Buying a new laptop for photo editing Questionaire Filled Out

[Vintageashley]

This form makes it easier for us to recommend you a laptop, so we don't have to ask you lots of questions.

Please copy and paste these questions into the thread you post, and we can help you find the laptop that suits you.


1. What is your budget? Under $600 (fine with refurbs, just want to get the most important of my specs in a system that will be durable and last)

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 15.6-17"

3. What screen resolution do you want? At least HD, prefer HD+

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? More on the desktop replacement side, but also fairly portable (around 5 lbs is fine)

5. How much battery life do you need? Not a high priority for me

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? No games

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) Photoshop, and Lightroom and would like it to be capable of video editing. Laptop suitable for a photographer high priority

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? Hoping for a 1 TB system

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. - I'll shop anywhere legit that you can get a deal. I was looking at this model HP on Groupon, which seems good for the money but I'm hesitant on whether HP is a good investment in the long run. Thoughts?
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10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? Till it dies lol I'm not a constant upgrader, so I'd like to find a durable computer that will last me several years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? DVD-RW would be good but not a deal breaker if it's different

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
Will have to stick to Windows based due to budget. My HP is dying, and I have seen quite a few negative opinions on HP overall, so I'm hesitant on whether I should buy another. I'm open to any brand options really, if you feel the model and specs of the computer are good for my needs, and the price is in range.

13. What country do you live in? USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed. - Basically I need an all around laptop for some photo and video editing (I do have a desktop and good monitor for some of my work but I also really like working off a laptop vs a desktop, so the more the laptop can do, the better). Also doing the standard Netflix & movie viewing. Most important to me are capacity, speed and good display. Willing to purchase extra memory and install myself if needed, so a system that could be expanded would be nice.

Really just looking to get some recommendations on solid model laptops on a budget, as I haven't shopped around in awhile so I'm not sure what's good at the moment.

 

[Alabalcho]

"Photo editing" asks for the best display you can get, and with your budget, you should start from there. This won't let you much for CPU or memory, or beefy SSD. This also puts aside 2-in-1's, and touchscreen. I doubt you will find dual-bay laptop (so you can have both SSD and HDD), too.

Go to a store, BestBuy, Microsoft, Fry's, whatever you have around. Lift and feel them. Stick with known brands - Dell's, Lenovo's, Acer's, Asus'es. Staw away from "gaming" laptops - you don't need them.