Laptop Or Desktop

[smoke665]

You forgot the DVD drive for all the old stuff I still store. Also the memory card jack. By he way, I've been using Logitech's full keyboard with lighted keys, adjustable from off to three stages of brightness. Wonderful at night when the lights are off.

DVD drives are not included on most new computers now. Thankfully USB connected external DVDs are cheap. Memory card slots are something else you don't often find either, but like the DVD there are many cheap USB models.

 

[ac12]

DVD drives are not included on most new computers now. Thankfully USB connected external DVDs are cheap. Memory card slots are something else you don't often find either, but like the DVD there are many cheap USB models.

If you have an available external 5-1/4 inch drive bay in your computer and SATA port, I would put a DVD/BluRay drive in. I did. One less device on the desk.

 

[smoke665]

If you have an available external 5-1/4 inch drive bay and SATA port, I would put a DVD/BluRay drive in. I did. One less device on the desk.

I could, probably have an old box with one, but the reality is that I can't tell you the last time I needed a DVD. So with such limited use, the portable works fine.

 

[Rich_A]

So I have a high performance desktop and two 27" monitors - down from the 3 I had when I was still writing software. This is where I do all my post-production work. I build the desktop from components so I can add what I need ( DVD, USB-C, etc.). Though I could run Linux I'm currently running Windows because of the software I use. I don't use the C drive for anything but installed software. All data is stored on mirrored data drives and backed up online using Backblaze. The online backup protects against ransomware attacks and the house burning down, but all my data is local and unlikely to be hacked. If the machine crashes, I simply plug the data drives into another machine. For travel and around the house I use a laptop and map the data drives to the laptop. I've found that trying to sync. data across devices can be problematic. Professionally, I used gitlab repositories to manage data synchronization. That's overkill for what I'm doing today - I swore off software development when I retired ;-) . Data I need access to while traveling I put on a gDrive which is mapped to all my computers and my phone. For security, I tether my laptop to my phone for internet access when traveling.

 

[denum]

I've used only laptops for the past 20 yrs or so now. Could not be happier. Currently using Dell XPS 15, 32g memory, Intel i7-6700 processor.

 

[greybeard]

The advantage the Desktop has is the monitor. My HP has a 32" monitor that really lets me see what I shot. My 17" laptop just can't replicate this.

 

[smoke665]

The advantage the Desktop has is the monitor. My HP has a huge monitor that really lets me see what I shot. My 17" laptop just can't replicate this.

I settled on a desktop, so far its been great. My desk is against a wall, so mounting the monitor on the wall was easy, plus going with a wireless key board and mouse really freed up deck space, making it more convient to use the graphics pad. Shelves mounted on the wall give me storage space to keep things organized and within reach. I still have my old laptop, but frankly i cant remember when I last turned it on. As my current tablet is getting some age on it, I might just upgrade tablet and forgo a laptop.

 

[TJMcG]

When my last tower needed upgrading I decided to try using a laptop for my computing. I wanted a bigger monitor, and needed to hook up the scanner, printers, and all the various USB stuff that I had before, so I needed a hub, since the USB connections to the laptop were limited to 3. It got to the point that there was just too much for the laptop to handle. I went back to a tower and use the laptop for travel and some other tasks like tethering my camera to Lightroom for tabletop.

 

[Thiophilos]

I use a Dell desktop with an i7 CPU, bought in 2020. I also have a Dell laptop that I use for travel. I cull and edit while travelling, but the laptop is slow. And I know from experience that my laptop edits won't look good at home on the desktop. So now I never post from the laptop but wait until I am home where I can do a proper job on the desktop.

The Dell desktop replaced a desktop from 2014. I hoped for some performance gain, but it was hardly noticeable. Because of that, I am not in a hurry to upgrade the current desktop because the new model probably won't be noticeably faster.

 

[smoke665]

The Dell desktop replaced a desktop from 2014. I hoped for some performance gain, but it was hardly noticeable. Because of that, I am not in a hurry to upgrade the current desktop because the new model probably won't be noticeably faster.

I went with the HP OMEN series (technically a gaming box), but the features that came standard are actually what I need for photo editing. I-7 @3.80GHz, 64 GB RAM, Win 11 pro, 2 TB SSD drive, 2TB secondary drive, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060TI, 500 GB USB External Scratch Disk connected to a USB 3.1, 10TB external HDD. So far I've had no complaints with speed running Lr or Ps. Breezes through AI functions effortlessly.

I had Dell (laptop & Desktop) for many years, but a few years ago I switched back because it seemed like Dell was falling behind.

 

[Thiophilos]

I went with the HP OMEN series (technically a gaming box), but the features that came standard are actually what I need for photo editing. I-7 @3.80GHz, 64 GB RAM, Win 11 pro, 2 TB SSD drive, 2TB secondary drive, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060TI, 500 GB USB External Scratch Disk connected to a USB 3.1, 10TB external HDD. So far I've had no complaints with speed running Lr or Ps. Breezes through AI functions effortlessly.

I had Dell (laptop & Desktop) for many years, but a few years ago I switched back because it seemed like Dell was falling behind.

Lots of goodies in that box. My computer does an Enhance in Lightroom in 70-80 seconds. Maybe a better graphics card would speed that up.

 

[smoke665]

Maybe a better graphics card would speed that up

A few years ago, Adobe started utilizing excess processing capacity on the GPU. Now with all the AI upgrades coming out, it's essential to have good Graphics Card with a minimum of 12 gb VRAM...16gb is better. I like Nvidia because they seem to be more in tune with Adobe on updates. As soon as Adobe updates, Nvidia has an update for the GPU. The 3060ti was fast at the time, but the newer 4070 or 4080 put it to shame.