Inspiring

Question

2 part question

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
March 28, 2021
2 replies
834 views

Hello,

I have 128,000 pictures in my Organizer and am running out of storage. Have 1tb plus 250gb of SSD on my present laptop which has done me well for many years, but now down to 10gb left. Therefore, I wonder if anyone can recommend any laptop, must have very fast specifications because I am a professional photographer constantly using Elements, including weddings. I also like it to be a small monitor, so I can carry it around, say 13 or 14 inch size. So, top of the range specifications, SSD obviously, small, but 2tb. Thank you.

This topic has been closed for replies.

Phil Pickering

Legend

Hi Ian,

Adobe recommends focussing on 4 main areas when choosing a workstation setup for using Photoshop and Premiere (in this order):

1. RAM (32GB for video editing)
2. GPU (at least 4GB)
3. Hard disk (an SSD)
4. Processor (i7 or i9 / AMD equivalent)

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/optimize-photoshop-cc-performance.html#hardware-setup

https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/premiere-pro/kb/hardware-recommendations.html

Let's try and combine Adobe's recommendations with your specific hard disk requirements.

As you've already discovered, few of the main named-brands offer a single 2TB SSD option and are extremely expensive (together with being over-specced in other areas too).

Your best bet is to turn to a custom PC manufacturer such as PCSpecialist or Novatech.

If you customize the Novatech Reign Nomad Elite XL which was announced yesterday, you can get the following laptop for £1893:

- Intel Core i7-10875H
- 32GB RAM
- NVidia GeForce 3070 8GB
- Samsung 2TB M.2 SSD

This checks all the boxes for Adobe's recommendations and your own requirements EXCEPT it has a very nice 17.3" display which will make your laptop a little more heavy and bulky than you're used to. I'd give Novatech a ring and ask them for some stats on weight and dimensions.

Personally, I think you'll find it hard right now to find a PC laptop manufacturer who will be willing to fit a single 2TB SSD inside a chassis for a 13/14" display (unless you go down the Apple MacBook Pro route).

Of course, things are likely to change in the next 6-12 months so you might want to hold out for a little longer if you can.

If anyone else can chip in with suggestions - please do so 🙂

I

IAN JULIANAuthor

Inspiring

Thank you for that. Really useful. There is just one that may suit me - certainly not cheap but maybe I will have to go for it https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/laptops/new-xps-13/spd/xps-13-9300-laptop/cnx93023?gacd=9685798-5003-5761040-270826046-0&dgc=ST&&gclid=CjwKCAiA5IL-BRAzEiwA0lcWYpun5EiUOxMtWiC4JpjCQDsYrXnnxEkl_bpne0H7tL-Wp8cfyS6-RhoC3FMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Phil Pickering

Legend

Good find! Looks like a nice machine - only downside is the integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics, but that's definitely something you could live with if the laptop is coming in such a perfect size and weight (1.2kg!) for you. Especially if you're also lugging around all your photo gear too 🙂

You might also want to take a look at building a custom machine with HP. I built a HP ZBook 14" i7-based system with 32GB RAM and a 2TB SSD for roughly £1700.

Here's the datasheet on that model with the custom options listed:

https://h20195.www2.hp.com/v2/GetPDF.aspx/c06728372.pdf [PDF]

And the main custom workstation page:

Configure Your Workstation - HP Store UK

If you want to talk to HP direct about a custom build here's their contact details:

Tel - 0207 660 3858

Email - workstationconfig@hp.com

(Have to admit I'm no hardware-junkie 🙂 but I spent a good few months researching before I bought my new Windows 10 laptop back in February. I'd been a Mac user for 20 years but had to buy a new laptop and wasn't happy with going down the Big Sur / M1 chip route and didn't have the budget to go for the higher-end MacBooks. In the end, it was lot easier to just set myself a fixed budget and get the best machine I could for that price. Went for an Honor MagicBook Pro for £800 and couldn't be happier with it 🙂 )

Phil Pickering

Legend

Hi Ian,

First off, a few questions:

1. Windows or Mac?

2. UK or USA?

3. What is your budget?

4. Do you use your laptop for any other creative activity, like video editing?

5. What is the spec of your current laptop (CPU, RAM, GPU)?

6. Which version of Photoshop Elements are you currently using?

And finally, do you have a backup of your existing catalog and media files on an external drive?

I

IAN JULIANAuthor

Inspiring

Thank you for your reply, whcih did not come right through.

I am in the UK. My budget - h,mmm. for some reason, it seems very expensive to increase to 2tb. However, I may simply have to overcome this as it is so crucial to me. I can and do use external hard drive to back up and restore only , but I cannot get an external hard drive to work as the main drive, so, do need 2tb.

I use Windows 10, have fast specifications at present and have a 1tb storage, plus 250gb SSD on my laptop. I do not like it being split like this, but am running out of both c and D drive.

I do a little video editing on Premiere. I do weddings and wildlife and anything really - www.natureandpictures.com

I spend a great deal of time on my laptop, so really do need the best and quickest, but fancy a small laptop that I can carry around with me. Thanks.

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded