Greer wrote:
I’m shouting with a D7100 and D750. Got 2/3’s of Nikon’s Holy Trinity. I’m a deacon and the church photographer (amateur). Accumulated 35,000 images over 8-9 years. Currently working with US Senatorial candidate’s campaign and want advice on minimum comfortable requirements in a laptop. Don’t say I need a desktop, just point me toward a brand, RAM requirements, accessories, just any thing would help. Thanks and have a blessed week.
Well, you don't mention a budget, but if you want a laptop, and care about the monitor, get a MacBook Pro. Either of the 13" or 16" 2020 models is preferable, because the keyboards and graphics are greatly improved over slightly older models.
Ideally:
500 GB or more SSD or NVMe m.2 storage
16 GB or more RAM
Intel Quad-Core I5, I7, or I9
Any of the advanced graphics adapters from AMD
If you do get a MacBook Pro, get it with all the RAM and storage you can afford, because these are NOT upgradeable later. Apple solders all components to the motherboard. This avoids "loose socket syndrome", and (of course) improves their bottom line. But the reliability boost IS tangible if you fly a lot or move the computer around daily.
Also, with a Mac, you will need either a port dock or an assortment of dongles to connect all your external devices. The MacBook Pros have two or four Thunderbolt 3 ports. These use USB-C connectors, and are compatible with USB-C devices, directly. But they are ALSO compatible with audio in/out, HDMI, VGA/SVGA/XVGA, DisplayPort, Ethernet, FireWire, USB 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, all the digital camera card standards, external graphics adapters, and just about any other standard you can name. To use anything without a USB-C cable, you have to supply the adapter dongle or a dock.
Despite all those inconveniences or "gotchas" as some people refer to them, the 2020 MacBook Pros are absolutely excellent machines. They are rugged, run MacOS, can boot into Windows 10, can run Linux or MacOS or Windows via Parallels Desktop... Their monitors display the P3 ICC color space (a much wider color gamut than sRGB monitors), and they run MacOS 10.15 and later operating systems.
Mac OS itself is a HUGE reason to own a Mac. It is far easier to live with than Windows (I know this, as I've used both Macs and DOS/Windows since 1986, having one of each on my desk for decades).
The other huge reason to own a Mac is the relatively low need for support. Typically, Mac users rely on help desks, geek squads, repair shops, etc. about 1/5 as often as Windows users. That's according to IBM, who have installed hundreds of thousands of Apple devices in the past few years.