I will be traveling this winter and hope to book some gigs while I do. I am looking for people's opinion's on best laptop for photo editing.
I mostly use Lightroom and do not do much with photoshop.
I am looking for something that has:
LOTS of RAM (or ability to upgrade) since from my understanding is one of the most important factors to high performance and speed in LR.
Great CPU - i7?
FAST! Maybe SSD?
and last but not least - A great and accurate monitor with a larger screen (at least 15" but prefer 17") which can be calibrated accurately. I have a great monitor, so I could potentially get a laptop with small monitor and connect it to my nice big 24" but prefer to find something that would not need me to do so.
- Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software (When selecting a Hard Drive in the Optical Bay, No Optical Drive is Included) (SKU - S7R455)
- Bluetooth Included *With select wireless cards only* (See “Wireless Network” Section Below)
- Sager - Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth™ v3.0 (SKU - S8R110)
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- Standard Sager/Clevo Non Chiclet Backlit Keyboard
- ~Windows 7 Professional Premium 64-Bit (64&32-Bit CD Included) + MS Office Starter 2010 -[ Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $14.99 (Directly through Microsoft) ]
- - Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student Edition - Word/Excel/PowerPoint/OneNote
SoCo n Lime
Posts: 3,211
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
realistgva wrote: What ever laptop you get 13" is a pain to work with the images are really tiny. I would go 15 and if you plan to work a lot maybe even a 17".
Beyond the screen the must have would be an SSD hard drive. I swat between both on mine and it is worlds appart in terms of speed and comfort
I second the nomination for a Sager 9150. I bought one from XoticPC a few months ago. So far, it is the best computer I've owned, and XoticPC is the best vendor I've dealt with in years.
D S Campbell ABIPP wrote: Macbook pro every time !
MBP are nice, yes. But if you compare the specs against the Sager it's not remotely close. And I'm going to guess that not only is the Sager at least $500 less than the Macbook...but that those specs aren't even available in any form of MacBook.
I'm not trying to sound like a fanboy because I'm not. I love the Macbook's. But for sheer performance against the Sager? I have a hard time justifying going with the Mac.
I use ASUS. They've been making quality motherboards and components for computers since the beginning. And actually make most of the stuff for their notebooks and I know their parts are good.
You get a sony, samsung, etc... will be using cheap off-brand boards.
MBP are nice, yes. But if you compare the specs against the Sager it's not remotely close. And I'm going to guess that not only is the Sager at least $500 less than the Macbook...but that those specs aren't even available in any form of MacBook.
I'm not trying to sound like a fanboy because I'm not. I love the Macbook's. But for sheer performance against the Sager? I have a hard time justifying going with the Mac.
This is what I was kind of thinking.. not sure, since I am just beginning to look.. but Mac's always seem to be a bit more expensive vs. spec's. I wasn't even sure I could get a laptop with a decent monitor other than a Mac, but this one seems to be nice.
Don-Jones wrote: I use ASUS. They've been making quality motherboards and components for computers since the beginning. And actually make most of the stuff for their notebooks and I know their parts are good.
You get a sony, samsung, etc... will be using cheap off-brand boards.
But that's almost $1000 and it only has 4gb RAM (max 8gb. I hate not being able to upgrade at least RAM and no more than 8gb would be a deal breaker for me) and much lower resolution (1366 x 768), smaller HD than the Sager, etc.
It's a nice machine but just like with the MBP I really don't think it compares to the Sager the OP listed.
This is what I was kind of thinking.. not sure, since I am just beginning to look.. but Mac's always seem to be a bit more expensive vs. spec's. I wasn't even sure I could get a laptop with a decent monitor other than a Mac, but this one seems to be nice.
Well, if you're comparing everything against that Sager that gives you a great comparison item.
God, the Mac Book Pro is not the be-all, end-all of laptops. I would never say it's not good, but for the price, there are so many other options out there. I am running a 3 year old Alienware M17 and it is still faster than any Mac I have ever used. Macs are not for everyone, you are not just talking about switching to a new PC, you are switching to a whole new operating system. I personally hate Mac Os, and yes for you Mac users out there, I have used Macs extensively and I still hate them.
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with them if you can stomach the Os, but when someone asks for advice on a PC, just saying "Get a Mac" is not a valid answer. Sorry, sometimes I feel like Mac people are like militant vegans, they just can't accept that other people might not like it
The Macbook may be more to start with but it will be less expensive in the long run EVERY time.
They run every day and you can hook it up to the internet with out any concern of virus .
Reliability is worth more than price and fast is only good if it's running so while some wait to get their sick PC's back from the hospital you can just keep on going .
J Welborn wrote: The Macbook may be more to start with but it will be less expensive in the long run EVERY time.
They run every day and you can hook it up to the internet with out any concern of virus .
Reliability is worth more than price and fast is only good if it's running so while some wait to get their sick PC's back from the hospital you can just keep on going .
I have not spent an extra dime on my PC since I got it, and if you don't run internet explorer, viruses are pretty much a non issue. These are not valid arguments. A PC is not some old junker used car you have to keep throwing spare parts at. And I have seen just as many people have problems with their Mac as their PC. I was an architecture major, and we were required to run some pretty heavy programs, rendering a 3D building model takes a lot more than running lightroom. The students were about 50-50 Mac and PC users and there was just as many kids having Mac problems as PC problems.
Michael Pandolfo wrote: You certainly wouldn't be disappointed with that option. I love that it's not just dedicated graphics but user upgradeable. And the SSD? Yes, please!
As for Mac, I dont like spending the extra money for less performance. My partner spent $3500 on his 15" MacBook Pro and my $2100 HP out performs it on CPU, GPU, RAM, Blu-ray, HDD and full 1080p anti glare screen.
So would I go with Mac? No.
My last HP lasted me 7 years. There are some cool things about osx lion but nothing worth spending an extra $1400 on.
Michael Pandolfo wrote: Well, if you're comparing everything against that Sager that gives you a great comparison item.
Sager is/was the company who made the laptops for Alienware. Nice work for the money and given Dell owns Alienware and I would not touch them with a 10' poll now... (The Dell/Alienware that is)
However the OP did say they travel and 15" or 17" laptops suck if you really are a frequent flyer. Nobody I know would suggest one, even if they are better for editing. It really depends on how much you really travel.
Sager is/was the company who made the laptops for Alienware. Nice work for the money and given Dell owns Alienware and I would not touch them with a 10' poll now... (The Dell/Alienware that is)
However the OP did say they travel and 15" or 17" laptops suck if you really are a frequent flyer. Nobody I know would suggest one, even if they are better for editing. It really depends on how much you really travel.
Thanks for the info.
I will be travelling via car. I don't fly very much. Are they a pain in the ass because they are too big to put in overheads?
I will be travelling via car. I don't fly very much. Are they a pain in the ass because they are too big to put in overheads?
Yup, or fit on the tray or simply carry all the time during all the standing/walking you end up doing at airports and car rentals etc. Pre Mac I have had several Alienware/Sager laptops and they are actually all still running fine for the kids to this day. They are not as robust as a Lenovo T or W series but way better then some cheap Dell.
SoCo n Lime wrote: do they run cooler as in less heat?
On my dell Hard drive heat was never an Issue. The CPU gets hot like hell. I see no difference between SSD and regular disk (external HDD yes they get boiling hot.
As far as memory I have 8GB with windows 7 with Capture One Pro it is plenty enough.
In the office I have 48GB linux system but hardly ever use more than 10. Except for my wmware the one with capture one has 8GB of ram and I had never an issue with ram.
AJScalzitti wrote: Sager is/was the company who made the laptops for Alienware. Nice work for the money and given Dell owns Alienware and I would not touch them with a 10' poll now... (The Dell/Alienware that is)
However the OP did say they travel and 15" or 17" laptops suck if you really are a frequent flyer. Nobody I know would suggest one, even if they are better for editing. It really depends on how much you really travel.
Agreed, the 17" are usually meant as more of a desktop replacement than a portable unit. I don't know the weight of the 15" ones but I'm going to assume based on the specs that it's not going to be in the ultra-portable class.
I have no trouble traveling with my 15" version. I keep it in an Ogio backpack and it has a really nice padded compartment. I never ever check my laptop or main camera body just in case there's a luggage issue. The backpack fits nicely under the seat (I don't like it rattling around in an overhead with Aunt May's Kitchenware).
On my dell Hard drive heat was never an Issue. The CPU gets hot like hell. I see no difference between SSD and regular disk (external HDD yes they get boiling hot.
As far as memory I have 8GB with windows 7 with Capture One Pro it is plenty enough.
In the office I have 48GB linux system but hardly ever use more than 10. Except for my wmware the one with capture one has 8GB of ram and I had never an issue with ram.
I often had overheating issues and I found that removing the battery from the laptop minimizes heat considerably. Obviously, you can't do that if you're on location but anytime I have a choice, I remove the battery and plug into AC. If you download Speedfan and compare...the temps change can be fairly significant. It also makes the laptop WAY lighter.
I've been a pc guy from windows 3.1 to windows 7 so I'm not giving you my perspective as a Mac fanboy. This year I decided to get my first laptop and decided on a Macbook Pro.
15" retina, 16 gb ram, 768 gb ssd, and I love it. It runs CS6 and LR4 effortlessly. It was expensive, but when I compared other laptops with similar specs they all got expensive.
The transition from windows to a mac world was not as difficult as I thought it might be. My fallback plan was to run windows on it, but that hasn't been necessary.
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