Mongoose Loc: Dublin, Ohio

Have made the decision to dive into photo editing my pictures. I would appreciate suggestions for specifications for a new lap top. Because I am new to this I don't feel the need to break the bank (~$1500.00) as it were. I am aware that many of you may believe this is to little to pay but hey, I'm not a rich man. Please advise conservatively. Thank you for your time.

10MPlayer Loc: California

You can get a lot of computer for $1500. Spend the money on a decent monitor. Dell has the same one I've been using for several years now on sale for $1500. It's not up to the same specs as mine. Smaller digital hard drive but you can save you pennies and upgrade later if you feel the need. I'd probably find a decent computer for $750 and spend the balance on a monitor and backup storage.

rlv567 Loc: Baguio City, Philippines

Good advice - and the best way to go - though he asked for a laptop. You can get more in a desktop than a laptop, and if you don't need portability - and have the space - it's the best answer. It's important that the system drive be an SSD, but doesn't have to be too big; the second drive can be a regular hard drive. The graphics card (NVIDIA is best) needs to be that recommended for whatever software he will be using - or expect to use - and as much fast memory as he can afford is desirable. He might also want a printer - just something to consider.

The best answer is that there is not a best system - the components need to be tailored to his specific requirements, current and projected.

I built a good system - which will run any current and probable future post-processing software - for less than $1,500 (though don't know exactly how much). And that's in the Philippines, where all electronics cost more than in the US.

Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

You are in Ohio. Find a Costco. Look for laptops with an i7 CPU, 16 GIGs of RAM and 512 GB of disk storage or more. There will be several in the $1000 range. If it does not work well for you, Costco will take it back for 90 days!

Right now, I would probably pick this one: https://www.costco.com/msi-prestige-15-laptop---11th-gen-intel-core-i7-1185g7---geforce-gtx-1650-max-q---1080p.product.100786507.html

twosummers Loc: Melbourne Australia or Lincolnshire England

Safe yourself endless research - go and buy an Apple MacBook or iMac with M1 processor and SSD. You'll never go back to a PC.

Laramie Loc: Tempe

Save yourself endless research :) - go and buy a Dell Inspiron 15" (or smaller if desired). I just priced one with an i7, 16GB RAM, `T drive for $899.

rlv567 Loc: Baguio City, Philippines

Dell makes good computers, a little high priced vs some others - but good. I would suggest that you get a bigger monitor, though.

Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Lenovo

ppkwhat Loc: Gibsonton, FL

Mongoose, I just ordered from Adorama, the following laptop:

ASUS VivoBook 17 K712EA 17.3" Full HD Notebook Computer, Intel Core i7-1165G7 2.8GHz, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Windows 10 Home, Free Upgrade to Windows 11, Transparent Silver
$999.00

This one has enough memory; 16GB and lots of disk space, 1TB and also the latest Intel chip set, a Quad Core I7 at 2.8GHz.

I do think a laptop like this one will serve you well. Good Luck

steveo52 Loc: Rhode Island and Ocala Florida

Plus one for the Mac, the new M1 chip is incredible. I worked in IT for many years, when I retired Windows was retired too.
Good luck on whatever you decide.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Lenovo Legion Laptop - 16GB memory, Intel 11th Gen i7, 1 TB SSD, $1200 see Costco

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

If you are on a limited budget - forget Apple products. They are actually very good, but by the time you configure them properly with storage, ram etc they are pricey.

This computer, configured with 32 gb ram (which I consider minimum for most photo editing programs), and 1 TB system drive (also minimum) will be just under your budget.

https://xoticpc.com/collections/advanced-series-gaming-laptops/products/sager-np7859pq-clevo-nh58hpq

This is a very general suggestion for a minimum spec for a photo editing computer. You have not indicated which software application(s) you will be using, and your choice here may entail adding more cpu cores, additional graphics memory and/or system ram.

And you should budget another couple of hundred dollars for an external storage drive. Don't do what many end up doing - avoid purchasing those really cheap high capacity "backup" external drives. Get the biggest bare mechanical 3.5" drive with a 5 yr warranty that you can justify and spend another $20-$30 for a USB C enclosure for it. It may cost 2X more than the "value" alternatives, but it would likely outlast those cheap drives by a factor of 3X or better.

RJW Loc: Oregon

Hi Mongoose,
I purchased an M1 Macbook Air last September. It takes anything I throw at it with ease. I had a very limited budget and got the base unit with 8GB RAM and 256GB hardrive and a Sandisk 500GB Extreme Portable SSD for $104. I use this as a main storage for photo files and also transfer data to a separate external hardrive for backup. This keeps my laptop free of high storage on the main unit. The screen is fantastic for detail and color. It is faster than any PC I ever previously owned. If you want to start out with inexpensive software, Affinity, Pixelmator Pro have great features and do a wonderful job of editing. I also have the Topaz products, Sharpen AI, Denoise AI and Gigapixel AI,Studio and Studio2, Luminar AI, NEO, DxO PhotoLab and NIK Collection, and Exposure X7. All run very fast. Sometimes I have several open at the same time but most often I use one or the other so I don't use up my RAM. With consistently keeping storage files minimized and closing programs as I switch back and forth it works perfectly and pretty much instantly. Speed was the one thing that was excruciatingly painful on the PC for me. Soooo slow! I work photos pretty much everyday. The SSD is very fast to transfer files and acts just as fast as the internal storage. Sometimes Apple has sales on the Mac Air for #150 off and you get buy refurbished for about the same discount. I have a friend who works for Apple and she stated that the refurbished are gone through and operate "as new". Good luck on your search ! RJW

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

https://www.amazon.com/Apple-MacBook-Air-Retina-Display/dp/B08VF621Z4/

It fits the budget and runs all the usual photo apps just fine. But I'd encourage you to watch some of the dozens of reviews of the Late 2020 MacBook Air on YouTube, and wait for tomorrow's Apple announcements before buying anything. They may have some surprises.

Mongoose Loc: Dublin, Ohio

All very good and helpfull suggestions. Thank you again for your time!
Mongoose