Laptop for photo editing ideas.

[Golem]

In this thread I see no mention of the somewhat recent M1, M2, etc Macs. Dont own one but have first hand report from an expert user. The M-series Macs are not just highly evolved versions of the Macs and PCs we have known all these years. They are a whole type of computer.

I suggest researching this yourself. Theres way too much to explain on a forum post.

 

[lit]

Would recommend a Mac

 

[jeffashman4]

I like the Macbooks, but have never used one for photo editing because it is my work laptop. I have an Asus Predator Helios 300 15" laptop that I travel with, with an Intel i7 2.3Ghz processor, 16GB RAM, and an Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics card with 6GB dedicated memory+8GB shared system memory. It does a very good job with photo editing, using LR/Topaz products/PS Elements. It helps that is has an SSD and not an HDD drive.

 

[tinytmp1]

If you're planning on using LR/PS, you'll find there's been substantial advances in both which require slightly different processing capabilities than previous versions. I can't speak for Mac, but in a PC that means a fast processor with 16-32gb of ram, a 2tb hard drive, and most importantly a REALLY GOOD graphics card with a minimum of 12gb on board ram. Both LR and PS leverage the GPU processor capabilities. While there are others out there the NVIDIA 4090 is very capable, with the Studio driver download. NVIDIA seems to be tuned in to Adobe with updates coming as soon as there's an update from Adobe.

For an out-of-the-box, ready-to-go option, I'd suggest looking at the HP Omen series, like the OMEN Laptop 17t-cm200 with its 17.3-inch display. It's a gaming computer, but the specs are well suited to photo editing, and a laptop with Windows 11 gives you a modern, familiar platform. I have an older Omen laptop that I still use occasionally, but my main computer is an Omen desktop. It handles all the latest AI features in Lightroom and Photoshop in the blink of an eye.

For photo editing, I’d prioritize a good color accurate display, 16GB or 32GB of RAM, a fast processor, and at least a 1TB SSD. For travel, I think a 14 to 16 inch model is the sweet spot. MacBooks are excellent for photo editing because of their displays, battery life, and overall performance. That said, there are plenty of excellent Windows laptops from Lenovo, Dell, ASUS, and HP as well. Personally, I’d choose based on the display and portability rather than Mac vs PC. If you already prefer one operating system, there’s no strong reason to switch just for photo editing.

 

[Dale H. Cook102]

Although my Lenovo Thinkpad T520 is getting a bit long in the tooth, it runs Win10 Pro 64 bit nicely, and Photoshop CS6 Extended runs fine on it. I haven't upgraded beyond CS6 because I much prefer owning software to renting it, and CS6 does everything that I need it to do.

 

[benhasajeep37]

Not a pixel peeper or one that is trying to sell photos. I am a PC person since the 80's. I do not do video, just stills. My most recent laptop is a HP 255 G10. Bought about a year ago. It was only about $600! It came with 1tb ssd drive, 32gb ram, and Ryzen 7 7730U processor (similar to i7-13th gen processor. Now I did upgrade the ssd to 1.8tb, and ram to 64. It has an integrated graphics in the Ryzen 7 that uses computer ram (reason I upgraded to 64gb). The extra ram does help with speeding up photoshop. The monitor is 15.6" and is FHD 1920 x 1080, which is considered minimum for quality photo work. For less than $1k this thing is very good. It is a thin laptop, so I do use a cooler under it most of the time.
I have had Dell XPS, and MSI Leopards and what not in the past. Even though they are 9 and 6 years older, they were 3-4 times the price. And in reality not any better for my use. My current one right out of the box was absolutely just fine for photo work. Didn't really need the ram and ssd upgrades, but was not that much (I actually reused the drive and memory in my next oldest laptop, and was an upgrade for it, for free). If your selling pictures or doing it for a living, then yes, maybe get one with better monitor. But for a normal joe like me, it's hard for me to top this one at it's price point.