laptop compatibility

[Andrea23159925gjwy]

hello, my current laptop is very old and slow and I am thinking of buying a new one.

Could you please advise if this one is good and fast for lighttoom? 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-512gb-ssd-natural-...

thank you!

[Conrad_C]

The linked laptop is minimal in almost every way. It barely meets the Minimum level of system requirements for Lightroom Classic, and does not meet the Recommended level. It has only four CPU cores and Intel integrated graphics, with the system and graphics trying to share only 8GB RAM. If there is not enough free memory for its Intel Xe graphics to allocate 2GB of system RAM to graphics, this laptop won’t have enough shared memory to enable full graphics acceleration in Lightroom Classic or use the new AI features in Lightroom Classic such as People Masking and AI Denoise. It may have enough power for basic editing only. I would not buy it.

[D Fosse]

Agreed. This will only result in endless frustration.

We're now at a point where Lightroom and Photoshop are putting significant demands on the hardware. They will no longer run on "just anything". That shift is possible because the new mobile apps take over that market segment.

Specifically, the GPU is rapidly becoming crucial in a way it never was before. Previously you needed just a "working" GPU; now you need a capable one as well, something like an RTX 30-series or similar. An integrated GPU will simply not be up to it.

i5 or i7, 32 GB RAM, terabyte NVMe drives, dedicated midrange-and-up GPU. Those are the realistic requirements now.

[Andrea23159925gjwy]

I know 😞 thank you D Fosse for your precious email!
I am already a champion of frustration....with my current laptop I have
tried the new denoise option and the waiting time was 6.5 hours....I left
the laptop running in the night just to see how the picture would look
like...and it crashed!!! 😄 yep! that's why I am here! can you recommend
something humanly affordable? also used...I really don't care. I would just
need it for Lightroom and PS.

Thank you once again for your help!

[Andrea23159925gjwy]

Thank you so much Conrad! I really appreciate your answer. Could you share
some options? and by that I would say something affordable and also used. I
don't mind that as long as it does a good job.

Thank you once again for your help!

[Conrad_C]

Because you asked about a Windows PC laptop, I would recommend taking the advice given later in this thread by dj_paige. I run Lightroom Classic on a Mac, where it’s more difficult to find a good solution under $1000.

(The only real Mac option under that price for Lightroom Classic is the M1 MacBook Air. The base model lists for $999 new but can be found for $899 in some places, or $849 refurbished from Apple if available. I am not sure how it would compare to the PC laptop dj_paige suggested.)

[Andrea23159925gjwy]

Thank you so much for your help Conrad! I really appreciate it!

[dj_paige]

and by that I would say something affordable and also used. I don't mind that as long as it does a good job.

We don't know what you mean by affordable; we don't know what you mean by "does a good job".

[Andrea23159925gjwy]

thank you dj_paige.
Affordable = max 1000USD

Good job = not crashing every 2 minutes and capable of completing tasks

[dj_paige]

Any computer should not crash every two minutes (should not crash at all) if the hardware is not malfunctioning and you have up-to-date drivers for your hardware.

You might want to consider a new laptop such as this one: https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Tracer-V-Gaming-I17G-100 for $895. (yes, it's sold out right now, but I'm sure they will offer it or a similar laptop again) It has the same GPU that I have right now, and my GPU can Denoise a 24MB photo in under 3 minutes. It has a relatively fast CPU. Plus you get a 1 year warranty.

[Andrea23159925gjwy]

wow!!! thank you so much dj_paige! very useful information. I currently
have a yoga 520 and it's too weak! I will definitely buy the one you shared
as soon as it's available.
thank you

[dj_paige]

For that particular laptop, I didn't notice at first, but it has just 8GB of RAM, you might want to add more RAM so it has 16 GM of RAM, that costs another $75. This is highly recommended.

Another suggestion, @Andrea23159925gjwy — it certainly doesn't have to be that exact laptop. There are other laptops on that web site (usually costing more) that you might like, and other laptops available elsewhere that will have similar capabilities. If you're not sure about if it has the desired components, feel free to ask.

[Andrea23159925gjwy]

thank you so much dj_paige! what do you think about this?
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/laptops/xps-13-plus/spd/xps-13-9320-laptop/xn9320fowrs

[John Waller]

That link is for the 8GB memory (RAM) option. You need at least 16GB.

[Andrea23159925gjwy]

Thank you John Walker.
Would this work fine? is the graphics good enough?

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/laptops/xps-13-plus/spd/xps-13-9320-laptop/xn9320fowts

Thank you so much for your help!

[dj_paige]

I am skeptical that Intel Iris Xe Graphics is good enough for the new AI Denoise in Lightroom Classic, but I haven't really heard anyone comment on it either.

[D Fosse]

Agreed. Don't think that will be good enough for Denoise - nor for further advanced GPU functions that will no doubt come.

[Andrea23159925gjwy]

Thank you so much D Fosse and dj_paige for your help!
I was wondering....if you had some time....could you share the best
configuration from the link I sent for around 1000$?

[dj_paige]

Honestly, I think Dell computers are overpriced (they are charging you extra for the Dell name), while CyberPowerPC computers are generally less expensive with relatively high quality components. Sadly, the CyberPowerPC laptop I recommended is still sold out, but they say there is an estimated shipping date of 17MAY2023 which may be an indication of the fact that people seem to like it at that price point.

[Andrea23159925gjwy]

Hi dj_paige I would buy it immediately and in fact, I also wrote to them
directly...and they don't seem to re-sell it! I have received a price for
1,800$...this is why I am looking around for options 😕

[dj_paige]

I think you are just going to have to accept that at $1000, its very difficult to find a laptop that covers all the bases that you need to run Lightroom Classic at an acceptable speed. I'd believe that the Dell Laptop will do find for most Lightroom Classic features, but some of the newer AI (artifical intelligence) features such as masking and Denoise will be quite slow.

Maybe you want to go back to checking for used laptops.

[dj_paige]

To quote @D Fosse earlier in this thread:

"We're now at a point where Lightroom and Photoshop are putting significant demands on the hardware. They will no longer run on 'just anything'. That shift is possible because the new mobile apps take over that market segment."

[Andrea23159925gjwy]

....I see....what about these 2?




https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-zephyrus-14-wqxga-120hz-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-9-16gb-ddr5-me...



https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-predator-triton-300-se-14-165hz-creator-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i...

[Abdul Qadir31080106rgz0]

It's generally recommended to choose a laptop with a fast processor (Intel Core i5 or higher), ample RAM (8 GB or more), and a solid-state drive (256 GB or higher) for faster storage access. Additionally, a dedicated graphics card can enhance certain tasks. Remember to check the laptop's compatibility with Lightroom's system requirements, and consider factors such as display quality and connectivity options to ensure a pleasant editing experience.

Last year I also bought a Laptop from https://www.paklap.pk/ and it is working fine, all I had to do was to increase its RAM.