Laptop recommendations for Lightroom

PhilStation

Evening all,

I'm after a laptop for my wife to run Lightroom 6. She is looking to start-up her own photography business and while she knows everything there is to know about cameras (or so it seems), she knows very little about computer hardware.

I used to be very good with all this stuff but having moved away from PC gaming some ten years ago, I am struggling a little.

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced laptop that will run (comfortably) Lightroom 6?

I know it would benefit from some healthy RAM (8GB?) but its the processors and graphics cards I am struggling with.

Thanks.

coffeehound

Don't the pros in image processing tend toward Apple macs? Unfortunately more expensive, but designed for image handling.

boliston

I would be looking at a dedicated screen rather than a laptop for this type of work.

KingL

Yes definately get an external big screen. There just isn't enough screen real-estate to comfortably use it on a laptop.

You shouldn't need to go crazy on the spec, 8GB on a Core i5 or even i3 would be fine.

PhilStation

KingL wrote: »

Yes definately get an external big screen. There just isn't enough screen real-estate to comfortably use it on a laptop.

You shouldn't need to go crazy on the spec, 8GB on a Core i5 or even i3 would be fine.

What would you say regarding graphics card, dedicated 2GB card?

We need a laptop as we do not have the space to accommodate a desktop, this is a start-up business with limited capital, longer term things may change but for now, we have the option to use the TV. for this purpose.

KingL

This is a good article on PC specs and graphics cards here:
http://www.learn-to-lightroom.com/articles/buying-a-lightroom-computer/

I have intergrated Intel® HD graphics 4400, which is more than adequate. Unless you are doing video, then high-end graphics cards only mean +/- a few tenths of a second to get your full-screen preview up.

If your TV is a decent resolution, then fine, otherwise I'd recommend diverting £150 towards a 23+ inch flat screen monitor. It can be used with a laptop and doesn't take up much space. Don't pay the earth for a top-end 4K one.

PhilStation

Thank you for that, I'll have a read.

Undervalued

coffeehound wrote: »

Don't the pros in image processing tend toward Apple macs? Unfortunately more expensive, but designed for image handling.

Indeed.

Despite what many on here would have you believe there are good reasons for it and it isn't really that much more expensive if you compare it to Windows machines of a similar build quality.

Yes, it is perfectly possible to achieve a useable setup with a Windows PC if you are on a tight budget. There are even a few aspects of Windows 10 that I actually prefer to OSX (but not many). However if you want to do serious photographic work with the minimum of hassle then Apple still wins hands down.

wongataa

coffeehound wrote: »

Don't the pros in image processing tend toward Apple macs? Unfortunately more expensive, but designed for image handling.

They used to years ago when Apple kit was better at this kind of stuff. However, for many years Apple and Windows platforms have been equally as good for image editing and you can use most of the same software on both systems.

In reality you should use whichever OS you prefer (if you can afford either). You can get Windows PC's cheaper than Apple kit that are fine for image editing and they will be no worse than Apple machines (and potentially better).

wongataa

PhilStation wrote: »

Evening all,

I'm after a laptop for my wife to run Lightroom 6. She is looking to start-up her own photography business and while she knows everything there is to know about cameras (or so it seems), she knows very little about computer hardware.

I used to be very good with all this stuff but having moved away from PC gaming some ten years ago, I am struggling a little.

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced laptop that will run (comfortably) Lightroom 6?

I know it would benefit from some healthy RAM (8GB?) but its the processors and graphics cards I am struggling with.

Thanks.

16GB of RAM is better for Lightroom. Fast processors too. An external screen would be a benefit as most laptop screens aren't very good. You should also need to budget for monitor calibration kit. Making sure the colours on screen are accurate is a very good idea for a professional photographer. It will be cheaper to get a desktop machine to run LR well as equivalent spec desktops are cheaper than laptops.

forgotmyname

Can lightroom push the computing power onto a graphics card?

One reason i upgraded to a GTX750ti, I needed CUDA compatibility.