Best Laptop for Photo Editing

Best Laptop for Photo Editing

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Computers are electronic partners in our daily lives, we work with them, we have fun with them, we study and grow up within this technology, but can any laptop be good for us? Of course no! A photographer needs a laptop with certain special specifications to serve well to this job. So, what you are looking for is the best laptop for Photo Editing.

The equipment of a photographer is way too far from being just the camera, a nice computer will offer a whole universe of tools to make photos something really great. But this means you need a good processor, wide RAM, responsive hard drive, graphics card and a big and high-quality screen. Take a look at these main factors before you take any decision about the computer.

Best Laptop for Photo Editing

Main factors to consider before buying the perfect laptop for photo editing

Brand

Many people guide themselves by the brand of the laptop they look for, but this isn’t always the best way to find that needed tool. There are brands that offer quality products and there is no doubt about it, but it is necessary to choose them wisely. Talking about brands, I recommend you to take special care on specifications and after that you can go for the best laptop you can afford. If it’s too cheap, it is probably designed for beginners and if it’s expensive and you can get it, then it may have better features for your photographer job.

Size and Weight

As a photographer, you need to walk around lightweight, because you never know where a good shot might be, so a big size laptop can be stressful. However, if you are one of those people who love to sit in calm and silence to do the photo editing, maybe this isn’t so important because you won’t be carrying your laptop anywhere. Be careful with this, because in this job it’s important to be as comfortable as possible. So, a lightweight computer is ideal for those photographers who edit their photos in real time, but the fact is that a large screen will ease the edition work because you can see more pictures at the time and also you won’t miss so many details with a big laptop.

Graphics Card

Here we find an interesting issue. The reality is that a beginner photographer doesn’t need a powerful graphics card, also called GPU, but as you increase your abilities, this will be a good tool for you. I’m not saying that you must do the investment on an awesome GPU but if you feel like you can afford it, then look for a laptop that has it. Now, another deal, the GPU will run your monitor, and for making a great job in photo editing you will need to see bright colors in a high definition screen, and this is where the graphics card will serve you well. Remember this: colors over resolution, always!

So find a decent GPU that matches with your screen and you will be done. Don’t you forget, a good GPU will give the laptop a major speed while working, better colors resolution and in general it will let you have best development in the edition. You must be looking for a computer that helps you to get a lot of work and give a nice performance, so I recommend you to choose a nice GPU to make it useful.

Processor

The processor acts as the brain of your computer, this is where you need to go as up as you can get. In this single feature, I hope you can do a huge investment because it will define the performance of your computer with photo editing. It is actually really simple: the processors split into different cores, each core will do a single task and the more cores your processor has, the more tasks it will be able to do at the same time, giving you a multitask processor to end up your labor sooner and greater. Programs as Photoshop, Luminar and Lightroom need a quad-core processor or a six-core processor. If you are a high-demand user, maybe you need to look for more cores, but if you are a photographer dedicated to design and edition, this will surely be more than enough for you.

RAM

Here you can be surprised. This feature is one of the cheapest and easiest to upgrade, but be aware that in some laptops or computers the RAM can not be changed after the purchase. Now, if you are a beginner photographer and will not use several effects in Photoshop, you will do it just fine with 8GB of RAM, but if you want to go for all, get one with 16GB. As always, buy the computer that fits the most to your budget, so you can be happy and pleased with your acquisition.

Now, remember that RAM is the device that will help you to start the regular functions of your computer, like the circulatory system to our hearts. Regularly, any software of image editing will need a good development of RAM and processor, so if you can buy it, I will recommend you with eyes closed to acquire one with 32 GB of RAM because you will work smooth and easy on that.

Hard Drive

The hard drive of the computer is really important because it is where the photo editing program will be hosted, whether you choose Photoshop, Luminar or Lightroom. This is a non-volatile data storage device installed into the computer. This feature will keep the data safe even when it is off, such as the operating system, installed software and the user’s personal files. We got two types of hard drives: Solid State Drive (SSD) and Hard Disk Drive (HDD), both useful and both with pros and cons.

So, HDD have been around for so long, they are classic now. They take the data and store it in a rotating platter which spins at 5400 or 7200 rpm. The faster they spin, the faster the data is written and read. This one is ideal if you are looking for a lot of space to store data. Also, they are cheaper than others because of its demand.

Now, SSD are a newer design, mostly used in cellphones and tablets. They work with an inbuilt processor called Controller that writes and reads the data, the better the Controller is, the faster the data will be managed. These SSD are way faster than HDD but it is also reflected in its price. They are five times more expensive per gigabyte of storage than the usual HDD. However, if the amount of money isn’t a worry for you, the SSD is faster, tougher and less noisy.

Top 8 Best Laptops for Photo Editing

  1. Asus ZenBook Pro Duo UX581
  2. MSI P65 Creator-1084
  3. ROG Zephyrus M GU502GW
  4. ASUS ZenBook 15
  5. Lenovo ThinkPad E15
  6. HP Pavilion
  7. Dell Inspiron 14 5000 2-in-1
  8. ASUS VivoBook 15

Right now I’m going to show you the top eight laptops for photo editing, find here their features, specifications, pros and cons…

1. Asus ZenBook Pro Duo UX581

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First of all, let’s talk about the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo UX581, perfect to create the design you got in mind. This laptop is one of the latest creations of ASUS and it will give you the tools you need to improve your abilities. This computer has an amazing color resolution and it will help you to deliver an absolutely clean photo edition. Its processor will ride any program you want to use and its storage capability will save your entire data. About the price, this laptop is available around $2,300 on Amazon.

Features

ScreenPad Plus: 14 inch 4K matte touchscreen and 15.6 inch 4K UHD NanoEdge touchscreen, Intel Core i9-9980HK, Octa Core Processor (16 M Cache, up to 5.0 GHz) with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060. It has a detachable palm rest and ASUS active stylus pen included. It has fast storage and memory featuring 1 TB PCIe NVMe SSD with 32 GB DDR4 RAM. It also has a built-in IR camera for facial recognition and the exclusive ErgoLift design for improved typing position, optimized cooling system and enhanced audio performance. Finally, the connectivity is extended with HDMI, 3 USB Type C with Thunderbolt and Gig+ Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax).

Specifications

Asus product, its dimensions are 14.1 x 9.7 x 0.94 inches, weight of 6.39 pounds, it’s made of aluminum and it comes in celestial blue. It has a 8 cell battery with lithium ion technology and 71 Wh of capacity. The monitor has 400 cd/m2 of image brightness. It has a one year warranty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eySDY2iAGk

Pros

  • Incredible OLED main screen
  • Screenpad Plus offers and interesting multitask experience
  • Powerful 8-core hard disk
  • Great build quality

Cons

  • It is expensive
  • Large laptop
  • Screenpad Plus isn’t essential for the job
  • Issues with apps and games while using the multitask ScreenPad

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2. MSI P65 Creator-1084

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This computer is a whole powerhouse for creative people, if you want to do photo editing with all tools, this is the laptop for you. This will easily host any software you want for your photo editing while keeping the work fast and fluid. Talking about the price, if you can afford $2,000 of budget, buying this computer won’t be a concern and you’ll get a work tool and gaming as well. Its amazing features will let you use any software you prefer, whether it is Photoshop, Luminer or Lightroom.

Features

Windows 10 Pro, Six-core Processor intel core i7-9750h 2.6 – 4.5 ghz. It has Graphics NVidia GeForce RTX 2060 6 g gddr6 studio driver. Memory 32 GB(16 gram x 2) ddr4 2400mhz, 2 sockets max memory 32gb. Storage 1tb Teton glacier. Its Graphics Coprocessor is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060. It has 4 USB 3.0 Ports. The SSD interface with no optical drive. It also has White backlight keyboard (84 key), Speakers 2W * 2 and Nahimic audio. Finally, it has a 720p HD Webcam.

Specifications

Display resolution 3840 x 2160 pixels in UHD anti-glare wide view angle 4K, 15.6 inches screen. The computer’s weight is 8.28 pounds, its dimensions are 15.08 x 10.24 x 0.69 inches. It comes in Space Gray with Silver Diamond Cut. It has a 4 cell (82 Whr) battery pack. You may think that the battery would run low faster, but it actually doesn’t.

Pros

  • Clean six-core performance
  • Beautiful portable design
  • Stellar 4K display
  • Perfect to work with, but also really nice for gamers

Cons

  • Mid-size built-in speakers
  • It’s a expensive computer

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3. ROG Zephyrus M GU502GW

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This is a powerful computer with a great and thin design, delivering a clean performance to its user. Many people say this is a portable gaming computer, but I think this is an amazing tool for photographers who look for a laptop to grow professionally. The ROG Zephyrus M will run all of your photo editing softwares without any problem. Depending on your budget, this is an affordable computer to buy if you want to upgrade your edition skills, but if you have less than $1,500, I’ll recommend you to look for something cheaper and simpler.

Features

The features of this laptop include a Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 max-Q and a Graphics Card Ram size 8 GB. This computer has an Hexa-core Processor. Its Memory Speed is 2666 MHz. This Computer’s Memory Type is DDR4 of 16GB. Its CPU is an Intel 4.5 GHz and Intel i7 of 9th generation. It has Bluetooth and USB ports. It has a 1TB PCIe SSD. It comes with Windows 10 Home. It has Gigabit Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 (802 11ac 2×2), ROG Intelligent Cooling thermal system with dual 12V fans, anti-dust technology and adjustable fan modes and the ROG Aura Sync System with RGB Keyboard.

Specifications

It has 240 Hz 3ms 15 6” Full HD (1920×1080) IPS Type Pantone Validated Display. metal chassis gives it the resilience to travel anywhere. Its battery has 1 Lithium Polymer. Its dimension is 14.17 x 9.92 x 0.78 inches and its weight is 4.39 lbs.

Pros

  • Excellent to work and play
  • Will deliver a clean performance
  • Strong construction, high durability

Cons

  • Still expensive
  • Its fans are quite loud
  • Short battery life
  • Missing ethernet jack

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4. ASUS ZenBook 15

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ASUS has made it big by innovating with the ScreenPad of the Zenbook 15. This laptop is ideal for photographers and graphic designers as it delivers a clean performance by running a multitask job while using the photo editing programs such as Photoshop, Luminar and Lightroom. If you are a beginner, this is an amazing tool for you to start upgrading, but if you already have some knowledge it’s ok because you will definitely know how to take all the advantage from this computer to your work.

Features

The Asus Zenbook 15 has an Intel i7-10510u and NVIDIA GeForce GtX 1650 Max-Q 4 GB, it has 512 SSD, a quad-core processor, with RAM of 16gb and DDR3 SD RAM. It has Bluetooth, 802.11ac and 3 USB ports type C1. It also comes with the Windows 10 operating system. Finally, it has a ScreenPad 2.0.

Specifications

The computer dimensions are 13.90 x 8.70 x 0.70 inches and its weight is 3.6 lbs, so this is a really lightweight and portable laptop. Its screen has 15.6 inch wide-view 4K UHD 4-way NanoEdge with 92% screen to body ratio, which resolution is 1920 x 1080. Its battery is 1 Lithium ion of 100240 Volts.

Pros

  • It has a beautiful design
  • It delivers a high performance
  • Long battery life
  • Amazing screen

Cons

  • Not solid and sturdy
  • Keyboard and touchpad compromised

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5. Lenovo ThinkPad E15

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The Lenovo ThinkPad E15 will serve you well as it has technology of the latest generation and it is capable of accompanying you while you work in the office but also in your free time while you rest. This computer is able to run all of your photo editing software and give a clean performance at an affordable price. If you have a budget of $1,000, this is a cheap but quality option for you to follow your photographer career.

Features

This Lenovo has an Intel 10th Generation i5-10210u quad-core processor with Windows 10 Professional 64-bit operating system. It has 32 GB RAM DDR4 with 1 TB SSD. It has Intel UHD Graphics 620, memory speed 1.8 GHz. It also has a wireless communication standard of 802.11ac and a webcam of 720p with ThinkShutter. Its keyboard is non-backlit with English layout. It has one 1.4b HDMI port with No Optical Drive, 3 USB ports and 1 Audio Combo Jack.

Specifications

The dimensions of this Lenovo are 14.48 x 9.64 x 0.74 inches. It is made from aluminum in the top and from PC / ABS in the bottom. Its weight is 4.3 pounds. Its color is black. It has 15.6″ Full HD (1920×1080) TN Anti-glare 220nits Display and 45 Wh Lithium ion integrated battery.

Pros

  • Latest generation Intel
  • Large and fast hard disk
  • Easy to manage
  • It is an affordable and high-quality computer

Cons

  • Doesn’t have a graphic card
  • Doesn’t have a lighten keyboard

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6. HP Pavilion

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The HP Pavilion is an excellent tool for you to upgrade your photo editing skills, the touchscreen allows you to have a major control over the images you work with and the color has a nice distinction while working. This is a beautiful computer to work with, it will be really fun for you to use it. Besides this, it is important to say that this is cheaper than many other laptops of this size, so you can have a nice instrument for a lower price than usual, since you can buy this for less than $750. This is a good chance for beginners in photo editing because it doesn’t offer extremely major performance but still it will be excellent for Photoshop, Luminar, Lightroom or any editing software you want to use, as long as you understand that you should do one task by the time to ensure its best performance.

Features

10th Generation Intel Core i5-1035G1 with 1.00GHz Quad-Core Processor, Intel UHD Graphics, 12GB high-bandwidth RAM, 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD. It has 3 USB ports, 1 HDMI port, 1 Combination Audio Jack, 1 RJ-45 Connector, 1 Multi-format SD Media Card Reader, Built-in HP Wide Vision HD Webcam with Integrated Dual Array Digital Microphone, B&O PLAY with Dual Speakers, Backlit Keyboard, Intel Wireless-AC 9560 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It comes with Windows 10 Home 64-bit.

Specifications

It has a 15.6″ Full HD IPS BrightView Micro-edge WLED-backlit Touchscreen, with maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 Display, Multi-touch enabled. The laptop dimensions are 14.24 x 9.67 x 0.70 inches and its weight is 4.08 Pounds.

Pros

  • Good price for a computer of this size
  • It offers flexible storage options
  • Beautiful design
  • Its touchscreen capabilities offer many kinds of uses
  • Large battery life
  • Its front camera has a wide-angle lens

Cons

  • It has a low built quality
  • Dim display is really uncomfortable
  • Weak and hot GPU
  • Keyboard is exposed to residues

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7. Dell Inspiron 14 5000 2-in-1

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The Inspiron is really comfortable to work with due to its design, you can use it with a pen and you have a board to draw over your images, this is ideal for photo editing in beginners or experienced photographers.

Features

It has AMD Ryzen 7 3700U, 512 GB SSD, 8 GB RAM, Six-core processor, DDR SDRAM, 512 SDD, operating system Windows 10 home, i5485-A711SLV-PUS, Integrated Graphic Card, 802.11ab wireless type and 3 USB ports.

Specifications

Its screen resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels and it has 14 inches. The computer is made of matte black and silver plastic and its weight is 5.49 pounds, its dimensions are 15 x 9 x 2 inches and it has 1 Lithium ion battery.

Pros

  • Elegant design
  • Nice and fun performance
  • Dynamic use of the screen

Cons

  • Screen isn’t bright enough
  • Battery runs out too soon
  • Missing Thunderbolt 3 port

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8. ASUS VivoBook 15

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ASUS brings an excellent computer for photographers at an affordable price. It is notable that the company has done the best they could to deliver a high performance laptop with the lower price possible. This is for real a nice laptop to try if you don’t have a big budget.

Features

Latest 10th Generation Intel Core i5-1035G1 CPU (6M Cache, up to 3.6 GHz), 8 GB DDR4 RAM and 512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD. It has an ergonomic backlit keyboard with fingerprint sensor, exclusive Ergolift design. It has 4 USB ports and 1 HDMI port, gigabit Wi-Fi 802.11ac and it comes with the operating system Windows 10 Home.

Specifications

It has a 15.6 inch Full HD (1920×1080) 4-way NanoEdge bezel display with an amazing 88% screen-to-body ratio. Its weight is 3.75 lbs. and its dimensions are 14.10 x 9.10 x 0.80 inches. It also has 1 Lithium ion battery.

Pros

  • Absolutely affordable for its features
  • Really nice performance
  • Stylish design
  • Large battery life
  • Useful ports selection, including the fingerprints reader

Cons

  • Single component customize system

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Conclusion

I hope this article has been useful for you, these were the top 8 Best Laptops for Photo Editing, ideal for photographers and graphic designers. Now you can have a better idea of what laptop suits best to you, according to your necessities and budget.

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