ejpeters Loc: New Jersey, USA

I use a Dell XPS 15, but when at home I attach my monitor to it.
I needed a good sized travel laptop and it works well when I travel to use it for editing. I would make sure that you have a decent sized SSD drive, but I don't store my photos on my laptop. I use external hard drives to store my raw and edited photos.
If you could get a nice monitor to use with your laptop that would be the best solution especially when you need to edit a larger amount of files.

PaulBrit Loc: Merlin, Southern Oregon

I second that. Was a longtime Windows user but changed to a Mac and much prefer it! Do all my RAW editing on it - Luminar 3.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

You're not plotting a course to Jupiter, so almost any computer will be able to process pictures. Below are some useful links about specs. Take your time and do a lot of reading before you spend your money.

Laptops
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/

Memory
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-much-ram-does-your-pc-need-probably-less-than-you-think/
http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-much-ram-does-your-pc-need/

Processor
http://gizmodo.com/dont-waste-money-on-intels-top-processor-1791426602
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404674,00.asp
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/intel-core-i5-vs-i7/
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

Yourstruly43

Make shure it has an IPS screen.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

You posted this same inquiry on two other previous dates and received quite a few suggestions. What has changed? Call or Chat with B & H Photo and speak with a tech for recommendations. I purchased a 17 inch ASUS laptop from them in 2014. It processes RAW files quite well. I also have a desktop but use the laptop when traveling.
Sales & expert advice: 800.606.6969
or you can Chat: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/

Mark (I'm 83)

brent46 Loc: Grand Island, NY

I purchased an Acer Nitro5 gamming laptop with 17" HD display. It has 9th gen i5, graphics card, 8gb ram, and solid state drive. I added an additional 8gb ram for $32.00. It was under $900 at best buy and is very fast.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

I agree. Get a desktop or at least a extra monitor.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

I have two HP’s that work fine. The one I sometimes use for editing is pretty basic, but it has a big screen, 17.3”. I think I paid about $600 for it. I think it has 12GB of RAM and another 2GB for the GPU. It will handle all the basic stuff but I don’t know about serious focus stacking or panorama stitching. I do now have a desktop setup, but that’s mainly so I can calibrate for printing.

photoman43

I bought a lenovo 15 inch ThinkPad for photo editing this year. Model is ThinkPad X1 Extreme.

Configuration Details
● Processor: 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-8850H 6 core processor with vPro™ (2.60GHz, up to 4.30GHz with Turbo Boost Technology, 9MB Cache)
● Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64
● Display Type: 15.6” UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS multi-touch, anti-reflective, 400nits
● Memory: 32 GB DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 16GB)
● Hard Drive: 1 TB Solid State Drive, PCIe-NVME OPAL2.0 M.2
● Warranty: 1 Year Depot or Carry-in
● AC Adapter: 135W AC Adapter
● Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB
● Battery: 4 cell Li-Polymer 80Wh
● Camera: IR & 720p HD Camera with microphone
● Fingerprint Reader: Fingerprint Reader
● Keyboard: Backlit Keyboard - US English
● Wireless: Intel 9560 802.11AC vPro (2 x 2) & Bluetooth 5.0

It works great, but I find the high resolution display screen is really too small (for me) for photo editing. If I had to do it all over again, I would have gotten the 15 inch model with a lower resolution screen and then used the laptop with a second larger monitor. Stated another way, for me a laptop just does not offer the full benefits of a good 27 inch monitor attached to a desktop pc.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

I use a MBP and Lr. Mine is an I7, 16GB, 512GB SSD, with 2GB for graphics. 15" Retina screen. Similar PCs are available. Best of luck.

Keven Loc: Grandview, WA

I also use a 13” MacBook Pro. It works great and the screen is amazing. I have used Lightroom with it and currently use Affinity, they both work great on my Mac.

Chuckwal Loc: Boynton Beach Florida

Mac

ralf Loc: NJ

I moved from Windows to iMac a few years ago. There is no going back.... iMac costs more because it is worth more. Get a 27" screen with 5K resolution and you will never leave your computer room.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

While you ask about the computer, I would suggest that you basically get enough RAM and be sure it's 64 GIG. While ralf has suggested imac because of the 27" screen....I would suggest that whatever way you go you get an excellent screen, and yes, probably 27", and be sure to calibrate the colors. That's probably is important as anything. I don't know that going Mac is that important because there are so many programs available for PC.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Laptop computers, in general, are not ideal for photo editing.

The problem is that the computer is too portable. We move them around into different ambient lighting and brightness conditions... we open and close them to different angles. Both these change what you see on the screen, causing you to incorrectly edit images.

I use a laptop on location to download images and do quick review of them, but never to truly "finish" them. For that work, I use a calibrated desktop work station with a much larger screen.

Some workarounds include...

1. Use a "tent" you can place the laptop inside to minimize ambient light influence on the screen. Also make a device you can use to set the angle of the screen. Even doing this, you can still have a problem consistently positioning yourself in relation to the laptop screen. Not to mention, laptop screens are typically too small to edit images comfortably. (Mine is a 17" and fairly large, heavy. A friend had a 20" laptop, but it was a real beast... not to mention pricey!)

2. Use an external monitor set up in a permanent location and hooked up to your laptop for your final editing. You have to be sure a laptop supports this, though. Laptops may be impossible or a lot more difficult to upgrade video cards, which may be necessary to support an external monitor.

Either way, one of your best investments for ANY computer you'll be using for image editing is a monitor calibration device, such as a Datacolor Spyder or an X-Rite ColorMunki. An uncalibrated monitor is almost certain to cause you to incorrectly adjust your images. Most are waaaayyy too bright for image editing at their default settings, causing you to make your images too dark. Most really aren't all that accurate rendering color, either. Calibration fixes both these things. But it's an on-going process.

Occasional re-calibration is needed because monitors change color rendition and brightness with use and as they age. A monitor that stays in a fixed location with lighting that doesn't change is a whole lot easier to keep calibrated. Personally I run calibration on mine once a month. For consistently accurate image editing, a laptop might need to be re-calibrated every time it's moved!

Many laptops also cannot have a second internal drive (mine does, but it is a larger laptop and the 2nd drive really kills battery life). Photos fill up drives surprisingly quickly. Internal drives for laptops While an external drive may be possible, that may be slower and reliability might be a concern. Most laptops today use SSD, too... which are much more expensive than HDDs. Even laptop sized HDD are more expensive than "full size" HDDs such as desktop computers use. I buy "enterprise class" HDDs for approx. $25 a terabyte. In comparison, SSD cost over $100 per TB. There's some concern, too, about archiving photos on SSD. It's gotten a lot better with recent generations, though.

In the end... If your goal is high quality images (as suggested by your plans to work with RAW files) my advice for a laptop for image editing would be to get a desktop instead. It will cost less, will be much more easily upgraded when (not "if") needed and will do a better job more comfortably and consistently. Spend some of the money saved getting a good, graphics quality monitor (for the $, I've been impressed with BenQ monitors). Take some of the other money you save and buy a calibration device, then use it regularly.

When someone tells me they use a laptop for image editing and are pleased with the result, I say, "Show me your images".