Laptop help needed

[joinerman]

My daughter who is an artist & photographer needs a new laptop, we want to get her a new one for crimbo but are clueless on what spec to get her, She has her own website & does a lot of photo editing.

Anyone clued up enough to point in the right direction.

 

[Steve Wright]

My daughter who is an artist & photographer needs a new laptop, we want to get her a new one for crimbo but are clueless on what spec to get her, She has her own website & does a lot of photo editing.

Anyone clued up enough to point in the right direction.

Hi
you say she needs a new laptop, but you did not say if she already has one,
I think most people who do things with pictures etc use a "Mac" I have no experience with them but if she wants a Windows based machine she need the highest processor speed, the best Ram memory and a big hard drive.
at the moment you are looking for I7 processor, 16Gig Ram, and 2x Terra bite hard drive is good spec but
it depends upon the finances

 

[MarkW]

As Steve said a lot of artists etc use Mac’s but they are going to cost significantly more that a windows based equivalent spec

Ideally specify the best processor you can (i7) and a decent amount of RAM, at least 8Gb. I’d go for a reasonable sized Solid State Drive over a large capacity, these use less power and let the computer run a bit quicker accessing files.

Extra storage capacity can be added with cheap external hard drives.

 

[StarCruiser]

As above. She would normally use an Apple Mac. Does she have any colleagues you could ask as to what she would need so you get exactly what’s needed rather than what somebody thinks she might need? You are right to ask as these things vary considerably and you could pay a lot of money for a great computer that isn’t exactly what she wants.

One alternative is to draw her up a voucher, on some nice paper, that says you’ll buy her one that she needs. You could put a value on it and if she wanted a dearer one, she could add to it. That way she chooses exactly what she wants and needs, you don’t buy the wrong thing, and they will probably be cheaper in the January sales anyway. She will also likely appreciate the time and effort you put into hand writing the voucher. Ribbons and bows and that sort of thing. A greater surprise too.

 

[nick_the_fish]

You haven't given an idea of your budget, but I agree with the guys above, if she's a creative go with a Mac. I changed over about 7 years ago and wish i'd done is sooner - they really are so much better.

MacBooks are great. The MacBook Air or MacBook Pro are good if you can afford the extra but not necessary by any means. The basic MacBook is a great laptop and will certainly do for the needs of most people. If the budget allows go for the higher spec MacBook, then the Pro

1 final thought, if you're spending this kind of money, is it worth asking her what she wants or needs so you don't end up buying the wrong thing? I know it ruins the surprise if you do it before christmas, or you end up with nothing to give on christmas day, but you'd hate to spend over a grand on the wrong thing??? Just a thought.

 

[nick_the_fish]

Great mind think alike Rich! we must have been thinking the same thing as we were typing at the same time!

 

[Shayne]

I know as little as you joinerman and without knowing what shes got now that makes me even more blind . Lots of money involved though so assuming she's not a kid who still believes in Santa i would say look at prices and talk to her .

I know nothing about Mac but in simple terms look at prices for a Gamers Laptop just to give yourself a ballpark idea of prices if she wants to stick with windows .

 

[flint]

If you do go for a mac, worth looking here: https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/refurbished/mac

 

[joinerman]

Well thanks all for your responses & info, all dully noted & now on the search.
i do know she wants to stay with a windows based machine.

 

[MarkW]

Well that eliminates some of the choices.

I’ve had a Lenovo Thinkpad for a number of years now nd very pleased with it. Looked at changing for a newer model when I broke the screen but decided to get it repaired. I’d have another one.

 

[Ben Stratford]

Well that eliminates some of the choices.

I’ve had a Lenovo Thinkpad for a number of years now nd very pleased with it. Looked at changing for a newer model when I broke the screen but decided to get it repaired. I’d have another one.

Me too Mark, a quality bit if kit the Lenovo.

 

[StarCruiser]

Same here. Lenovo Yoga 900. Lightweight, compact and versatile with touchscreen. Shame Microsoft are slowly killing the windows 10 that’s on it as it was perfect out the box and now has many little nuisances.

 

[Paddler Ed]

If using it for work, reliability is going to be key.

I've run Lenovo ThinkPads for the last 5 and a bit years, before that I had a Dell that had about 4 years under it's belt by the time it got retired. In all those cases, they've come direct from Lenovo or Dell and are from the enterprise ranges - a bit heavier, a bit uglier but completely repairable. In both cases I bought the extended warranties with on site service and did need them (unfortunately) but what it means is you have someone there to your door within 2 working days normally - so you hardly have any down time.

I've been running a Lenovo Edge E530 (replaced by the E580) that's done really well... battered to hell, but still working (just...) as a portable every day for the last 5 years: https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/thinkpad/edge-series/c/thinkpade

I'm now using a Thinkpad T530 that came via a mate's work: https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/c/thinkpadt

I can't remember what the Dell was I had, but it got a hammering as well...

 

[grantw]

The most important thing to look for is to get a Solid State Drive Disk (SSD). The hard disk drive is always the slowest component in a computer so getting a fast one of these makes the most noticeable difference, especially a couple of years of updates and software installs.

 

[Rodger]

You stated that your daughter does photo edits and is an artist so screen size will be a factor as well as the tech side of things. As someone who plays around with photos, etc a 17" screen is the smallest that is realistically usable and bigger may well be better for her. But I don't know how big laptop screens go.

Regards

Rodger

 

[MarkW]

It’s always a balance between size and weight with laptops. Mine is. 14” screen and it works for me editing photos and videos on the move. But I don’t do a huge amount.

It’s the sort of issue you’ll need you daughters input on. With a small screen laptop you can always plug it into a larger screen at home or even a HD TV if it has hdmi output