Laptop: Thinking of getting a laptop dedicated for photo storage (with another external HD) and editing in LR Classic CC and PS CC. Want good qty of RAM, excellent screen, sufficient...

frjeff Loc: Mid-Michigan

Thinking of getting a laptop dedicated for photo storage (with another external HD) and editing in LR Classic CC and PS CC.

Want good qty of RAM, excellent screen, sufficient HD space and good graphic processor.

Suggestions please including any specification factors I have left out above.

CPR Loc: Nature Coast of Florida

I would get a Dell with a solid state main drive. I would add memory and add size to the main drive as well as get the best graphics/screen they offer. Each of these will increase the price. Also, I would get the touch screen.

loosecanon Loc: Central Texas

CPR wrote:

I would get a Dell with a solid state main drive. I would add memory and add size to the main drive as well as get the best graphics/screen they offer. Each of these will increase the price. Also, I would get the touch screen.

What he said.

PeterBergh

CPR wrote:

... Also, I would get the touch screen.

I have found that I do not use the touch screen, even though I have one. Thus, I would pass on a touch screen, possibly saving some money.

CJ2

And a SSD 3.0 or 3.1 (or C if you go Apple) external drive should make your storage problems go away if you get large enough storage on it. SSD drives get really expensive after you get to a terabyte of storage. I just picked up a Samsung 500 gig T5 SSD drive from Best Buy locally for $135.00 for travel to store images and anything else so I have both my SSD internal hard drive and a SSD external drive for storage (besides my extra SD cards if I run in to trouble in the field and need a bit more storage - which has never happened but there is always a first time!!). And another external drive of your choice to back up your computer daily is a must. Make sure you get a laptop that will let you run 2 screens if you get to that point where you want it, and I agree with CPR - lots of internal storage and as much memory (RAM) and best graphic's card as u can afford. I do not have a touch screen so can't pass judgement on that one.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

PeterBergh wrote:

I have found that I do not use the touch screen, even though I have one. Thus, I would pass on a touch screen, possibly saving some money.

I, on the other hand, thought I would rarely use the touch screen, but find I use it constantly.

Look at the XPS 15 at Dell outlet. They almost always offer an additional discount so check their coupons tab for the codes. You can get a 32GB system with a 1T SSD for under $1,500 including the extra discount.

I use the XPS 13 with a smaller SSD and a 2T external for photo storage.

unlucky2 Loc: Hemet Ca.

I also would recommend you look at Dell. My laptop is an Inspiron 15 and I think it is suitable. A laptop with a graphic card is faster than a laptop with without a graphic card when using the "CC" approach to image editing. For external storage I use and recommend a SAN and a NAS. Overkill in most peoples opinion but very useful for me. When away I can download to my NAS, and when home nothing compares to a SAN. Because the software is capable of using 4 cores and 8 threads you should consider 12 gig of ram as the very minimal. An upgrade in monitor spec's is more cost efficient than an upgrade in ram (bang for the buck). You are looking in the right direction, the PC universe is far broader than the Mac world or the Linux corner.

jim quist Loc: Missouri

My wife has a touch screen and loves it. I don't on mine and don't want one.

hpucker99 Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

frjeff wrote:

Thinking of getting a laptop dedicated for photo storage (with another external HD) and editing in LR Classic CC and PS CC.

Want good qty of RAM, excellent screen, sufficient HD space and good graphic processor.

Suggestions please including any specification factors I have left out above.

I have been looking into the Sager line of laptops. They primarily make gaming laptops so the CPU and graphics card will be top of the line. You can pick a model and customize the RAM and internal storage per your needs.

johnst1001a Loc: West Chester, Ohio

Highest resolution screen possible, which is why I use a Mac. 16 gb ram, solid state drive. You can go with 500 gb if you only use the computer hard drive for applications, and for a folder of pictures which are say current, ones you are working on now. I would archive older pictures to not one, but two hard drives, which can be non SSD drives. I also store pictures on the Apple, but again, only ones current. All others are backed up on my two backup drives. By the way, if it is really necessary to protect your pictures from fire, flood etc,, then I would suggest your second back up drive be on a network, at a different location in your house or at a different location all together. I had a water leak once, wrecked my one back up drive, but my other back up drive was in a different room, safe and sound.

frjeff Loc: Mid-Michigan

Might this one work well for me:

XPS 13 - 9365 2-in-1

Processor: Intel Core 7th Generation i7-7Y75 Processor (Dual Core, up to 3.60GHz, 4M Cache, 4.5W)
Windows 10 Pro
256GB PCIe M.2 NVMe Class 40 Solid State Drive
16GB Memory
13.3inch FHD (1920 x 1080) InfinityEdge Touch Display, Silver Machined Aluminum
Intel HD Graphics
Dell Outlet XPS 13 - 9365 2-in-1

sergiohm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csf49UrP4j0

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

frjeff wrote:

Thinking of getting a laptop dedicated for photo storage (with another external HD) and editing in LR Classic CC and PS CC.

Want good qty of RAM, excellent screen, sufficient HD space and good graphic processor.

Suggestions please including any specification factors I have left out above.

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

Processor -
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

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

CPR wrote:

I would get a Dell with a solid state main drive. I would add memory and add size to the main drive as well as get the best graphics/screen they offer. Each of these will increase the price. Also, I would get the touch screen.

Yes, what he said. That's exactly what I did although I bought mine with all those things already done. I got the Dell with i7 processor, 24GB ram, 4GB video, 512GB SSD drive, and 4K touchscreen. The only thing I need now is a SSD external drive but it can wait until my internal drive is running out of space. I don't use my laptop as my primary computer so it may never become too full. I just use it when I am traveling so that I can take the images from my camera and free up my cards for more shooting. Then I can process some of the images while I'm at the hotel.

LCD

Personal experience: I bought a high-end MicroSoft Surface Pro for my photo editing. I was assured by the Geek Squad types at Best buy that with a $200 docking station to connect it to a larger monitor and a bunch of external hard drives it can function every bit as well as a tower for my editing needs. I bought it an had two years of frustration. I had at least five frustrating trips to the Geek Squad, and a few phones calls to the Best Buy customer support. The docking station started to malfunction, then died all together. It was not guaranteed by MicroSoft. The docking station did not like my external hard drives or my external monitor. I had more problems when I tried to use it without the docking station. I finally bought a decent tower computer and have been happy ever since. If you honestly need a laptop for traveling I think you will be OK. But don't try to use it like a tower computer with the big power supply and ample cooling. Those things are compromised when stuffed into a laptop.