laptop plus monitor for photo editing (around $1200)

mrguy said:

Hello there!

I'm new here. I have a question regarding a laptop + external monitor setup primarily for photo editing:

I'm planning to go this route because I spend a lot of time at coffee shops, where I write, so I need to be portable. At home I would then be editing photos, using Photoshop and Lightroom. To me it seems buying a laptop and a nice external monitor would make the most sense, rather than buying a laptop and a desktop. As mentioned in the heading, I would prefer to keep the price around $1,200 total, although I can go up a couple hundred if needed.

Does anyone have suggestions? I think my problem is that I simply want something better than I can afford. I keep aiming for a fast laptop with plenty of storage, coupled with a 4k screen, but I can't seem to find this within my budget.

Any help would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!

Click to expand...

RealCereal said:

For 1200 I don't think you'll fine anything unless you buy a used monitor. You choices

1. A decent laptop would probably cost 1200 itself for what you are looking for, and a decent 4k monitor is 400-600 alone...

2. Either you get the best laptop you can afford and a cheap second monitor (used) or not 4k and see what works best.

3. Spend more money for both a banging laptop and 4k monitor

Click to expand...

CAcreeks said:

RealCereal said:

For 1200 I don't think you'll fine anything unless you buy a used monitor. You choices

1. A decent laptop would probably cost 1200 itself for what you are looking for, and a decent 4k monitor is 400-600 alone...

2. Either you get the best laptop you can afford and a cheap second monitor (used) or not 4k and see what works best.

3. Spend more money for both a banging laptop and 4k monitor

Click to expand...

Yeah, I kind of agree.

I would get a 17" laptop and just suck it up and carry the weight when I go to a cafe. A 17" UHD laptop screen is better than a 23" FHD monitor, based on what I see at home.

Or you could get a used laptop in small form factor, with a CPU that performs well, and buy a good monitor for home. CPU performance really hasn't improved much lately, they just consume less power.

All the magazines that rank "best" laptops currently show models around $1000. It's easy to get a 1920x1080 monitor for $200, but is that what you want?

Click to expand...

mrguy said:

Hey. Thank you both sooo much. I really appreciate the responses. I have been driving myself absolutely mad trying to decide what to do. It might make sense to just buy a really nice 4K laptop and start saving for a 4K monitor. I don't have to have both right now. That way I'll at least have the option to work with a quality screen remotely.
If either of you happen to know, or come across, a good option for laptops of that caliber, in that price range (1,200-1,500), please do let me know. I'm not opposed to Apple, although I'm typically a PC guy. I'll be shopping around on my own, of course, but any more guidance would be much appreciated. If you don't have any suggestions, that's fine too! Thanks again for the help!

Click to expand...

CAcreeks said:

mrguy said:

Hey. Thank you both sooo much. I really appreciate the responses. I have been driving myself absolutely mad trying to decide what to do. It might make sense to just buy a really nice 4K laptop and start saving for a 4K monitor. I don't have to have both right now. That way I'll at least have the option to work with a quality screen remotely.
If either of you happen to know, or come across, a good option for laptops of that caliber, in that price range (1,200-1,500), please do let me know. I'm not opposed to Apple, although I'm typically a PC guy. I'll be shopping around on my own, of course, but any more guidance would be much appreciated. If you don't have any suggestions, that's fine too! Thanks again for the help!

Click to expand...

I'm very happy using my HP Omen 17 with UHD screen, which I got for just under $1000 over a year ago. Beautiful glowing red keyboard. However that model now costs about $1500 in a similar configuration, but with Type-C USB and no DVD drive. I'm not sure why Type-C takes up so much space! I connect TV or monitor with HDMI.

You can configure an HP Envy 17t with UHD screen, MX150 GPU, 16GB memory, 256GB SSD, and 1TB HDD, for $1230. The i7-8550U processor is quite fast. You're taking a risk with the UHD screen, sight unseen, but they are usually better because of newer technology.

https://store.hp.com/us/en/mdp/envy-17-344517--1#

Dell probably has something similar, but I didn't look.

Click to expand...

mrguy said:

Hello there!

I'm new here. I have a question regarding a laptop + external monitor setup primarily for photo editing:

I'm planning to go this route because I spend a lot of time at coffee shops, where I write, so I need to be portable. At home I would then be editing photos, using Photoshop and Lightroom. To me it seems buying a laptop and a nice external monitor would make the most sense, rather than buying a laptop and a desktop. As mentioned in the heading, I would prefer to keep the price around $1,200 total, although I can go up a couple hundred if needed.

Does anyone have suggestions? I think my problem is that I simply want something better than I can afford. I keep aiming for a fast laptop with plenty of storage, coupled with a 4k screen, but I can't seem to find this within my budget.

Any help would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!

Click to expand...

ThomasB said:

mrguy said:

Hello there!

I'm new here. I have a question regarding a laptop + external monitor setup primarily for photo editing:

I'm planning to go this route because I spend a lot of time at coffee shops, where I write, so I need to be portable. At home I would then be editing photos, using Photoshop and Lightroom. To me it seems buying a laptop and a nice external monitor would make the most sense, rather than buying a laptop and a desktop. As mentioned in the heading, I would prefer to keep the price around $1,200 total, although I can go up a couple hundred if needed.

Does anyone have suggestions? I think my problem is that I simply want something better than I can afford. I keep aiming for a fast laptop with plenty of storage, coupled with a 4k screen, but I can't seem to find this within my budget.

Any help would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!

Click to expand...

I've recently upgraded my monitor to an UHD 4k one (Eizo EV3237) and as my laptop/notebook doesn't support 4k I have to use a USB 3.0 to HDMI adapter.
Problem is that my notebook (Lenovo Intel 7i/16GB RAM, Windows 10) is now almost on it's limit for photo editing in Lightroom with large image files from my Sony A7R2 (42MP) camera.
Therefore I was looking for an upgrade and found out that a really good notebook for photo editing with native 4K video support is awful expensive.
Consequently I'll most probably upgrade my home setup to a desktop which is available for the half price and leave my old Lenovo (which is good enough without 4K monitor) for excursions.
I really doubt that you are able to get any good notebook capable for photo editing with external 4K video support within your budget. Everything I saw up to now was well above $ 2000. A much better desktop is easily available for less than $1000.
Just my 2 cents...
--
Regards, Thomas Bernardy
----------

Click to expand...

mrguy said:

ThomasB said:

mrguy said:

Hello there!

I'm new here. I have a question regarding a laptop + external monitor setup primarily for photo editing:

I'm planning to go this route because I spend a lot of time at coffee shops, where I write, so I need to be portable. At home I would then be editing photos, using Photoshop and Lightroom. To me it seems buying a laptop and a nice external monitor would make the most sense, rather than buying a laptop and a desktop. As mentioned in the heading, I would prefer to keep the price around $1,200 total, although I can go up a couple hundred if needed.

Does anyone have suggestions? I think my problem is that I simply want something better than I can afford. I keep aiming for a fast laptop with plenty of storage, coupled with a 4k screen, but I can't seem to find this within my budget.

Any help would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!

Click to expand...

I've recently upgraded my monitor to an UHD 4k one (Eizo EV3237) and as my laptop/notebook doesn't support 4k I have to use a USB 3.0 to HDMI adapter.
Problem is that my notebook (Lenovo Intel 7i/16GB RAM, Windows 10) is now almost on it's limit for photo editing in Lightroom with large image files from my Sony A7R2 (42MP) camera.
Therefore I was looking for an upgrade and found out that a really good notebook for photo editing with native 4K video support is awful expensive.
Consequently I'll most probably upgrade my home setup to a desktop which is available for the half price and leave my old Lenovo (which is good enough without 4K monitor) for excursions.
I really doubt that you are able to get any good notebook capable for photo editing with external 4K video support within your budget. Everything I saw up to now was well above $ 2000. A much better desktop is easily available for less than $1000.
Just my 2 cents...
--
Regards, Thomas Bernardy
----------

Click to expand...

Thanks Thomas! Regarding the desktop/laptop discussion: I'm struggling to find a desktop of this caliber with a 4k monitor that fits my needs/price (give that I'll need to purchase a $200 laptop for travel, if I got the desktop route. Perhaps I'm simply just setting the specs a bit too high on the desktop?

Part of the issue might be that I'm looking for something that can also handle light gaming. Either way, I've read articles claiming that a good setup for photo editing will usually have a GPU that is game-ready. I'm the type that starts researching and slowly ups my specs/budget. If I'm going to spend money on something I'll use for many years, why not make sure I'm completely satisfied?

So I've been looking at Intel core i7 7500 or higher, 512 SSD -1TB SSD (unless paired with 1 TB HDD), 16 gigs of RAM, GTX 1050, 15.6" 4k UHD. Prefer it also have HDMI as well as usb 3.0 and thunderbolt. At the same time, I'm trying to steer clear of the gaming desktop/laptop look. Absolutely nothing wrong with that look. It just doesn't fit my preferred aesthetic.

Maybe I should scale down just a bit on certain specs. Do I really need i7? Do I really need 16 gigs of RAM? I'm thinking probably not. Here's the laptop I've been looking at, which, as you'll see, goes a bit above my initial stated budget:

https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/yoga/700-series/Yoga-730-15/p/81CU000SUS#tab-currentmodels

There's also a 720 15" that's very similar and a bit cheaper. It's i7 7700 instead of 8550. GTX 1050 2GB instead of 4GB. It also has no HDMI, which, for me, is kind of a deal breaker. Perhaps it should be? I believe you can just "dongle" your way through that problem.

Since reading your post, I've been once again searching for desktops as well. If I can find a desktop + monitor that fits my needs and leaves me with some cash to buy a $200-ish writing laptop, I might go that route. Could be the way to go given that I'll end up with a larger 4k display than 15.6". Here's the tower I'm currently looking at. Maybe this is more than capable of what I'd be using it for:

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell...-edition/spd/xps-8930-se-desktop/ddcwvmax001h

Sorry to bombard you with info. I realize it seems like you all are just helping me shop, but I assure you this is as much intended for my education as it is my eventual purchase. My assumption is you all enjoy theses discussions; otherwise you wouldn't be taking part. It's very much appreciated!

Click to expand...

mrguy said:

Maybe I should scale down just a bit on certain specs. Do I really need i7? Do I really need 16 gigs of RAM? I'm thinking probably not. Here's the laptop I've been looking at, which, as you'll see, goes a bit above my initial stated budget:

https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/yoga/700-series/Yoga-730-15/p/81CU000SUS#tab-currentmodels

Click to expand...

mrguy said:

There's also a 720 15" that's very similar and a bit cheaper. It's i7 7700 instead of 8550. GTX 1050 2GB instead of 4GB. It also has no HDMI, which, for me, is kind of a deal breaker. Perhaps it should be? I believe you can just "dongle" your way through that problem.

Click to expand...

mrguy said:

Here's the tower I'm currently looking at. Maybe this is more than capable of what I'd be using it for:

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell...-edition/spd/xps-8930-se-desktop/ddcwvmax001h

Click to expand...

RealCereal said:

mrguy said:

ThomasB said:

mrguy said:

Hello there!

I'm new here. I have a question regarding a laptop + external monitor setup primarily for photo editing:

I'm planning to go this route because I spend a lot of time at coffee shops, where I write, so I need to be portable. At home I would then be editing photos, using Photoshop and Lightroom. To me it seems buying a laptop and a nice external monitor would make the most sense, rather than buying a laptop and a desktop. As mentioned in the heading, I would prefer to keep the price around $1,200 total, although I can go up a couple hundred if needed.

Does anyone have suggestions? I think my problem is that I simply want something better than I can afford. I keep aiming for a fast laptop with plenty of storage, coupled with a 4k screen, but I can't seem to find this within my budget.

Any help would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!

Click to expand...

I've recently upgraded my monitor to an UHD 4k one (Eizo EV3237) and as my laptop/notebook doesn't support 4k I have to use a USB 3.0 to HDMI adapter.
Problem is that my notebook (Lenovo Intel 7i/16GB RAM, Windows 10) is now almost on it's limit for photo editing in Lightroom with large image files from my Sony A7R2 (42MP) camera.
Therefore I was looking for an upgrade and found out that a really good notebook for photo editing with native 4K video support is awful expensive.
Consequently I'll most probably upgrade my home setup to a desktop which is available for the half price and leave my old Lenovo (which is good enough without 4K monitor) for excursions.
I really doubt that you are able to get any good notebook capable for photo editing with external 4K video support within your budget. Everything I saw up to now was well above $ 2000. A much better desktop is easily available for less than $1000.
Just my 2 cents...
--
Regards, Thomas Bernardy
----------

Click to expand...

Thanks Thomas! Regarding the desktop/laptop discussion: I'm struggling to find a desktop of this caliber with a 4k monitor that fits my needs/price (give that I'll need to purchase a $200 laptop for travel, if I got the desktop route. Perhaps I'm simply just setting the specs a bit too high on the desktop?

Part of the issue might be that I'm looking for something that can also handle light gaming. Either way, I've read articles claiming that a good setup for photo editing will usually have a GPU that is game-ready. I'm the type that starts researching and slowly ups my specs/budget. If I'm going to spend money on something I'll use for many years, why not make sure I'm completely satisfied?

So I've been looking at Intel core i7 7500 or higher, 512 SSD -1TB SSD (unless paired with 1 TB HDD), 16 gigs of RAM, GTX 1050, 15.6" 4k UHD. Prefer it also have HDMI as well as usb 3.0 and thunderbolt. At the same time, I'm trying to steer clear of the gaming desktop/laptop look. Absolutely nothing wrong with that look. It just doesn't fit my preferred aesthetic.

Maybe I should scale down just a bit on certain specs. Do I really need i7? Do I really need 16 gigs of RAM? I'm thinking probably not. Here's the laptop I've been looking at, which, as you'll see, goes a bit above my initial stated budget:

https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/yoga/700-series/Yoga-730-15/p/81CU000SUS#tab-currentmodels

There's also a 720 15" that's very similar and a bit cheaper. It's i7 7700 instead of 8550. GTX 1050 2GB instead of 4GB. It also has no HDMI, which, for me, is kind of a deal breaker. Perhaps it should be? I believe you can just "dongle" your way through that problem.

Since reading your post, I've been once again searching for desktops as well. If I can find a desktop + monitor that fits my needs and leaves me with some cash to buy a $200-ish writing laptop, I might go that route. Could be the way to go given that I'll end up with a larger 4k display than 15.6". Here's the tower I'm currently looking at. Maybe this is more than capable of what I'd be using it for:

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell...-edition/spd/xps-8930-se-desktop/ddcwvmax001h

Sorry to bombard you with info. I realize it seems like you all are just helping me shop, but I assure you this is as much intended for my education as it is my eventual purchase. My assumption is you all enjoy theses discussions; otherwise you wouldn't be taking part. It's very much appreciated!

Click to expand...

I would get the latest intel 8th gen. 16gb is definitely worth it. And and least 256gb ssd. Buy an external hdd for backup

I think the XPS 15 would fit your needs

Click to expand...

CAcreeks said:

mrguy said:

Maybe I should scale down just a bit on certain specs. Do I really need i7? Do I really need 16 gigs of RAM? I'm thinking probably not. Here's the laptop I've been looking at, which, as you'll see, goes a bit above my initial stated budget:

https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/yoga/700-series/Yoga-730-15/p/81CU000SUS#tab-currentmodels

Click to expand...

That one looks good. Only the FHD model is available on Amazon, $980. Presumably UHD would costs $200-$300 more. (?)

CAcreeks said:

There's also a 720 15" that's very similar and a bit cheaper. It's i7 7700 instead of 8550. GTX 1050 2GB instead of 4GB. It also has no HDMI, which, for me, is kind of a deal breaker. Perhaps it should be? I believe you can just "dongle" your way through that problem.

Click to expand...

Yes, you should be able to connect USB-C to HDMI. As you can see from the CPU benchmarks below, the i7-8550U and i7-7700HQ have similar performance but the 8550U uses less power.

https://m.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php#multi

CAcreeks said:

Here's the tower I'm currently looking at. Maybe this is more than capable of what I'd be using it for:

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell...-edition/spd/xps-8930-se-desktop/ddcwvmax001h

Click to expand...

Very nice! I'd like to buy one like that but have no immediate need. The front panel seems very well designed with SD slot and USB connections. Dell gives you a lot of configuration options, though not the option of i7-8700, which would cost about $100 more.

Click to expand...

mrguy said:

I was looking at the XPS 15 as well. The webcam at the bottom of the screen dissuaded me. Mainly because I will be teaching English online, so I worry the camera positioning will be odd for students. Perhaps it's not a big deal. Maybe I'll go to Best Buy and play with the webcam.

Click to expand...

CAcreeks said:

mrguy said:

I was looking at the XPS 15 as well. The webcam at the bottom of the screen dissuaded me. Mainly because I will be teaching English online, so I worry the camera positioning will be odd for students. Perhaps it's not a big deal. Maybe I'll go to Best Buy and play with the webcam.

Click to expand...

Yes, you have to be careful about trimming your nose hairs if you're going to use that model. ;-)

Click to expand...

mrguy said:

mrguy said:

Click to expand...

My heart is kind of set on the UHD at this point. I'm sure I'd be plenty happy with FHD, but I do anticipate the amount of time I spend editing photos to go up up up.

Click to expand...

mrguy said:

I do think I won't notice much difference in the 7700 and 8550. I'm sure others would, but not I. Price should probably be my concern on that one.

Click to expand...

mrguy said:

I'm currently searching for a good monitor to go with the Dell tower. Not sure I'll stick to that plan, but I'm toying with the idea.

Click to expand...

mrguy said:

It'll basically come down to the option I listed above: decent tower + monitor for around $1,300 plus a $200-laptop OR a killer laptop.

Click to expand...

CAcreeks said:

mrguy said:

My heart is kind of set on the UHD at this point. I'm sure I'd be plenty happy with FHD, but I do anticipate the amount of time I spend editing photos to go up up up.

Click to expand...

I agree. UHD makes more of a difference with text than you'd expect. Firefox, and maybe other browsers, scale images up 200% so UHD is not a big advantage for viewing. However in GIMP or Darktable, and perhaps other photo editors, you can see a lot more of the photo with UHD. Not as much zooming, and you can set Actual Pixels much of the time.

CAcreeks said:

I do think I won't notice much difference in the 7700 and 8550. I'm sure others would, but not I. Price should probably be my concern on that one.

Click to expand...

Newer generation Intel is always more expensive. Although consider battery drain...

CAcreeks said:

I'm currently searching for a good monitor to go with the Dell tower. Not sure I'll stick to that plan, but I'm toying with the idea.

Click to expand...

LG makes good UHD monitors at affordable prices.

CAcreeks said:

It'll basically come down to the option I listed above: decent tower + monitor for around $1,300 plus a $200-laptop OR a killer laptop.

Click to expand...

I'm sure you can find a used laptop on Ebay.

Click to expand...

• Processor: 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-8550U Processor (1.80GHz, up to 4.0GHz with Turbo Boost, 8MB Cache)
• Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64
• Display Type: 15.6" UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS multi-touch
• Memory: 16 GB DDR4 2400MHz (8 GB Onborad + 8 GB DIMM)
• Hard Drive: 1TB Solid State Drive PCIe
• Warranty: 1 Year Depot or Carry-in (extended in-home 3 yrs w/ accidental)
• AC Adapter: 90 watt AC
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 4GB
• Battery: 3 cell Li-Polymer 51.5Wh
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth® 4.1
• Camera: 720p HD
• Pen: None
• Fingerprint Reader: Fingerprint Reader
• Keyboard: Backlit keyboard - US English
• Wireless: Lenovo Wireless AC (2 x 2)

mrguy said:

CAcreeks said:

mrguy said:

Maybe I should scale down just a bit on certain specs. Do I really need i7? Do I really need 16 gigs of RAM? I'm thinking probably not. Here's the laptop I've been looking at, which, as you'll see, goes a bit above my initial stated budget:

https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/yoga/700-series/Yoga-730-15/p/81CU000SUS#tab-currentmodels

Click to expand...

That one looks good. Only the FHD model is available on Amazon, $980. Presumably UHD would costs $200-$300 more. (?)

mrguy said:

There's also a 720 15" that's very similar and a bit cheaper. It's i7 7700 instead of 8550. GTX 1050 2GB instead of 4GB. It also has no HDMI, which, for me, is kind of a deal breaker. Perhaps it should be? I believe you can just "dongle" your way through that problem.

Click to expand...

Yes, you should be able to connect USB-C to HDMI. As you can see from the CPU benchmarks below, the i7-8550U and i7-7700HQ have similar performance but the 8550U uses less power.

https://m.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php#multi

mrguy said:

Here's the tower I'm currently looking at. Maybe this is more than capable of what I'd be using it for:

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell...-edition/spd/xps-8930-se-desktop/ddcwvmax001h

Click to expand...

Very nice! I'd like to buy one like that but have no immediate need. The front panel seems very well designed with SD slot and USB connections. Dell gives you a lot of configuration options, though not the option of i7-8700, which would cost about $100 more.

Click to expand...

My heart is kind of set on the UHD at this point. I'm sure I'd be plenty happy with FHD, but I do anticipate the amount of time I spend editing photos to go up up up.
I do think I won't notice much difference in the 7700 and 8550. I'm sure others would, but not I. Price should probably be my concern on that one.
I'm currently searching for a good monitor to go with the Dell tower. Not sure I'll stick to that plan, but I'm toying with the idea.
It'll basically come down to the option I listed above: decent tower + monitor for around $1,300 plus a $200-laptop OR a killer laptop.

Click to expand...

CBR1100XX said:

mrguy said:

CAcreeks said:

mrguy said:

Maybe I should scale down just a bit on certain specs. Do I really need i7? Do I really need 16 gigs of RAM? I'm thinking probably not. Here's the laptop I've been looking at, which, as you'll see, goes a bit above my initial stated budget:

https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/yoga/700-series/Yoga-730-15/p/81CU000SUS#tab-currentmodels

Click to expand...

That one looks good. Only the FHD model is available on Amazon, $980. Presumably UHD would costs $200-$300 more. (?)

CBR1100XX said:

There's also a 720 15" that's very similar and a bit cheaper. It's i7 7700 instead of 8550. GTX 1050 2GB instead of 4GB. It also has no HDMI, which, for me, is kind of a deal breaker. Perhaps it should be? I believe you can just "dongle" your way through that problem.

Click to expand...

Yes, you should be able to connect USB-C to HDMI. As you can see from the CPU benchmarks below, the i7-8550U and i7-7700HQ have similar performance but the 8550U uses less power.

https://m.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php#multi

CBR1100XX said:

Here's the tower I'm currently looking at. Maybe this is more than capable of what I'd be using it for:

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell...-edition/spd/xps-8930-se-desktop/ddcwvmax001h

Click to expand...

Very nice! I'd like to buy one like that but have no immediate need. The front panel seems very well designed with SD slot and USB connections. Dell gives you a lot of configuration options, though not the option of i7-8700, which would cost about $100 more.

Click to expand...

My heart is kind of set on the UHD at this point. I'm sure I'd be plenty happy with FHD, but I do anticipate the amount of time I spend editing photos to go up up up.
I do think I won't notice much difference in the 7700 and 8550. I'm sure others would, but not I. Price should probably be my concern on that one.
I'm currently searching for a good monitor to go with the Dell tower. Not sure I'll stick to that plan, but I'm toying with the idea.
It'll basically come down to the option I listed above: decent tower + monitor for around $1,300 plus a $200-laptop OR a killer laptop.

Click to expand...

The difference between the 7700/8550 is mostly in sustained workloads. So for Lightroom import/export especially you could see a difference depending on the number of shots. Also this is highly dependent on how the manufacturer sets up the 8550U and in some cases the i5 variant is just as fast. Sorry to make this even more confusing.

An i5-8300H is equivalent to a 7700HQ so in your case I'd look at that with the 1050 or better yet To as the go-to. If you can get a pretty good in terms of color accuracy ips display that's the big thing and here 1080 wouldn't be the worst thing. I cull and even edit in LR a lot in 1080 on my 7700HQ/16GB/1050Ti/PCI-E SSD laptop because it lags a little with 4K, and then go to full resolution for Photoshop.

So a mid teir gaming laptop would fit, or late model/refurbished one. But I wouldn't be in a rush to buy unless you need to, July 4th is just around the corner and you could save a ton.

Click to expand...

• Processor: 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-8550U Processor (1.80GHz, up to 4.0GHz with Turbo Boost, 8MB Cache)
• Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64
• Display Type: 15.6" UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS multi-touch
• Memory: 16 GB DDR4 2400MHz (8 GB Onborad + 8 GB DIMM)
• Hard Drive: 1TB Solid State Drive PCIe
• Warranty: 1 Year Depot or Carry-in (extended in-home 3 yrs w/ accidental)
• AC Adapter: 90 watt AC
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 4GB
• Battery: 3 cell Li-Polymer 51.5Wh
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth® 4.1
• Camera: 720p HD
• Pen: None
• Fingerprint Reader: Fingerprint Reader
• Keyboard: Backlit keyboard - US English
• Wireless: Lenovo Wireless AC (2 x 2)

confused circle said:

You aren't going to do 4k gaming with a 1050. You also aren't going to tax a 1050 with any post processing software for stills. So maybe don't bother with that, it's in no man's land. Either go up (way up if you're stuck on 4k and plan on any titles even close to aaa) or down.

I would hope you wouldn't futz up your post processing viewing screen by using touch functionality. Would you use touch at all.

It takes precious little to edit photos if you aren't importing and cataloging a ridiculous number of captures, or using a ridiculous number of layers in a pixel editor, or if you're shooting jpeg. A lot can be done with a suitable workflow for the event, rather than brute force.

And I wouldn't care much for a big sata ssd. I'd much prefer (and got) a smaller nvme boot drive and a spinner for storage. You could get a single large pcie drive, but I've already lost 2 in the last few years (and 2 hdds over about a decade), so I now refuse to give up a layer of redundancy. I also back up weekly to a 4tb external.

Click to expand...