and almost never attempt editing on its screen. Too hard to see, very frustrating. My monitor at home is 27", which is very good for editing. Also, you want to be sure your monitor screen is not reflective so you will be able to use it in various lighting conditions.

Internal components: Laptops tend to be stuck at whatever they are when purchased. Some have expandability, but limited by the size of the internal space. Desktops can run into similar problems if the tower does not have enough room for adding components, but in general they are much more compatible with upgrades. Processing speed, RAM, and storage capacity are important factors to keep in mind.

Price: A desktop with the memory, processor, video cards, etc. that you want will be less expensive than the same/similar in a laptop. Less room, smaller components in the laptop; more room allows the components to be larger and less expensive to build.

Something to consider. But if a laptop is what you need, consider the good recommendations you have already received.
If you do not truly need portability, a desktop co... (show quote)


Agreed. The other benefit is that the available graphics cards for Desktops are much more powerful than the graphics chip options for laptops. Depending on what you do you can be talking 2x to 5x improvement on performance for certain graphics intensive applications.

There is of course no free lunch, what you gain in power, modularity, and upgradability you lose in portability.

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May 23, 2017 07:25:42   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
Quantus5 wrote:
Agreed, every time I see a Mac that is over 8 years old. Slow as molasses...

It's not the fact that it's a Mac or not. It's just that the processor/hardware is over 8 years old... Having old hardware specs affects a Mac just like a PC.


Right. A lot depends on the processor. I have three Macs from about 2012, and they have Core i5 and Core i7, so speed is not an issue. I put an SSD in my MacBook Pro.

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May 23, 2017 12:37:23   #
Quantus5
 
jerryc41 wrote:
Right. A lot depends on the processor. I have three Macs from about 2012, and they have Core i5 and Core i7, so speed is not an issue. I put an SSD in my MacBook Pro.


Be aware that not all Core i3, Corei5, and Corei7s are created equally.

Every Core processor has a generation number. They almost come out with a new generation once a year, and Intel is currently on generation 7. You can tell by the first digit of the model number of the processor for example a 4770 processor is "4"th generation Core processor.

A new Corei5 processor is much faster than an old Corei5 of the same clock speed.

It really is all relative -- if you're ok with the speed of your 2012 Macs then that's what counts -- not what other people think.

My dad had a Desktop PC for 11 years (2006 running Vista). I finally upgraded it for him. For him, he thought the speed of his 2006 Desktop was fine, but finally I did talk him into letting me upgrade him for $550 for a Corei5 Desktop with 8GB. That's one thing I like about PC Desktops -- extreme bang for the buck. All you lose is portability and my Dad doesn't need portability.

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