Laptop Purchase

[MegP]

Hi - needing to purchase a new laptop as my current trust Lenovo has finally sailed after about 6 years.  I’ve put it off quite a bit because of coats and the budget it tight; however, can get a Dell XPS 9720 17 (only paying shipping!) through work. Would this be worth it or will I bang my head into a wall attempting to use it? I’m having a hard time comparing what you note in the article to why I see “out there” for purchase and would love any help you could offer. Thank  you so much!  

[Brian]

“Meh.”

I’m not happy with the display panel type (no mention of IPS) or video card, I’d really want a NVIDIA RTX 3070 or 3080. Photoshop is getting to be a PITA when it comes to the video card and it needs to be beefy  

 

[MegP]

Thanks, Brian! Seemed too good to be true   I was hoping it was IPS but can’t find that listed anywhere!
 

Is there something comparable you’d suggest in the laptop market? Truly the budget is very tight but I need to make a move immediately since I’ll have sessions to edit next week. Always the way these things work out! 

[MegP]

Here are a few others that would cost me nothing through our work program  - which is ideal - but not if they won't be conducive to work with PS/edit. 

 

CORSAIR - Voyager a1600 16” 240Hz Gaming Laptop QHD - AMD Ryzen R7 6800HS AMD Radeon RX 6800M with 32GB Memory and 1TB - PCIe SSD - Black

Vector I9-1200H/RTX

LG - gram 17� Ultra lightweight Laptop - Intel Evo Platform 12th Gen Intel Core i7 - 32GB RAM - 2TB NVMe SSD (Product Code 17Z90Q-K.AD)  This one has noted IPS screen, 32 GB RAM and SSD: 

LG - gram 2-in-1 16� WQXGA Laptop � Intel Evo Platform Core i7 � 16GB RAM � 2TB NVMe Solid State Drive (silver)

LG - gram 2-in-1 16� WQXGA Laptop � Intel Evo Platform Core i7 � 16GB RAM � 2TB NVMe Solid State Drive (black)

 

 

 

[Brian]

Please read this article:

 

You will need to look in the technical specs for the display panel. IF IT DOESN'T SAY IPS, SKIP IT!! Otherwise, you are buying an external IPS Monitor. IPS Displays are TOUGH to find in laptops. Fortunately, that LG you mentioned has a IPS Display Panel. Can you link directly to it?

Here are Dell's thoughts on a IPS Display, and I can't find any current laptops that have them, so you might just want to give them a call and ask for one. Who knows, we might get lucky.

[MegP]

Thank God for you because this is all truly a different language to me. As much as I try to understand it there’s always a piece I’m missing. Here is a link to the specs:

https://www.lg.com/us/laptops/lg-17z90q-r.aab8u1#pdp_spec

[Brian]

This is what I'm zeroing in on:

I like that it's a IPS Screen. That's what you want to see. I hate the fact the Video Card isn't up-to-par with today's current versions of Adobe's Software. You want at least 8GB of dedicated Video Memory going into 2023. So not only is the Graphics Processor not enough, there also isn't enough of Video Memory.

I'd give Dell a call and see if they can give you a list of models of laptop that have IPS screens and go from there. In reality, when people ask, "What is a good laptop for photo editing?" what they are truly asking is, "What is a good desktop replacement for running Photoshop?"

The Chip Shortage is still going on and manufacturers just don't have a lot of options. In fact, I'm really not liking ANYTHING that I'm seeing, they are cutting so many corners, you really aren't getting a good value for what you are spending. Finding a laptop isn't going to be easy.

I did some searching, buy this:

ASUS 17.3" Republic of Gamers Strix Scar 17 Gaming Laptop (Off Black)

[MegP]

Thank you! It’s so painful to give up a free computer but doesn’t make sense to grab one that could have issues short term. I so appreciate your help!!