What is are the minimum requirements for a computer?

~Jan~

My laptop recently died, and my desktop is a dinosaur. I think rather than replacing both, I may just buy a killer laptop and have an external monitor for it at my desk.

I know getting the same goods on a laptop as a desktop is more expensive, but I'd LOVE to be able to sit on the sofa and edit photos (I'm lazy like that) and then hook up to a good monitor to double-check them all before sending them off. So, it's worth it to me to pay a bit more and turn our household into a 1-computer place.

Anyhow, if you are still reading, I'd love to know the minimum requirements for photo editing. I use Elements 5.0 now, but I will upgrade to CS3 at some point, so this new computer needs to be able to handle it. What do I need for a hard drive, RAM, processor, etc. on the laptop, and then what are the minimums for a good monitor?

Lovesong

Hi Jan-
A laptop is certainly a convenient piece of equipment if you're making presentations, work on the road, or MUST have the mobility. That being said, it is by no means a substitute for a desktop, especially for image editing. For the most part, the thin LCD displays on a portable are not suitable for imaging. They present off-colors, and the fact that even some of the better ones change brightness at different viewing angles should not instill much faith in you. Moreover, the fact that the largest hard drives that you can purchase at the moment are 300 GB 4200RPMs (160GB for the 7200RPM), will mean that you will need to get externals, and you won't be able to have immediate access of all that much.

To answer your question, currently top of the line chips for laptops are the Intel Core2Duo chips (2.4GHz, or T7700). These can take up to 4GB of RAM, but I think you should be fine with 2gigs, even when you get CS3 (you can add these in yourself later). I'd try to get one with a 5400RPM hard drive (currently the largest are 250 GBs). I'd advise a machine that has an express card slot, a fast (at least 6X) DVD burner, DVI output, and a 128MB dedicated graphics card (something like the lowly ATI X1600 will be fine). You'll also want a mouse (unless you're a masochist and like editing pictures with a tackpad)- Logitech make some really nice ones.

The monitor situation is a bit more complex. First off, what is your budget, and how large of a display are you looking for? There are a myriad of monitors out there, some that are better for photography, some that are aimed at gamers, and some that are a complete waste of money. There are 30" widescreens out there for the bargain price of $1500, or there are some professional BenQs that are 19" squares and run for about the same. It's important to understand what your needs are on this one, before we might be able to make a suggestion. One thing I would advise against (and this goes for the laptop screen as well) is to stay away from the glossy screens, as they will not give you acurate color reproduction-i.e. they'll over-saturate the colors.

~Jan~

Lovesong wrote:

Hi Jan-
A laptop is certainly a convenient piece of equipment if you're making presentations, work on the road, or MUST have the mobility. That being said, it is by no means a substitute for a desktop, especially for image editing. For the most part, the thin LCD displays on a portable are not suitable for imaging. They present off-colors, and the fact that even some of the better ones change brightness at different viewing angles should not instill much faith in you. Moreover, the fact that the largest hard drives that you can purchase at the moment are 300 GB 4200RPMs (160GB for the 7200RPM), will mean that you will need to get externals, and you won't be able to have immediate access of all that much.

To answer your question, currently top of the line chips for laptops are the Intel Core2Duo chips (2.4GHz, or T7700). These can take up to 4GB of RAM, but I think you should be fine with 2gigs, even when you get CS3 (you can add these in yourself later). I'd try to get one with a 5400RPM hard drive (currently the largest are 250 GBs). I'd advise a machine that has an express card slot, a fast (at least 6X) DVD burner, DVI output, and a 128MB dedicated graphics card (something like the lowly ATI X1600 will be fine). You'll also want a mouse (unless you're a masochist and like editing pictures with a tackpad)- Logitech make some really nice ones.

The monitor situation is a bit more complex. First off, what is your budget, and how large of a display are you looking for? There are a myriad of monitors out there, some that are better for photography, some that are aimed at gamers, and some that are a complete waste of money. There are 30" widescreens out there for the bargain price of $1500, or there are some professional BenQs that are 19" squares and run for about the same. It's important to understand what your needs are on this one, before we might be able to make a suggestion. One thing I would advise against (and this goes for the laptop screen as well) is to stay away from the glossy screens, as they will not give you acurate color reproduction-i.e. they'll over-saturate the colors.

Thanks for taking the time to answer all of my questions! I will do the bulk of my editing, especially the color part, with the laptop hooked to the external monitor. The only thing I'll do away from the desk is basic crops, skin touch-ups, etc. I will always finish up on my regular monitor, because I know from past experience that a laptop just looks different every way you look at it. I also think I'll get an external hard drive to keep at the desk to store my photos once I'm finished editing them.

As far as cost...I don't know what to say. I don't need a monster monitor, for sure. Ours now is 19 or 20" and I feel it's just fine, size-wise. I guess it depends on how much I make on photos this month. I plan to get the laptop first and use my old monitor for a month, so I'm not making two $1000+ purchases in the same month. I refuse to go into debt for this little hobby of mine.

Lovesong

That sounds reasonable (as much as photography can be )

If you're looking for something in the middle (size-wize and performance- (and price-) wize), I'd recomend you look at Dell monitors. The 20" and 24" widescreen Ultrasharp pannels are great (stay away from the 22). I've had a 24" for about 2 years now, and that thing is great. These days you can get them for under $600. Good luck.

Richard

~Jan~ wrote:

. What do I need for a hard drive, RAM, processor, etc. on the laptop, and then what are the minimums for a good monitor?

If you are interested in Windows, have a look at this recent thread. If you are consdering Mac, stay tuned and about 50 people will jump in with advice.

Lovesong

rsinmadrid wrote:

If you are consdering Mac, stay tuned and about 50 people will jump in with advice.

We already did

~Jan~

Lovesong wrote:

We already did

I already asked my husband for a Mac and got the big NO WAY. He is the IT guy for a college that teaches computer-aided drafting, and it's ALL Windows. He refuses to acknowledge the existance of Macs.

Now knowing that about him, you are probably wondering why I'm asking YOU these questions and not him...I think it's kinda like when there's a doctor in the family...you still go to another doctor.

claudermilk

I can understand his point of view, also being a Windows guy (and long-time reformed Mac zealot). They are computers just like any other and have problems just like any other. If you're already Windows-based there is no compelling reason to switch--Windows based machines are equally capable in image editing as Macs--despite what the company and their supporters would like you to believe.

Anyway, I'll add another thing to take a look at: a Wacom tablet. Once you've used on to perform edits in PS, you will wonder what took you so long.

colourbox

I only recently bought a desktop because I needed the power for bulk raw editing. But for the longest time a laptop was my only machine. I agree that you can get a lot done on a laptop. You can work on highlight and shadow clipping, composition, sharpness, etc. You can certainly get images into the ballpark for later tuning on the desktop. Not to mention, a laptop is perfectly suitable for mass keywording, IPTC annotating, and smugmug gallery editing.

If you get a laptop, you might want to make sure it has a DVI video-out port, not just old analog VGA. A friend just got a PC laptop and it only had VGA (which is fine for her, because she is not a photographer and will never use that port). You'll get a better, sharper external monitor picture with DVI.

I use a Mac, but if I were buying a PC or Mac laptop for CS3, I would get a Core 2 Duo CPU with at least 2GB of RAM (preferably 4+) and at least a 5400RPM (preferably 7200RPM) 160GB or larger hard drive depending on the size of your collection.

And yeah, Wacom tablets are awesome, but are not really easy to use on the sofa. For desktop use only.

Andy

~Jan~ wrote:

I already asked my husband for a Mac and got the big NO WAY. He is the IT guy for a college that teaches computer-aided drafting, and it's ALL Windows. He refuses to acknowledge the existance of Macs.

Now knowing that about him, you are probably wondering why I'm asking YOU these questions and not him...I think it's kinda like when there's a doctor in the family...you still go to another doctor.

So you're letting your husband prevent you from having the best possible computing experience of your life?

You don't need tech support with a Mac.

~Jan~

Andy wrote:

So you're letting your husband prevent you from having the best possible computing experience of your life?

Andy, why don't you tell me how you really feel. Would you kick your wife out if she brought home a PC?

rdlugosz

@ all of the Mac banter!

If you are going with a PC, stick with Windows XP and stay away from Vista!! If you're interested, you can see the details of a recent system that I built, although it's not a laptop. My total cost was probably about $450, although I had the drives already.

Oh - and if you do get a laptop, stay away from the glossy screens; they'll mislead you while editing photos.

Lovesong

Andy wrote:

So you're letting your husband prevent you from having the best possible computing experience of your life?

You don't need tech support with a Mac.

Andy-
While I would be the last to argue about the advantages of a mac over a pc (believe me, I saw the light about three years ago, and am never getting a PC again), the fact is that macs are not for everyone.

By asking a question the way she did, I'm going to assume that Jan is not the most computer-literate person (no offense- this is coming from someone that spends their time on the internet between macrumors, anandtech, tom's hardware, and fred miranda). For the most part a PC offers that easy familiar learning curve, and if you know the system, you are more likely to be able to use it. Learning a mac involves a little adjustment, which a number of people are simply not willing to invest their time in. I have a couple of friends up in Seattle that I finally managed to convert to Macs about 6 months ago. While they are both relatively good with computers, the first three months I was barraged with e-mails spanning from "Where are my programs?" to "Do I really need that Utilities folder, because I just trashed it?"

My advice to Jan would be to stick to what she knows. Yes- I agree Windows is a pain, once you have seen the wonders of the Mac universe. But she did mention that she was on a budget. A top of the line MBP like the one I'm writting on cost me over $2100 last November. A MB, which will need to be supped up with RAM in order to handle PS, will run her about $1500. A Dell (or even those HP ) laptop will surely cost her under a grand. I'm not subscribing to the notion that macs are more expensive than PCs, especially not in the high end models, but for the Minimum requirements (as the thread title read), she couldn't do any better with her money.

~Jan~

Well since my husband does all of the fixing when I mess things up on the computer, it's nice that HE understand the one we have. I'm fairly comfortable w/ both, as I had a Mac in my classroom for three years (and I can say I find PC's easier to use).

ANYHOW, I've been shopping online, and I printed off a few things from Circuit City, Staples, & Best Buy to show him. He vetoed them all--saying that those stores sell 2nd rate products that have had corners cut. Un-expandable memory, small monitors, etc. They had some good features, but on every single one he was able to point out where a major corner had been cut.
So, we are buying it from CDW. Now, I just have to decide which.