Looking for a new Laptop computer

[terradriller]

My old desk top computer is giving it up. I'm looking at getting a new Laptop and would appreciate any suggestions on brand, CPU, RAM and storage capacity needed I've got over 300 GB of photos and video now and do some video editing from time to time.

Thanks

 

[Macinfo]

My old desk top computer is giving it up. I'm looking at getting a new Laptop and would appreciate any suggestions on brand, CPU, RAM and storage capacity needed I've got over 300 GB of photos and video now and do some video editing from time to time.

Thanks

Get an M1 Macbook, fastest you can get for $$.

Most SSD based computers do not have have enough storage internal, though they maybe around for more cost. so you want connectivity, for example, USB-C, so you can add external SSD's or other storage and still get good performance since you planning on photos and video, and 4K drone output can eat disk for lunch.

 

[terradriller]

I've been thinking about Apple. Is that a MacBook Air?

 

[Phantomrain.org]

No not the Air the Pro is the one he is talking about.

 

[Ohio Snake]

I guess you need to decide IOS or Windows. I have both...IOS in a Mac and Windows in laptop and desktop at work. I use the Mac for entertainment and Windows for business....numbers crunching and the fact most business applications are windows based.

With that said, I have Dell XPS 15 laptop with SSD (1TB) 16 GB memory and OLED glass screen with docking port. When compared to my Latitude, the colors are absolutely vibrant. Obvious fan of Dell, but can be a bit pricey.

 

[terradriller]

So is it a big deal to transfer from my Dell desktop to a Apple laptop computer? My USB ports are dead so I would have to have someone do the transfer

 

[Phantomrain.org]

I guess you need to decide IOS or Windows. I have both...IOS in a Mac and Windows in laptop and desktop at work. I use the Mac for entertainment and Windows for business....numbers crunching and the fact most business applications are windows based.

With that said, I have Dell XPS 15 laptop with SSD (1TB) 16 GB memory and OLED glass screen with docking port. When compared to my Latitude, the colors are absolutely vibrant. Obvious fan of Dell, but can be a bit pricey.

We also have both and what is really interesting is that , we have 1000 meg internet but only the Windows Machines can take full advantage of that where as the Mac barely making 250 its very sad . I have also found that Windows 10 has fewer issue now than the New OS Big Sur .

To get the best bang for your money Windows is a great way to do that.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in the Rain and Land on water.

 

[Ohio Snake]

So is it a big deal to transfer from my Dell desktop to a Apple laptop computer? My USB ports are dead so I would have to have someone do the transfer

I have ICloud (Apple) and OneDrive (Microsoft) on all laptops and computers. You can copy and paste from icloud to OneDrive ( visa versa) if changing operating systems. If not changing systems , just use the appropriate cloud service to transfer.

 

[Ohio Snake]

We also have both and what is really interesting is that , we have 1000 meg internet but only the Windows Machines can take full advantage of that where as the Mac barely making 250 its very sad . I have also found that Windows 10 has fewer issue now than the New OS Big Sur .

To get the best bang for your money Windows is a great way to do that.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in the Rain and Land on water.

I find Windows 10 Pro better than Home version. You are correct on the internet speed.

 

[Macinfo]

So is it a big deal to transfer from my Dell desktop to a Apple laptop computer? My USB ports are dead so I would have to have someone do the transfer

There are options, it depends a touch on skill level or technical friends. You could add a cheap USB card (if you can) to the computer and migrate or backup data. Alternatively, remove the HD and use an external USB Case or equivalent

If the networking works, there is a migration utility that Apple has you can install that will let you move data from one computer to a new Mac and perhaps some settings.. You can chose what to migrate, if you have a lot of data, you may wind up migrating some items and restoring some to another drive possibly.

I know some people really like Windows, and it can be cheaper in some cases., however working with it routinely for work, I find it cumbersome, the constant constant constant, (did I say constant?) patching, some of which has caused people problems, or small ones. Then even if you patch routinely you may still wind up with some malware or worse that will really ruin your day. Course, you may never see a problem.

The Mac is far more secure in this regard, and while you still need some vigilance in watching for security issues, its not nearly as problematic as it has been on Windows. Mac's have a tendency (IMHO) to last far longer than their Windows counterparts, I know people using 7. 8. 9. 10 year old Mac's routinely and some may have only recently not been able to install the latest version of Mac OS.. Mac OS updates are "Free".

If you come from Windows, there is of course a learning curve, however, there are plenty of places that cover Mac basics in videos you could probably watch on YT. If you're going to use it to edit your drone videos, iMovie (included on every Mac) will do a reasonably good job, if you have a need for more, there is Final Cut Pro, not cheap, but pro software rarely is. iPhoto (also included..) will let you manage all the drone photos you'll take easily. You can add third party editors such as Luminar to enhance the editing tools already in iPhoto,

 

[terradriller]

Thanks for the info. ..really starting to think MacBook..
I fly with a ipad mini 4 so I'm thinking there may not be much learning curve. The computer i have now is only 4 years old.. your right I do think the Apple products last much longer.

There are options, it depends a touch on skill level or technical friends. You could add a cheap USB card (if you can) to the computer and migrate or backup data. Alternatively, remove the HD and use an external USB Case or equivalent

If the networking works, there is a migration utility that Apple has you can install that will let you move data from one computer to a new Mac and perhaps some settings.. You can chose what to migrate, if you have a lot of data, you may wind up migrating some items and restoring some to another drive possibly.

I know some people really like Windows, and it can be cheaper in some cases., however working with it routinely for work, I find it cumbersome, the constant constant constant, (did I say constant?) patching, some of which has caused people problems, or small ones. Then even if you patch routinely you may still wind up with some malware or worse that will really ruin your day. Course, you may never see a problem.

The Mac is far more secure in this regard, and while you still need some vigilance in watching for security issues, its not nearly as problematic as it has been on Windows. Mac's have a tendency (IMHO) to last far longer than their Windows counterparts, I know people using 7. 8. 9. 10 year old Mac's routinely and some may have only recently not been able to install the latest version of Mac OS.. Mac OS updates are "Free".

If you come from Windows, there is of course a learning curve, however, there are plenty of places that cover Mac basics in videos you could probably watch on YT. If you're going to use it to edit your drone videos, iMovie (included on every Mac) will do a reasonably good job, if you have a need for more, there is Final Cut Pro, not cheap, but pro software rarely is. iPhoto (also included..) will let you manage all the drone photos you'll take easily. You can add third party editors such as Luminar to enhance the editing tools already in iPhoto,

 

[Thomas B]

Thanks for the info. ..really starting to think MacBook..
I fly with a ipad mini 4 so I'm thinking there may not be much learning curve. The computer i have now is only 4 years old.. your right I do think the Apple products last much longer.

I edit on a 2014 iMac 27” Retina 5k...,it is also my primary home computer. 1TB internal SSD, 4GHz Intel quad core i7, 32GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM, AMD Radeon R9 M295 video card with 4GB VRAM.
It shows no signs of slowing even on the most current OS, my results from vids and picks from my drone are excellent and highest resolution DJI allowed in my M2P. These results are essentially instantaneous using iPhoto, iMovie, or FinalCut Pro.

so mine definitely lasted longer than your example...,I expect more.
BTW... while useless for my imaging now, I still have a 1976 Apple 2e that runs fine. Grandkids use it for some older games.

 

[terradriller]

Thanks thats great to know

 

[DanMan32]

Age doesn't have as much of a factor as the type of hardware. A 4yr old Ferrari is going to perform way better than a brand new Corrolla.

 

[Tufargon]

Here you go.

Best Buy Coupons | (40% OFF DISCOUNT CODE) | Aug 2021

Use our valid 40% off Best Buy coupon to get a discount on TVs, laptops, phones & more plus receive free standard shipping on orders above $35. See all 34 Best Buy coupons, promo codes & discounts for Aug 2021.

slickdeals.net

 

[anotherlab]

I haven't had the Apple network performance issue that others have reported in this thread. I have gigabit Fios (well, what they call "gigabit") and both my Macbook Pro and my Win 10 PC are able to take advantage of the bandwidth available. The download and upload speeds on a wired connection between the Macbook and the Win 10 box are with 5% of each other. I'm curious about the people reporting the slow network speeds on the Macbooks. Is that for a wired connection or over Wi-Fi?

If you are Windows person, think carefully before getting a M1 Macbook. The new M1 based Macbooks are very nice and very fast. But you want to make sure that you will have the apps that you need. I like having both MacOS and Windows, but that's not for everyone.

On the Windows side, I like the HP Spectre 360 laptops. HP has an optional extended warranty that if you don't use, you get the money back. The trick si that you have a small window (I think a month) in order to claim the money.

 

[eaglesurfing]

My vacation laptop is a MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE and I plug in a 512 gig SSD for storage.

• Latest 8th Gen. Intel® Core™ i7 processor
• Windows 10 Home / Windows 10 Pro
• GeForce® GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5
• 15.6" Full HD (1920x1080), 144Hz 7ms, IPS-Level gaming display panel (Optional)
• World's first 144Hz thin bezel gaming laptop
• All new Dragon Center with exclusive gaming mode
• Per-Key RGB gaming keyboard by Steelseries
• Productivity 8+ hours battery life
• Sound by Dynaudio and High-Resolution Audio ready
• 360° virtual surround sound powered by Nahimic 3
• Ultra thin 17.9mm, ultra light 1.88kg
• MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE – World’s First 144Hz Thin Bezel Gaming Laptop

 

[Dale D]

My old desk top computer is giving it up. I'm looking at getting a new Laptop and would appreciate any suggestions on brand, CPU, RAM and storage capacity needed I've got over 300 GB of photos and video now and do some video editing from time to time.

Thanks

I would highly recommend that you watch this video from one of my favorites teachers- Colin Smith of Photoshop Cafe. Essentially, he makes a point that now, because Apple has started to make it's own chips (the M1 chip) instead of using Intel chip technology, that they are amazingly fast and powerful without any heat generated. Watch this 14 minute video. Actually, Colin Smith advises NOT to buy the Apple Mac Book Pro 13 inch now because it is a first generation chip and there will most certainly be improvements within the year in all MAC products including the iMAC, and Mac Book Pro 13 inch. I certainly intend to follow his advise.

Dale
Miami

 

[MavicAir2Marc]

The Mac is far more secure in this regard, and while you still need some vigilance in watching for security issues, its not nearly as problematic as it has been on Windows. Mac's have a tendency (IMHO) to last far longer than their Windows counterparts, I know people using 7. 8. 9. 10 year old Mac's routinely and some may have only recently not been able to install the latest version of Mac OS.. Mac OS updates are "Free".

I'm still using a 2010 iMac and a 2013 MacBook Pro. The iMac is limited to High Sierra but I'm still running the newest Catalina on the MacBook (waiting a little on Big Sur until the kinks get ironed out). They do last longer than most Windows machines. I just added SSDs to both of them and they run fine. I also use Macs for work as I'm in graphics and imaging instead of number crunching...

 

[theDRONEranger]

I use a 2019 Dell G3 3579 model. Windows 10. 32Gb RAM and 5 different external HDs (1x 5Tb, 2x 2Tb, & 2x 1Tb. (HD’s have been accumulated on exceptional deals), backups to backups. 1000’s of photos (mostly GoPro). I have the Adobe Premiere/Photoshop Elements, Wondershare FILMORA Pro, and Resovle 16. Prefer the Adobe (no Cloud required) products.

There are some excellent suggestions here for you. Research before purchase. Make a wise and informative decision, as it’s a pretty good investment!

Do NOT just check the manufacturer, but also perhaps Consumer Reports or other 3rd parties. Just remember, for each product you do buy, one other person will tell you a horror story. So judge for yourself!