Anyone using a laptop for serious photo editing?

[dn88]

I'm in the market for a new laptop, which I will use for professional photo editing when I'm away from my home PC.

So I don't need any super gaming power but I do need high colour accuracy, a matte screen (something close to the Apple retina displays ideally), and around a 15.6" display. It needs to be able to cope with Adobe Photoshop running at full tilt along with a few other apps.

At the same time, I'd rather not be carrying around a brick! So I guess there will be some compromises to be made.

Is anyone else using a PCSpecialist laptop for similar and can recommend their set up?

Thanks!

 

[Tron1982]

Hellow,
(please excuse me if you think i'm straight forward, english is not my native language ^^")
First of all, can you give us an answer fot these questions :
What's you budget ?
do you prefere 15" or 17" ?

If i'm not wrong, all the pcs laptop have more or less not bad to good screen (72% ntsc minimum)
But some do have a better one

I think it's a good starting point ^^

 

[dn88]

Hello,

I prefer 15" and budget would be approx £1200.

Thanks!

 

[Tron1982]

Hey
So with your requierement in mind, i can propose you 3 configurations, all three based on the elimina chassis (sorted by price)


1 under your budget but the gpu is a little bit old, but it may do the work (my second choice, but probably the first for you)
it also have to advantage to have swappable battery if you need it

Spoiler: first spec

Chassis & Display
Elimina Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor 11800H (2.3GHz, 4.6GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 3200MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650 - 4.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 120W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Elimina Series Detachable Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.2 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Chassis
Clevo NH55HHQ (4GB GTX-1650, i7-11800H, 144Hz N7)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Price: £1,181.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/elimina-ii-15/aSqpwTheY7/

1 just a little bit above your budget, with a better gpu, but with a little bit "worse" second hard drive (my third choice)

Spoiler: second spec

Chassis & Display
Elimina Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor 11800H (2.3GHz, 4.6GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 3200MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3050 - 4.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Storage Drive
1TB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 470MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 150W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Elimina Series Integrated 49WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 1 x USB 3.2 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
ELIMINA 15" SERIES MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Chassis
Clevo NP50HJ (4GB RTX-3050, i7-11800H, 144Hz N7, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Price: £1,234.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/elimina-iii-15/HY8ytfVxgn/

1 above you budget by 250£, but the best overall (gpu and hard drive wise) - (my first choice, and maybe the second for you)

Spoiler: third spec

hassis & Display
Elimina Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor 11800H (2.3GHz, 4.6GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 3200MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3060 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 180W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Elimina Series Integrated 49WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 1 x USB 3.2 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
ELIMINA 15" SERIES MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Chassis
Clevo NP50HP (6GB RTX-3060, i7-11800H, 144Hz N7, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Price: £1,434.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/elimina-iii-15/jZv4q!qdhX/

The screen is a classical matte one , and the color accuracy is 72% ntsc (the only one better is the ionico, but it is over your budget)
As you mentionned using the laptop for photo editing, i choose 32 go of ram
the first config has 3 usb port and 1 usb-c, the 2 others only have 2 usb port and 1 usb-c
the cpu is the same for the 3 spec
the gpu is better (and more expensive) from one spec to another
i proposed you each spec with 2 hard drive (it's safer and easier to manage if i understood well what i saw here), one smaller but faster for your os and software (the 970 samsung) and one bigger and a little bit slower for the storage ^^
And i guess it's all ^^

 

[dn88]

Thanks for your advice Tron.

I just wondered is anyone actually using a PCS laptop for professional photo editing, and can recommend (or not, as the case may be!) their set-up?

For me, the screen is probably the most important aspect (good colour accuracy, not too much glare) and then of course fast processing times when using multiple layers/masking is also important.

 

[Tron1982]

Hey,

So, first of all, you're welcome, it was my pleasure ^^

About using a pcs laptop for photo editing, i spec'ed a destian DTR for my sister that do animation and photo as a pro but she will not have it until december ^^"

The screen are the same between the destian and the elimina ^^
the major difference is the gpu (a 3060) and the cpu (a desktop amd 5600x)

So, what i advice you are the best you can get for your money here (and, if your not pleased with the laptop, if i'm not wrong, you can send it back in the 15 days following the reception)

And as i can understand that you want a review, i'm not sur that you find one, for now, on the forum ^^"


After looking at what a retina display is (thanks wikipedia), it appear that the only laptops here that may match the screen is the 15" ionico and the 14" fusion studio (but this chassis don't have a numpad)
But they are both above your budget (more or less 1600 ish) :

Spoiler: 14" fusion spec

Chassis & Display
Fusion Studio Series: 14" Matte WQXGA 90Hz sRGB 95% LED Widescreen (2880x1800)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 11370H (3.3GHz, 4.8GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 2933MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3050 Ti - 4.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
AC Adaptor
1 x 90W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Fusion Series Integrated 53WH Lithium Ion Battery
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + THX Spatial Audio
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 + 1 x USB 3.2 (TYPE C) + 2 x USB 3.2
Keyboard Language
14" FUSION STUDIO SERIES SINGLE COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Chassis
TongFang PH4TQF1 (4GB RTX-3050 Ti, i7-11370H, 2880x1800, 90Hz, sRGB 95%, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Price: £1,636.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/fusion-studio-14/hFfA3v4wPY/

Spoiler: 15"ionico spec

Chassis & Display
Ionico Series: 15.6" Matte QHD 165Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1440)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor 11800H (2.3GHz, 4.6GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 3200MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3060 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Ionico Series Integrated 62WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard Language
IONICO SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Chassis
TongFang GM5TN0Y (6GB RTX-3060, i7-11800H, 165Hz QHD, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Price: £1,591.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/ionico-ii-15/6fZAMNRCCU/

 

[KriSta]

To be honest I would look for a laptop not just covering the small sRGB but also the larger Adobe RGB color spectrum . Issue is that the laptops that do cover 100 % Adobe RGB is more expensive than your budget allows for.
The reason for choosing Adobe RGB is more accurate colors that is shown exactly how it should be , smaller sRGB cannot do that .
I cannot tell if PCS offers any laptops that cover 100 % Adobe RGB . 72 % NTSC is just another way of stating 98-99 % coverage of sRGB , not Adobe RGB color spectrum.

 

[Tron1982]

To be honest I would look for a laptop not just covering the small sRGB but also the larger Adobe RGB color spectrum . Issue is that the laptops that do cover 100 % Adobe RGB is more expensive than your budget allows for.
The reason for choosing Adobe RGB is more accurate colors that is shown exactly how it should be , smaller sRGB cannot do that .
I cannot tell if PCS offers any laptops that cover 100 % Adobe RGB . 72 % NTSC is just another way of stating 98-99 % coverage of sRGB , not Adobe RGB color spectrum.

well, the two "best" screen here are not in A RGB, so ... ^^"
Anyway, i agreed with what you said ^^