Elements 2021 system requirements for new Win10 laptop

[solarme]

Hello again!  A friend of mine wants to purchase Elements 2021, but she has a couple of questions which I am now asking here for her.

The laptop she is thinking of buying is an HP 17inch Win10 Home, x64, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, with Left/Right clicks and DVD Writer.  It comes with Intel Celeron N4020 (I have no idea what generation that is)

I purchased my new Elements 2021 and my new HP laptop a couple of months ago and I received some really good information and help from some of the people here.  I've been talking to her about Elements 2021 and she's interested in purchasing it.

Will the Intel Celeron N4020 be sufficient for Elements 2021?  If not, what kind of Graphic card should be appropriate for Elements 2021?

Thank you for your assistance.

[Glenn 8675309]

That's a pretty low end machine, over all.  Small amount of ram, small Hard drive.... No rease why PSE wouldn't work, it may not be pretty, but it should ok-  the hard drive is rather small.  If your friend can afford a better computer, they should shop around.     

Start here, and decide for yourself:

Photoshop Elements system requirements (adobe.com)

[solarme]

Thank you for the info and link, Glenn.  I know, all the computers, including low end machines as you said, have gone sky high, but sometimes that's the best people can do.

[Greg_S.]

The best way to determine if a computer is sufficient for your (friend's) needs is to download a free trial of Elements.

[solarme]

Thank you Greg.  My friend hasn't purchased the new computer yet, but I will let her know of your suggestion.

[Test Screen Name]

That wouldn't be enough to hold one memory card worth of photos! 

[solarme]

Soo, any more suggestions, ideas etc., that I can pass on to my friend?

She really is interested in getting the Elements 2021, so I'm counting on the experts here for assistance.  Thank you!

[defaultc7l5c9w7z4b0]

My Acer Aspire 5 laptop has a 500 GB hard drive which has 257 GB free.  I run Photoshop Elements 2021 without any problems.  Hope this helps.

[solarme]

Hi defaultc715c,

Thanks for the info, I will pass that along to my friend. I have heard that Acer Aspire is a good laptop, do you know what kind of Graphic card does it have?

[Test Screen Name]

Acer Aspire is a range of laptops; the top of the range costing about 5 times as much as the bottom of the range. The bottom of the range is totally under-powered, barely enough for surfing the web (without watching videos).

[defaultc7l5c9w7z4b0]

No I don't know what the graphic card is.

[Greg_S. · Accepted solution]

I try not to spend OPM (other people's money).  But since you ask, here are some thoughts:

• You haven't told us what the budget is for this purchase.  When I am buying/building a computer, I buy the best/most powerful I can afford with the expectation that it will last me 5 or 6 years until the technology changes materially.
• The computer you have mentioned will probably be sufficient to use Elements but may be a little slow for some operations.  It sounds like that will not be an issue for your friend who will be a novice with the program.
• While I agree that the SSD hard drive is small, it is sufficient to use as the OS drive if your friend is only going to use it for Elements and browsing the web and email. If she is planning on installing a lot more programs, it may be too small.  Without more information, it is too hard to tell.  
• I would add the purchase of an external drive to store data, particularly all photos.  You can buy huge external drives for very reasonable prices.  Costco currently has a 2TB drive for $69 and a 5TB one for $169.  Buying two x 2TB drives would allow for an essential backup of photo/video files and I suspect would be more than sufficient for your friend.

[solarme]

Hi Greg,

OPM, great intro, that is SO funny! 

1 - The laptop I mentioned on my first post is about $599. (+ taxes added after that) from HSN, which makes it easier because you can make payments.

2 - I agree with you, but I'm not quite sure the small hard drive would be sufficient (I did mention that to her when she was looking at that laptop, but I like you, also try not to spend OPM.) 

3 - Yes, she will be using it for Elements, browsing and email.  However, she will also be installing other programs.  (Sorry, that's all the info I have.)

4 - External HDDs are a great idea.  BestBuy has a WD, 1TB SSD one for $149 (I saw it last time I was there a couple of months ago.)

Thank you for taking the time to clarify things, I will pass this info to my friend.

[Glenn 8675309]

I just bought a 1TB HDD (it's not a ssd) for $44 this morning at walmart. 

[solarme]

That's a great price for 1TB HDD, Glenn!  Thanks for sharing.  Walmart is really far from where I live, so I forget to check them out.