{"id":518,"date":"2016-03-14T17:38:25","date_gmt":"2016-03-14T17:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/picknotebook.com\/blog\/?p=518"},"modified":"2018-08-25T03:06:51","modified_gmt":"2018-08-25T09:06:51","slug":"best-laptop-for-lightroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/picknotebook.com\/blog\/best-laptop-for-lightroom\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Best Laptops for Lightroom (240+ Laptops compared)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \"Choosing
\nChoosing a laptop for Adobe Lightroom is not particularly hard – having a high-end graphics card is not necessary, laptops with larger and faster hard drives and memory are now commonplace. But it gets problematic when you have to take into consideration screen and upgrade potential<\/strong>.\n<\/p>\n

\n Surely no sane man would go through all new, well-received and best selling laptops to find out what is the best one for Lightroom. But you’d be making a mistake if you call me sane.\n<\/p>\n

\n So I compiled a list of 244 laptops<\/strong> (most of them are outdated, but they are always down in the list when comparing metrics). Then I compared them to their performance (using real benchmarks), storage, screen quality and weight. I have weighed all of these metrics according to what\u2019s important to Lightroom<\/strong> \u2013 so you know these laptops are the best for their purpose.\n<\/p>\n

\n In this post I’ll cover 8 best laptops for Lightroom<\/strong> and what’s so great AND what’s not so perfect<\/em> about them. Also, I will make sure that anything above budget options will also be a viable option for other software you might end up using (khm khm.. Photoshop).\n<\/p>\n

\n This time, unlike any other, I\u2019ll start off with the laptops and then I\u2019ll write about how did I end up choosing them<\/em>. Finally, at the bottom of the article, I\u2019ll give you the link to the spreadsheet covering all the quantified comparisons of these 240 laptops ranging from $370 to $3700!\n<\/p>\n

\n Here we go!\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Best laptops for Lightroom<\/h2>\n

Dirt cheap option<\/h3>\n

Acer Aspire E 15<\/a><\/h4>
1<\/div>Focus on the essentials<\/em>\"\"
View on Amazon<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\n
Price<\/div>
$600<\/div><\/div>\n
\n i5-8250U<\/span>\n | MX150<\/span>\n | 8GB RAM<\/span>\n | 256 GB SSD<\/span>\n | 15.6″ 1920×1080<\/span>\n | up to 8h<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

\n If you want a cheap yet overall a good laptop – Acer Aspire is a nice pick. It’s the best you can find under $600 even though it’s not particularly well adapted for Lightroom and photo editing.\n <\/p>\n

\n It has a decent processor, a dedicated graphics card and a fitting amount of memory. It even offers a surprisingly good battery. Sadly, it has a limiting amount of storage and a poor quality display – subpar brightness levels, weak contrast and underwhelming color accuracy. Well, you can’t have it all with this price tag.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>

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Budget options for Lightroom<\/h3>\n

Acer Aspire E 15<\/a><\/h4>
2<\/div>IPS on a budget<\/em>\"\"
View on Amazon<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\n
Price<\/div>
$800<\/div><\/div>\n
\n i7-8550U<\/span>\n | MX150<\/span>\n | 8GB RAM<\/span>\n | 256GB\tSSD<\/span>\n | 15.6″ IPS 1920×1080<\/span>\n | up to 8h<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

\n Acer is the king of budget laptops. It outcompetes brands at this price range and that’s why I got 2 Acer laptops in my list standing back-to-back. This particular model is not much different from its cheaper counterpart. But it has 2 key differences – a faster processor and an IPS panel.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>

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Dell Inspiron i5577-7342BLK-PUS<\/a><\/h4>
3<\/div>A solid offering<\/em>\"\"
View on Amazon<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\n
Price<\/div>
$900<\/div><\/div>\n
\n i7-7700HQ<\/span>\n | GTX 1050<\/span>\n | 16GB RAM<\/span>\n | 512 GB SSD<\/span>\n | 15.6″ 1920×1080<\/span>\n | N\/A<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

\n We’re getting some strong offers just around $1,000. The first one is Dell Inspiron i5577.\n <\/p>\n

\n This Dell Inspiron is a very good \u201cstarting package\u201d if you are planning to keep it for 2-3 years (or even more). All of this comes down to a very good processor Intel Core i7 processor (Intel Core i7-7700HQ).\n <\/p>\n

\n The screen is yet again the weakest link in this package. It’s general hardware is worthy of a $1,500 laptop but the reasons why we can get it at this low price point are mediocre display and unknown battery life. I’d expect just ~3.5h out of an average battery paired with these power-hungry components.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>

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Mid-range Lightroom laptops<\/h3>\n

Microsoft Surface Laptop<\/a><\/h4>
4<\/div>Tablet reincarnated as a laptop<\/em>\"\"
View on Amazon<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\n
Price<\/div>
$1,000<\/div><\/div>\n
\n i5-7300U<\/span>\n | Iris Plus 640<\/span>\n | 8GB RAM<\/span>\n | 256GB GB SSD<\/span>\n | 13.5″ IPS 2256×1504<\/span>\n | up to 13h<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

\n After a pair of performance-oriented laptops, it’s time for a lightweight to enter the ring. Microsoft Surface Laptop is a godsend for people on the go that need a well-built machine that will deliver on its promises and won’t break the bank.\n <\/p>\n

\n It’s not particularly fast or spacious – after all you can’t expect to cram state of the art hardware into a lean frame like this one. Don’t get me wrong – it’s sufficient for Adobe Illustrator CC, but I would want some kind of external drive with me at most times. It’s ideal if you also have a dedicated computer for working with graphics and you only need a sleek machine for working out of office.\n <\/p>\n

\n What Microsoft sacrificed in performance, they’ve returned double of that in battery life. It stands heads and shoulders above other laptops in this list. With up to 13 hours of battery life it blows the competition out of the water. And the screen quality is nothing to scoff at – 400 nits, 1400:1 and 100% sRGB coverage are all great metrics even for a picky buyer.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>

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Eluktronics N870HK1 Pro<\/a><\/h4>
5<\/div>An indoor cat<\/em>\"\"
View on Amazon<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\n
Price<\/div>
$1,050<\/div><\/div>\n
i7-7700HQ<\/span> | GTX 1050 Ti<\/span> | 16 GB<\/span> | 500 GB SSD<\/span> | 17.3″ IPS\t1920×1080<\/span> | up to 3h<\/span><\/div>\n

\n There’s no better laptop to stand in contrast to Surface Laptop as Eluktronics N870HK1. Don’t be fooled by its relatively unknown brand name – this laptop has earned a strong reputation on Amazon for its unparalleled performance benchmarks at an affordable price. It is one of the few laptop brands that can offer a mid-range gaming-oriented laptop without throwing the display quality out of the window.\n <\/p>\n

\n It offers great performance, reasonable 500 GB SSD storage and a large & wide 17.3″ display. But it’s the biggest indoor cat – you’ll have a hard time taking it outside. It’s heavy and it doesn’t offer much of a battery life. Just a couple of hours and lights out!\n <\/p>\n

\n It’s a great workstation but if you want an ultimate laptop for Lightroom – you’ll need to spend a little more.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

HP Omen 15t<\/a><\/h4>
6<\/div>Workstation for the bold<\/em>\"\"
View on Amazon<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\n
Price<\/div>
$1,400<\/div><\/div>\n
\n i7-8750H<\/span>\n | GTX 1050 Ti 4GB<\/span>\n | 16GB RAM<\/span>\n | 500GB GB SSD (NVMe) + 1TB HDD<\/span>\n | 15.6″ IPS 1920×1080<\/span>\n | up to 3h<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

\n It seems that no matter what type of comparison I\u2019m taking on, there\u2019s always 1 or 2 gaming laptops that slip through even to gaming-unrelated areas, like photo management and editing<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n But do not fear! The power of a gaming laptop can be utilized by Lightroom, particularly in \u201cDevelop\u201d module. Lightroom takes advantage of this mid-range graphics card to speed up effects and filters. This is especially handy when working with RAW or extremely high-resolution photos. In those cases, the graphics card can alleviate a lot of stress from an already-busy processor.\n <\/p>\n

\n A workstation laptop with all the latest hardware, a good display and attention-grabbing details. That’s what sums up HP Omen 15t.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

Best laptops for Lightroom<\/h3>\n

HP Pavilion 15t<\/a><\/h4>
7<\/div>A gaming laptop in office clothing<\/em>\"\"
View on Amazon<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\n
Price<\/div>
$1,600<\/div><\/div>\n
\n i7-8750H<\/span>\n | GTX 1060 3GB<\/span>\n | 32GB RAM<\/span>\n | 512GB NVMe SSD + 1 TB HDD<\/span>\n | 15.6″ IPS 144Hz 1920×1080<\/span>\n | up to 6h 30min<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

\n HP Pavilion 15t is very similar to HP Omen 15t with a few key exceptions. It has a more subdued and professional design style, longer lasting battery and a higher refresh rate display. Though, I have found some reports of rather underwhelming display metrics in related HP models which still leaves this laptop one step away from perfect.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>

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Apple MacBook Pro<\/a><\/h4>
8<\/div>Long live the king<\/em>\"\"
View on Apple.com<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\n
Price<\/div>
$2,800<\/div><\/div>\n
\n i7-8850H<\/span>\n | Radeon Pro 560X<\/span>\n | 16GB RAM<\/span>\n | 512GB\tNVMe SSD<\/span>\n | 15.4″\tIPS 2880×1800<\/span>\n | up to 10h<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

\n You can\u2019t say you didn\u2019t see that coming – MacBook Pros are great when working with multimedia!\n <\/p>\n

\n Despite the popular opinion, even the most expensive MacBook Pro offers about the same \u201cmetal\u201d you\u2019d find in other similarly-priced laptops.\n <\/p>\n

\n This MacBook, just like any other, comes with some very hard to find features on a Windows machine. For example, a great trackpad that feels as a solid input device instead of a replacement for a mouse. What is more, it weighs less a lot less than its competition and comes with a hard-to-match battery runtime.\n <\/p>\n

\n The few limitations of this model are:\n <\/p>\n