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Photoshop laptop suggestions?

Kemara

Kemara

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Joined
Dec 29, 2013
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I have 2009 21" iMac that's finally starting to show its age (it got a new hard drive courtesy of an Apple recall a few years back). I have Photoshop CC 2017 and it takes about 5 minutes for the program to get up and running. Then it lags when I'm working on 12x12 documents at 300 dpi.

I'm looking at laptops to replace it. My must-haves are a 17" screen (won't be traveling with it but maybe once a year), a 1TB hard drive, Windows 10 and less than $1,000. I'll be mostly running Photoshop with a Wacom Draw tablet, Lightroom and maybe a few games.

Any suggestions?
 
I don't have any specific brand recommendations for you, but my biggest piece of advice would be to get as much RAM as you can get within your budget. I have 8GB in my laptop and it struggles with Photoshop sometimes, especially if anything else is running.
 
I'm in Australia so i can only dream of a wishlist like that under $1k but i know that Black Fri is coming up. Do they advertise deals in advance for computer stuff?
 
Look at "gaming" laptops. They will have the additional RAM and supped up graphics cards that Photoshop can take advantage of. Of course, the fastest processor within your budget is always good too.
 
bellbird said:
I'm in Australia so i can only dream of a wishlist like that under $1k but i know that Black Fri is coming up. Do they advertise deals in advance for computer stuff?
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The laptops Amazon is offering as Black Friday deals either have poor reviews or one 5-star review. Not sure I want to risk it.
 
Well, that rules out getting a MacBook Pro. They stopped making the 17 inch laptops. 15 inches is the biggest. I know nothing about PC, since I've been a MAC since 2009. Good luck. I hope you find what you need.
 
I have an HP Envy. I think it's a 17" screen (diagonally, just the viewable is 17; the actual case is 19"). We actually have 2 Envy's - 1 is a touchscreen and intel, one is AMD and non touchscreen. I have a love/hate relationship with both. I upgraded the RAM in the AMD to 16 GB, and it has no issues with PSCC and LR. I need to upgrade the RAM in the touchscreen since I scrap on it more.

Being HP, there are a bunch of piddly things that I HATE! The touchscreen I had to install a 3rd party application to turn off the touchpad. Both run hot, and have fan issues if they aren't properly vented. The AMD had 2 USB plugs die just after the 2 year mark. Upon opening it, they are not easy to change.
On the plus side: I LOVE the screen size. I do like the ability to play with the touchscreen, although I don't use it much. It's hardy - bumps and jostles don't bother it at all. And they both upgraded from Windows 8.0 to Windows 10 just fine. I do like that HP parts are easy to find, and easy to replace (like the upgrading the RAM).

That said, I do like the HP much better than Dell's that we have had before.

I don't think I would do another Envy, as the fans are just not in smart places for the build of the computer. But our last HP (Windows XP) lasted us from 2007 to 2013 when we turned it into an internet/kid computer until 2016. That's when we let it die.
 
Yeah, our very first computer that we got when I was in middle school was HP. I upgraded it through the years and ended up taking it to college! They were much simpler back then which helped, I think.

It's a shame Dell have such poor quality....they're by far the cheapest 17" I've seen. Oh well. Thanks for the advice!
 
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CC (Creative Cloud) is in the cloud, so fastest internet possible will help you the most. It's easy to find a laptop with 17" screen these days for under 1000.00, but 16 gigs will push the price up. I'd opt for the fastest processor and super high speed internet for the best performance.
 
I'm confused....My versions of Photoshop CC and Lightroom aren't "in the cloud". Both programs are downloaded to my computer in their entirety. I believe the "cloud" part is that you get constant updates from Adobe as long as you have a subscription. It's $10 a month for both programs. You only need the internet when you have to download an update for them and you can control when that happens. If you stop your subscription, you can no longer access the programs, that's true, but nothing is saved "in the cloud".
 
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Lindzee said:
CC (Creative Cloud) is in the cloud, so fastest internet possible will help you the most.
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While you download the programs from the cloud, and they are updated from the cloud, you actually aren't working in the cloud. You only have to be connected to Internet 1 time during 30 days so Adobe can verify your subscription. RAM is more help than a faster Internet speed.

I do use 8 gb of Ram, and it is fine. I just notice a struggle and slight slowing when I have lr, and ps, and other things open. It's still OK to work on. I just like the way 16 gb of ram handles it better.
 
Thanks! That's what I thought about CC. I'm down to two HP laptops - one is 15", the other's 17". Both have touch screens, 12GB of RAM, and 1TB hard drives. The 17" is an Intel i5 and the 15" is Intel i7. The 17" costs $100 more. So bigger screen but possibly slower or smaller screen but faster? I can't decide.
 
Kemara said:
Thanks! That's what I thought about CC. I'm down to two HP laptops - one is 15", the other's 17". Both have touch screens, 12GB of RAM, and 1TB hard drives. The 17" is an Intel i5 and the 15" is Intel i7. The 17" costs $100 more. So bigger screen but possibly slower or smaller screen but faster? I can't decide.
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check and see. Its not called creative cloud for nothing... Parts are downloaded and others are not.
 
I've been researching new Laptops. I have a Mac Book Pro, and I don't know if I want to go smaller - from a 17" to a 15". Kemara, if you have the two links, I'd love to peek at them. :)

I was researching CC and the Adobe website says "No, the desktop applications in Creative Cloud, such as Photoshop and Illustrator, are installed directly on your computer. So, you don’t need an ongoing Internet connection to use them.

An Internet connection is required the first time you install and license your apps. But, you can use the apps in offline mode with a valid software license. The desktop apps attempt to validate your software licenses every 30 days.

Annual members can use the apps for up to 99 days in offline mode. Month-to-month members can use the software for up to 30 days in offline mode."

https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/faq.html
 
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Thank you so much! Off to peek. I don't want to go back to Windows PC, but I might not have a choice. :)
 
This is such a dumb little thing, but I love the backlit keyboard. I'm not positive the 17" back-lit keyboard is the same, although the 17" looks very similar to my current one. (Intell Core i7). I love being able to hit the backlight button on the keyboard when it's overcast, but not enough to need the overhead light. Or if I'm watching a movie, and just need to see the keys. Like I said, dumb little thing, but I like it.

Oh, and I don't know if it'll make a difference for you, but the i5 is a quad core, and the i7 a dual core. Usually, quad is better. But I can't remember for sure what the core part does.
 
bestcee said:
I have an HP Envy. I think it's a 17" screen (diagonally, just the viewable is 17; the actual case is 19"). We actually have 2 Envy's - 1 is a touchscreen and intel, one is AMD and non touchscreen. I have a love/hate relationship with both. I upgraded the RAM in the AMD to 16 GB, and it has no issues with PSCC and LR. I need to upgrade the RAM in the touchscreen since I scrap on it more.

Being HP, there are a bunch of piddly things that I HATE! The touchscreen I had to install a 3rd party application to turn off the touchpad. Both run hot, and have fan issues if they aren't properly vented. The AMD had 2 USB plugs die just after the 2 year mark. Upon opening it, they are not easy to change.
On the plus side: I LOVE the screen size. I do like the ability to play with the touchscreen, although I don't use it much. It's hardy - bumps and jostles don't bother it at all. And they both upgraded from Windows 8.0 to Windows 10 just fine. I do like that HP parts are easy to find, and easy to replace (like the upgrading the RAM).

That said, I do like the HP much better than Dell's that we have had before.

I don't think I would do another Envy, as the fans are just not in smart places for the build of the computer. But our last HP (Windows XP) lasted us from 2007 to 2013 when we turned it into an internet/kid computer until 2016. That's when we let it die.
Click to expand...

I have an HP Envy 17" touch screen also and love it I just got it in October with windows 10 installed... the only thing that annoys me is that there is no light to indicate if your num lock is on or not, otherwise it is wonderful I run 3 EHD's and cc 2017 + Lightroom and other things.. it works great.
 
I haven't read everyone's answers but I saw @cfile responded and it sounds like she and I have the same laptop. :) The non-number lock light does't bother me, and I don't have any issues with this laptop at all except every once in awhile my home screen doesn't recognize the keyboard and I have to use the touch screen to input my password. Not a big deal. I bought it a few months after buying a Dell Inspiron 15" laptop that I haaaaaated. DH has it (he's using it right now in fact) and he loves it. Go figure. ;)
ANYWAY, it has a 1TB HD and I think 16GB RAM and Windows 10. I have PS CS3 and it runs fine while I also run the Internet and iTunes (and have my Digiscraps folder open). It runs Intel i& (the most current generation) and have NVIDIA GEForce graphics (1080p), and Bang & Olufsen speakers, and a 3D camera...which I don't use. :)
ETA: I should have mentioned the regular price was about a grand but 14 days after I bought it, the price dropped to $850 and Best Buy did a price adjustment. Yea!
 
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