Silverrails

Need recommendation for a Desktop Computer or a Laptop Computer that I can edit my future RAW and RAW + JPEG images. Presently I only own a Chromebook 15 Laptop, which I have been told is not good for any Photo processing & Editing. As of the present time I have NEVER shot any RAW or RAW + JPEG images on my Nikon D3300 DSLR Camera.
I look forward to hearing my fellow UHH member recommendations..
..Thanks

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Howdy. You asked these same questions on UHH at the end of August. Take a look at your previous topic and update us with any unanswered questions. Click the link below:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-608044-1.html

All the best.

BebuLamar

If you don't really need to travel with the computer a desktop is a much better choice.

davyboy Loc: Anoka Mn.

Thank God your back Linda!🤓

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

Because the screen tilts which causes colours to appear differently as does contrast a laptop is no use for PP. Any computer should be able to use the majority of PP programs reasonably well. The onboard graphics chip works ok...However Ram increases refresh rates and the size of the Hard Disk will decide what size external drive you will have to buy (depending upon your image saving habits)

have fun

picsman Loc: Scotland

I use a macbook pro mid 2014 with an external ssd. I upload up to 4k RAW images in a session on capture one and transfer the ssd to my imac for further editing. If away from home I use the macbook pro to edit and convert to jpg and have no problems. However my screen size is only 13" and a larger screen size would be beneficial.

riderxlx Loc: DFW area Texas

Amen to that bro,

DanCulleton

MacBook Pro with external drives to store the RAW files, BenQ monitor on desk.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

You are like a little Gestapo agent. Do you keep tabs on people who post inquiries? Why would you??

Silverrails

Thanks for the reminder, my friends and family are always telling me I am becoming more forgetful in my older age, but I am only 68 years old,

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I know the feeling! And there may be suggestions in that thread that you wish to follow up on

scubadoc Loc: Sarasota, FL

cpl3 Loc: Spokane, WA

Like picsman stated; I use a mid-2014 MacBook Pro with a 15" retina screen, a 1 TB SSD internal drive and 16 GB RAM; which I found is not problematic for travel. I have it paired to a 27" screen at home. I store all original files on a separate SSD and then those files I plan to use are then copied to a second SSD which is my working drive. The 15" screen is easy to use in the field and I don't mind the little extra size over the 13" - which I pondered and considered for a very long time. But I was set on having a quad core chip which was only available in the 15" at the time.
A lot of people bash Apple for their price, but remember that they only use the very best equipment available in their computers - which has also been thoroughly test for compatibility.
I also use a PC at work so I am very familiar PCs as well - photography is a 30+ year hobby for me. I have found that when you build out a PC to the same specs with the same quality of innards - the price is comparable. So you should really look at which operating system you prefer. I found I can keep an Apple laptop for 10 years with out issues. It's really almost like the debate of upgrading your DSLR when the next best thing comes out. :-)

david vt Loc: Vermont

THAT IS COMPLETELY UNCALLED FOR!!!!!. You, sir, owe Linda an apology.

My wish is that the search function worked better, as the same questions do come up regularly. Now, while I might not have remembered whom sent any given thread, we do see similar questions on a regular basis

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Photo editing really isn't all that intensive a task and virtually any modern computer can handle it easily. I'll give you a few general recommendations, rather than get into specifics (you can research computer and monitor and other peripherals yourself online... there are lots of reviews and recommendations avail.)

A laptop computer is not ideal for image editing. The reason is the computer's portability and the fact that we move them around to different locations where what's seen on the screen will be significantly effected by lighting variations. Opening and closing a laptop also can position the screen at different angles, which can further effect appearance of images on the screen. These can lead you to incorrectly adjust your image.

I'm not saying it's impossible to use a laptop. One way around the above problems is to set up an external monitor in a permanent location. Of course, this requires a laptop capable of working with that monitor. But there's also limited expandability with a laptop. Many are only able to hold a single hard drive, so an external drive may be necessary and that can effect speed of work. Finally, a laptop screen is typically quite a bit smaller than the monitor used with desktops. When editing images, it's great to have as much monitor "real estate" as your budget can handle!

If at all possible, I'd recommend a desktop. Image editing benefits from a reasonable amount of RAM... I'd hope for at least 16GB. It also can be helpful to have a graphics acceleration card, which is usually an add-on item (a lot more easily added to a desktop, than to a laptop!). These types of cards usually have some dedicated video RAM of their own... 1 or 2GB minimum. More is always better, up to the max you can afford.

An SSD (solid state drive) can work great as a primary drive with the operating system and your programs installed. That can really help the system performance. But it's not a great place to store photos and save important data in general. For that data a second, standard hard drive is much more practical and safer for long term data storage (important data also should be backed up externally). "Enterprise class" hard drives are the best to use for data storage. Those are rated for much greater durability than standard HDDs. While enterprise quality drives are more expensive than standard consumer drives, they are considerably less expensive than SSDs.

A desktop computer is more expandable and is usually more affordable than a laptop with relatively equal specifications.

Spend your money on a high-end monitor that has a wide dynamic range and large color palette. For example, I've been impressed with the BenQ line of monitors. They seem to be a lot of screen for the money! There are others that are similar, I'm sure. I currently have a 24" IPS monitor for my desktop computer... which is bigger and better than what I've had in the past, but I always wish I had a 27"... or a 32"... or bigger! (I also have a laptop with a big, 17" screen I use on location but not for final editing of images. It's a big, heavy beast even though it's nowhere near the size of my desktop monitor. It also has two internal hard drives that make for very short battery life. A friend had a 20" laptop and it was massive!)

I'd also encourage you to get a monitor calibration device. This is one of the most important things, regardless what computer and screen you use. Monitors are typically too bright for proper image editing, causing people to adjust their images too dark. They also typically don't render color all that accurately, right out of the box. It's more subtle, but also can cause you to mis-adjust your images. Calibration helps solve these problems to allow you to accurately adjust your images. Plus, a monitor changes brightness over time and with use. It's color rendition also gradually shifts. So it's important to periodically re-calibrate. A calibration device and the software to run it costs about $100 to $150... but if you do many prints it will pay for itself over time, in savings of ink and paper or the cost of having reprints done if you outsource your printing.