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Buying a new laptop.
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Jan 13, 2020 05:37:50   #
tcthome Loc: NJ
 
motes wrote:
The laptop I'm using is a very old Toshiba. I want to get into editing.

Thanks for all of the input.

Barb


I was on online looking on the Staples site for office printer ink over the weekend & they had some pretty good deals on labtops also.

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Jan 13, 2020 06:17:16   #
alandg46 Loc: Boerne, Texas
 
I bought a refurb Dell Inspiron M4800 15.6", I7, 16gb RAM, Nvidia K2100 video card, and 500gb HDD for $350. At the same time, I bought a 2TB Western Digital Blue SSD for $220. It's big. It's thick. It's heavy. In short, for a laptop it's clunky. However, it has 4 3.0 USB ports, 1 USB 2.0 port, 1 eSATA port, HDMI port, Display Port, and a VGA port(as if I cared). It's a little worn, but it works flawlessly. It's darn near as good as my desktop that I built myself and runs an AMD Ryzen 7, 64GB RAM, midline Radeon video card, and a bunch of other stuff.

In short. I have a fine, fast, albeit clunky laptop for $570. I really wanted all those ports.

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Jan 13, 2020 06:20:11   #
mas24 Loc: Southern CA
 
tcthome wrote:
I was on online looking on the Staples site for office printer ink over the weekend & they had some pretty good deals on labtops also.


My first Windows laptop came from Office Depot. I've been looking at laptops, mainly from Best Buy Store. But, I'll have to check Staples, Costco, and online offers. Having not purchased a new laptop in 7 years. I was surprised to see so many thin and small 13" screens. Lightweight and small 13" screens, seems to be in demand. I even saw at least two laptops with 12gb of RAM. I don't know if that laptop can be upgraded on RAM, or not?

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Jan 13, 2020 06:30:09   #
SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA
 
Just about anything at Costco with 16gb of memory will be fine. Make sure it’s a PC and not a Chromebook.

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Jan 13, 2020 06:34:43   #
twice_shooter
 
PixelStan77 wrote:
Spend $300 more, go Apple and you should be happy.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Apple%2013.3%22%20MacBook%20Pro%20(Mid%202017%2C%20Space%20Gray)&sts=pi-ps&pim=Y


Can be upgraded when your budget allows with more DRAM.



MacBooks from 2015 and later are not user accessible to upgrade DRAM. You have to buy the machine in the configuration you want up front.

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Jan 13, 2020 07:01:58   #
joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ
 
bsprague wrote:
I bought a Lenovo LEGION Y545 at Costco a few months ago. It's working very well with my Adobe CC programs. A minor flaw is that it does not have an SD card reader built in so I use one that plugs into one of the fast USB ports.


Wow, the specs are very impressive for the price.

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Jan 13, 2020 07:30:18   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
Lots of choices, and $1,000 should be fine. Some links below.

Inexpensive -
http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/best-laptops-1304361
https://www.cnet.com/topics/laptops/best-laptops/budget-laptops/
https://www.laptopmag.com/best-laptops-under-500
https://www.lifewire.com/best-laptops-under-500-4043278
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/how-to-buy-a-budget-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/

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

Setup -
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2861858/computers/7-critical-things-to-do-immediately-with-a-new-pc.html#tk.rss_all
http://www.computershopper.com/feature/13-essential-steps-set-up-your-new-pc

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Jan 13, 2020 07:55:05   #
starlifter Loc: Towson, MD
 
Look at refurbished also. I got a HP Envy laptop over a year ago. $650. 16GB ram , 1TB HD, SD card reader, Optical drive 3USB ports and Bluetooth. It also has several other ports including an HDMI. And I found a very nice carrying bag in the thrift store for $6. Saves money for the camera stuff.

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Jan 13, 2020 08:10:50   #
Warhorse Loc: SE Michigan
 
If you can afford $500 more, this is what I spent $1500 on this last "Black Friday" on a new laptop. Technically it is a "gaming laptop", but I feel that all of the components that make for a good gaming experience, makes it great for photo editing. MSI, upgraded by Computer Upgrade King, I7-9750H 6 core CPU, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD, 2TB HDD, NVDIA 6G graphics card. It's screaming fast!

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Jan 13, 2020 08:26:15   #
MrMophoto Loc: Rhode Island "The biggest little"
 
More thoughts on the Mac v PC controversy; Macs will cost more (from a little extra to a lot extra), but last longer, Mac doesn't make bad products. You can get a lot more machine buying PC for the same price, but you may replace it in 5 years or so, depending on how you use it. Mac will last 8+ years, depending. My brother, who is an MIT & Microsoft graduate loves his Mac. When I needed a new computer (laptop) almost 4 years ago I was considering a Mac, my brother mentioned the cost difference as well as the operating system: if you are presently using a PC, gong to a Mac means learning a new operating system, this may not be a problem but there will be a learning curve. I opted for a Dell Inspiron 7000 with an SSD & 1TB HDD 7th Gen i7 intel. At the time it was approx. $1100 Since I do a lot of photos and even more PS work, I wanted the speed and high end graphics card. I don't keep any of my work on the hard drive but rather on an external HD. The machine is advertised as a gaming computer by Dell. Almost four years later it is still running great, one of the best computers I've ever owned.

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Jan 13, 2020 08:33:14   #
fetzler Loc: North West PA
 
TriX wrote:
I cannot agree with the small screen MacBook Pro, which is really “stripped down”. Way too small SSD (only 128GB - barely enough room for the OS and a few Ps, and very little left for data). A really slow 1.4GHz I-5 CPU, only 8GB memory, and way to small a screen for editing. To get a usable machine for editing, you’ll need to add more memory (only 8 more GB possible), and external drive for image storage and an external display. By that time you’ll be north of $1700 and still have a dog slow CPU, which you cannot fix. The only valid advantage for this machine is size/weight if you travel and just want to temporarily store (a few) images.

Consider instead a Windows I-7 based Laptop with 16GB memory, a decent sized SSD and a larger display or the same specs in a Windows Desktop, either of which can be bought for close to your budget and will be not only MUCH faster with more storage and a better display for less money, it will have adequate performance to last you for a few years. I like Dell and Lenovo, and I recently saw such a laptop as I’ve described for under $1000 at Costco.

And before the Windows haters and Apple lovers scream heresy, let me just state that Apple makes fine machines, BUT, you’re on a tight budget, an Apple laptop has substantially lower performance per $, and in my opinion is just not going to be a satisfactory PP machine for any period of time unless you spend 50% more than your budget, whereas the equivalent Windows machine will.
I cannot agree with the small screen MacBook Pro, ... (show quote)


Ditto. Desk tops, however, are great for photo editing.

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Jan 13, 2020 08:53:26   #
ljhix Loc: NW Washington State
 
motes wrote:
I would like to get a new laptop that would allow me to install a program that would allow me use photo shop or another type of editing program. Any suggestions. Price range under $1000.00.

Thanks
Barb M


You get more "bang for the buck" with PC, rather than Apple. That being said, you need to spend significantly more than $1,000 if you want enough memory and a good enough screen to actually accomplish something with any of the photo editing programs. ALSO you should consider what non-photo needs you may have when you shop.

I have had a Dell XPS-13 with the touch screen and 8Gb RAM since Dec 2016. It is an older processor, but it has been fine for use with Photoshop, Aurora, Luminar, etc. Not as fast as a new one would be.

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Jan 13, 2020 09:54:55   #
Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb
 
Just got an add from Micro Center Apple laptops $979.99

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Jan 13, 2020 10:02:05   #
ronf78155 Loc: Seguin Texas
 
CHROMEBOOK

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Jan 13, 2020 10:12:29   #
TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC
 
ronf78155 wrote:
CHROMEBOOK


NO!!!! Not enough anything - CPU, memory or disk.

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