Like tulips Loc: Mi

My laptop has decided to retire and so I am in the market for a replacement. I know that I want 8 ram and to be able to burn DVDs. I have a tablet that I use all the time so I will use the new computer mainly for photography- photoshop and to make picture DVDs. I have not had good luck with hp, have had better luck with dell. I was looking at dell laptops, however it seems that they do not have did burners on them. Not sure if the is something that I could have added? My other thought is to skip the laptop and get an Apple desk top for a few hundred more...

I would appreciate any ideas that you have to share. Budget under a thousand for a laptop, willing to go s bit more for an apple...

nakkh Loc: San Mateo, Ca

Lenovo makes world class laptops. Solid, reliable & built to last.
Not cheap but worth the price.


Edit: I supplied all my mobile users with Thinkpads because they worked day in and day out- Plus they couldn't be broken.

DrPhrogg Loc: NJ

Dell can be configured any way you want on their site. The other brand with a good reputation is Toshiba. HP was once good but no longer has the reliability.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

You'll be a lot happier with 16GB of RAM. Apple has a new computer out with a killer display. I have 3 MacBook Pros and an iMac. I also have a PC desktop and a 17 inch notebook. I prefer the Macs.

DrPhrogg Loc: NJ

The debate between PC & Mac is as contentious as that between Canon & Nikon. I suggest you read reviews and decide for yourself. Much will depend on your intended uses.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

If you get a PC, I have been very happy with BitDefender as my virus protection. I haven't had any problems with my computer freezing or slowing down significantly like I did with McAfee. I would second the recommendation to get 16 gigs of RAM. Also, you do backup everything, don't you?

Billyspad Loc: The Philippines

If Acer meet your spec I can assure you that you can hammer them to death and they keep on working day in day out. A good all round strong reliable workhorse.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

You can never have too much RAM, nor to big of a hard drive.
I never scrimp on either of those.
My desk computer is a Dell. And my laptop is a Toshiba. I like them both.
I also have a first gen Apple IPad (wife's old one), and a Samsung Smart(er-than-me-)phone. Which incidently, I stuffed with a 64G SD card for a total of 80G of storage. See sentence #1.
But it seems that Nikon and I both prefer the PC platform over Apples candy coated IOS.
But you really only have to please yourself. I won't, nor anybody else out here, will be living with your choices.
You will. ;)

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Any brand can be a problem. Lenovo sometimes makes "Lemons" and their support is not always, shall we say, perfect. In fact it can sometimes be completely unacceptable. Generally Lenovo is good, but you can be burned. I will not buy another one, nor recommend the company from extensive dealings with them. That goes for a server perspective as well. And yes, I work in the industry.

Check around, and good luck. The industry is in flux at the moment, but I would certainly look at Dell. They are not perfect either, but I like what I see from the company overall from a professional perspective.

Good luck

tamalero Loc: Mexico

In laptops, you always get what you pay (except Sony laptops, their vaios are overpriced)

I suggest always getting the lowest of the high end series. (like DELL XPS against the cheap studio and inspiron ones)

As for protection... I trust ESET's NOD32.
Lighter, good and fast.
Just stay away from McAfee or Norton (the "Fisher price" of antivirus).

Like tulips Loc: Mi

Thank you everyone! You have given me a lot to consider!

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

For ram for Photoshop, 16 gb should be your minimum consideration. if you don't need a laptop ie, it will be sitting on your desk 100% of the time, consider getting more bang for the buck with a desktop. In either case you should be getting an external display, since editing photos on a 6 bit display is frustrating at best. Many do it, but when you compare that to editing on an 8 or 10 bit display system and a 24" or larger display there is no comparison.

If you are hell-bent on a portable solution, then consider building a system around one of these:

http://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming-laptops-notebooks-clevo-sager-notebooks-ct-95_51_162.html

I would suggest the SAGER NP7358, which is the least expensive one that will handle more than 16 gb ram. You do want to future proof your investment at least a little.

And no, if you are looking to maximize your expenditure, avoid Apple, you are just paying more for the "experience of owning a lifestyle piece of electronics" - I have supported and serviced both platforms, and once they are open there is nothing all that different inside. Both use Intel. both use memory and hard drives or SSDs made by the same manufacturers, etc etc etc. Only bigger difference is that PCs will have more options, which allow to fine tune your config for specific tasks. There are not nearly as many options with Apple, and you pay more for the same level of performance.

ralphc4176 Loc: Conyers, GA

I have heard that Lenovo makes good notebooks. I have bought and used both Acer and Asus notebooks and have had very good luck with them. If you are going to be using the notebook for image processing, I highly recommend you get one with its own video card, not "integrated graphics." You can buy external USB DVD burners for very reasonable prices. They are typically slower than the internal DVD burners in most machines, but they allow for a smaller and lighter notebook. If you want the fastest machine, get one with a solid state drive (SSD), and make sure Photoshop is installed on that drive.

Dan L Loc: Wisconsin

Dell Workstation & 3-5yr onsite warranty

tmorgen Loc: Palm Bay, FL

There are few companies that manufacture computers. The only real difference is the kind of tech support/service you get from one to the other.

Windows 8 has caused a lot of frustration from some folks. If you could find one with Windows 7 in it, you might be better off.

While laptops are meant to be carried around from place to place, I think you'll find they will last longer if you leave them on your desk. I have two HPs right now. One has a bad screen in it. I bought it in 2007. The other one is a 2010 and it runs just fine.