Recurring question - Best CPU and Windows laptop for Lightroom, Photoshop, et al

Report · May 11, 2018

I didn't find any recent topics on this, and it seems like the landscape changes about every 3 weeks, but I'm in the middle of East Overshoe processing images and realized once again that my current laptop isn't exactly blinding fast: Alienware 17 R3, i7-6700HQ @2.6GHz, 16GB memory, GTX970 graphics, standard 1920x1200 HD screen, Windows 64... Lightroom Classic CC 7.3.1 and Photoshop (whatever the current version this week is)...

It's NOT dreadful for doing most basic things, but when I start processing images from the D850, especially when it has to handle image stacks, HDR or panoramas, it's not nearly as fast as the desktop at home. I understand that despite the frequent claims to the contrary, Lightroom will NEVER be fast doing a lot of things, but once it gets to the "over a minute" range to string together a 5-shot panorama, and I can watch the memory max out at 15.9 GB, I figure it's time to think about a change (and yeah there's a 50GB LR cache on the SSD as well as a huge scratch disk for PS)...

And it's not just Lightroom - there are things in Photoshop that aren't screaming fast either, and Helicon Focus, Nik HDR Efex Pro, Affinity HDR, and most of the other image processing software I use could use some speeding up... Since I can't do the overclocking on the laptop I do at home, I'm thinking at some point I'll get annoyed and replace this laptop... SO...

A SIDE question - Is there reasonably likely going to be a SIGNIFICANT performance improvement on this laptop replacing the 16GB of memory with 32GB (if it's even supported)?

STAYING IN WNDOWS.................... "Get a MAC" isn't useful or feasible.

I don't care about battery life - I have A/C power in the truck and in the RV as needed, so long battery life isn't important.

Same for size and weight. I'd prefer it weigh less than an SUV, but in general I'm not hiking the Himalayas with it on my back. Largest possible/reasonable screen is far more important than light weight.

How much memory to realistically optimize a system for image processing - I see the laptop max out the 16GB without much trouble, and at Home I've seen Lightroom and Photoshop max out 32GB.

Graphics - I presume the demands are less than hard-core gaming even for the 4K screens, but what's needed to do a really good job? My current GTX 970 (on both boxes) seems fine, but with 4K screens I'm guessing something more may be in order.

Staying in Windows, presuming price is not a major consideration, what's the fastest/best for image processing LAPTOP CPU currently available? And if there are any insights into the next half year, those would be welcome too...

AND, the best, largest (at least 17") screen LAPTOP for incorporating the faster CPU and whatever else is needed to significantly improve image processing performance on the road...

Report · May 11, 2018

You want to get the fastest CPU you can afford. Do not skimp on the CPU. Get a standard HD 1920x1080 monitor, and then you won't need to spend on a great GPU. (But if you get a 4K or larger monitor, you will need to spend on a top of the line GPU). If you are doing panoramas or HDR, 16GB of RAM might be a limitation; otherwise 16GB of RAM is fine. THIS ADVICE IS FOR LIGHTROOM ONLY, I make no claims of knowing what Photoshop needs.

Report · May 12, 2018

Thanks for the reply... At the moment I've looked quickly online at some of the laptops that are considered "very good for image processing" and in most cases they've got slower CPUs than I currently do, the same or less memory, and so on... I don't know what kind of images they're processing, but I just got through totally BURYING this poor laptop doing a couple panoramas - only 5 shots from the D850, so nothing large or extraordinary... It got so bad, with Photoshop gobbling memory like crazy, that Lightroom wouldn't even refresh. Just hung there with black boxes on the screen... Finally had to kill both PS and LR to get them to release the memory. At least part of the problem seems to be that once they've got a chunk of memory they don't want to give it back even after closing the finished image in Photoshop.

Anyhow, after looking at some of these "high-end" image processing laptops I gave up and went back to gaming machines like the current Alienware 17. There, it looks like a choice between the i7-8750H or the i9-8950HK. A $600 upgrade that I'll have to see if it's worthwhile. Going from 16GB to 32GB of memory is another $300.

The screen has about EIGHT upgrades between 1920x1200 and 3840x2160. I'm not sure what the difference is between "UHD (3840 x 2160) 60Hz IPS Anti-Glare 300-nits with Tobii IR Eye-tracking- Silver Chassis" and "UHD (3840 x 2160) 60Hz IPS AG 300-nits NVIDIA G-SYNC w/ Tobii IR Eye-tracking-Silver Chassis" (it appears to be G-SYNC which I'll have to figure out if it does ANYTHING useful for doing simple image optimization) but from 1920x1200 to to that is about $450.

So, it's a chunk, though the largest chunk is the CPU... Anyone have some thoughts on other options for CPUs and laptops that would be as good or BETTER choices, providing greater speed and capability in a 17" (or larger) laptop?

Report · May 13, 2018

At the moment I've looked quickly online at some of the laptops that are considered "very good for image processing"

This is almost definitely marketing hype, and not any statement that has concrete meaning with respect to Lightroom.

I just got through totally BURYING this poor laptop doing a couple panoramas - only 5 shots from the D850, so nothing large or extraordinary

If you are doing panoramas from a D850 (a camera that shoots 45 megapixel images), this is large, and you need lots of horsepower (CPU and RAM) and not some middle-of-the-road laptop. If this is a typical thing you are doing, I wouldn't even consider laptops here, you need the horsepower than a desktop can provide.

Also, as I said above, if you are trying to keep cost down, get the standard HD 1920x1080 monitor, and then you won't need a powerful GPU. If you go for the UHD monitor, you will need a powerful GPU.