Small But Powerful Laptop for Trip (Page 2): Might I add that if you call Dell, they will build one to your exact specifications. I told the rep what I needed last year and he and I...

WarpedWeaver

Might I add that if you call Dell, they will build one to your exact specifications. I told the rep what I needed last year and he and I worked on a laptop that would fit all my needs. So far I have not been disappointed and I have traveled with it twice.

kcooke Loc: Alabama

[quote=Terry in Indiana]My husband and I are taking a 3-week trip to Antarctica and I'd like to buy a small, lightweight, but powerful laptop

My wife and I have a mixed household of Mac and Windows computers but since you asked about Windows based here is what I did. In our retirement we are traveling a good bit and I needed a solution to replace my 2009 MacBook Pro which was stuck on OS upgrades. I went with a windows based machine. Here is what I ultimately purchased

Dell XPS 13 7390
13.3" 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) InfinityEdge touch screen
16GB LPDDR3 2133MHz On-board
Windows 10 Pro (64bit)
10th Generation Intel Corei7-10710U Processor (12MB Cache, up to 4.7 GHz, 6 cores)
Intel(R) UHD Graphics
512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive

Dell had this configuration for sale on one of their daily deals in December 2020
It was a smoking deal at about $750 off list price. For light room,photo shop and NIK It is screamingly fast and the 4K screen is just outstanding. Very satisfied with purchase.

mikegreenwald Loc: Illinois

I don’t know whom you are traveling with, but you should inquire what facilities they may have on the boat(s). Both times I’ve been to Antarctica, Falklands, etc, the boats were equipt with four or more computers (3 were Macs), for passengers use. All I needed was a couple of thumb drives to store the photos after downloading and processing. The computers were equipt with a fairly recent version of Photoshop and Lightroom.
In fact one of the boats had 6 computers and thumb drives for sale. Both boats also had separate drives set up so passengers could easily share their photos.

Canisdirus

Do you truly wish to spend vacation hours editing?
Just take a few extra cards.
Plenty of time for editing back home.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Some links to check out when buying a computer. Yes, there's a lot to read, but you'll be spending your money. Spend enough, but not too much.

New computer ideas -
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/

Laptop for processing -
https://makeawebsitehub.com/best-laptops-for-photo-editing/
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/167185-best-laptops-for-photo-editing
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2017/sep/07/which-is-the-best-laptop-for-photo-editing
http://www.techradar.com/news/photography-video-capture/cameras/best-laptops-for-image-editing-2016-1329234
https://laptopunderbudget.com/best-laptops-for-photo-editing/

sabfish

jeffhacker wrote:

I use a 13.3 inch MacBook Pro. Mine is a couple o... (show quote)

Just out of curiosity, when the poster says, "I prefer a PC, not a Mac," why do Mac fans post responses suggesting Mac computers? Why not just take the lady at her word? I am not trying to start a PC v. Mac war. Personally, I think you can buy fine machines in either category, but certainly people have perfectly rationale reasons for preferring one over the other.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

sabfish wrote:

Just out of curiosity, when the poster says, "I prefer a PC, not a Mac," why do Mac fans post responses suggesting Mac computers? Why not just take the lady at her word?

They can't help it.

johneb21945

Instead of an external drive, dry a 512gb micro SD card. You can plug it in on bottom of unit It makes it very convenient. That is what I do and it works ver well. As stated, make sure you get the 16gb. I have the Surface Pro 7 with an external mouse and do all my editing on it. JohnB

johneb21945

Sorry for typos on my original reply JohnB

pego101

Dell xps 13 or 15

Dave H2

Terry in Indiana wrote:

My husband and I are taking a 3-week trip to Antarctica and I'd like to buy a small, lightweight, but powerful laptop that I can use to download my images as well as install Lightroom on so I can edit them as we go. Space and weight of luggage are at a premium, so I need small, lightweight, yet plenty of memory/hard drive. Oh...and I prefer a PC not a Mac. I've never had a "travel laptop" so this is all new to me. What recommendations can you give me? Thanks in advance!

Most any name brand will work fine. Choose at least 1TB SSD, a good hi res display and very helpful, a lighted keyboard and touchscreen control. Although all laptops have a touch pad, the touch screen will be a big convenience.
Make sure you take an HDMI cable , at least 6 ft long and 9 ft would be better. This will allow you to view your pics on the stateroom TV as well as the small laptop monitor. BTW, a tablet will not do the job you want to do and a computer with Windows 10 will be a welcome tool.
Have a great trip and bring back lots of pics to share with us.
Dave

WaterBabe Loc: Utah

I have a Dell Latitude 12” laptop with 16g Ram and 256g ssd. Can also be used in tablet mode with a stylus. I store photos on a portable SSD. Works great!

newatit

Terry in Indiana wrote:

My husband and I are taking a 3-week trip to Antarctica and I'd like to buy a small, lightweight, but powerful laptop that I can use to download my images as well as install Lightroom on so I can edit them as we go. Space and weight of luggage are at a premium, so I need small, lightweight, yet plenty of memory/hard drive. Oh...and I prefer a PC not a Mac. I've never had a "travel laptop" so this is all new to me. What recommendations can you give me? Thanks in advance!

I have an xps 13, 16 GB Ram, 1 T mem. For sale. I am traveling now but I will be home in 5 day. This would be an ideal laptop... Very light. Very fast. Super crisp screen. I have used LR and PS with no prob. If you are interested. Let me know

DBQ49er Loc: Dubuque, IA

jerryc41 wrote:

Some links to check out when buying a computer. Y... (show quote)

As 2022 nears are the computers of next year going to be upgrade-able?? Manufacturers seem to be making the next generations fixed or only soldered in place components. I have upgraded my laptop to 1tb ssd and 32 gb of ram and I am glad that I did my improvements when I did.
Larry

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

DBQ49er wrote:

As 2022 nears are the computers of next year going to be upgrade-able?? Manufacturers seem to be making the next generations fixed or only soldered in place components. I have upgraded my laptop to 1tb ssd and 32 gb of ram and I am glad that I did my improvements when I did.
Larry

I use a laptop that has 32 gb ram and 2 m.2 2 TB drives with an 8 core Intel 10th gen cpu. I can upgrade it to 64 gb, ram, add a SATA SSD adn replace the 2 TB m.2 drives with bigger ones. I cannot change the cpu or the graphics processor.