Best (non mac) notebook for photography?

Folks, can you suggest a quality notebook for to deal with photos that will have a very good resolution, will be fast and will look good too?

Anything you know is particularly good?
Thanks!

Why not a Mac? Photography aside, the MacBook is like the best laptop I have ever had, sure you get ripped off initially, but after that it is so good you forget about it.

Mainly the software - I do not like Apple....I really prefer to stick to PC and Windows. Also the price - for the same components you pay 200% with apple.

light_pilgrim wrote in post #13752376
Mainly the software - I do not like Apple....I really prefer to stick to PC and Windows. Also the price - for the same components you pay 200% with apple.

Ish. Compare a Macbook to an equivalent high-end, similarly specced windows PC (that means Sony Vaio's, some of the Lenovo ThinkPads, some of ASUS's top end models in my book) and the price difference isn't huge. You pay a good bit of premium for extra fit and finish. Even the Mac Pro is 'competitively' priced compared to workstations from, say, Dell.

That said, the major selling point on macs is the user interface/operating system, so if you really don't like it, don't bother getting it. To me, avoiding windows is worth a few hundred extra dollars, and my major quibble with most PC laptops is the almost uselessly small touchpad. My main machine for editing is a Mac Pro, my 'on the road' is a top specced Mac Air 13", which actually has really nice screen resolution.

Are you looking for a desktop replacement, or something that's powerful but actually vaguely portable? I've yet to see a laptop with a screen I'm 100% happy using for critical color work myself.

What do you mean by deal with photographys?

That could be anything from as simple as downloading files from the cards to the laptop file system only....all the way through detailed final edts in LR/PS/Nik/Topaz....and then printing.

For me the laptop is just for file collection and doing quickscans to see which files to delete. My laptop screen is not color calibrated and large enough to do serious editting. So all the save files come back to desktop for importing into LR. There I have a 25" screen that is color calibrated plus all the plug tools needed for serious editting.

If you only want to do photo file collection, email reading, and some Internet browsing in the field, you can get by with a relative small and inexpensive unit.

Mattia, you are probably right for US or maybe Western European reality. Sadly not for Easter Europe
I would love to get Mac, but I compared same specs and the price is exactly 200% higher.
So the MacBook is 3000 USD here and Sony Vaio is around 1500 USD.
Life is not easy.........

I mean for Photoshop work.
I am now working on a very poor notebook and need something better.
Wanted to get a PC, but they are loud and huge.
iMac - massively expensive.
This is how I came to getting a better notebook....

MCAsan wrote in post #13752568
What do you mean by deal with photographys?

That could be anything from as simple as downloading files from the cards to the laptop file system only....all the way through detailed final edts in LR/PS/Nik/Topaz....and then printing.

For me the laptop is just for file collection and doing quickscans to see which files to delete. My laptop screen is not color calibrated and large enough to do serious editting. So all the save files come back to desktop for importing into LR. There I have a 25" screen that is color calibrated plus all the plug tools needed for serious editting.

If you only want to do photo file collection, email reading, and some Internet browsing in the field, you can get by with a relative small and inexpensive unit.

The next question is will use use the native screen for work back at your home or office or connect the laptop to a large monitor? In the field you might tolerate a 13" or 15" screen. But a 17" screen would be easier to use.....but it adds cost/weight/size. So if you will attach a screen to the laptop for serious edits, then a 15" laptop is likely a good size choice.

Since I use cameras that do CF cards, I look for laptops with expresscard slots. That lets me insert a CF card reader that will have a fast connection to the communcations bus in the laptop. This is faster than connecting via FW or USB 2. Then for connecting to external drives, I would look for a laptop with USB 3 ports (two of them). This will give you max speed for dowloading and syncing libraries....etc.

Since you will be executing PS on the laptop, you might look for one with an i5 or i7 quad core processor and at least 8GB of memory (which should be expandable).

You can find laptop reviews at sites such as CNET and the sites associated with computure magazines.

I think the big problem with using a laptop exclusively for editing is the screen.. As MCAsan points out, laptop screens aren't that big. I prefer a large monitor when editing photos. I currently use a 24 inch widescreen and would like to go larger, but I'm limited by desktop space.

With a laptop, you will definitely need an external monitor for serious editing. If you're really into it, look at the high end IPS photo editing monitors.

light_pilgrim wrote in post #13752376
Mainly the software - I do not like Apple....I really prefer to stick to PC and Windows. Also the price - for the same components you pay 200% with apple.

"I do not like Apple" is not the reason, let alone valid one. Macbook PROs are so much ahead every other laptops on the planet it is just ridiculous, and I'm not talking just about hardware side, but the software one too. Windows is to OS X just like a ripoff chinese iPhone to the original one. I can safely bet you've never seriously used an Apple computer, because no one has been there and returned to PC/Windows, expecially if you do any multimedia work, audio, video or photo.

And for your needs, I would suggest any Macbook PRO 15" with highres screen, it's the perfect balance between portability and usability.

OP, did you check dedicated part of this forum for this kind of questions?
Where are some answers already
https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1138782

Good news for you, pictures editing is not a big deal for laptops long time ago.
If you are not going to handle video with hundreds of sub-clips - just pickup brand you like and model you like. As long as you not going by extremely cheap route (400-600$) and stay with Intel CPU - you'll be OK.
USB card readers works fast enough. Lightroom, HDR software running fine. Photoshop is OK too if no hundreds layers editing involved.
I would pay more attention for external monitor, because compare to Apple it is not so easy to find the good one.
FYI, I have two years Panasonic CF-52 Toughbook. Build like a tank and fast enough for 18MP files.

light_pilgrim wrote in post #13752376
Mainly the software - I do not like Apple....I really prefer to stick to PC and Windows. Also the price - for the same components you pay 200% with apple.

I do not like Apple Software either .... that is why I use Canon and Adobe Software.

Oh and I use them on my Macbook Pro 17"

Sorry I cannot help you with the affordability issue. I mean if you cannot afford one, then you'll need an alternative.

Feature for feature, component for component the cost difference is not 200%.

My son has an ASUS that he uses, but it's cost was nearly what I paid for a Macbook Pro.

light_pilgrim wrote in post #13752578
I mean for Photoshop work.
I am now working on a very poor notebook and need something better.
Wanted to get a PC, but they are loud and huge.
iMac - massively expensive.
This is how I came to getting a better notebook....

Not knowing what is generally availalble to you, the question is kind of arbitrary. I don't consider the current desktop offering loud or huge and they probably offer the best return on the dollar. A big plus for the desktop: the monitor. As big or small as you desire and can afford. Upgrade the processor, another hard drive, change the video card.

I've got a Mac Airbook, it's the cat's ass as far as portability but I'd never think of using it for image editing. But that's just my sentiment.

You would be betting very incorrectly. I had my first Mac in 84. Yes, all of 128kRAM, 9" monitor and no HD. I remember taking it in for the big upgrade....to 512KRAM. Had the Mac designer signatures inside the case. Had it for around 4 years. Went to Windows in the Windows 3.1 days. Anyone remember that release? ha ha Been building my on PCs every since.

guru wrote in post #13752833
"I do not like Apple" is not the reason, let alone valid one. Macbook PROs are so much ahead every other laptops on the planet it is just ridiculous, and I'm not talking just about hardware side, but the software one too. Windows is to OS X just like a ripoff chinese iPhone to the original one. I can safely bet you've never seriously used an Apple computer, because no one has been there and returned to PC/Windows, expecially if you do any multimedia work, audio, video or photo.

And for your needs, I would suggest any Macbook PRO 15" with highres screen, it's the perfect balance between portability and usability.

And this is why threads like this get locked.

The OP stated he wanted a windows machine, so lets honor that and give him some ideas for what he wants.

OP, I can't give you specific models since I'm not sure what is available where you are or what prices are like. Lenovo makes the W520 which is a very nice laptop for photo editing (high gamut screen and build in color meter). Dell makes an equivalent model but higher priced (if you consider the coupons you can get).

As far as specs go a lot is going to depend on if this is going to be your primary computer? If it is the next question is are you going to use an external monitor for your editing or the laptop monitor? I think to give meaningful suggestions we'll need to know those things.

Also, as someone else suggested you should ask to move this to the appropriate forum, I think you'll get more useful feedback.