Best small reliable laptop for using photoshop?

[3bells]

I tried a loaded 14" thinkpad, installed Photoshop, but immediately had a problem and after two experiences with their rude tech support, returned the Thinkpad. Checking the Better Business Bureau, Dell seems no better. Is there anyone who has purchased a small Windows laptop within the last few years and had decent tech support? (After checking Dell's record, it's worse with complaints).

Can anyone refer me to a company that stands behind their product? Since I have a Windows desktop, I was hoping for a Windows laptop, but if my only option for good support is a Mac, would it be best to put up with having to switch back and fourth and buy a Mac? Also is there a 14 inch Mac?

Since I'm handicapped and limited in the time I can spend at my desktop, your opinions would be most helpful!

[Nancy OShea]

I have no idea what you expect in terms of customer support.  All I can tell you is I've always had good experiences with my Dell computers.  For that matter, I've never needed much support from Dell.  The machines I've purchased over the years have always performed well.  No complaints.

Read the system requirements and keep in mind that these are mere baseline recommendations.

Photoshop system requirements

Your user experience will vary depending on your workflow -- the types of files you work with, the number of layers, filters, and degree of 3D and special effects that you do.  Some Photoshop functions are very GPU dependant while others are very CPU dependant.  So you need a good balance of both.  Buy the best computer you can afford with a good video card, plenty of RAM and hard disk space.

Windows vs Mac. All things being equal, you get a lot more bang for buck with Windows.  Macs are pricey.

[3bells]

Thank you for your in depth reply. I had one bad experience with Dell about 20 years ago and never tried another. The other complaints came from people on the Better Business Bureau website. It isn't as likely that people with good experiences will write a review.

I appreciate the link to Photoshop requirements. In the past few years I only use it occassionally.

At this point I'm more concerned with support even if I have to pay more. I'm still looking to find if Mac's have a lot of negative or positive reviews.

[Nancy OShea]

It all depends on who you ask and what their credentials are.  BBB is kind of meaningless.  Do some real research at  sites below. https://www.pugetsystems.com/

• https://www.pugetsystems.com/ 
• Laptop Computers & Notebook Reviews | Laptops & Notebooks Review | PCMag.com
• Best Laptops of 2019 - Consumer Reports

[3bells]

Thank you for the links. My desktop is a Puget system but when I asked they don't make laptops. I till try the other links. After searching, I see what you mean by BBB not being very helpful.

[gener7]

True, Macs are pricey but that is why I buy them used. I have two 2012 MB Pros that I got for less than $1000. I liked the 2012s because I could expand the memory to 16 GB and recently put in a 1 TB SSD (last models that will allow this). It can take Mojave and Catalina 10.15. Otherwise for being a 7 year model, it has never broke on me.

For Photoshop CC 2019, they are very capable.

[Ussnorway]

3bells  wrote

I tried a loaded 14" thinkpad

this is a toy

my current laptop is tp500l with extra sshd and before that I used a Sonicmaster (s500c) which is now my daughters

for Photoshop you need a good chip first because Adobe Photoshop is old software

then you want lots of harddrive space, good ram and last is the Gpu but Harddrives & Ram is normally swappable so most people hunt around for the Gpu because that allows them to play games or run modern software and unlike Ram or harddrives it boils down to whatever the laptop came with is what you have to use for the rest of its life

for video rendor you want a very good Gpu and lots of ram... some Mac systems can do this by getting an out dated box i.e, cheap and putting a nice card in it

for 3d rendor you want Ryzen and the newest 3000's blow the 9900's clean out of the water but laptops peak around the I7 and that is fine for odd jobs... desktops rule this world

[3bells]

I'm afraid you are way above my knowledge, other than I am looking for at least a TB SSD and at least 16 GB ram. I have a grandson who is pretty good with computers. How difficult is it to put in more ram and a bigger hard drive?

[3bells]

I forgot to mention that I need no larger than a 14 inch since I must use this in my chair on my lap. Is it possible to customize a good laptop for photoshop with that size?

[Conrad_C · Accepted solution]

3bells  wrote

I forgot to mention that I need no larger than a 14 inch since I must use this in my chair on my lap. Is it possible to customize a good laptop for photoshop with that size?

You can customize many 14-inch and under models at purchase time, with components powerful enough to run Photoshop. Some may be upgradable after purchase, but you have to shop carefully since so many small laptops have non-upgradeable components now.

I'm satisfied running Photoshop on my 13" MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD (portability was a high priority for me). You can get a Dell XPS 13 with the same amount of RAM and SSD, but when you spec it out that far the price is not much lower than the Mac. Both may run hot when doing heavy processing, because they are so thin that there isn't a lot of room for an effective internal cooling system. This means they may feel uncomfortably hot to use directly on your lap (these companies recommend not doing that), so at least put them on some kind of hard tray or table over your lap.

I'm not sure if the Dell can be upgraded after purchase, but the Mac certainly cannot.

I know you're looking for a 13-14" size, but no matter the brand, they are typically so thin that if you need it to run cooler during heavy Photoshop use it needs to have a better internal cooling system, which usually means a thicker laptop, and most of those are 15" or more. Or a desktop.

As for the support question, I understand that you had a bad experience with Dell, but they are listed near the top of some support surveys like the Laptop Magazine survey. Scoring higher than Dell in that survey is Razer, and while Razer offers a nice Razer Blade Stealth 13" laptop, its internal storage only goes up to 512GB. The company that scored highest on that survey is Apple, which does not mean Apple always provides service you'll be happy with (because it does vary). What the top ratings mostly mean — and this applies to #3 Dell too — is that the quality of service at the other companies is even worse.

[Ussnorway]

1. a 14 " notepad is a toy for school kids to use, yes you can add custom parts but its a waist of time and your money

2. the difference between a 14" and a 15" laptop is one hole inch... if that is a deal breaker for you then forget it

3. 16 G ram is very good for a Windows laptop (most stop at 12) and a 1T ssd isn't something I would put in a laptop to run Photoshop... a 1T ssd isn't needed to run Photoshop but its your money and won't hurt anything

4 yes replacing harddrives and ram in normal systems is easy but some of the new notepads are locked from any custom edits because they are designed for school kids... anyway yes (mostly) ram and harddrives are fine its Gpu and chip you can't swap out

best of luck to you

[gener7]

3bells  wrote
I forgot to mention that I need no larger than a 14 inch since I must use this in my chair on my lap. Is it possible to customize a good laptop for photoshop with that size?

Speaking of placing a laptop on your lap:

What I have bought for my Macbooks are plastic shells that isolate the metal case so the heat is not as bad. There are better ones on the market, but a good idea of you want some protection while it's on your lap.

As an example:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017VPPA9C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Randy Hufford]

also check out these guys.  https://www.pugetsystems.com/

[Conrad_C]

The original poster mentioned that they already have a Puget Systems desktop. Now that we know they want a 14-inch laptop, the problem is that Puget Systems doesn't build laptops. I think I remember when they used to a few years ago, but even then, from what I remember they only built laptops that were 15 inches and up.