Economic Laptop for Photo Editing: Hello, Eveyone! I am looking for recommendations for a quality laptop up to $800 with good graphics for photo editing. (I am not interested in a Mac...

mgstrawn Loc: Atlanta, GA

Hello, Eveyone! I am looking for recommendations for a quality laptop up to $800 with good graphics for photo editing. (I am not interested in a Mac Book, and, yes, I know they are not in that price range, or buying used 😉) Thank you so much!

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Cheap and quality do not go together.

Cheap laptop work as others more expensive laptop, they are just of a lesser quality in components and features. CPU is not as powerful, less RAM, less disk space - likely not upgradable - the video might be slow too as to the screen...

Still they do work, just slow. Look at DELL, they have base models same for LG and other brand.

Actually, I did a quick search and found out some really decent laptops on Amazon.

Look for IPS screen and above 16GB RAM, a few have 32GB! Also all have 1TB drive.

mgstrawn Loc: Atlanta, GA

Rongnongno wrote:

Cheap and quality do not go together.

Cheap laptop work as others more expensive laptop, they are just of a lesser quality in components and features. CPU is not as powerful, less RAM, less disk space - likely not upgradable - the video might be slow too as to the screen...

Still they do work, just slow. Look at DELL, they have base models same for LG and other brand.

Thank you! And I totally understand. A basic Dell is on many top 10 lists for my criteria. If I were a professional, I would definitely go in a different direction.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

mgstrawn wrote:

Thank you! And I totally understand. A basic Dell is on many top 10 lists for my criteria. If I were a professional, I would definitely go in a different direction.

Actually, Dell has incredible laptops (check the XPS series) as well as reputable gamer laptops under a different moniker (Alienware). I have an XPS 17 for the last few months and travel with it. I used to carry an Alienware, but now it is way too heavy. I still have it, connected to a fire TV.

They are simply way out of your price range ($1,500 and greater)

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

mgstrawn wrote:

Hello, Eveyone! I am looking for recommendations for a quality laptop up to $800 with good graphics for photo editing. (I am not interested in a Mac Book, and, yes, I know they are not in that price range, or buying used 😉) Thank you so much!

You might be able to get something on HP, might have a few compromises but usable, Just got my wife a nice 17" for $399, plus warranty and tax,

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Costco has a very good return policy if you don't like it.
https://www.costco.com/lenovo-ideapad-5-15.6%22-touchscreen-laptop---12th-gen-intel-core-i7-1255u---geforce-mx550---1080p---windows-11.product.100858023.html

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

B&H has a very good satisfaction guarantee return policy too.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1722156-REG/acer_nx_k3kaa_007_15_6_aspire_5_a515_57_748p.html

mgstrawn Loc: Atlanta, GA

Rongnongno wrote:

s Cheap and quality do not go together. br br Ch... (show quote)

Thank you so much! This was extremely helpful!

mgstrawn Loc: Atlanta, GA

bsprague wrote:

B&H has a very good satisfaction guarantee return policy too.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1722156-REG/acer_nx_k3kaa_007_15_6_aspire_5_a515_57_748p.html

Thank you for the recommendation!

mgstrawn Loc: Atlanta, GA

bsprague wrote:

Costco has a very good return policy if you don't like it.
https://www.costco.com/lenovo-ideapad-5-15.6%22-touchscreen-laptop---12th-gen-intel-core-i7-1255u---geforce-mx550---1080p---windows-11.product.100858023.html

We just got a new Costco about an hour away. I can’t wait to join. Thank you for the link!

mgstrawn Loc: Atlanta, GA

bobmcculloch wrote:

You might be able to get something on HP, might have a few compromises but usable, Just got my wife a nice 17" for $399, plus warranty and tax,

Thank you, Bob!

coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

You may look into Lenovo laptops.
Try to get an SSD drive. Faster and more realizable.
And yes, Costco has a great return policy.
Also, go to www.woot.com
Quirky sight but some good deals.

Red6

mgstrawn wrote:

Hello, Eveyone! I am looking for recommendations for a quality laptop up to $800 with good graphics for photo editing. (I am not interested in a Mac Book, and, yes, I know they are not in that price range, or buying used 😉) Thank you so much!

I have purchased several excellent used laptops from tigerdirect.com. Most of these are from larger businesses that change out the company-supplied laptops to employees. Most are less than 4-5 years old and are well-equipped. You can also add memory and other accessories as needed.

Like cars, I always buy used ones whenever I can. Saves a good bit of money and as an engineer that worked in the electronics industry, the highest failure rate for a device is immediately after its manufacture. Few manufacturers take the time to "burn in" a device for any length of time. If you can pick one up that has run for a year or so and has been treated well, it will most likely last a while.

My most recent purchase was a Lenovo laptop which has served me well. Check them out before buying new.

LenCreate

I bought an Amazon renewed HP laptop for my wife recently. It looks brand new; not even a slight mark on the screen or the body. The battery charges to 100%. Amazon renewed products have a 90 day return policy for any reason, so there’s plenty of time to make sure that your purchase works properly. I also bought an Amazon renewed iPhone for myself a few years ago and one for my wife last year and both were like new and still operate that way.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

mgstrawn wrote:

Hello, Eveyone! I am looking for recommendations for a quality laptop up to $800 with good graphics for photo editing. (I am not interested in a Mac Book, and, yes, I know they are not in that price range, or buying used 😉) Thank you so much!

Word of caution if you decide to go the refurb route, make sure the machine can upgrade to WIN11, not all have processors that Win 11 will run on, machine I'm on is less that 5 years old, cannot accept the upgrade.