PC Laptops Photo Editing: UHHers-Any suggestions on a PC Laptop for photo editing? Some online resources were touting the HP Spectre 360. My question, if one were to purchase one of...

SBrodsky Loc: Northern Colorado

UHHers-Any suggestions on a PC Laptop for photo editing? Some online resources were touting the HP Spectre 360. My question, if one were to purchase one of their lower lines, e.g. the HP Envy 360, is there that much difference, particularly when using Lightroom applications? I have been using a Toshiba Satellite for the last 11 years, which has been fine, but it's seen better days. Interested in hearing your feedback. Thanks

dadaist

SBrodsky wrote:

UHHers-Any suggestions on a PC Laptop for photo editing? Some online resources were touting the HP Spectre 360. My question, if one were to purchase one of their lower lines, e.g. the HP Envy 360, is there that much difference, particularly when using Lightroom applications? I have been using a Toshiba Satellite for the last 11 years, which has been fine, but it's seen better days. Interested in hearing your feedback. Thanks

Define "better days". If your screen is still good, but your unit is running slow or your hard drive is acting up, try cleaning up your files. I am using an 11 year old Sony laptop. I cured all of its ills by replacing the HD with a solid state drive-now all is well again and I'm very satisfied with its renewed performance-a lot less expense, and what I'm used to. Hope this helps you!!

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Not familiar with the HP line. Had one maybe 15 years ago but it didn't last as long as I usually keep PCs. Have been using Dell and Acer over the last decade.

Getting as much RAM as possible will provide future resistance (there's nothing that is future proof). As software gets more complex, having enough RAM is important. Having more than you need right now will provide some cushion for the future.

Getting as large a disk as possible will help when you start building up your photopile. Photos are getting larger in file size.

I'm using an 8 year old desktop but I have a 2TByte drive in it. And it's not large enough. (The C: drive is a 256Gig SSD, used for system and programs only). I'll be upgrading in the near future, partly because the old GPU isn't adequate for some of the Topaz software.

RightOnPhotography Loc: Quebec,QC

I used Dell XPS 15 for many years for processing RAW files on Lightroom Classic and well as on PS and Topaz. It was totally suitable for my needs.

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

SBrodsky wrote:

UHHers-Any suggestions on a PC Laptop for photo editing? Some online resources were touting the HP Spectre 360. My question, if one were to purchase one of their lower lines, e.g. the HP Envy 360, is there that much difference, particularly when using Lightroom applications? I have been using a Toshiba Satellite for the last 11 years, which has been fine, but it's seen better days. Interested in hearing your feedback. Thanks

This question comes up often, but the people posting it fail to provide the basic information necessary to make a strong recommendation.

1. What is your budget?
2. What software do you use?
3. What other software do you intend to use on this laptop?
4. How many images do you shoot a year?
5. Will you be using an external display with the laptop?
6. Are you willing to trade off performance for lower cost?

louparker Loc: Scottsdale, AZ

Without know what configuration the Envy and Spectre have that you are considering, it's impossible to tell which one one is "better" for photo editing. However, for photo editing, you want the highest resolution display, the fastest CPU and the largest SSD you can afford -- in this case, more is better. For a good comparison of these 2 HPs, their performance and the optional add-ons for each, take a look at https://www.laptopmag.com/news/hp-envy-x360-vs-spectre-x360-2020.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

"Any suggestions on a PC Laptop for photo editing?"

I use a Lenevo Legion that I got at Costco. It was about $1,000. Specs seem a little higher than the HP Envy 360 models.

It has i7 CPU, Nvidia GPU, 16 GB RAM, 1/2 TB SSD for software, 1 TB HDD for storage and 1920x1080 screen. It has plenty of ports and will plug into a 'real' monitor.

All the Adobe apps, including video, run well.

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

SBrodsky wrote:

UHHers-Any suggestions on a PC Laptop for photo editing? Some online resources were touting the HP Spectre 360. My question, if one were to purchase one of their lower lines, e.g. the HP Envy 360, is there that much difference, particularly when using Lightroom applications? I have been using a Toshiba Satellite for the last 11 years, which has been fine, but it's seen better days. Interested in hearing your feedback. Thanks

I would consider a custom built laptop over an off-the-shelf one. Sadly, only the memory and the storage options are user upgradable these days, but even that is a big plus. It allows you to buy a machine with 16 gb of ram and a smaller hard drive, yet retain the ability to upgrade it to 32 gb (or more) ram and multiple, bigger drives as your needs increase. Generally speaking, you are not going to see this in an off-the-shelf laptop. And anyone suggesting a 16 gb laptop is not into editing beyond cropping and maybe some global color adjustments. When images are edited in layers, as would be the case with nearly all the raster editors I have used - the files dramatically grow in size, which is why my minimum recommendation is 32 gb.

Wasabi

SBrodsky wrote:

UHHers-Any suggestions on a PC Laptop for photo editing? Some online resources were touting the HP Spectre 360. My question, if one were to purchase one of their lower lines, e.g. the HP Envy 360, is there that much difference, particularly when using Lightroom applications? ****** Thanks

The Spectre 360 has a 4k screen which is very nice but also very small for editing. Take mine on the road but don't do much editing with it. Touch screen is not the equivalent of a digital tablet. Best to use a mouse.

Good luck with your search.

Wasabi

Warhorse Loc: SE Michigan

I bought a MSI laptop that was upgraded to 64G RAM, 2TB SSD, 2TB HDD, 1920X1080 resolution.

Granted, it was upgraded by a third party company, but it only cost me $1400 on a Black Friday sale on Amazon almost two years ago.

It's a screaming fast machine, runs my subscription Adobe LR like nobody's business!

photoman43

Gene51 wrote:

This question comes up often, but the people posting it fail to provide the basic information necessary to make a strong recommendation.

1. What is your budget?
2. What software do you use?
3. What other software do you intend to use on this laptop?
4. How many images do you shoot a year?
5. Will you be using an external display with the laptop?
6. Are you willing to trade off performance for lower cost?

Gene makes very good points. All of his questions need to be answered before you start searching for new laptop.

In my experience even a 15 inch laptop with a "perfect" screen and with all of the needed "internals" is not good enough for photo processing UNLESS you hook up second (larger) monitor to it so you can really see the image.

dbjazz Loc: Long Island, NY

For photos, I've been using an HP Envy with a 17" screen for the past five years and am more than satisfied. For a good ten years prior to that, I used a 14" Dell (don't recall the model). That too served my needs well. Both companies produce high-quality, fast, reliable machines. I'd go with whatever has the best screen for your needs.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

These links might help -
http://www.popsci.com/choose-right-laptop-for-you
https://www.photoworkout.com/best-laptop-photo-editing/
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/167185-best-laptops-for-photo-editing
https://sleeklens.com/top-ten-laptops-for-photo-editing/
http://www.techradar.com/news/photography-video-capture/cameras/best-laptops-for-image-editing-2016-1329234

And a whole lot of useful info -
Memory -
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-much-ram-do-you-need/
http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-much-ram-does-your-pc-need/

Processor -
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/intel-core-i9-vs-i7-vs-i5-cpu/
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/intel-core-i5-vs-i7/
http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/core-i5-vs-i7
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/210703-intel-core-i5-vs-core-i7-which-processor-should-you-buy

Graphics cards -
https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/system-requirements.html
https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/system-requirements.html#gpu-acceleration
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-buying-guide,5844.html
https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/pc-components/how-know-if-graphics-card-is-compatible-3588810/
https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/239/~/understanding-system-requirements-for-nvidia-based-graphics-cards.

Setup -
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2861858/computers/7-critical-things-to-do-immediately-with-a-new-pc.html#tk.rss_all
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-set-up-a-new-windows-10-pc-perfectly-in-one-hour-or-less/

sabfish

Gene51 wrote:

I would consider a custom built laptop over an off... (show quote)

Dell's gaming laptops give you easy access to change hard drives and memory. I am waiting for Windows 11 to come out before upgrading my 9 year old Dell laptop. The biggest problem is that many of the new photo editing programs will not run on Windows 8.1, which is what I have. This particular laptop was not upgradable to Windows 10 when it came out.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Gene51 wrote:

This question comes up often, but the people posting it fail to provide the basic information necessary to make a strong recommendation.

1. What is your budget?
2. What software do you use?
3. What other software do you intend to use on this laptop?
4. How many images do you shoot a year?
5. Will you be using an external display with the laptop?
6. Are you willing to trade off performance for lower cost?

I would add:

7. What do you expect from your editing software? What do you want to accomplish?