Which laptop for Lightroom?

markgriff

markgriff

Messages
54
Name
Mark
Edit My Images
No
Can I pick your brains?

I was looking to buy a laptop that would be capable of running Lightroom, in order that I could work through my photos at times when I'm away from home.

What spec would I need in terms of memory etc in order that it would handle the software without running too slowly and any recommendations of particular models would be appreciated? :thinking:

Many thanks
 
I use a white Macbook when I'm on the road, it does the job.

Are you wanting to do full blown editing, or just keywording etc?
 
First thing is a budget,As that is very important and quite a large deciding factor,I'd recommend at least a 13inch screen as my netbook is too small for lightroom(but still usable) It runs fine on the 1.6ghz processor and 2gb of ram so anything like that or better will do,It sounds like you mean when you're on holiday?Other than at an event so the battery life isn't a huge factor?If that's right then any entry level laptop from the likes of pc world or currys should do you perfectly..
 
Lightroom isn't that processor or memory greedy. as has been said, you don't need a super fast machine. I used it in the field on my Compaq 1.8Ghz 1.25Mb memory.Works reasonably fast. Where you'll find a faster processor will help is when it's rendering the previews. On my machine it was fairly slow with large files. I turned off the preview rendering option on import just to speed things up.

When you render the files you'll see a similar advantage with a faster processor. However with the latest dual core processors I wouldn't think you'll find any real problem.

If the laptop you get has an Express Card slot it's worth getting a suitable card reader as it does speed up importing the images.

It's amazing what you can get nowadays for around £350. Have a look at the Dell web site they have some great offers. Also check out HP's site they just emailed me that they have special offers as well.

And if you can really push it ... MacBook Pro!!
 
Thanks for your replies guys.

In terms of budget, I wasn't wanting to spend more than £400 as it was mainly for use when on holiday / weekends away etc.

I was just concerned over what spec I would need in order that software such as Lightroom would operate on it and wouldn't run too slowly

I noticed that Tesco are presently doing the following:

Dell Inspiron 1525 Black T3400 2GB 160GB 15.4" Laptop - £349
Acer 5735z T3400 3GB 250GB 15.6" Laptop - £379

Would the spec on the Dell do the job or would I notice a significant improvement in having 3GB's??
 
I think the Dell would be fine. The only advantage the Acer would have is the larger hard Drive. Images ( especially RAW) do tend to take up a lot of space. Mind you the extra memory is always useful. Mind you an external hard Drive wouldn't cost the earth if you needed more storage

If you like the Dell you could always go to the Dell web site and spec the machine with a larger HD.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top