Laptop for Image Processing?

[dr_gn]

All, my desktop is pretty much at the end of its life. I’d like to replace it with a laptop, something that can deal with Photoshop, Lightroom etc., and image stacking for astrophotography (amateur use only).

I recently got the missus a MacBook Air, which is great, but the screen is tiny, and they don’t seem to do ones much bigger, at least not within my budget.

What are some equivalent quality laptops that would be suitable? Could I get one with a small screen and plug into a larger monitor?

I’ve had two cheap Dell laptops which have been very unreliable, but the higher end ones I’ve had for work have been great. Ideally I’d go for a MacBook, but open to others.

Budget - about £1500 tops. Thanks in advance.

[ambuletz]

dell XPS 13, 15 or 17. meant to be one of the best winsows laptops out there with a quality screen. I'm holding out for the 11th gen processors which should come out in the coming months. if you do opt for it consider waiting until there's a killer deal on the 10th gen, or hold out for the 11th.

[Mr Pointy]

At the risk of being one of those who suggest exactly what the OP doesn't want the Apple M1 processor is said to trounce Intel equivalents. so maybe look at a Mac Mini?

https://www.apple.com/uk/mac-mini/

[dr_gn]

ambuletz said:

dell XPS 13, 15 or 17. meant to be one of the best winsows laptops out there with a quality screen. I'm holding out for the 11th gen processors which should come out in the coming months. if you do opt for it consider waiting until there's a killer deal on the 10th gen, or hold out for the 11th.

Thanks - well worth considering, although as I mentioned, I've had very bad experiences with Dell with the low-end stuff. Despite the fact I know through experience the higher end stuff is good (I use a Dell Precision for work) it still feels a bit wrong. As you suggest, Ill see if there are any deals out there when the time comes.

[dr_gn]

Mr Pointy said:

At the risk of being one of those who suggest exactly what the OP doesn't want the Apple M1 processor is said to trounce Intel equivalents. so maybe look at a Mac Mini?

https://www.apple.com/uk/mac-mini/

I was leaning towards Apple, since the missus has the Air, and we've both had iPhones for years without any issues.

Since you've linked to the mac-mini, I had a look, and must admit I'm a bit confused:

The mini doesn't come with a monitor, and the cheapest appears to be about £4500. Also needs a mouse and keyboard.

When I look a bit further, I find the i-Mac 24, still with the M1 processor, including a 24" monitor, keyboard and mouse, for £1249

As you can probably tell, I'm not that tech-savvy, so what's the story with that ^ ? What's the big advantage of the mini?

A desktop would be ok, just I thought it would be nice to get away from the home office sometimes to do my own stuff, now that I'm working from home a lot. So a laptop would enable me to do that. Portability would be a nice to have - I suppose.

Cheers.

Edited by dr_gn on Monday 14th June 20:36

[Tony1963]

The Mac Mini is just the equivalent of a PC tower. You add whichever monitor you want, together with mouse and keyboard. It was always regarded as a cheaper way into the Mac world.

I’d go for an iMac in your position.

I’ve had my current MacBook Pro 15” since 2014. Ok, £2k was a fair wedge to spend, but it has been great and is still more than fast enough with Photoshop CC and images from my Canon 5D3.

Must upgrade some day lol.

[dr_gn]

Tony1963 said:

The Mac Mini is just the equivalent of a PC tower. You add whichever monitor you want, together with mouse and keyboard. It was always regarded as a cheaper way into the Mac world.

I’d go for an iMac in your position.

I’ve had my current MacBook Pro 15” since 2014. Ok, £2k was a fair wedge to spend, but it has been great and is still more than fast enough with Photoshop CC and images from my Canon 5D3.

Must upgrade some day lol.

What I don't get is the cost of the monitor you have to add - £4599 for the cheapest. Pretty sure I must have missed some important page of cheaper monitors, but I can't find one.

Seems like it's 13" or 16" now for Macbooks. I want bigger than 13" and 16" is too expensive (and maybe still not really as big as I'd like).

As I mentioned, a desktop now seems like a more sensible option in terms of price, but I'm confused about the monitor prices for the mini.

[StevieBee]

dr_gn said:

Tony1963 said:

The Mac Mini is just the equivalent of a PC tower. You add whichever monitor you want, together with mouse and keyboard. It was always regarded as a cheaper way into the Mac world.

I’d go for an iMac in your position.

I’ve had my current MacBook Pro 15” since 2014. Ok, £2k was a fair wedge to spend, but it has been great and is still more than fast enough with Photoshop CC and images from my Canon 5D3.

Must upgrade some day lol.

What I don't get is the cost of the monitor you have to add - £4599 for the cheapest. Pretty sure I must have missed some important page of cheaper monitors, but I can't find one.

Seems like it's 13" or 16" now for Macbooks. I want bigger than 13" and 16" is too expensive (and maybe still not really as big as I'd like).

As I mentioned, a desktop now seems like a more sensible option in terms of price, but I'm confused about the monitor prices for the mini.

If you're looking on the Apple site then they'll be trying to flog you the screens they want to sell you but you can use any screen you like providing it has the right connection. There's plenty of good non-Apple ones for not a lot of money. Obviously if you want to get into the finer detail of colour calibration and the like, then you'll need to spend the money.

However, I'd agree with Tony that an iMac is the way to go.

[STiG911]

dr_gn said:

What I don't get is the cost of the monitor you have to add - £4599 for the cheapest. Pretty sure I must have missed some important page of cheaper monitors, but I can't find one.

Seems like it's 13" or 16" now for Macbooks. I want bigger than 13" and 16" is too expensive (and maybe still not really as big as I'd like).

As I mentioned, a desktop now seems like a more sensible option in terms of price, but I'm confused about the monitor prices for the mini.

Are you sure you're not confusing the Mac Mini with the Mac Pro? Mac Minis start from £700, not the £4500 you mention. Mac Pros are for serious business / video use (no offence!) so are chock full of real high-end hardware and can be expanded to the moon and back.
Mac Minis are still very good kit, but, as you say, don't come with a keyboard or mouse.
That said, you could still put together a good system for less than a MacBookPro even if it means you're tied to a desk to do the work. Even factoring in an Apple keyboard and mouse, you can get a great monitor for not much money these days; £120 to £140 ish or usually a lot less for 24" to 27" 4k monitors from Currys (no, really) Samsung and Acer are the better ones to go for, imo.

While the above does mean you can change and upgrade bits of what you have, a MacBookPro would mean you could work anywhere but, of course, there's the cost. You could always get a 13" MacBook and an external monitor to ease the strain when doing stuff at home. Another option to reduce the outlay would be to try the Refurbished section of the Apple Store. Same stuff, same guarantee.

Another thing to consider is external storage. Neither a MacBook nor Mac Mini will have a big hard drive (well, SSD these days) so invest in a 2TB or upwards external drive to store your finished stuff on.

I hope this helps - sorry it turned into a bit of an opus!

[Mr Pointy]

dr_gn said:

What I don't get is the cost of the monitor you have to add - £4599 for the cheapest. Pretty sure I must have missed some important page of cheaper monitors, but I can't find one.

Seems like it's 13" or 16" now for Macbooks. I want bigger than 13" and 16" is too expensive (and maybe still not really as big as I'd like).

As I mentioned, a desktop now seems like a more sensible option in terms of price, but I'm confused about the monitor prices for the mini.

Sorry, I thought it was clear that the Mini is just like a replacement for your existing PC & you might be able to use your existing mouse & monitor depending on them having the right connections, although you might need a new keyboard. It was just a slightly more cost efffective way to get into the M1 processor family.

[dr_gn]

Mr Pointy said:

dr_gn said:

What I don't get is the cost of the monitor you have to add - £4599 for the cheapest. Pretty sure I must have missed some important page of cheaper monitors, but I can't find one.

Seems like it's 13" or 16" now for Macbooks. I want bigger than 13" and 16" is too expensive (and maybe still not really as big as I'd like).

As I mentioned, a desktop now seems like a more sensible option in terms of price, but I'm confused about the monitor prices for the mini.

Sorry, I thought it was clear that the Mini is just like a replacement for your existing PC & you might be able to use your existing mouse & monitor depending on them having the right connections, although you might need a new keyboard. It was just a slightly more cost efffective way to get into the M1 processor family.

Yep, understood now. If I could use my existing monitor, then it all makes sense. Plus - while not a laptop, it seems like it's fairly portable, just move the monitor and keyboard with it - everything sits on the desktop rather than having to crawl under the desk to unplug loads of wires (as with my current tower system, which is pretty much built into and around a corner of my desk).

The £4k+ Apple displays are obviously for high end professional use. I'm still a bit surprised they don't offer cheaper versions to go with the Mini, since a monitor comes with the M1 processor iMac (24", and £1299) - that's what surprised me.

Apologies, I'm not up to speed with these things, but since you've pointed out the Mini, it's looking like a very good compromise.

Cheers.

[dr_gn]

STiG911 said:

dr_gn said:

What I don't get is the cost of the monitor you have to add - £4599 for the cheapest. Pretty sure I must have missed some important page of cheaper monitors, but I can't find one.

Seems like it's 13" or 16" now for Macbooks. I want bigger than 13" and 16" is too expensive (and maybe still not really as big as I'd like).

As I mentioned, a desktop now seems like a more sensible option in terms of price, but I'm confused about the monitor prices for the mini.

Are you sure you're not confusing the Mac Mini with the Mac Pro? Mac Minis start from £700, not the £4500 you mention. Mac Pros are for serious business / video use (no offence!) so are chock full of real high-end hardware and can be expanded to the moon and back.
Mac Minis are still very good kit, but, as you say, don't come with a keyboard or mouse.
That said, you could still put together a good system for less than a MacBookPro even if it means you're tied to a desk to do the work. Even factoring in an Apple keyboard and mouse, you can get a great monitor for not much money these days; £120 to £140 ish or usually a lot less for 24" to 27" 4k monitors from Currys (no, really) Samsung and Acer are the better ones to go for, imo.

While the above does mean you can change and upgrade bits of what you have, a MacBookPro would mean you could work anywhere but, of course, there's the cost. You could always get a 13" MacBook and an external monitor to ease the strain when doing stuff at home. Another option to reduce the outlay would be to try the Refurbished section of the Apple Store. Same stuff, same guarantee.

Another thing to consider is external storage. Neither a MacBook nor Mac Mini will have a big hard drive (well, SSD these days) so invest in a 2TB or upwards external drive to store your finished stuff on.

I hope this helps - sorry it turned into a bit of an opus!

Thanks - it was the monitor price that confused me - £4500 for the monitor, not the Mac Mini itself. I understand now - as per my reply to Mr.Poinly's post above.

Yes, when my missus was looking at the Mac Books, we were told the Air was the best one for her, and the Pro was really for high end use, hence the name. The Pro screen still doesn't seem large for image work, but perhaps that's just me being old fashioned.

Appreciate the comments, Cheers.

[STiG911]

dr_gn said:

Thanks - it was the monitor price that confused me - £4500 for the monitor, not the Mac Mini itself. I understand now - as per my reply to Mr.Poinly's post above.

Yes, when my missus was looking at the Mac Books, we were told the Air was the best one for her, and the Pro was really for high end use, hence the name. The Pro screen still doesn't seem large for image work, but perhaps that's just me being old fashioned.

Appreciate the comments, Cheers.

No worries

[dr_gn]

So after all that, and despite the thread title, I think the entry-level iMac 24” (as suggested a few posts ago) is the best bet for me. Thinking more about it I concluded I don’t really need the true portability of a laptop. It seems very well suited to manipulating images, comes with a great monitor that’s the same size as my current desktop pc, I can easily move it around to different rooms if I want, I can link it easily to my phone and the MacBook Air, and finally it’s just within budget.

I appreciate the comments and advice.

[singlecoil]

I have Dell XPS with a 4K touch screen. You can buy a Wacom-style pen for it too. Way better than the Macbook it replaced (expensive mistake never to be repeated) and about half the price.

I also have a custom built PC Specialists desktop with Wacom and BenQ monitors. Check out what you could buy from them for iMac money, you may be pleasantly surprised.