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- Name
- Joe
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Hey everyone, any ideas on a good budget laptop for editing on gimp, I assume I will need a good screen and a good amount of RAM?
Kind Regards
Joe
Kind Regards
Joe
and help to keep the site free for all
Beginner Good budget laptop for editing with GIMP?
- Thread starter MythicalSnapshots
- Start date
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- 767
- Edit My Images
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What's your definition of budget?
FWIW I had to buy a laptop in a hurry for work (self employed and starting up broke) - I got a low end 14" Dell and while it was OK for the browser and office work I was doing the screen was terrible. Uneven colour and poor viewing angles and sub full HD made it feel like working through a letterbox.
I then replaced it with a more expensive 13" Dell with an IPS 1920x1080 screen as soon as I could afford to - my main aim was portability not photo editing as I have a desktop too.
Having a higher resolution on a smaller screen was a massive step forward.
The problem you're likely to have is that laptops are generally preconfigured so to get a half decent screen you'll need to pay for a higher spec processor etc.
The good news is that GIMP is quite relaxed in the specs it needs to run - though it will run better on faster machines.
I'd look for a used higher spec machine over a brand new lower spec machine and concentrate on the screen specs - at least Full HD or you'll be tearing your hair out.
If you don't need to lug it around then a larger screen will be better - 15" tend to be the sweet spot for price performance - but if you are going to need to carry it on trains, planes etc. then I'd go for a high res small screen model.
FWIW I had to buy a laptop in a hurry for work (self employed and starting up broke) - I got a low end 14" Dell and while it was OK for the browser and office work I was doing the screen was terrible. Uneven colour and poor viewing angles and sub full HD made it feel like working through a letterbox.
I then replaced it with a more expensive 13" Dell with an IPS 1920x1080 screen as soon as I could afford to - my main aim was portability not photo editing as I have a desktop too.
Having a higher resolution on a smaller screen was a massive step forward.
The problem you're likely to have is that laptops are generally preconfigured so to get a half decent screen you'll need to pay for a higher spec processor etc.
The good news is that GIMP is quite relaxed in the specs it needs to run - though it will run better on faster machines.
I'd look for a used higher spec machine over a brand new lower spec machine and concentrate on the screen specs - at least Full HD or you'll be tearing your hair out.
If you don't need to lug it around then a larger screen will be better - 15" tend to be the sweet spot for price performance - but if you are going to need to carry it on trains, planes etc. then I'd go for a high res small screen model.
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- Edit My Images
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I have an Acer Travelmate P257 with a Core i5, 12GB, 1TB and 15" screen as a backup to my MacBook Pro. It cost me £550 from a local dealer and it's fast enough for my needs with the GIMP. The screen is nearly as nice as my Mac for 1/3rd the price. 