configuring a new laptop PC

[Newmarket2]

I'm shopping a new laptop and was wondering which do's and don't's are important.

I would start with 16 GB of RAM, an Intel i7 (not sure which one) and at least 1/2 TB of SSL memory.

I'm very unsure about the benefits of a graphics card.  One might assume that being a very graphical (vs. textual) application, more would help here, but I recall reading somewhere that this wasn't necessarily true..

Links to published benchmarks would be appreciated as well as personal views based on experience.

[Newmarket2]

Can you relate this advice to specific functions in LR?  I'm hearing multiple votes for a dedicated GPU but no one is helping me understand the potential benefit to me. 

And, generally speaking, not being a professional and currently working on a 3 year old machine, I have found the improvement of even base-configuration machines is dramatic over 3 years without having to pay much more for the current "best".  In almost every area of technology, I go for last year's Best. 

[Michael J. Hoffman · Accepted solution]

The dedicated GPU provides a performance benefit for Lightroom, since the algorithms within Lightroom's image handling routines are now optimized to take advantage of the architecture of GPUs, which provide a massively parallel pipeline for image manipulation tasks. The details are very complex, but the bottom line is that Lightroom will take advantage of a GPU's capability to provide significant performance increases in the Develop module and in preview generation. 

[Newmarket2]

Very helpful, Michael, as I use Develop a lot and have been having trouble with the speed of preview generation.

[dj_paige]

In almost every area of technology, I go for last year's Best. 

Great philosophy, except when you are using software that does things that are CPU and GPU intensive. Might still work in that case too, but I'm skeptical.

[Newmarket2]

Discouraging....I'm not finding many options below $1,500 with discrete graphics, light-enough, 1TB, no larger than 14", etc

In doing research, I discovered that one option I was considering didn't work with a docking station.  I should have mentioned that I have invested in a dock and 2 decent monitor for my home setup and don't want to have to upgrade further.

So, I'm now going back and questioning my most basic requirements....and that is:  use one laptop for desk work in LR and use when away (aka "light/small enough") and wondering (for your comments) perhaps I should get a tower/desktop and a much less costly and more portable laptop.

This would mean using an external ssd drive and swapping it between machines.  [I should add that I do not travel a lot, so I wouldn't be swapping more often than 2x per month]

What do you think about this configuration from a workflow and performance perspective?

[C.Cella]

I have a MacBook M1 Pro Max laptop for my work and it's excellent.

There are good laptops form the likes of MSI or Ausus as well.

MSI offers more alternatives and better specs; is the close competitor to Mac in therms of performance.

Storing your files on an internal SSD I have found is not worth it so I would not bother with an external SSD.

.

[Newmarket2]

"Storing your files on an internal SSD I have found is not worth it so I would not bother with an external SSD. "

Did you mean "Storing your files on an EXTERNAL SSD...." ????

[Newmarket2]

Asking a more general question:

Does anyone use a configuration with a desktop for most LR work and a laptop for travel (storing, removing bad images and organizing)?  If so, what is your workflow and the configurations you use?

[C.Cella]

@Newmarket2 

The best performance can obviously be found in desktop stations or Mac Studio.

If you can go for a desktop go for it but latest high end Laptops are perfectly good for LrC.

Ad yes I mean internal SSD is not a game changer because LR is inefficient at writing and reading XMP.

Store your Catalog in a internal SSD but your actual photos can sit comfortably on a $70 external HDD.

.

Ideally 

[C.Cella]

@Newmarket2 

High end laptops offer performance and portability.

To get the best out of Masking in LrC you need very good hardware.

Do you use History in your workflow in LrC?

[Newmarket2]

But, I'm unable to find a configuration with 14", 1TB, 16GB, discrete graphics, under $1,500 and works with a dock.

A tower would allow me to achieve my configuration as, I'm expecting, a price within my budget.

This would allow me to continue to use my current laptop IF the workflow (working on 2 machines) wouldn't be a mistake.

I do virtually all of my development work at home and do not need portability for that. 

[dj_paige]

Discouraging....I'm not finding many options below $1,500 with discrete graphics, light-enough, 1TB, no larger than 14", etc

By @Newmarket2

I gave a link earlier to CyberpowerPC, I'm sure I saw options under $1500.

[Newmarket2]

Discrete graphics card.  Got it!

What about CPU? 

Any difference between Intel and AMD?

Any impact on LR performance going to i9 vs i7?

And, many models of i7 with different core counts....any major impact on LR?

Remember, $ does cost me and I'm not a professional and my current laptop is 3 years old

[Newmarket2]

End of story.....

purchased Dell XPS 14 Plus.

Discrete NVIDIA;  12th gen i7;  gave up 1GB SSD for 512GB....will store RAW images on external drive.

Under $1,200