New PC/laptop

[rob-nikon]

I’m thinking of replacing my 2012 21 inch iMac but due to costs of a new iMac and limiting future upgrades I’m thinking of going with a PC. I was initially thinking of a desktop as they can be upgraded as needed in the future, but I’m feeling a laptop would suit me better as it doesn’t limit me to using it in only in a single desk at home. A laptop may not be as easy to upgrade though.

Screen wise I already have a 27inch 4K monitor that I use for working from home (it was purchased a month or so ago for home working but also with replacing my iMac with a PC). It’s USB-C compatible (charging and data so it connects compatible laptops via a single USB-C cable) so perfect for connecting a laptop to.

I’m looking for laptop recommendations. So far I’ve found a Dell XPS 13 (i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD), the 2020 version would probably be £1699 (can’t find a windows version on the dell website) so quite a bit more than I was thinking of (the desktop I was looking at would have been circa £1300). The previous CPS 13 version is £1599 so not that much less (link).

Is there any other laptops I should consider? I’m happy with other manufacturers as not limiting it just to Dell. I will mainly be using this for lightroom and maybe photoshop, office apps and email.

 

[Snapper67]

I’m thinking of replacing my 2012 21 inch iMac but due to costs of a new iMac and limiting future upgrades I’m thinking of going with a PC. I was initially thinking of a desktop as they can be upgraded as needed in the future, but I’m feeling a laptop would suit me better as it doesn’t limit me to using it in only in a single desk at home. A laptop may not be as easy to upgrade though.

Screen wise I already have a 27inch 4K monitor that I use for working from home (it was purchased a month or so ago for home working but also with replacing my iMac with a PC). It’s USB-C compatible (charging and data so it connects compatible laptops via a single USB-C cable) so perfect for connecting a laptop to.

I’m looking for laptop recommendations. So far I’ve found a Dell XPS 13 (i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD), the 2020 version would probably be £1699 (can’t find a windows version on the dell website) so quite a bit more than I was thinking of (the desktop I was looking at would have been circa £1300). The previous CPS 13 version is £1599 so not that much less (link).

Is there any other laptops I should consider? I’m happy with other manufacturers as not limiting it just to Dell. I will mainly be using this for lightroom and maybe photoshop, office apps and email.

Why don't you have a look at the latest mac mini ?

I bought the top speed processor version, 16GB Ram with 500mb SSD on board. Blazingly fast for photography apps.

Mine came to £1699 as per your XPS above.

Highly recommended !

Cheers,
Dougie.

 

[rob-nikon]

Why don't you have a look at the latest mac mini ?

I bought the top speed processor version, 16GB Ram with 500mb SSD on board. Blazingly fast for photography apps.

Mine came to £1699 as per your XPS above.

Highly recommended !

Cheers,
Dougie.

I’ve thought of the mac mini. It would have the advantage of enabling two of my backup hard drive systems to work as they are thunderbolt 2 units. The only downside it that is I would be limited to only one desk at home. I think having a mobile set up would work better for me. Having the option to use a big screen at a desk or sit on a sofa/at the coffee shop would be good. The MacBook Pro is probably the apple option for me but quite an expensive one. Saying that Dell XPS laptops aren’t exactly a cheap option.

 

[Snapper67]

I’ve thought of the mac mini. It would have the advantage of enabling two of my backup hard drive systems to work as they are thunderbolt 2 units. The only downside it that is I would be limited to only one desk at home. I think having a mobile set up would work better for me. Having the option to use a big screen at a desk or sit on a sofa/at the coffee shop would be good. The MacBook Pro is probably the apple option for me but quite an expensive one. Saying that Dell XPS laptops aren’t exactly a cheap option.

As long as you've got a monitor wherever youre going, the mini is very portable. Magic keyboard, mouse, all fit in a laptop bag no problem.

Dougie.

 

[rob-nikon]

I’ve been looking into the Mac Mini option this evening. Potentially it has its advantages over a desktop or even a laptop. It does seem to be the easiest way for me to stay with a Mac. I’ve had a Mac for 7 years now so I’ve got used to them and they have worked well giving me little trouble. Im a little apprehensive about moving back to a PC as the iMac has worked well for me for a number of years. I’d need to have a think about the number of ports as there are 2 USB3 and 4 USB-C. That should be enough. It would mean I cou LR keep two of my thunderbolt 2 G Tech backup drives which I’d lose if I moved to a a PC.

I've had a look at specs. Potentially the i7 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD at £1299 would be the spec for me. I gather RAM can be upgraded by the user. Adding a crucial 16GB RAM stick to the 8GB already installed would cost £67. My existing RAW storage has recently decided to fail so I could add a new external USB-C either hard drive or SSD (which ever LR would like best). I’d probably need up to 2TB for RAWs anyway. The Lightroom catalogue could go on the Mac mini internal SSD. 512GB internal SSD should be ok as 1TB is too small for RAWs and 2TB via Apple is far too expensive. For £1415 (need a thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapter too) I’d potentially have quite a good replacement for my iMac. A 2TB external SSD would mean an extra £300 but they could come later if I really needed one.

I need to find out how important it is to have the RAWs on a SSD or if a hard drive is ok. Ive heard RAW storage SSDs may not be necessary but I’m not 100% sure on that.

 

[wave01]

8 years old mine is 10 and still going strong a little slower but not a lot. Maybe a new iMac is in order

 

[rob-nikon]

8 years old mine is 10 and still going strong a little slower but not a lot. Maybe a new iMac is in order

It’s doing well for its age considering it was a base model at the time. I use brushes in Lightroom quite a bit and I get quite a bit of egg timing and missed brush strokes. It can make editing a pain. If I could easily upgrade the internals I would but it means taking the screen off which is glued on. that was something they started with the 2012 version.

 

[Snapper67]

I’ve been looking into the Mac Mini option this evening. Potentially it has its advantages over a desktop or even a laptop. It does seem to be the easiest way for me to stay with a Mac. I’ve had a Mac for 7 years now so I’ve got used to them and they have worked well giving me little trouble. Im a little apprehensive about moving back to a PC as the iMac has worked well for me for a number of years. I’d need to have a think about the number of ports as there are 2 USB3 and 4 USB-C. That should be enough. It would mean I cou LR keep two of my thunderbolt 2 G Tech backup drives which I’d lose if I moved to a a PC.

I've had a look at specs. Potentially the i7 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD at £1299 would be the spec for me. I gather RAM can be upgraded by the user. Adding a crucial 16GB RAM stick to the 8GB already installed would cost £67. My existing RAW storage has recently decided to fail so I could add a new external USB-C either hard drive or SSD (which ever LR would like best). I’d probably need up to 2TB for RAWs anyway. The Lightroom catalogue could go on the Mac mini internal SSD. 512GB internal SSD should be ok as 1TB is too small for RAWs and 2TB via Apple is far too expensive. For £1415 (need a thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapter too) I’d potentially have quite a good replacement for my iMac. A 2TB external SSD would mean an extra £300 but they could come later if I really needed one.

I need to find out how important it is to have the RAWs on a SSD or if a hard drive is ok. Ive heard RAW storage SSDs may not be necessary but I’m not 100% sure on that.

Hi Rob,

I've been using a Thunderbolt 3, Samsung X5 for my external storage along with an older Lacie 2TB USB-C for longer term storage (1 TB allocated for timeline backup).

Been in I.T. since I left school at 16 as a ZX 81 programmer since 14. Always Microsoft (MS-DOS, Windows 1.0, 3.0,3.1, NT, Server NT etc, etc) systems but had a short contract at the Daily Express office in Glasgow a year and a bit ago managing the server infrastructure / user support on a lateshift. Full of Macs.

When my last decent Windows 10 laptop (5 years old) began being to slow for my needs, I decided to buy the Mac Mini. Amazing bit of kit for portability and using Mac's for photo processing.

Go for it, but upgrade to 500GB SSD on board and 16GB ram (can be upgraded yourself but pain in the butt apparently - also voids warranty).

Cheers,
Dougie.

 

[rob-nikon]

Hi Rob,

I've been using a Thunderbolt 3, Samsung X5 for my external storage along with an older Lacie 2TB USB-C for longer term storage (1 TB allocated for timeline backup).

Been in I.T. since I left school at 16 as a ZX 81 programmer since 14. Always Microsoft (MS-DOS, Windows 1.0, 3.0,3.1, NT, Server NT etc, etc) systems but had a short contract at the Daily Express office in Glasgow a year and a bit ago managing the server infrastructure / user support on a lateshift. Full of Macs.

When my last decent Windows 10 laptop (5 years old) began being to slow for my needs, I decided to buy the Mac Mini. Amazing bit of kit for portability and using Mac's for photo processing.

Go for it, but upgrade to 500GB SSD on board and 16GB ram (can be upgraded yourself but pain in the butt apparently - also voids warranty).

Cheers,
Dougie.

I see your point on upgrading RAM and voiding the warranty if buying new. If I go new I will probably wait to see if they update it with new hardware later in the year/start of next year as I’m not in a rush at present. I may look into the used market to see if there are any available in the spec I’m looking for. I wouldn’t be put off upgrading the RAM if there was no warranty left. Thanks for your help.

 

[ancient_mariner]

I need to find out how important it is to have the RAWs on a SSD or if a hard drive is ok. Ive heard RAW storage SSDs may not be necessary but I’m not 100% sure on that.

Storage for editing or long-term storage? Keeping RAWs on SSD definitely seems to make opening for editing faster, but otherwise doesn't seem to make any difference - once the file is in memory it's in memory. The machine I use has 1TB SSD and 2TB HDD - images from the last 12 months are stored on the SSD to make opening faster, but I can edit a file from the HDD once it's open just as quickly without the laggy brush that a slow processor causes.

 

[mushy]

I’m thinking of replacing my 2012 21 inch iMac but due to costs of a new iMac and limiting future upgrades I’m thinking of going with a PC. I was initially thinking of a desktop as they can be upgraded as needed in the future, but I’m feeling a laptop would suit me better as it doesn’t limit me to using it in only in a single desk at home. A laptop may not be as easy to upgrade though.

Screen wise I already have a 27inch 4K monitor that I use for working from home (it was purchased a month or so ago for home working but also with replacing my iMac with a PC). It’s USB-C compatible (charging and data so it connects compatible laptops via a single USB-C cable) so perfect for connecting a laptop to.

I’m looking for laptop recommendations. So far I’ve found a Dell XPS 13 (i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD), the 2020 version would probably be £1699 (can’t find a windows version on the dell website) so quite a bit more than I was thinking of (the desktop I was looking at would have been circa £1300). The previous CPS 13 version is £1599 so not that much less (link).

Is there any other laptops I should consider? I’m happy with other manufacturers as not limiting it just to Dell. I will mainly be using this for lightroom and maybe photoshop, office apps and email.

Have a look at pcspecialist https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/custom-laptops/

I'm about to get mine from there (details in my thread)

 

[rob-nikon]

Storage for editing or long-term storage? Keeping RAWs on SSD definitely seems to make opening for editing faster, but otherwise doesn't seem to make any difference - once the file is in memory it's in memory. The machine I use has 1TB SSD and 2TB HDD - images from the last 12 months are stored on the SSD to make opening faster, but I can edit a file from the HDD once it's open just as quickly without the laggy brush that a slow processor causes.

I was thinking both long term storage and editing. My initial thought was a setup like you say 1TB SSD for OS,apps, LR Cat and this years RAWs then a 2TB hard drive for all previous years RAWs but I’m wondering if I could get away with a 512GB SSD and store on RAWs on the external drive.

 

[rob-nikon]

Have a look at pcspecialist https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/custom-laptops/

I'm about to get mine from there (details in my thread)

Thanks I will have a look.

 

[ancient_mariner]

I was thinking both long term storage and editing. My initial thought was a setup like you say 1TB SSD for OS,apps, LR Cat and this years RAWs then a 2TB hard drive for all previous years RAWs but I’m wondering if I could get away with a 512GB SSD and store on RAWs on the external drive.

That's really down to how much space a years worth of pictures takes up, but I'd have thought it might be a challenge, depending on what you shoot with. My Sony A7III raws are 50MB each.

 

[rob-nikon]

That's really down to how much space a years worth of pictures takes up, but I'd have thought it might be a challenge, depending on what you shoot with. My Sony A7III raws are 50MB each.

My highest RAWs for one year is 150GB and the Lightroom catalogue around 10GB. I'm not a prolific shooter. Even if I was I could have the files to edit on the SSD then move them across to the external drive in a month or so later.

 

[ancient_mariner]

Should be fine then.

I shot >150GB of images from the beginning of August until then end of last year, but that included 2 trips abroad. I've shot >122GB of images so far this year.

 

[DemiLion]

From a previous laptop thread:

Dell G7 7790 17.3". The screen is big enough to be comfortable if you don't have room for an external monitor and it is decent IPS quality.

Add in:
6 Core i7
16Gb RAM
1 x 256Gb SSD
1 x 1Tb SATA
6Gb Nvidia GeForce graphics card

Bought from the Dell Outlet and using their discount voucher (top of the Outlet page) it comes in at around £950.

Always buy Dell from their outlet store. It may mean waiting a fraction longer for your preferred spac to turn up, but the savings are huge.

Basically, because Dell is build to order, if an order is cancelled then that unit is sold via the outlet. Occasionally they sell unit referbs as well.

 

[Snapsh0t]

The saving on something like an XPS15 on Dell's outlet is only about £200 these days which is a bit disappointing. I did much better than that when I bought my XPS13 through it three years ago. The outlet web site is also illegal & misleading as the prices for home users do not include VAT which is added to your cart.

 

[rob-nikon]

The saving on something like an XPS15 on Dell's outlet is only about £200 these days which is a bit disappointing. I did much better than that when I bought my XPS13 through it three years ago. The outlet web site is also illegal & misleading as the prices for home users do not include VAT which is added to your cart.

Looks like they have sorted that out now. They have a 'home' store which shows prices including VAT, and a 'business' store which shows prices excluding VAT.

Home:



Business:

 

[GreenNinja67]

From a previous laptop thread:





Always buy Dell from their outlet store. It may mean waiting a fraction longer for your preferred spac to turn up, but the savings are huge.

Basically, because Dell is build to order, if an order is cancelled then that unit is sold via the outlet. Occasionally they sell unit referbs as well.

My missus did that on my recommendation.

The laptop was supplied missing 5 screws in the base (which we only found out about when I had to take it apart to fix the power socket).

After the warranty finished of course. Typical.

So if you go this route check it carefully when it arrives.

 

[Snapsh0t]

Looks like they have sorted that out now. They have a 'home' store which shows prices including VAT, and a 'business' store which shows prices excluding VAT.

Home:

View attachment 281236

Business:
View attachment 281235

I don't know where you found that but it's been unsorted for years and is still the same now. If you actually add a 'home' product to your cart it will then add VAT to it.

 

[rob-nikon]

I don't know where you found that but it's been unsorted for years and is still the same now. If you actually add a 'home' product to your cart it will then add VAT to it.

I went on Dell Outlet shop:

https://www.dell.com/en-uk/dfh/shop/dell-refurbished/cp/outlet

Where you look at multi home products it states the price including VAT for each model option. When you add to the cart it shows the product price in the cart for both including and excluding VAT. There is a note that says accessories and warranty are priced excluding VAT.





The business outlet shows prices excluding VAT then adds VAT in the cart. As far as I know businesses pay the VAT then claim it back later. I know at work we go by ex VAT prices even though we probably paid the VAT too (then reclaimed it).

I guess the reason for this is the cart is the same checkout cart used for both the home and business outlets hence they show prices within this section as excluding VAT. I guess the only way around would probably have separate outlet websites so there are separate checkouts though Im not sure if that’s the cause of the issue.

 

[ancient_mariner]

I went on Dell Outlet shop:

https://www.dell.com/en-uk/dfh/shop/dell-refurbished/cp/outlet

Where you look at multi home products it states the price including VAT for each model option. When you add to the cart it shows the product price in the cart for both including and excluding VAT. There is a note that says accessories and warranty are priced excluding VAT.

View attachment 281328

View attachment 281329

The business outlet shows prices excluding VAT then adds VAT in the cart. As far as I know businesses pay the VAT then claim it back later. I know at work we go by ex VAT prices even though we probably paid the VAT too (then reclaimed it).

I guess the reason for this is the cart is the same checkout cart used for both the home and business outlets hence they show prices within this section as excluding VAT. I guess the only way around would probably have separate outlet websites so there are separate checkouts though Im not sure if that’s the cause of the issue.

For some reason (possibly because I bought as a business once) it doesn't show me the VAT on home models until I add one to my basket.

 

[DemiLion]

I don't know where you found that but it's been unsorted for years and is still the same now. If you actually add a 'home' product to your cart it will then add VAT to it.

It didn't twelve weeks ago.

Edit: The VAT was in the display price.

 

[DemiLion]

I guess the reason for this is the cart is the same checkout cart used for both the home and business outlets hence they show prices within this section as excluding VAT. I guess the only way around would probably have separate outlet websites so there are separate checkouts though Im not sure if that’s the cause of the issue.

Which is exactly what they used to do.

 

[rob-nikon]

Which is exactly what they used to do.

Im not familiar with the history of dell outlet. I guess if they joined them together there would have been a good reason to do so, perhaps lower cost maintaining two websites and also enabling home and business customers to purchase products from each section rather than be limited to either home or business products.

 

[DemiLion]

Im not familiar with the history of dell outlet. I guess if they joined them together there would have been a good reason to do so, perhaps lower cost maintaining two websites and also enabling home and business customers to purchase products from each section rather than be limited to either home or business products.

Exactly that. Latitudes weren't available in the 'Home' section and Inspirons in the 'Work' section.

 

[Snapsh0t]

For some reason (possibly because I bought as a business once) it doesn't show me the VAT on home models until I add one to my basket.

Ah, this is what I see and probably for the same reason.