MAC vs WINDOWS- Help with buying a Windows Laptop: I have a Mac that I just cannot get used to. I am going back to a Windows laptop. I am asking for help in which is best for...

Foto Jo Loc: Smoky Mountains of North Carolina

I have a Mac that I just cannot get used to. I am going back to a Windows laptop. I am asking for help in which is best for photography, specifically. Especially how big space wise I should buy. I will be placing images on external hard drive but would still like to have a larger capacity laptop to hold edited images. I am interested in Dell or Lenovo.
If I decide to sell my Mac rather than give to a family member I will list on UHH.

BebuLamar

Can't tell you about Mac as the Mac I used was the original 128K Mac. I don't know many people like Dell but I never had good luck with Dell but I have used a good number of Dell (I didn't buy any of them). The last Dell I had was terrible. Got my first Lenovo and I like it a lot. I had a little problem with the screen that developed a small white spot. Very hard to see, only when the screen is displaying something dark. I dropped the laptop with the charging cable connected and the connector hit the edge of the table and cracked the case and the motherboard. Lenovo fixed all that for me free under warranty.

lbrande

I use an Asus laptop for photoshop and lightroom. No hesitation. I do, however, use a 34 inch screen and not the laptop screen. In this case, bigger is better.

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

Foto Jo wrote:

I have a Mac that I just cannot get used to. I am going back to a Windows laptop. I am asking for help in which is best for photography, specifically. Especially how big space wise I should buy. I will be placing images on external hard drive but would still like to have a larger capacity laptop to hold edited images. I am interested in Dell or Lenovo.
If I decide to sell my Mac rather than give to a family member I will list on UHH.

If you want a new laptop that is solid and will do the job you want look at ASUS or MSI laptops. They are unbeatable.

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

lbrande wrote:

I use an Asus laptop for photoshop and lightroom. No hesitation. I do, however, use a 34 inch screen and not the laptop screen. In this case, bigger is better.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

This may be helpful in your selection.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-laptops/#mac-or-windows-or-something-else

Good luck,
Mark

Mr. SONY Loc: LI, NY

My biggest requirement for a new laptop was one that had a super quiet cooling system.
Listening to a fan running always annoyed me to no end.
HP came out with a gaming laptop that they had that problem under control.
Yes they did.
It is the quietest laptop I've ever owned.
I spend hours sitting in a recliner watching TV or listening to my stereo.
Yes stereo, not home theater rig.
99% of the time it is totally silent.
BTW get 32 gig memory, 16 really isn't enough if you like to open multiple tabs running multiple browsers.
Why?
Because not all browser's work the same with different sites.
So I run multiple browser's with many open tabs.
Memory is cheap.

JohnR Loc: The Gates of Hell

Did you know that you can have Windows on your Mac either in Bootcamp by Apple or an App such as Parallels. Could be cheaper than a new computer.

BebuLamar

JohnR wrote:

Did you know that you can have Windows on your Mac either in Bootcamp by Apple or an App such as Parallels. Could be cheaper than a new computer.

And you pay $99 a year to do that.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Foto Jo wrote:

I have a Mac that I just cannot get used to. I am going back to a Windows laptop. I am asking for help in which is best for photography, specifically. Especially how big space wise I should buy. I will be placing images on external hard drive but would still like to have a larger capacity laptop to hold edited images. I am interested in Dell or Lenovo.
If I decide to sell my Mac rather than give to a family member I will list on UHH.

I don't understand not being able to get used to a Mac, I started out with a Mac mini quite a few years back and found it much easier to use than a PC, in fact I treated it Like a win unit.
Today you could not run fast enough to give me a windows machine!!!
I have a 1Tb hd on my I Mac all that is on it it the OS, Apps/programs and what ever I keep on my desktop, All other documents and Photos are on external drives this includes backup drives.

JohnR Loc: The Gates of Hell

BebuLamar wrote:

And you pay $99 a year to do that.

Incorrect. Bootcamp costs NOTHING. Parallels is a once off $120 (approx.) In both cases still you need a Windows license for activation. Anyway even if it were $99 a year there's lots of $99s in a new laptop!

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

Nobody actually answered your question as to how much space you should get. I'll leave the make and model to others as well as the CPU model and speed as the CPU will be somewhat dependent on what make/model you buy.
However buy it from somebody who will add memory and change the drive size for you without charging you an arm and a leg. I would suggest an upgrade to 32Gb memory and an SSD of 2TB. They will give you back (or should) the old memory and SSD (which you can resell) but will charge you to swap over the OS. The last laptop I bought I went from 512GB SSD to 2TB and (from memory) doubled the memory to 32GB. The OS swap over they charged something like 20 bucks. With 32GB and 2TB SSD it almost doesn't matter what CPU you get although remember the faster the better for performance.

Foto Jo Loc: Smoky Mountains of North Carolina

Thank you Chrissy for answering my question. It is much appreciated.

jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY

Bootcamp will not run on Apple silicone. So that is no longer an option. You must install Parallels.
It seems as though the OP has a 'Mac OS Block'. Try giving it another go with someone who is familiar with the normal day to day functions of using a Mac. BTW..does the OP use an iPhone?

julian.gang

Foto Jo wrote:

I have a Mac that I just cannot get used to. I am going back to a Windows laptop. I am asking for help in which is best for photography, specifically. Especially how big space wise I should buy. I will be placing images on external hard drive but would still like to have a larger capacity laptop to hold edited images. I am interested in Dell or Lenovo.
If I decide to sell my Mac rather than give to a family member I will list on UHH.

Had a Dell laptop, didn't like it at all!...Julian