Computer choice for editing

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What a nice mom :)

Basic editing software like LR/PS is not processor intensive. However some of the new software packages utilize the graphics processor so a separate graphics card is useful. And what's as or more important than the PC is the monitor. So a machine with a separate graphics processor and a large, high def, wide color gamut monitor are best. A couple of years ago I switched over from desktop to laptop. I now use an Asus ROG 17 in laptop with an Intel 7i processor and 6Gig graphics card. When just culling through a shoot I just use the laptop screen. When I'm doing final editing for print etc, I connect it to a Dell 27 in monitor that is so old the model number won't do you any good. But nowadays high def(8k) monitors(and laptops) are easy to come by. If you travel for photography you can get by with a smaller laptop and just use a separate monitor for serious editing when you get home. I have a separate 14in Asus laptop for travel(which I'm typing on now).

If mobility is not important to you it is less expensive to get a desktop. To go easy on your mom's budget a desktop with a good graphics card and an 8k monitor is probably the way to go.
 
What a nice mom :)

Basic editing software like LR/PS is not processor intensive. However some of the new software packages utilize the graphics processor so a separate graphics card is useful. And what's as or more important than the PC is the monitor. So a machine with a separate graphics processor and a large, high def, wide color gamut monitor are best. A couple of years ago I switched over from desktop to laptop. I now use an Asus ROG 17 in laptop with an Intel 7i processor and 6Gig graphics card. When just culling through a shoot I just use the laptop screen. When I'm doing final editing for print etc, I connect it to a Dell 27 in monitor that is so old the model number won't do you any good. But nowadays high def(8k) monitors(and laptops) are easy to come by. If you travel for photography you can get by with a smaller laptop and just use a separate monitor for serious editing when you get home. I have a separate 14in Asus laptop for travel(which I'm typing on now).

If mobility is not important to you it is less expensive to get a desktop. To go easy on your mom's budget a desktop with a good graphics card and an 8k monitor is probably the way to go.
Thanks for your advice. I have a HP laptop, but it struggles with Topaz plugins and some other intensive tasks(Da Vinci Resolve). I found a few variants: one of them is
HP Envy 27 Touch Desktop 1TB SSD 32GB RAM UHD 4K (Intel Core i7-8700T Processor Turbo 4.00GHz, 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 27" UHD 4K Touchscreen, Win 10) PC Computer All-in-One.
 
I googled the machine you referenced and it looks like it would do nicely. It would be beneficial to get a monitor calibration device such as XRite ColorMunki or similar. If you get serious into producing large prints you may need to add a wide color gamut monitor at some point.
 
This link might help. Pay special attention to the graphics card, as more of the high level stuff really relies on the gpu to work.


 
I ended up with a Dell Desktop (tower) because I could get it loaded for a reasonable price and there is plenty of room inside for a really good graphics card. High-end graphics cards for a tower are really not very expensive. I also got a REALLY big hard drive to store my images (D) on, along with a SSD drive (C) for windows and my programs. I back up the RAW images to a 5 TB external drive just in case and all finished images go to my OneDrive (cloud).

One of the big advantages to the desktop (tower) is that if a component dies, you can replace it. Not likely with a laptop.

The price of a really decked out desktop is about $2000, laptops are significantly above that.
 
I agree with the recommendation to get an SSD hard drive to handle your OS and all the apps. I'd recommend a graphics card that has at least 4 GB of memory on it....in addition to a minimum of 32 GB ram in the PC. That should serve you well for at least several years.

FWIW, here is my custom built configuration by Puget Computer Systems:
AMD Ryzen 9 3900x, 3.8 GHz, 12 core 105W CPU, Gigabyte X570 AORUS Ultra motherboard, 32 GB DDR4-2666 RAM, EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Super XC 8 GB Open Air video card, EVGA SuperNOVA 650W G+ Pwr Supply, CPU cooling=Noctura NH-U12S, Fractal Design R6 USB-C black case

C: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500 GB M.2 SSD and a similar 1 TB SSD scratch disk. I have 3 internal spinner HD's to hold all my documents/images.

I back up the images to two external hard drives using BART free s/w. The hard drives are stored in very different places....​
 
I ended up with a Dell Desktop (tower) because I could get it loaded for a reasonable price and there is plenty of room inside for a really good graphics card. High-end graphics cards for a tower are really not very expensive. I also got a REALLY big hard drive to store my images (D) on, along with a SSD drive (C) for windows and my programs. I back up the RAW images to a 5 TB external drive just in case and all finished images go to my OneDrive (cloud).

One of the big advantages to the desktop (tower) is that if a component dies, you can replace it. Not likely with a laptop.

The price of a really decked out desktop is about $2000, laptops are significantly above that.
I agree with the recommendation to get an SSD hard drive to handle your OS and all the apps. I'd recommend a graphics card that has at least 2 GB of memory on it....in addition to a minimum of 16 GB ram in the PC.

FWIW, here is my configuration:
AMD Ryzen 9 3900x, 3.8 GHz, 12 core 105W CPU, Gigabyte X570 AORUS Ultra motherboard, 32 GB DDR4-2666 RAM, EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Super XC 8 GB Open Air video card, EVGA SuperNOVA 650W G+ Pwr Supply, CPU cooling=Noctura NH-U12S, Fractal Design R6 USB-C black case​
Thank you for your suggestions although I don't think I really need to make my own configuration( I don't know anything about computers). One of my choices is iMac Retina 5k 27'' display with 8 GB of ram and 512 SSD. The other is :
Dell OptiPlex 27 7770 All-in-One 2TB SSD 2TB HD 64GB RAM (Intel Core i9-9900 Processor Turbo Boost to 5.00GHz, 64 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD + 2 TB HD, 27-inch FullHD IPS, Win 10 Pro) PC Computer Desktop
 
If you opt for a laptop, the sceen is the issue. 95% will only show about 60% of sRGB and a lot less Adobe RGB. You can hook up a decent monitror or consider a desktop with a good monitor.
Gaming machines usually have good graphics capabilities, but the screen is fairly important, maybe the most important element.
 
The Intel i7-8700 is 2-3 generations old being first introduced back in 2017-2018.

I'd suggest finding something with a newer 9-10th generation of processor - indicated like i7 or i9 - 9xxx or 10xxx
 
There are lots of choices out there. As others have said, an SSD, a s much RAM as you can get/afford, and a graphics card with 4GB or more will serve you well.
 
If you are using DaVinci Resolve, choose a computer that is going to be able to handle the video editing and Fusion functions of DR. If it handles DR it will handle Lightroom and Photoshop. DR is also where you will be annoyed by inadequate processing power.

I am not a fan of All in One computers because they often make it more difficult to upgrade components. I prefer a desktop for my primary editing machine because it usually allows for easier expansion and upgrades.
 
I'm waiting for the new Apple machine with the new chip M1x or M2 to change my home computer, but I'm also contemplating a Windows alternative.
First of all, I don't want to start the endless battle between PC and Mac. I want to share my experience.
I have just bought (a few weeks ago) and high end, costly graphic monitor Eizo CG319x.
Waiting for the news from Apple, I install temporarily the new monitor in my office where I have an IMac 27" 5k with I7, 32gb ram, ATI graphic card with 2gm of ram, SSD.
I did that because of the bigger desk where there is enough space for two huge monitors. (27"+31,1")
IMG_2336.jpg
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The IMac is carefully calibrated with Xrite and DisplayCall application.
Looking at both screen side by side with the same photo, the difference is minimal. (Not in the photos, Eizo was set to BT.2020 colour profile).
I'm happy about the new Eizo, but probably if I had had the chance to try it before, I would not have bought it because its price for me is not justified.
Another point to consider about external monitors is that only potent video cards can manage them correctly and at 100% of their potential. It is not for nothing that professional video cards such as Nvidia Quadro are often recommended.
My iMac's video card, handling two monitors simultaneously, suffers. It gets hot often, and there are noticeable delays in viewing 8k videos. (On the second monitor only), I think the same problem could happen with a not extremely powerful laptop. Take care of this common issue.
My situation is temporary so that I can survive, but my experience can be useful for others.
 
I need to be very flexible and thus use a "notebook" as primary (and only) machine (for job and hobby).

It is a DELL Precision M6800. It is big and heavy, but very reliable and modular allowing easy repair and upgrade DIY.
  • 32 GB RAM (going to be 64 GB soon)
  • High end i7 CPU
  • 2 graphics boards (Intel HD 4600 onboard graphics 1GB, AMD Radeon 8950 2GB)
  • 3 SSD's with 1TB each set up to four volumes (1 system and programs, 2 job data, 3 private data exluding photos, 4 photos)
  • All data volumes encrypted
  • Two workplaces
    • 1 Main workplace with dock and two calibrated 27" DELL displays (UP2716D, 2560x1440)
    • 2 Mobile work place with dock and two calibrated DELL displays (U2413, 1920x1200)
The operation of two displays with 2560x1440 using a 2GB graphics hasn't cused any problems so far.
Automatic display detection when swapping work places works perfect including adapting the calibration data.

I thought I might run in problems after upgrading to a D850 with its 45 MPixel NEFs, but also no problems so far.

As I haven't had a high end desktop computer for years now, I can't tell whether I loose performance against one of those.
Although my machine is almost 7 years old by now, it is still a real good work horse and I don't see the necessitey of replacing it.
The biggest demand for change is storage space limitations for RAWs, processing data and exported JPGs, and more memory, because I heard that this helps speeding up exporting images while applying high level denoising with my software.
 
The problems with the two displays came up only with two high-resolution monitors. In my case, one 5k and the other 4k.

I also have a notebook workstation for work; it is potent with an I7 processor, 32Gb of ram, Intel graphic and a secondary Nvidia Quadro graphic card for 3d application, but I have not tried jet with the Eizo external monitor. I will try to do that next time I will bring the notebook to the office.

I don't know which type of software you use for your photos, but regarding Photoshop, it looks like that it needs a high-speed single-core processor and a big amount of ram and a good quality graphic card. My ideal configuration is an I9 extreme processor, 64Gb of ram and an Nvidia Quadro RTX4000 or 5000.

On this site, you can configure the computer based on the software you need to use.
PCSPECIALIST - Top Spec Custom PCs & Laptops Built to Order

I never buy from them, but I found interesting their configuration.
 
The problems with the two displays came up only with two high-resolution monitors. In my case, one 5k and the other 4k.

Wow, that's a luxury problem :D (y).

Agree, with handling this kind of resolution - maybe be even in combination with the notebook display itself - my GPU would probably wave the white flag right away ;).
But considering the Covid impact to my business I just hope that I can survive with my setup for a while - maybe even trading in the secondary workplace, if I have to terminate my freelancership and thus don't need the mobile workplace anymore (it was for longer term engagement on site). That should at leat bring the money for going to 64 GB RAM and a 4TB SSD for my photography.

If I got really lucky and didn't have to work for a living any more, today my favourite setup would probably be the latest generation 12,9" iPad Pro with 2TB and a keyboard with Trackpad for being mobile and for home a big fat iMac 27" with all-you-can-get memory and SSD storage and nano texture glass. And if I got really rich, I'd add an additional Pro XDR display with 6K :cool::love:.

After getting all that going, the only thing you can hope for is dying before all that becomes obsolete and falls out of service :LOL:.
 
I don't know if the new Ipad can be the right solution. In the past, I bought an Ipad Pro, the first version, and it's a tablet like many others.

The iMac 27 is a good solution, not too expensive and with excellent performance. Also, the display is perfect, very close in quality to the Eizo.

I bought the Eizo because I want the best monitor on the market, as you know, the Covid change our priority, and with the idea that I need to spend more time at home in front of a computer than outside taking pictures, better is the monitor less is the sufference. ;)

To upgrade my workstation, I'm waiting for the new M1X or M2 or ... processor to decide how to go.
I'm tented to try the small MacMini with M1, but I'm afraid that it will be a temporary solution for my needs. Another alternative may be a Window PC with high-end components, but I'm not a big fan of Microsoft.

I was hoping there was some succulent news in last night's Apple presentation, but nothing exciting was presented. I will have to wait even before I can choose wisely.
 
I'm at the early stages of shopping for a new laptop. I require a high level of mobility, so a desktop is out of the question.

Hard Drive
At this point I'd only consider an SSD rather than the older and cheaper spinning hard drives. For photography, it depends a bit on workflow, but I need at least a 1 TB SSD drive. My hard drive is used for front end processing - ingest, rating, keywording, editing, and storage of current material. For me, everything is backed up at least weekly to external hard drives with a primary copy, a backup, and an offsite backup swapped regularly. Once I am finished with a trip or project, it is just on my external backup drives. SSD is relatively expensive, so I based my sizing on about 400 GB that I like having readily available, and 600GB for work in progress photos. I only have RAW files - very few DNG or TIFF files. I have a group of folders where I store a small JPEG of anything processed for social media or sharing in some way. It's got about 150 photos per year and goes back more than 11 years. It's small enough that I can synch it with my iPad and iPhone, or use it as the basis to find images for sharing or presentations.

External / Backup Drives
I use a pair of external 8 TB drives for primary storage. I have a backup pair of drives as well as an offsite pair of drives - that's 6 8 TB drives and they are about 65% full.

RAM
I've currently got 16 MB of RAM on a 3.5 year old laptop with a moderately slow processor. It's not really enough for Topaz and Photo Merges in Lightroom or Photoshop. I'm going to have 32 GB of RAM in my next computer. I usually buy at the low end and then upgrade the RAM myself after purchase to get better quality memory for less money.

Monitor / Gamut
A standard laptop - especially the cheaper ones - displays less than 75% of sRGB color space. I'd consider 100% of sRGB a minimum threshold, and 95% of AdobeRGB a preferred level. I have a separate Wide Gamut monitor with more than 100% of Adobe RGB for final print editing, but for most images it's not necessary.
I currently have a touch screen on my laptop and don't really like it. Touch screen monitors are increasingly common, but the problem is they tend to be inconsistent across the screen. The color and brightness of the corners is usually different from the center. But - I do occasionally use the touch screen. On balance, I don't want a touch screen.
Many laptops are wide screen - 16:9 format. This tends to cut off the top and bottom of photos, but it does leave room for working panels on the sides. You probably need to learn to hide unneeded panels when you are editing to maximize available display space.
Monitor resolution - 8k, 4k, HD - has some debate. A lot of software does not display nicely at 8k, so I'd avoid that for now. What happens is the image and characters on the screen are much smaller than normal. To get something you can use, you need to reduce resolution to 4k or HD. While this will change over time, it's not ready right now. I would not go any larger than 4k, and HD is fine.

Ports
Unfortunately, as laptops have gotten thinner, ports have been compromised. The power connection may use a USB port on some laptops. Most peripherals use standard USB-C, but I see a number of laptops that only have one USB-C port, or even just USB-A ports. Be sure you have the latest version of USB 3.2 or higher, and at least one USB-C port. Take a look at your peripherals as you will likely need USB-A to USB-C adapters. The same is true for HDMI. On small laptops you may have a mini-HDMI port only. The small size of USB-A and mini HDMI makes them vulnerable to breakage, so be sure you have extra ports rather than a single port.

Processor
I think the latest Intel processor in the intel line is referred to as 10th generation. I've looked at i9 and i7 processors - mainly 9th and 10th generation. Newer processors are faster and more energy efficient. I don't have the AMD translation or equivalent.

Video card
You definitely need an upgraded video card. Look for a video card to support gaming with at least 4 MB of RAM - and more if possible. Video cards can get expensive, and you don't need to go overboard. But get something above the minimum. Usually this is an Nvidia GeoForce card.

Size and weight
I like a small, light laptop for travel. My ideal is probably 13 inches, but 15 inches and around 4 pounds is as big as I want.

The Dell XPS 15 is my most likely favorite right now. It's about $1800 configured as needed with 32 MB of RAM and 1 TB SSD.

The best pricing for laptops is normally around Christmas and in August for Back to School. You can save $200-500 on a laptop by buying at the right time of year.
 
I'm at the early stages of shopping for a new laptop. I require a high level of mobility, so a desktop is out of the question.

Hard Drive
At this point I'd only consider an SSD rather than the older and cheaper spinning hard drives. For photography, it depends a bit on workflow, but I need at least a 1 TB SSD drive. My hard drive is used for front end processing - ingest, rating, keywording, editing, and storage of current material. For me, everything is backed up at least weekly to external hard drives with a primary copy, a backup, and an offsite backup swapped regularly. Once I am finished with a trip or project, it is just on my external backup drives. SSD is relatively expensive, so I based my sizing on about 400 GB that I like having readily available, and 600GB for work in progress photos. I only have RAW files - very few DNG or TIFF files. I have a group of folders where I store a small JPEG of anything processed for social media or sharing in some way. It's got about 150 photos per year and goes back more than 11 years. It's small enough that I can synch it with my iPad and iPhone, or use it as the basis to find images for sharing or presentations.

External / Backup Drives
I use a pair of external 8 TB drives for primary storage. I have a backup pair of drives as well as an offsite pair of drives - that's 6 8 TB drives and they are about 65% full.

RAM
I've currently got 16 MB of RAM on a 3.5 year old laptop with a moderately slow processor. It's not really enough for Topaz and Photo Merges in Lightroom or Photoshop. I'm going to have 32 GB of RAM in my next computer. I usually buy at the low end and then upgrade the RAM myself after purchase to get better quality memory for less money.

Monitor / Gamut
A standard laptop - especially the cheaper ones - displays less than 75% of sRGB color space. I'd consider 100% of sRGB a minimum threshold, and 95% of AdobeRGB a preferred level. I have a separate Wide Gamut monitor with more than 100% of Adobe RGB for final print editing, but for most images it's not necessary.
I currently have a touch screen on my laptop and don't really like it. Touch screen monitors are increasingly common, but the problem is they tend to be inconsistent across the screen. The color and brightness of the corners is usually different from the center. But - I do occasionally use the touch screen. On balance, I don't want a touch screen.
Many laptops are wide screen - 16:9 format. This tends to cut off the top and bottom of photos, but it does leave room for working panels on the sides. You probably need to learn to hide unneeded panels when you are editing to maximize available display space.
Monitor resolution - 8k, 4k, HD - has some debate. A lot of software does not display nicely at 8k, so I'd avoid that for now. What happens is the image and characters on the screen are much smaller than normal. To get something you can use, you need to reduce resolution to 4k or HD. While this will change over time, it's not ready right now. I would not go any larger than 4k, and HD is fine.

Ports
Unfortunately, as laptops have gotten thinner, ports have been compromised. The power connection may use a USB port on some laptops. Most peripherals use standard USB-C, but I see a number of laptops that only have one USB-C port, or even just USB-A ports. Be sure you have the latest version of USB 3.2 or higher, and at least one USB-C port. Take a look at your peripherals as you will likely need USB-A to USB-C adapters. The same is true for HDMI. On small laptops you may have a mini-HDMI port only. The small size of USB-A and mini HDMI makes them vulnerable to breakage, so be sure you have extra ports rather than a single port.

Processor
I think the latest Intel processor in the intel line is referred to as 10th generation. I've looked at i9 and i7 processors - mainly 9th and 10th generation. Newer processors are faster and more energy efficient. I don't have the AMD translation or equivalent.

Video card
You definitely need an upgraded video card. Look for a video card to support gaming with at least 4 MB of RAM - and more if possible. Video cards can get expensive, and you don't need to go overboard. But get something above the minimum. Usually this is an Nvidia GeoForce card.

Size and weight
I like a small, light laptop for travel. My ideal is probably 13 inches, but 15 inches and around 4 pounds is as big as I want.

The Dell XPS 15 is my most likely favorite right now. It's about $1800 configured as needed with 32 MB of RAM and 1 TB SSD.

The best pricing for laptops is normally around Christmas and in August for Back to School. You can save $200-500 on a laptop by buying at the right time of year.
Gaming laptops often have a lot of overlap with photo editing needs. I picked up a Lenovo Legion at Costco a couple years ago, has been solid for Lightroom and Photoshop, as long as you keep in mind laptop displays usually lack in color gamut. Displaycal says this one gives about 75% of srgb.
 
After a while of searching, I decided to wait and asked my mother for a new camera instead. She bought it and I was happy until my computer started to glitch, and crash during some intensive tasks and now I am back on a search again. I am thinking about an m1 iMac. What are your thoughts about it?
 
After a while of searching, I decided to wait and asked my mother for a new camera instead. She bought it and I was happy until my computer started to glitch, and crash during some intensive tasks and now I am back on a search again. I am thinking about an m1 iMac. What are your thoughts about it?
iMac is superb. Retina display is unbeatable, short of buying a dedicated monitor capable of full color calibration (a good degree of calibration can be done on the Retina displays using third-party devices and software). Right now, the m1 iMac is only offered with a 24" display, I believe. 27" is not yet offered with m1 chip. 24" monitor still beats the heck out of any laptop display as far as useable real estate and ease of editing. Two strong recommendations: spring for the 16GB RAM option (+$200). You will most likely not be happy with 8GB. OWC (macsales.com) also offers much lower-cost RAM upgrades, but I don't think they're doing the m1 iMacs yet. You might check with them. Also, if you can swing it, opt for the 1TB SSD (also +$200). I run an iMac Pro with a 1TB SSD, 64GB RAM. and the SSD (my startup drive) is half full with nothing but apps and OS stuff.
 
iMac is superb. Retina display is unbeatable, short of buying a dedicated monitor capable of full color calibration (a good degree of calibration can be done on the Retina displays using third-party devices and software). Right now, the m1 iMac is only offered with a 24" display, I believe. 27" is not yet offered with m1 chip. 24" monitor still beats the heck out of any laptop display as far as useable real estate and ease of editing. Two strong recommendations: spring for the 16GB RAM option (+$200). You will most likely not be happy with 8GB. OWC (macsales.com) also offers much lower-cost RAM upgrades, but I don't think they're doing the m1 iMacs yet. You might check with them. Also, if you can swing it, opt for the 1TB SSD (also +$200). I run an iMac Pro with a 1TB SSD, 64GB RAM. and the SSD (my startup drive) is half full with nothing but apps and OS stuff.
Thank you. I was thinking about the iMac 27'', but I is very expensive to go with what I want in Lithuania. Yes in Lithuania it is quite expensive and if I go with both options that you said( I will go with them) I am looking at around 2400 euros.
 
Thank you. I was thinking about the iMac 27'', but I is very expensive to go with what I want in Lithuania. Yes in Lithuania it is quite expensive and if I go with both options that you said( I will go with them) I am looking at around 2400 euros.
Yes, that is the only drawback to Apple products. They are a joy to use and extremely reliable, but you pay dearly for those attributes. My iMac/drive setup was over US$6000. Painful. Fortunately I only need a new system every eight to ten years, so the pain is spread out over time. Good luck!
 
After a while of searching, I decided to wait and asked my mother for a new camera instead. She bought it and I was happy until my computer started to glitch, and crash during some intensive tasks and now I am back on a search again. I am thinking about an m1 iMac. What are your thoughts about it?
I just got an M1 Mac Mini and use it with a BenQ 27" 4k monitor and it's a great combination. The M1 mini is strong enough to edit 100 megapixel images and edit video with rare slowdowns and the monitor has a great color gamut. I liked the small size for my small work area, plus I already owned the monitor from when it extended my previous laptop's display. I backup all my working images to an external thunderbolt SSD and then the full library to an NAS system. I use an ipad for mobile photo editing instead of a laptop these days.
 
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