SaraB Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 Hi Brian! Thank you for your post about buying a new computer in 2021... I almost jumped the gun and was searching crazy for decent black friday sales... no thanks though! I do have a Dell laptop (2018) -- I have been using lightroom which has bogged my computer down terribly. I recently deleted it and all catalogs etc. Moved ALL photos/raw files etc to external harddrives. Trying to start..."fresh" LOL If that is EVEN possible. ... still no improvement. My computer lags bad when photoshop is open (ACR not too bad at all) ...especially with multiple photos open. I am at a loss... are my expectations too high... Is it my ridiculously low RAM? How can I clear that? (I used to be a Professor-- this laptop was used primarly for that...and hobby photography until Sept. 2021 when I realy started booking... but can't book if editting etc is SO time consuming... need something reliable/faster...and hopefully affordable which right now...well you know.. lol) Thank you! Device name DESKTOP-PIDO4CA Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8550U CPU @ 1.80GHz 1.99 GHz Installed RAM 8.00 GB (7.90 GB usable) Device ID 239FBF62-8971-4D7B-B1AC-40B1CA870886 Product ID 00325-95816-41658-AAOEM System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor Pen and touch No pen or touch input is available for this display Edition Windows 10 Home Version 20H2 Installed on 3/21/2021 OS build 19042.1348 Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.3920.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 I hate-hate-hate laptops. SMDH. People have such a love-affair with them, but in a nutshell...you are screwed. It's like you have a Honda Civic 4-cyl Hatchback and now you want to go off-roading in the Rocky Mountains, crossing raging rivers. It's not meant for that type of abuse. You only have 8GB RAM. You need 16GB at a MINIMUM with 32GB preferred. (If your camera body is 45MP or more, you are looking at least 64GB of RAM.) Your main HD is Microscopic by today's standards. There is only 36GB Free out of 103GB. Which is like saying you have 36MB free out of 100MB back in the 1990's. YOU NEED AT LEAST A 1TB Capacity FOR YOUR MAIN DRIVE. You probably do not have a dedicated Video Card with it's own GPU and it's own dedicated Video Memory. So your video card is drawing from the RAM in order to work. Regular RAM is A LOT SLOWER than your typical RAM. Since it also uses the CPU to work, that will also slow it down. Not to mention, Photoshop will get Grumpy. Lightroom is it's own beast. Your computer would probably work "fine" with CS6, not the current versions of LR or PS/ACR. There is gonna be lag because you need a new laptop. I'd budget $2500 - $3000 for a laptop that "...is good for photo-editing." The problem is, the laptops aren't up-gradeable. It's not like it was 20-30 years ago. Back then, you could have the mentality of, "...I will buy this laptop now, and then upgrade _______ in a few months / years." It's not that way anymore. Now you need to purchase all of the extra upgrades when you get the laptop, at a higher price-point, because the laptops are going the way of "Sealed Units." Why? To get you back in the market sooner rather than later. Why bother giving the ability to upgrade your computer so that it lasts 5-7 years? They want you buying a new laptop 24-36 Months AT MOST. That's why after 4 years, they become unbearably slow. Planned obsolescence and all that. Just look at how Smart Phones really don't last more than 2-3 years. Sure they "work," but battery performance sucks after a few years and they start getting glitchy. Same thing. It's only money, right? This is why I tell people to budget much more money for a laptop than they are used to. The truth is, you need a gaming laptop with a IPS display, and with the specs I recommend, those suckers aren't cheap. Especially in 2021, with 2022 not looking much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraB Posted December 7, 2021 Author Share Posted December 7, 2021 THANK YOU!!! for this amazing reply. I sat down with my husband and tried to find SOMETHING.... How did we do??? How awful is this configuration? (option 1- XPS).... currently with a few discounts... includeing tax/shipping for $1829.47 ... (no monitor yet) I also have this one... but it is def. on the pricey side... (Game-option 2) -- Of course none of my discounts work with this one haha. My husband choked over this price... LOL Thank you for your help! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraB Posted December 8, 2021 Author Share Posted December 8, 2021 4 hours ago, SaraB said: THANK YOU!!! for this amazing reply. I sat down with my husband and tried to find SOMETHING.... How did we do??? How awful is this configuration? (option 1- XPS).... currently with a few discounts... includeing tax/shipping for $1829.47 ... (no monitor yet) I also have this one... but it is def. on the pricey side... (Game-option 2) -- Of course none of my discounts work with this one haha. My husband choked over this price... LOL Thank you for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraB Posted December 8, 2021 Author Share Posted December 8, 2021 Shoot! sorry-- didn't mean to do that! I just wanted to add this other configuration... Only $300 more for 64GB RAM on the XPS... hmmmm After this...off to researching monitors... please tell me they are easier LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 Both are fine. Just be sure to get Windows 10 Pro for right now. The reason is, Windows 11 is BUGGY. Personally, I'm waiting until 2025 before I even attempt upgrading to Windows 11. But it sounds like they are selling you a Windows 11 license, with downgrading to the previous version, which is completely fine. When it comes time to upgrade to Windows 11, you will be able to without major issues. How much Video RAM for the Graphics Card? You want at least 8GB in 2021/2022. All I see is this: I'd say you are 99% there. Monitor: For $379, this isn't a bad one:https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Ultra-Thin-FreeSync-DisplayPorts-Certified/dp/B091955LC7/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=dell%2Bultrasharp%2B27%2BIPS%2B2560%2Bx%2B1440&qid=1638934611&sr=8-12&th=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraB Posted December 8, 2021 Author Share Posted December 8, 2021 6 hours ago, SaraB said: THANK YOU!!! for this amazing reply. I sat down with my husband and tried to find SOMETHING.... How did we do??? How awful is this configuration? (option 1- XPS).... currently with a few discounts... includeing tax/shipping for $1829.47 ... (no monitor yet) I also have this one... but it is def. on the pricey side... (Game-option 2) -- Of course none of my discounts work with this one haha. My husband choked over this price... LOL Thank you for your help! Just pulled in more information on this GPU from AMD site directly and can confirm that this GPU comes with 8 GB GDDR6 memory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 9, 2021 Share Posted December 9, 2021 It looks good then!! Enjoy your purchase! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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