Laptop Advice - Professional Photographer

LRussell093 on 17/11/2022 - 16:44

Hi there,

I'm a professional freelance photographer in need of a new laptop.

I currently have a Surface Book 3, 16gb, 512ssd. It just can't handle my workload. Constantly freezes, overheats, struggles with photoshop and lightroom. It just isn't able to smoothly handle small adjustments to photos when I really require it to be precise.

Is anyone able to suggest a top quality laptop with at least 32gb ram, 1tb storage, doesn't overheat like crazy, vibrant screen. I've never used Apple products, but I'm seriously considering a Macbook Pro at this stage.

willing to spend generously for the right product

Cheers,

Computing Computer Laptop

Comments

  • Hybroid on 17/11/2022 - 16:49
    +11

    As much as I don't like OSX, MacBook is the way to go for such professional use.

    • [Deactivated] on 17/11/2022 - 18:17

      As much as I don't like OSX

      Did you just say this to please apple haters aka to avoid comments like "apple fanboy spotted"?

      • Hybroid on 17/11/2022 - 18:53
        +2

        Nope, absolutely love iOS devices and been using iPhones, iPads and Apple Watch since their first gen release each and will continue to do so.

        I just can't stand OSX as a desktop/laptop OS at all and thus have never delved into a Mac device. It's a genuine consideration for anyone potentially jumping ship from Windows.

        • [Deactivated] on 17/11/2022 - 19:16

          I just can't stand OSX as a desktop/laptop OS

          How is it good for professional use then? After sales service?

  • DannersAU on 17/11/2022 - 17:10
    +3

    Macbooks are just built for this stuff. I personally don't like Apple's ecosystem, but will admit they do what you want to do very well

    If you do want to consider an alternative, check out the Dell XPS range. This link should give you a good start - https://www.dell.com/en-au/shop/dell-laptops/sr/laptops/xps-…

    • Russell093 on 17/11/2022 - 17:17
      +1

      Thanks for that. Yeah, I've been looking through the Dell products (especially since the sales are on). It's just such a huge investment that I really want to get right haha

      • DannersAU on 19/11/2022 - 13:12
        +1

        I think you'd be very happy with an XPS. I got one for my wife many years ago and was quite impressed with the quality and performance. The specs of the ones i've shared would easily handle Photoshop and Lightroom. You will get more bang for your buck with the Dell

        Check the warranty too. For an investment of this size you should make sure you're covered for a number of years.

    • [Deactivated] on 17/11/2022 - 18:21

      why do you think apple's ecosystem is built for this? airdrop?

      • DannersAU on 19/11/2022 - 13:08

        Not specificaly the ecosystem, just their devices in general are geared towards photography and video.

  • donthaveGamepass on 17/11/2022 - 17:26

    Just a bit of learning curve on OSX but once you get passed that you will notice that you are actually doing a lot more work done from what you had.

  • AndyC1 on 17/11/2022 - 17:34
    +1

    How big are the photo's? (width height and #colors).

    You may have issues with running out of RAM if the photo's are big. The simple calc is width * height * bytes/pixel will give you the minimum ram used when you load an image into main memory and then double it for simple changes.

    Have you used the Windows resource monitor to check your RAM and CPU usage? Do this so they you know how much RAM you need and if you are chewing up the CPU and if it's the bottleneck.

  • AaronR on 17/11/2022 - 18:00
    +1

    I'm in the market for a similar laptop currently. I've settled on an Apple Macbook 14" with a likely spec of:

    • M1 Max 10-core CPU + 24-core GPU
    • 32GB
    • 1TB

    If you haven't seen the screen on these things I recommend ducking into Apple to check it out. Once you get adjusted to your keyboard shortcuts you will likely feel at home on Mac OS as a creative.

    There is also a 16" version for similar money if you need the real estate.

    It's $4088.70 on the AOC portal with potential to drop that down 5-10% using various apple gift card techniques.

    I'll be making a decision in the coming days (Apple don't normally have anything special for Black Friday) so can let you know how I go.

    • AaronR on 24/11/2022 - 10:23

      Just an update for you @Russell093

      I ended up buying this MacBook from the Refurb Apple Store.

      Almost the spec listed above, but with 64GB of RAM.

      Settled on the refurb store because they had stock of the exact spec I wanted and also it would deliver much faster than the AOC store (and I wanted to take it on an upcoming holiday).

      Also, I confirmed with Apple that the refurb items are also included in the extended holiday return period…. so if you buy one and for any reason want to return it, you can do so by January 8th.

      I bought gift cards from Redeem Your Gift Card for 5% off, then purchased from the refurb store listed above. You can sign up to Refurb Tracker to get notified via email when a model you want comes back into stock.

      Best of luck.

  • lachhelix on 17/11/2022 - 18:04

    Yeah, definitely go for a Macbook Pro
    It's worth the learning curve (which really isn't that hard if media is your thing)

  • [Deactivated] on 17/11/2022 - 18:19
    +1

    To all who said go for macOS. What exactly is a plus on macOS? I use both and find windows easier for file management.

    • dcep on 17/11/2022 - 18:31
      +1

      osx runs photoshop/lightroom on native arm, performs much more efficient and faster on handling heavy tasks when compared to x86

      there is also windows arm but no hardware came close to apple m1 capability

    • AaronR on 17/11/2022 - 20:10

      “Spaces” (virtual desktops) and “spotlight” (app/file/other search) are some highlights for me.

      Sure you can do similar things in windows but it’s clunky

  • jjjaar on 17/11/2022 - 19:29

    If you really can’t make the change to Mac, I’d consider a dell xps with the specs you’re after.

    I’m not a freelance photographer but I use Lightroom and Photoshop every other day, and I only have 16GB of ram and 512 storage and it works really smoothly for my needs.

    With the XPS you can bump up the specs to make sure it has what you want it to have.

  • miicah on 17/11/2022 - 21:22

    XPS used to be the defacto choice as it was significantly cheaper than a macbook pro but better performing; Dell have since upped their prices and the M1/M2 chips are quite fast. It's up to you whether you want to learn a new OS or not.

    • jjjaar on 17/11/2022 - 23:43

      Xps will at least go on sale ;)

  • ForkSnorter on 18/11/2022 - 09:02
    +1

    Why not just get a desktop? Mac Studio fastest for the money in my opinion. Base model comes with 32GB ram.

    • Russell093 on 18/11/2022 - 10:41

      Sorry, should have mentioned I need a laptop for portability

  • essaynode on 19/11/2022 - 23:53

    I own a Microsoft Surface Studio Laptop with top specs (32GB RAM, 2TB SSD). I don't do any photo editing though. Cost me around $3500 about a month ago. A lot heavier than the surface pro 4 I replaced. Maybe something to consider?

  • germaine on 21/11/2022 - 12:33

    I'm in a similar position, I will most likely go for the Surface Studio mostly because I find Windows to be way better for power users, even simple things like managing open programs is better on Windows. Hoping for 20% off Surface Laptops for BFCM

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