Sonar618

Laptop Acquisition for Digital Photo Editing and Printing
I am seeking the advice from this esteemed group. Your will see a few Questions Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4
Background facts:
1. PC Windows 10 User
2. Shoot RAW 14 bit files
3. Use Adobe CC LR and PS/in 16 bit
4. Intend to print
5. Intend to calibrate screen and printer routinely with an X-Rite ColorMunki Photo or i1 Studio.
6. In PS, Image, then Mode, I don't see ProPhoto RGB or Adobe RGB only RGB and then the bit 8,16,32 let alone beta RGB or eciRGB V2 which are said to "contain all display/print colors with much less waste than ProPhotoRGB."
Q1 If the technical papers talk about all this where are all these options in PS?
I bought a laptop that I am returning because it doesn't have enough of the specifications needed, especially lacking is 16 bit. However, I did attempt to calibrate the screen. The calibration software only offered me RGB and Brightness. Using the x-Rite i1 calibration software I saw the targets and measured values but the software wouldn't allow me to move the slide for RGB or Brightness to the target. It is a Pantone screen and RGB were very close. X-Rite showed me that I could use the brightness f keys +/- and get that value closer to the target.
SURPRISE: NVIDIA told me that the Integrated graphics card was blocking the controls through the i1 software. Even when we right click on the desktop and go to the NVIDIA control panel directly, the RGB, Brightness, and other color controls, like Hue, are missing because of the integrated graphics card.
As you may know, in the NVIDIA control panel, there is a drop down to choose 1) auto-select (it kicks in the pro graphics when needed; I think Intel has called that a Hybrid setup) 2) NVIDIA graphics or 3) Integrated graphics. The obvious answer to my dilemma would be selecting 2 to have full access to the NVIDIA control panel. However this method didn't restore all the NVIDIA color controls. So NVIDIA tells me to try and get a machine with ONLY a pro graphics card.
Q2 Do laptops have processors WITHOUT integrated cards, WITH Pro graphics ONLY? It's rare but I am looking and am asking for your help if you know a manufacturer than can provide that.
On the other hand Intel L2 support tells me there are some manufacturers, even possibly with laptops, that set up the machines to be "Switchable" where perhaps a Hot Key can be set to disable the integrated graphics card, thereby restoring all the color controls of the Pro graphics card.
Q3 Has anyone heard of Switchable in the context of the graphics card for a laptop and can anyone lead me to a manufacturer that can deliver this sort of laptop?
As an experiment (suggested by someone at MS and with yet another laptop at Micro Center), we turned off the integrated graphics through the bios. It brought forth the blocked NVIDIA color controls on that machine but we think it temporarily disabled the brightness f keys (which were probably hard wired to the integrated card). We don't know if there were other negative effects.
Q4 Does anyone know about this method?
Thank you for relevant comments. This is all about assuring I can routinely calibrate my screen so it renders the color properly and I can carry that over to my printing. You have to have a manufacturer that will set it up that way from the start.
I look forward to your replies.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

I would go to the Apple store and I am sure you can find a model that will meet your specs. I use a Apple MacBookPro. Welcome to the forum

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

The question is concerning a Windows 10 machine and Nvidia graphics. In addition to a different OS, Macbooks use intel graphics and MacBook Pros use AMD Radeon graphics.

The OP may find this link useful: https://www.ultrabookreview.com/10939-laptops-nvidia-1070-1080/ but I believe most Intel I-7 processors have integrated Intel HD graphics on the CPU die (although you can certainly use them with a seperate graphics card). You can disable the intel integrated graphics in BIOS as you’ve already done or in Windows Control Panel, but I don’t think this is a function of which laptop you choose as it’s a BIOS or Windows issue.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Q2 - Yes.
Q3 - No, not any more. Cards are soldered in place.
Q4 - Get a computer with a discrete graphics card - usually ASUS, MSI and Clevo offer such laptops - some even have 10 bit color capable Quadro cards for greater display bit depth. Forget about editing on laptop displays I think - you'd be better off getting a wide gamut external display and using that connected to your laptop. Be careful about what profiling tool you get - some midrange displays from Dell, and most of the higher end displays from Eizo, HP and others have programmable LUTs and cannot be properly profiled with tools that can't write to the display's firmware.

One tip - if you are looking for a high end machine, and want to pick what you want inside and DON'T want to take out a second mortgage - stay away from that company who's main business is cellphones and mainstream computers. They do not represent good value - just lifestyle bling. Just sayin'

Look here for some ideas:

https://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming-laptops-notebooks-gaming-laptops-ct-118-96-98/professional-design-graphics-cad-laptop-series.html

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

👍👍 couldn’t agree more.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

"just lifestyle bling." That sounds a lot like those that want to have the latest and greatest in cameras and related bling items.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Call Apple and call Dell. They are the only ones who can answer questions on this technical level. Even then, I bet you will be transferred to someone else when you start asking your questions. I would also find a (more or less) local computer shop that builds computers and see what they have to say.

Jrhoffman75 Loc: Conway, New Hampshire

If you go to Device Manager could you “uninstall “ the Intel video adapter by deleting the driver?

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

I love my MacBook Pro laptop. I did a fair amount of research, talked to a number of photographer friends and had a lengthy talk with an expert at B&H. I am not technically proficient but I do know that all my controls work as they should and all are present and accounted for. As to Apple bling, I don't mind paying up for not having to fuss with a cranky computer.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I do most of my processing on my desktop. I prefer it because the screen is larger and my aging eyes don't have to strain on details. I do some processing on the laptop occasionally but it has a 17" (diagonal) screen (smaller than the desktop with dual 23" screens, one for Lightroom, one for Photoshop). It's a big heavy thing and not really convenient to carry around. I have an older laptop with a 12" screen and it's a pain to work with (for me) on photo stuff. Fine for word processing and email and carrying around. Generally OK for browsing although some small fonts are hard to read without resorting to some of the magnifying features.

If your eyes are good and you're young, you can probably handle a more convenient laptop. If you're planning on getting old, think about the screen size.

radiojohn

You might look at Microsoft Surface models. Also, HP had a "detachable" model with the sell line that it "was designed for the Adobe Creative Cloud."

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

If you might be interested, many MacBooks might fit your needs. I use a MacBook Pro, 15", I7, 16GB, 500GB SSD. I do prefer using my iMac for PP work, but also use the MBP upon occasion. When shooting tethered, I always use the MBP along with an attached printer as needed. Best of luck.

DanCulleton

MacBook Pro is the way to go.

JoeM845

3. I am not sure what you mean by 16-bit. I presume that you want to process the image with a 16-bit depth for each pixel. The software runs as 64-bit but can process images with a variety of bit depths.

Processing at a 16-bit depth is far more important than being able to display the image with a 16-bit depth. You would need very long-trained eyes, very good equipment, and a well controlled environment to see much difference between the two bit depths on a display.

5. The X-Rite equipment is used to calibrate and profile the monitor. You are just talking about the calibration portion where you adjust the computer/monitor settings to get the display as close to your desired specs as you can. The closeness will vary with the specs you chose, the equipment capabilities, and the environment. You then profile the calibrated monitor to get the truest display that you can. If the graphics processor can handle LUTs then you can set a profile. You would then need to keep the laptop in the same lighting conditions to get consistent results.

Q1. I believe you are conflating "mode" and "color space". RGB is a mode. sRGB, aRGB, ProPhotoRGB, etc. are color spaces with the RGB mode. One way to see available spaces in PS is to go Edit -> Convert to Profile and then look at the drop-down list for the destination space.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

I have a Dell laptop that's about a year old with a 4k touch screen. I have a ColorMunki Photo calibrator that works fine with it. Although, I don't really trust the colors on the laptop screen as much as I do when I attach a good LCD to my laptops HDMI port and calibrate it with that connected. To calibrate my laptop screen I have to first change the resolution back to HD or 1080 res so that the app that comes from X-rite works properly. You'd think that X-rite would offer an updated app for people with 4k screens but when I try to use it at 4k the app is so scrunched up that the buttons are not able to be worked.

IMHO most laptops screens will not calibrate as well as a full sized LCD unless you buy some kind of laptop with a very high end screen and graphics card built in. I find that my Dell is acceptable but I don't print from it. I use it for travel and when I get home I transfer images to my desktop computer and print from that. If you have trouble printing from your laptop, there are ways to get your image to look the way you want by printing a series of thumbnails that are of different brightness', contrast, and color. This feature is built into some apps, but I can only tell you about the Canon plugin app that I use with my Canon printer.