Find solution
What could you recommend for a PC playing?

What laptop do I need for photo and video editing (and playing Minecraft at a higher framerate)?

  • What laptop do I need for photo and video editing (and playing Minecraft at a higher framerate)? I'm a photographer, and I need to upgrade my laptop. I'm useless with hardware stuff, so I don't know what sort of specs I should look at. I suspect the answer is more than just "add ram." What do I need in a laptop for photo and video editing (and playing Minecraft at a higher framerate)? I'd prefer a PC because that's what I'm familiar with. I regularly use Photoshop, Photo Mechanic, and Lightroom. And I'll be starting to do video editing and will probably be using Adobe Premiere for that. I deal with large volumes of 12-20+ megapixel raw files, and often need to have 10 or 20 images open at the same time in Photoshop. I'd like a smaller screen (14" or 15"), and extra USB ports are a plus. I'd also like to play Minecraft and relatively modern FPS games with a decent framerate. I've been using cheap Dells in the past, but I think I can do better. Can you recommend a laptop for me? If not, what sort of specifications should I look for that will be make photo and video editing a breeze? I've got a decent bit of money to work with, but I also don't want to spend $5,000.

  • Answer:

    My understanding is that one of the most important components for video editing is the processor and that video editing benefits greatly from hyper-threading. So, you should take a hard look at a machine with an i7 processor, either the i7-2735's, the i7-2770's or the i7-2820 or 60. The processors alone are in the $300 range, so the finished machine will be pricey.

msbrauer at Ask.Metafilter.Com Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

I know you said PC, but you really, really should check out a Macbook pro at the nearest Apple store. All the Adobe stuff is on OSX, and the screens are so much nicer and more accurate than the kind of screen you'd get on a dell. You're not going to want to bother with an air because of drive space (and also minecraft runs on it, but it's a bit laggy on my air).

empath

I've got a couple of programs I rely on that are Windows only, so Macs are out for now.

msbrauer

There are like, a dozen different ways to run windows inside of macs. Not that you should or shouldn't get a mac! Just that windows only programs are not much of a reason, one way or another.

jsturgill

Soon-to-graduate student photographer here. I just ordered this Sager http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_customed&model_name=NP8130 last week. Not cheap but there are many customization options. Great for gaming, great for PS, and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to fly airplanes with it, too.

mcbeth

Thanks, all. Maybe I should ask my question more specifically. What specs on a computer most effect performance when working with hi-res photos and video?

msbrauer

RAM.

empath

What about video memory? Is that different? Is any video card good?

msbrauer

1) memory / RAM 2) display quality 3) disk space 4) processor speed http://www.squidoo.com/best-rated-laptop-computers likes the MacBook Pro line. You can use BootCamp (from Apple) to install Windows on the machine and get a completely Windows environment if you so desire. The quality of the hardware is difficult (but not impossible) to match from traditional Windows vendors.

blob

If you really don't want to consider a Macintosh, I would look for the following specifications: * Sandy Bridge (i7) processor * the best screen quality you can find. The other bits can be expanded (i.e. I would recommend 8Gb of RAM and a fast large capacity hard drive). A SSD instead of a traditional hard drive will improve performance while lowering capacity (due to the fact that SSD is much more expensive than traditional rotating hard drives.)

blob

Load more

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.