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low-end laptop for Lightroom
Do you know what kind of low-end laptop is enough to use Lightroom? It can be Lightroom CC or Lightroom 4. My idea is to buy cheap laptop to use just to browse/show photos and maybe experiment with different color looks. I remember I was using Lightroom 4 on PC with 2GB RAM and it was working correctly. But what about CPU? Jan 23 16 12:04 pm Link I use a ancient duo core Lenovo T61 with 4gb ram and a SSD. $75.00 or less on Ebay. SSD runs $50.00 or less. I ran LR but Picasa is fine and Darktable is very nice and uses less system resources then LR. Plus the T61 has a SD slot for your DLSR card or a adapter is also cheap. Just go on Ebay and find a laptop in your price range and then Google LR and your version to see what others say. I prefer enterprise or business laptops because they tend to be made better then consumer grade units and I install a second hard drive. Jan 23 16 12:36 pm Link CPU is fairly important, RAM probably more so. I'd shoot for at least 8GB of RAM. A small SSD to boot from with a larger conventional hard drive for storage is a big performance booster as well. A dedicated GPU is great for gamers and 3D modeling but almost inconsequential for photography and video work. If you're not using an external monitor then an IPS display with a matte finish is really nice. The Thinkpads from about five years ago (the X220s and T400s) are excellent, and the ergonomics are unmatched. Check eBay for a used one. Lenovo's quality over the last few years has been spotty so I'd avoid the newer ones. Jan 23 16 01:30 pm Link +1 for using an SSD. The RAW files can sit on an external drive, but having the Lightroom catalog files on an SSD makes Lightroom a LOT faster. Jan 23 16 10:24 pm Link I used a 2010 model Macbook Air with 128GB SSD, 2GB RAM, and 1.8 (I think) Core 2 Duo processor and it was more or less fine for tethered shooting with 8MP RAW files. By "more or less" I mean it's not very sluggish and you can see through Activity Monitor that the computer is working hard. The fans sound like a jet turbine as well. But it worked. And it was light. Small enough to fit in a pocket designed for an iPad. Carlo Parducho Los Angeles Commercial Photographer and Visual Consultant www.carloparducho.net Jan 25 16 11:32 am Link I have two Laptops both Lenovo, T-61 and 400 both running Windows 7 64bit Pro with 8GB RAM. They both work fast and have never had a problem. Love the Lenovo's been running them since a T-21 cost $2,700 Jan 29 16 08:40 pm Link BCADULTART wrote: I just got a T-61, it's a refurb and heavier than I thought, but seems a better build Jan 31 16 12:44 am Link this right here should do the trick: under $600 for prime members with lots of power: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019BR … _i=desktop Jan 31 16 05:39 pm Link Motordrive Photography wrote: Good choice. I bought a T400 (almost identical to the T61) almost a decade ago, and while it's not my main PC anymore it serves as my media computer in the living room, runs 24/7, and has never needed a component replaced. Feb 02 16 12:51 pm Link Another vote for the T61. Its a truck. Heavy but well made. A few tips. Grab a second hard drive caddy on Ebay. $10.00. Use the mechanical drive for storage in it. Place a SSD in the main bay. Update your Bios. That's important. http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Middleton's_BIOS Even with a SSD you'll be limited to SATA 1 speeds unless you do. The SSD speeds will be around 280 read and writes. A SATA 2 SSD is fine. I dual boot with linux on the SSD. Use the SSD for programs and the mechanical second drive for storage. This works for the T400 also. Feb 02 16 01:06 pm Link Tony Lawrence wrote: I'm not sure if the T61 allows it, but I used a tiny mSATA SSD in the T400 to boot from, and then I had two mechanical drives, one in the HDD bay and one in the caddy. Feb 02 16 01:24 pm Link |
