Specs for new laptop 2022

[Banksiagirl]

I need a new laptop to edit my photos while travelling, I have a good desktop PC

I have a d850 so the file size is huge. My old one is 8 years old and can’t handle the job. I’m shooting Astro so need to stack many TIFF files in Sequator and do many layered edits in PS
Million dollar question - can you help  me with  specs I need?  I want it to be fit for use for as long as possible so happy to spend a decent amount. Say $AU 3.5K … there goes my new lens!
I like windows 10 pro, 64G ram, two drives - the data drive 4T - not sure what size operating drive I need or the processor or GPU. 
Thanks for your help Brian. 
 

 

 

[Brian]

On 5/30/2022 at 9:10 PM, Banksiagirl said:

I have a d850 so the file size is huge.

I also have a Nikon D850. I know exactly what you are going through.

On 5/30/2022 at 9:10 PM, Banksiagirl said:

Million dollar question - can you help  me with  specs I need?

Yes

On 5/30/2022 at 9:10 PM, Banksiagirl said:

I want it to be fit for use for as long as possible so happy to spend a decent amount. Say $AU 3.5K … there goes my new lens!

Your new lens is gone regardless. It's COVID-19 / Chip Shortage Pricing!! While $AU 3.5K might sound like a healthy budget, I'd say at least $AU 4000K might be more realistic. Or more. Things have gotten a little better in terms of availability, but manufactures have skimped out on what they offer "under the hood" in terms of technical specifications. Just like here in the States, we "almost" get a Gallon of Ice Cream, or there are two-less of _________ in each packet. Nobody wants to be the bad guy, so they offer less which keeps the prices similar to what they were. 

Now of course the dreaded laptop question....

You are looking at a gaming laptop.

Why? Well... for starters, you need 64GB of RAM due to that Nikon D850 and the 45.7MP Sensor that creates HUGE Raw files. The other thing you are going to need is a Video Card that has a dedicated GPU with its own dedicated Video Memory, around 8GB is fine.  This is to make Photoshop happy and any image stacking that you might be doing. The more RAM, the better. Then the CPU Chip should be at least a current i7 or Ryzen 7. (i9 if you can swing it.)  Storage, at least 1TB for the main drive. You'd be surprised on how many laptops come with stupidly small main drives these days, like 250GB or Smaller. Seriously, it's a cost-cutting measure.

Now comes for the really hard part: The Screen. It really, REALLY needs to be a IPS-Based Display Panel if you are editing photos. Otherwise, you are using a External Screen that has a IPS Display Panel. IPS Screens have a better viewing angle, and are consistent from corner to corner when it comes to brightness, sharpness, colors, contrast, and clarity. Which is kinda important if you are editing photos. The problem is, they are more expensive to make than they typical display, a TN or Twisted Nematic. Those displays work for a variety of environments, like sitting in a coffee shop or airport, working from home under crappy lighting, etc. They are also better for video games. Basically, a TN Display Panel is fine for everything except photo editing.

To summarize:

• Intel i7 / Ryzen 7 Minimum | Intel i9 or equivalent, preferred
• 64GB RAM
• 1TB Main Drive | Larger second drive, internal or external. I'd say go bigger, like 8TB-12TB.
• Dedicated Video GPU with 8GB Video Memory. (e.g. NVIDIA GTX 3070 with 8GB of Video RAM.)
• IPS Display Panel OR Purchase an external one to do your editing.

Damien and I usually start with the Asus Republic of Gamers Line of Laptops. I'd start there.

[Banksiagirl]

Thanks for the great information Brian, I've spoken to my supplier and you're right, there's certainly a shortage of everything except the many outdated unsuitable cheap laptops available.

The machine he came back to me today about was an Asus Gaming machine, I don't have the link yet - I asked for a 17.5" IPS screen 64G RAM I7 CPU  or better and a the dedicated video GPU.  I thought Id get a 500G SSD Main drive and a 2T data drive - since this is not my main editing machine but that's a pretty silly idea when i think about it-  I'll def upgrade as suggested.  That Laptop was $6K probably more with the extra RAM  and storage needed  but not available yet, arriving in Melbourne on June 20th, so it would be very lucky to make it in time for me to take to my workshop.    I'm taking my old 2014 leader machine in for him to clear off and start afresh, its got 24G RAM  and an  I7 4700  MQ CPU @2.400GHz and the video card is an NVIDIA GeForce GTX860M  :(  Fingers crossed it can do the job for me until we can source a new one.

[Brian]

How much free space is on your hard drive? I'm wondering if your PS Scratch Disk, or other Stacking Programs' cache file areas just don't have enough space to be efficient? You might want to start killing things, be ruthless in your culling. Try to get your Main HD to 60% or better of free storage space. Once you get above 80% full, performance takes a hit. You also might want to do three smaller batches of photos instead of a huge lump. I understand this isn't ideal, it might be a bandage for now. Especially with only 24GB of RAM. You really-really-really want 64GB. Trust me.

Also, again, it's really tough to find a IPS screen in a laptop. So if you can stand doing your editing at home in a single location, you could get a beefy laptop and a external IPS display. Just a thought.

 

[Brian]

13 hours ago, Banksiagirl said:

I thought Id get a 500G SSD Main drive and a 2T data drive

Eh...no. You would need to be hyper-anal on what is installed on that main drive. Remember, you don't get 500GB to play with; after partitioning & formatting, the Windows OS, you are probably around 400GB or so. Then you install Photoshop and the other Astro-Software programs, not to mention all the Bloatware that comes with a store-bought laptop...and quickly realize you needed to upgrade that HD. 1TB for the main drive, at a minimum in 2022. Preferably SSD or m.2.

[Banksiagirl]

You’re right, I lack the self control to deal with too little storage, it wouldn’t work for me. 

So now I can’t  get anything suitable yet so I’ve had my laptop cleaned off totally and win 10 pro reinstalled and I’m only going to install my photography programs on it.  Hopefully that will get me through the upcoming workshop and we’ll have time to find or more likely build something suitable when the components are available.

The machine he was looking at was an Asus Rog gaming machine with an “IPS level” screen.  So not IPS - Finding an IPS screen maybe an issue, might need to resort to a separate IPS screen as you suggest.