epoche Loc: Tucson, AZ

Have been using Macs for 15 years. Have 8 year old Mac Pro and 4 year old MacBook Air. Have never had a hardware problem with all the Macs I have owned, and never a virus or malware issue. Started with PCs when at University when MS was barely beyond DOS. Went through many trials and tribulations with MS, until I switched to Mac. Leaving out the comparison between operating systems is to leave out the most important consideration when looking which way to go. The Mac OS is very "solid" and capable when it comes to get done what you desire. I have never spent a penny having tech help out of some MS issue. With the new Yosemite OS the Mac provides the "Continuity" between iOS and OS X. In short the Mac OS stand head and shoulders above MS OS. Whether they both have same components is debatable. Steve Jobs attention to the detail of the hidden innerards would argue otherwise.

mackolb

I have a 2012 15" 2.7GHz MacBook Pro, Retina display for sale. It has 16GB RAM, 768 fast SSD and AppleCare coverage until August 2015.
I bought a newer model and would love to find a home for this for $1,900. It comes with all stock Mac software, looks pristine and performs flawlessly.
Currently running Mavericks, but will upgrade to Yosemite if the buyer requests it. Runs photo and editing software without a hitch!
Pay via PayPal is OK.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Nothing wrong with Windows 8, once you tune it to your needs.
For example mine is set up to go to the desktop on start-up. The desk top has the things I need on it, not the crap Microsoft was doing to mimic Apple and their candy coated Icons.
My laptop, which runs concurrently to the right of my main Box-o-rocks, is Windoze 7. Good, but not able to jump higher, run faster, or perform as well as 8 can. (It handles Email and reports my weather station directly to my off-shore solar records. (Austrailia) )

In short, when traveling and limited to the Windows 7 laptop, I find I miss the performance of the big box.
But any computer needs to be tuned in to what the user wants/needs.

Picdude Loc: Ohio

Dell produces a pretty good product, I have an old 200MHz Win98 that still fires up and runs fine. Dell is also pretty good about having a configurable product, so what you're seeing in laptops without DVD may well be the base carcass that you can configure to suit your needs.

The recommendations for 16G of RAM are well founded and shouldn't be too much of a budget issue as RAM has become relatively inexpensive. An i7 CPU would be great, but an i5 will probably suit your needs. Two things I would recommend you look into. One, pay attention and ask about the Graphic adapter (video card). If you're going with a laptop you only get one shot at this as they are usually imbedded on the motherboard. Get the best Graphic Adapter you can, if possible something that has dedicated RAM just for the display. Also, while most graphic boards are OpenGL compatible, ask to make sure the correct drivers are installed. If you ever decide to use plug-in software from OnOne, Topaz, etc., they frequently will not work if they cannot detect the OpenGL drivers, and I just found out through experience that while the adapter itself may be compatible, the driver software isn't always loaded (just had to do this myself a few weeks ago). The Second thing, if you are going to have to order a DVD burner anyway, go ahead and upgrade to Blue Ray. The technologies are similar enough that a Blue Ray player/burner will also play/burn DVD, but you can get a lot more data on a Blue Ray disk when you want it.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Many new laptops have solid-state drives - and the amount of RAM is less relevant because it is all solid-state - data and programs are swapped rapidly back and forth between RAM and the SSD virtual memory. Many laptops, I have found, now come without the DVD burner to make them lighter and more portable. I just bought one that comes with unlimited cloud storage. I have a desktop with a burner, so I can use that either through my home network or pulling photos from the cloud.

Zonker Loc: Leesburg, FL

Asus also makes good machines. Check with Woot daily you may get a bargain http://www.woot.com/

Dan Gibson Photography Loc: Central Florida

Dell customer support is very hard to beat. I've never spoken with an off shore support person yet, and they know their products.

ValliPride Loc: Lost in Florida

I have the Mac computer and love it. My laptop recently went to sleep and is still sleeping, I have the I Mac and they are Great computers, Good Luck, my wife went for the dell, customer service is in India, when I have a problem, I go around the Block to the Apple Store.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Can't comment on where Dell runs its call centers from, but being off shore is not necessarily bad. It's more how the support is managed rather than the location. I have experienced abysmal service from locally-based companies while some of the best support I have ever experienced has been via an India-based call center.

Location isn't really the issue, it is the quality of the support that matters.

ValliPride Loc: Lost in Florida

You are right about the service and the area of the world their support comes from, for myself it did not work fedex back and forth the defective components, I prefer if I have a problem or need support to interact with a person in person instead of press this button Hold wait Hold and have to print labels for return Postage. Just my First and last Experiance with that brand.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

I noticed the same thing. Try looking at Alienware (by Dell) computers. They are a bit overkill as they are intended as gaming computers but they have the features a photographer would want. They cost a lot more than other Dells though. Also, look for 12 or 16GB RAM. I'm still looking and thinking though as my old HP has not totally died yet. They are sucky in ways.

Dan Gibson Photography Loc: Central Florida

Off shore does matter when you can't understand what they are saying, nor they you, in some instances. :) Gateway (Acer) has the worst Indian technical support that I have ever experienced in the computer realm. Dell on the other hand, the best (in my personal experience).

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

I hate myself for saying this because I use PCs and have to defend them against the Apple elitists but go the extra mile and get the Apple. Desktops are better than laptops for photo editing anyway and Retina displays are hard to beat. Also, go higher than 8GB of RAM because Photoshop likes 16GB much better. Just blow the whole piggy bank and do it up right once and you probably won't need to change again before a comet hits the Earth and kills us all sometime in the next century.

I'm not sure why you're not seeing burners on everything because at Dell you can still get CD burners, DVD burners are the most common, and Blu-Ray burners are even available. Most of their "already built and waiting" PCs had DVD burners in them last time I looked. Those will all probably be dropping in price and going by the wayside before long as 4K video that is far higher resolution than Blu-Ray comes of age. it's already starting. GoPro just came out with a Hero4 video cam at $499 that is 4K and others will soon follow.

rebride

Apple has lowered their prices just the other day. Get a refurbished. Apple spit shines them.
You can get external (usb plug-in) DVD players cheap. Look for single cord/usb connect type.
16GB Ram might be nice, but not really necessary. I have 8GB Lenovo and 6GB Vizio laptops that do just fine.
Alienware (Dell) has also dropped prices (and weight 13")



If not a dedicated video card look for the intel 4600.

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

I've had Dell desktops, laptops, and a color laser printer. The printer was overpriced, as big as a VW, and the ink was way too expensive, but it was one hell of a printer - when it worked. So I was on with customer service numerous times about it. I use Dell computers even now but haven't need to call support for a couple years.

The India-based customer support people I've talked to were knowledgeable and professional but I just couldn't understand them. They try to speak good English but for me it's many times like a severe case of the party store owner Apu on the Simpsons talking fast while drunk. Or Depak Chopra acting as an auctioneer. I have to stop them and have them repeat almost everything while I'm pretending we have a bad connection and it's torture.

Dell also had Philippine-based support at one time. I got along with them better because my wife is Filipino and I understand their slang slurring of English.

But what I learned that was interesting is that you can stop the customer service person you can't understand and nicely ask them to transfer you to a U.S. based call center and they actually can do that with ease.

Dell claims to have brought a lot of customer service back to the U.S. (on-shore) but I don't know how that's going.