Laptop Recommendations: Looking for recommendations on a PC laptop for travel. I will be taking an extended trip this spring to visit the National Parks in the west. I will be on the...

Saleavitt10 Loc: Maine

Looking for recommendations on a PC laptop for travel. I will be taking an extended trip this spring to visit the National Parks in the west. I will be on the road for 6-8 weeks. I will need to work one day a week on the road. The work entails QuickBooks and MS Office applications. I also want to be able to do some photo and video editing while I’m on the road so anything that is powerful enough for that will be plenty powerful enough for the work stuff. What specs should I be looking for in a PC laptop? Thanks for any suggestions.

St.Mary's

One thing to consider as always, is the tech support by the manufacturer of the laptop. This is very important.

coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

Speed of processor, RAM capacity and SSD storage and Auxiliary SSD backup drive.
The usual considerations.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

Dell XPS 13

APSHEPPARD

I travel a good bit and decided on the very lightweight LG 17 inch laptop. Just under 3 pounds and excellent screen on a large screen for something you carry. Easily fits in overhead if you are not using it while flying. I use thumbbrives for BU:LG Gram 17Z95P Laptop 17" Ultra-Lightweight, IPS, (2560 x 1600), Intel Evo 11th gen CORE i7 , 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Windows 11 Home, 80Wh Battery, Alexa Built-in, 2X USB-C, HDMI, USB-A – Black

Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore

Remember most laptops don't have drives so if you have programs with disc you need external drives to load them before you leave. They're not expensive

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

https://www.costco.com/lenovo-flex-5-15.6%22-2-in-1-touchscreen-laptop---11th-gen-intel-core-i7-1165g7---1080p.product.100794413.html

If you don't like it or it does not do what you want, Costco gives you 90 days to bring it back for full refund.

coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

Only has 512 HB SSD drive.

Orphoto Loc: Oregon

Pay attention to the quality of the screen. Not just the resolution but also color space rendition.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

coolhanduke wrote:

Only has 512 HB SSD drive.

It has 3 USB ports for external drives if the half TB drive isn't enough for the 6 to 8 week trip. It also has the built in SD card reader for photo/video transfer.

I'm using a Lenevo with a 512 SSD and a 1 TB spinning drive is built in. But, it cost almost twice as much!

This one has 2TB of SSD! https://www.costco.com/lenovo-legion-5-15.6%22-gaming-laptop---amd-ryzen-7-5800h---geforce-rtx-3060---165hz-1080p---windows-11---phantom-blue.product.100855653.html

photoman43

I recommend a Lenovo ThinkPad. Mine has a 15 inch screen; 1 TB SSD; 32 GB RAM and a dedicated video card with its own RAM. Operating system is win 10 64 bit. You may be able to get by with 16 GB RAM.

Your photo software may impact your video choices including the screen and a dedicated video card and its RAM.

If you plan to use it with an external monitor at some point, make sure the video card has a port for it.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Saleavitt10 wrote:

Looking for recommendations on a PC laptop for tra... (show quote)

Budget? Budget is the one thing that will help you get good suggestions.

I just helped a friend get a 15.6" laptop wiht 32 gb ram (exp to 64), intel i7 11th gen cpu with 8 cores+ hyperthreading, 4 tb storage on two m.2 drives, support for 3 external displays, USB-C and USB 3.2, Nvidia 3080 with 8gb ram, for around $2k. It's fast.

jim quist Loc: Missouri

The lightest one I know of. It will fit in a Manila folder.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08N5LFLC3/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B08N5LFLC3&SubscriptionId=&linkCode=as2&tag=bestprodtagl123391-20

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

photoman43 wrote:

I recommend a Lenovo ThinkPad. Mine has a 15 inch screen; 1 TB SSD; 32 GB RAM and a dedicated video card with its own RAM. Operating system is win 10 64 bit. You may be able to get by with 16 GB RAM.

Your photo software may impact your video choices including the screen and a dedicated video card and its RAM.

If you plan to use it with an external monitor at some point, make sure the video card has a port for it.

How much was the ThinkPad?

Saleavitt10 Loc: Maine

Gene51 wrote:

Budget? Budget is the one thing that will help you get good suggestions.

I just helped a friend get a 15.6" laptop wiht 32 gb ram (exp to 64), intel i7 11th gen cpu with 8 cores+ hyperthreading, 4 tb storage on two m.2 drives, support for 3 external displays, USB-C and USB 3.2, Nvidia 3080 with 8gb ram, for around $2k. It's fast.

Budget is up to $2k