Laptop query

[Kyriosity]

Yes, yes...I know...not the ideal for photo editing. But photo editing is only a tiny bit of what I do, and usually for ephemeral items (nonprofit fundraising materials), so ideal isn't really necessary for me. I just figured that the same specs might be a good guideline for my usual work, mostly in InDesign. I've looked at Brian's posts about what to look for, or tried to, but this stuff might as well be written in ancient Sumerian cuneiform for all I'm able to comprehend it. 🤪

Anyway, somebody recommended that I look at Razer laptops, and I found this one on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Razer-Blade-15-Base-Laptop/dp/B09KXK5S4G. Does it tick all the boxes? And is there any way of telling whether it could handle two external monitors?

Thanks in advance for any assistance...or for directions to the closest exit if my question is in any way unwelcome. 😁

[Brian]

10 hours ago, Kyriosity said:

Does it tick all the boxes?

Nope.

See this?

That is not a IPS-Based Display. That screen is good for gaming, not photo-editing. That said, it checks all the other boxes; though those dual graphics setups often confuse Photoshop. In order to use that Laptop for Photo-editing, you are using an external IPS Display and basically turning your Laptop into a Desktop.

[Kyriosity]

Thanks! Back to the drawing board... 😉

[Brian]

The first thing you need to do, is look for the Display Panel Type under the Technical Specifications.

IT’S GOTTA BE IPS or In-Plane Switching.

Why is this so important and why do I jump-up-and-down about it? 

IPS Screens ensure Color, Contrast, Clarity and Sharpness from edge to edge. Which is kinda important for editing photos. You also get a larger viewing angle of around 170°. Unfortunately, these display panel types are tough to find on laptops. Why? Because for the very reason you are wanting a laptop: Portability.

TN screens or Twisted Nematic, and variations based on this panel type are great for video games, using your laptop in a coffee shop or airport, watching a movie on a plane, etc. etc.; basically, they are good for everything BUT photo-editing. They are also much cheaper to produce, so manufacturers tend to use them.

Combine that with Photoshop’s requirement of a dedicated video GPU AND VIDEO RAM, meaning you don’t want the CPU and regular RAM being used by the video card. Why? Photoshop will complain and run like a slug. Things like liquify and content aware use the GPU in order to work now. And as PS gets more and more fancier tools, the more it will rely on the GPU and dedicated video memory.

Why? Speed. For the very reason that Bitcoin Miners use lots of video cards to compline things to get crypto-currency, Photoshop uses a video GPU as a performance boost for their fancy tools.