Good, Cheap Laptop for Photoshop?

Lthriftyqlder on 24/01/2021 - 21:11

My Mum wants to learn Photoshop, and her 2GB DDR3 laptop is absolutely useless in this regard.

I'm looking for a cheap laptop that can reliably handle Photoshop, Premiere, etc.

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B086226DDB
This one looks good to me, but I don't know if that's indeed the best option. The cheaper the better, but still good quality and reliable.

(On submitting this post I got an alert to confirm this post isn't a duplicate. Similar posts have been made before, but the deals they received are out of date.)

Computing Computer Laptop

Comments

  • DannyC on 24/01/2021 - 21:32
    +1

    The Lenovo Flex 5 14 that U linked is a pretty good value to performance option. Only thing to do really aware is that the screen doesn't get very bright at 250 nits. And for under $900 that's very good.

    Other options to consider would be the Asus zenbook line with the newer Ryzen processors.

  • stirlo on 24/01/2021 - 21:41
    +1

    Possibly the new Macbook Air? The latest processors are super fast and they hold their value and are supported far longer than the typical windows laptop.

    The software your talking about using isn't particularly cheap so getting bottom basement hardware doesn't make much sense.

    That said the Lenovo you linked is an amazing deal. I doubt you'll do better than that in the sub $1k range.

  • Boioioioi on 24/01/2021 - 21:41

    That will do great. I run photoshop on a lenovo with same specs and it works great. Same with premiere.

  • revacious on 24/01/2021 - 21:42

    Premiere reccomends at least 4gb video ram meaning you will need to choose a laptop with a dedicated video card. Id reccomend anything with 16GB ram, and a discrete graphics card. See the comments here https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/598692

    • Boioioioi on 25/01/2021 - 00:24

      Nah man for general purpose use its a lot more CPU intensive. You'll do great with the ryzen laptop. I've got a desktop with a Ryzen 5 1600 AF and an RX580 8GB. I also have a laptop with just the R5 4500U. I run premiere on both and cannot tell a difference. Editing 1080p 60FPS footage off a Canon M50.

      • revacious on 25/01/2021 - 23:11

        I mean I agree with you for "general purpose use", but it will by all means not "reliably handle" everything in premiere/after effects without a GPU. Short 1080p 60FPS with minimal effects might be okay for the specs of that Lenovo, but anything beyond this will lead to frustration. Exporting a 10 min clip with a few effects with 1080p h.264 will take 30 minutes or more… for anyone else in the future with this question I reccommend reading this link

  • AustriaBargain on 24/01/2021 - 21:47
    +2

    The new MacBook Air. It'll run great for years after all those cheap PC laptops have fallen apart.

    • Bisah1342 on 24/01/2021 - 22:36

      I have one right now and I love it! such a big jump.

  • thriftyqlder on 24/01/2021 - 21:52

    Thanks everyone! I think I'll recommend Mum go with the Lenovo deal.

    We prefer to keep to Windows as it's what we're familiar with.

    Cheaper is better for us as we don't pull in enough income to shell out on top of the line hardware, but obviously a $100 craptop won't cut it - hence, looking for the new one.

    • AustriaBargain on 24/01/2021 - 23:53

      She thought about selling some of her photoshop abilities? Maybe time for a portfolio website for her.

      • thriftyqlder on 31/01/2021 - 12:12

        That's why she wants to learn it. She wants to start up a photography business.

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