# Advice and comments on laptop for photo editing



## IMG_0001 (Jan 17, 2014)

Hello everyone,

My dell L502X laptop motherboard just fried and I need a replacement. I liked the machine performance and the optional led backlit FHD screen was pretty decent once calibrated (99% of sRGB), but the thing is gone now... I expected more than 2 years of lifespan for a computer that cost over 2000$ at the time so I seriously had not budgeted this "upgrade".

The replacement laptop is going to be my only computer for a while as the growing family won't allow for a office/computer room. Honestly, the main use is going to be engineering and scientific computing, but I would really like it to have a good screen for photo editing. For reasons akin to the office space limitation, I would like to have it for as cheap as possible, but I 'd rather go for a quality item and pay only once. I would also prefer a windows machine over a mac, I feel that the bang for money is lower on mac and I am more familiar with windows and Linux than mac OS.

Note that I already have a Spyder 4 Elite for calibration and use LR4 for editing.

The two models I am considering right now are:

1 - Lenovo W530, windows 7 ~ 1600$ (http://shop.lenovo.com/ca/en/laptops/r-series/w-series/w530/)
2 - ASUS N550JV, windows 8 ~ 1100$ (https://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/N550JV/)

Does anybody have experience with these or suggestions on other options. Honestly, the Lenovo is a bit pricey for me right now but I don't want another unreliable machine and I do trust the Lenovo brand more than ASUS, which has a rather flimsy brand record.

One last note, I live in Canada.

Best regards and thanks in advance for your incoming inputs.


----------



## Drizzt321 (Jan 17, 2014)

I'd look seriously at the Lenovo w530/540. I've got a w520, 95% NTSC color space, and although you already have the Spyder 4 Elite, you can get them with built-in color calibration. It's pretty neat actually. Start up the app, close the lid, and a few minutes later it's all calibrated! It's not a tiny machine, but it's not too huge & giant, very solid, and you can easily add one or more monitors via the DisplayPort. Depending on the configuration it might be a bit costly for you, especially if you add a longer warranty/accidental protection, but I love it. Plus, in a pinch, the TrackPoint can work better than a trackpad for photo editing.

Whoops! Just as I finished writing this, I see you do have the w530 on your list. If you've got the money, the w540 does have a screen upgradable to 2880x1620(!), and of course the newer Intel & Nvidia chips.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 17, 2014)

Thanks, 

The W540 appears not to be available in Canada and would probably bust my budget by quite a bit if ordered with that high resolution screen... Yet, the W530 still looks like an appealing option if I can convince the banker.


----------



## Drizzt321 (Jan 17, 2014)

IMG_0001 said:


> Thanks,
> 
> The W540 appears not to be available in Canada and would probably bust my budget by quite a bit if ordered with that high resolution screen... Yet, the W530 still looks like an appealing option if I can convince the banker.



Good luck with that. Tell her if you add the 2-year accidental protection, it'll last at _least_ 2 years, probably a lot longer. I only had to use that accidental warranty once in the 2-years I bought it for, and that was only because I was a bit stupid and ended up scratching the screen. Like, 2 weeks before the end of the warranty. I got lucky, but if I hadn't scratched it, I'd never have noticed that it was going to expire. It's still going really strong! No hardware problems at all.


----------



## m (Jan 18, 2014)

If you're on a budget, do you consider getting a desktop pc/workstation?
Or do you need the mobility?

I bet you could get some decent machine with a used monitor for the prices you mentioned, which might serve you better when editing photos.

And if one fails, you'd still have the other.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 18, 2014)

m said:


> If you're on a budget, do you consider getting a desktop pc/workstation?
> Or do you need the mobility?
> 
> I bet you could get some decent machine with a used monitor for the prices you mentioned, which might serve you better when editing photos.
> ...



I do need mobility. Moreover, I used to have an office/work room in the appartement, but our second kid is on the way and that room is soon going to turn into a bedroom. Therefore, the desktop route, although more affordable, is not really an option...


----------



## tolusina (Jan 18, 2014)

Memory.

I've just built a new Windows 7 desktop, maxed the memory to 32 GB finally replacing my 1GB memory XP desktop.

As i write this, there are 5 browser tabs open, notepad, one folder plus the ASUS motherboard AI Suite 3 software running in the background. No pre-built bloatware running in the background as there is no pre-built bloatware.
Task manager shows almost 3GB memory in use.

Shortly after mostly completing the build, I allowed Windows update to do it's thing, there were 159 updates to download and install. During this update, memory use went to almost 10GB!!
A machine with 8GB memory would have choked and slowed to a crawl during this process as the swap file/page file/virtual memory came into use.

Of course I have no idea if Windows update read my machine's memory configuration and adjusted itself accordingly, I suppose such a thing is possible. Since I'm avoiding Windows 8, I cannot speak to it's behavior at all.

Anyway, my point is to recommend a machine with the most memory possible. From my admittedly limited current experiences, I suggest 16GB as a minimum, 32GB if possible for maximum future headroom.

It does get expensive buying a laptop with so much memory, one of the reasons I chose to build a desktop instead.
---
If you can, steer away from any machine that still uses a spinning rust hard drive for anything but storage, aim for only SSDs inside the machine, relegate large capacity HDDs to external storage only. HDDS have always been somewhat fragile being susceptible to shock/impact damage while SSDs are essentially immune to such damage. A laptop with SSDs only will be far less susceptible to damage while on the move.
SSDs are way faster than HDDs for all computing tasks staring with loading the OS, loading programs, then loading files.
---
Yuppers, high performance computers can get pricey indeed, all part of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).


----------



## m (Jan 18, 2014)

IMG_0001 said:


> I do need mobility.



There's no other option then, I guess.

Some of the small form factor workstations looked quite tempting.
And seeing your child on something larger than 15.6" would be nice, too.

As for laptops the only advice I can give you is to stay away from the "consumer" market.
The asus promotes itself with:
"Entertainment laptops with unparalleled quad-speaker sound and a striking Full HD IPS display"
I think you don't need a quad speaker and with a Spyder 4 you want your display to be real, not "striking" (whatever that means)

good luck with IMG_0001 Jr II btw ;D


----------



## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 18, 2014)

Can't you get your existing laptop repaired, or was it physically ruined. Parts are available for most laptops, and they are usually simple to install.

Finding one with a good non reflecting display is difficult at best. Generally, you should order direct from Lenovo. I'd think that would be possible from Canada, but they are sometimes a bit strange.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 18, 2014)

m said:


> IMG_0001 said:
> 
> 
> > I do need mobility.
> ...



Thank you, 

You've put the finger on exactly what worried me with ASUS, lots of buzzwords for the price.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 18, 2014)

tolusina said:


> Memory.
> 
> I've just built a new Windows 7 desktop, maxed the memory to 32 GB finally replacing my 1GB memory XP desktop.
> 
> ...



I've been running an 8Gb, 2nd gen i7, 7200rpm drive 'until recently' and rarely choked i but the more the better... I'm not that multitasked.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 18, 2014)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> Can't you get your existing laptop repaired, or was it physically ruined. Parts are available for most laptops, and they are usually simple to install.
> 
> Finding one with a good non reflecting display is difficult at best. Generally, you should order direct from Lenovo. I'd think that would be possible from Canada, but they are sometimes a bit strange.



I thinkered with the idea. It appears to be a motherboard failure. HDD and RAM are good, and only the fans turn on on powering the machine. I've found the part for around 300$ on ebay but that would be shipping from China, so a long wait. And then, its hoping the rest is good and that there won't be other problems, it is still a computer over two years old and it has been loggged around daily...

I could have the others by the end of next week.

Hard decision...


----------



## archiea (Jan 18, 2014)

SSD
;D

That and get a mac, but then I'd have to duck and dodge the flame throwers! ;D

I've dropped every one of my mac laptops, each landing on a corner, with a nice "daily beater" dent on it. No operational issues. I get them refurbished to save some money. I can understand, despite the many reason to not get a mac (less GFX support, less versatility, premium price), the fact that 17" and 19" screens aren't available... thats a big fail on mac. I got the last of the 17" as a refurb. However my biggest gripe on the PC's is that, even after spending $2000 on one, you are getting non premium parts... it may just be a fan or power supply or even a firmware incompatibility with a component, but any of those can potentially stop your productivity. One youtube tech guy put it best: "I don't make money by saving money". His point was that he bought premium gear because he makes money being productive. Downtime means he's not earning. His point was to his audience who often tout their frugality. Thats fine, but he pointed out that getting premium gear doesn't mean you are an elitist, it means you need reliability. ECC memory, xenon processor, server grade over provisioning SSD... these all cost more because they are more reliable. 1Dx over the 5D over a rebel, again more reliable. 

Best example of this I had a colleague that had a powerhouse of a laptop PC with uber fans, i7, workstation class nvidia... beautiful machine. He popped in a DVD to show me his reel and he got a blue screen of death. I had just gotten my $2150 17" refurb mac pro which he deemed too expensive. I mean the timing couldn't be more perfect. He claimed I paid too much by $400 by his calculations. I told him that had he been doing a client presentation of his reel, that $400 "savings" would have been peanuts compared to losing the client. 

I've been out of the PC market for a while. But I hope for the many folks that need and want to stay in the windows world, that there is a PC manufacturer that you know uses premium components. That level of reliability is worth any premium price.


----------



## privatebydesign (Jan 18, 2014)

Last time I drowned a laptop, a 12 month old 17" MBP, I heard about a firm in New York that would remove the motherboard, test the components and repair it, they had a three month warranty and the price was a very reasonable $275.

Just found the emails, the company was called L2 Computer Inc in NY city. I only had one experience with them but the service was superb.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 18, 2014)

archiea said:


> SSD
> ;D
> 
> That and get a mac...



I appreciate the mac quality build for sure. They are very nice pieces of work by themselves. But the mac I could get is a 4Gb ram 256Gb SSD 13in screen with i5 processor. This won't cut it as my only computer.

I think Lenovo is as close as pc get to a mac in terms of quality and integration (but certainly not for looks). That is why I was considering them despite the fact they are a tad expensive.

Edit: for that price, the w530 would have 4 years warranty.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 18, 2014)

privatebydesign said:


> Last time I drowned a laptop, a 12 month old 17" MBP, I heard about a firm in New York that would remove the motherboard, test the components and repair it, they had a three month warranty and the price was a very reasonable $275.
> 
> Just found the emails, the company was called L2 Computer Inc in NY city. I only had one experience with them but the service was superb.



Thanks, this is worth having a look!


----------



## ddl (Jan 18, 2014)

I have an ASUS N550JV (8 GB RAM, 750 GB 7200 RPM HDD); I wanted a DVD/BD drive laptop to let the kids watch movies (legally!). I am tempted to put a 1 TB SDD in it but I may wait before doing that.

So far so good as pictures don't look too bad on 1920 x 1080, I got the version without the touchscreen (as I don't like fingerprints and always pushing the screen back) and always use a mouse for finer control. It's got an IPS display panel with pretty decent colors, viewing angle and an antiglare matte cover that prevents a lot of reflections (not on touchpanel version though).

More pixels ended up in too small a text for me at 15.6" screen diagonal.

Check out NotebookCheck for reviews and go to Notebook Review forums for true user feedback to see actual ownership issues.


----------



## KKCFamilyman (Jan 18, 2014)

IMG_0001 said:


> Thanks,
> 
> The W540 appears not to be available in Canada and would probably bust my budget by quite a bit if ordered with that high resolution screen... Yet, the W530 still looks like an appealing option if I can convince the banker.



I am a lenovo partner. I had the w530. The screen was a tn panel and over saturated if you ask me. I found the macbook 15" base model better under bootcamp. The 100% rgb ips display is much better. The w540 is nice but will be expensive. Can you deal with a 14"? The lenovo t440s with 1080p ips display is a good screen. It comes as antiglare and would be more affordable. Weighs 3.8lbs. Upgradeable hard drive and ram. The sony flip series while flimsy have good screens.


----------



## beckstoy (Jan 18, 2014)

I DEEPLY/HIGHLY recommend that you take a look at newegg.com and check out the ASUS laptops they have over there. I purchased a well-equipped, even by today's standards, laptop about 1 year ago to replace an old HP I'd been using for edits (HP is really horrible with cooling, and, well...generally). Even thought this thing is a refurb (which caused a discount of about 800 dollars), this thing is still a beast and chews through my edits on LR/PS. Huge drives, good motherboard, really efficient cooling, great monitor, highly expand-able memory (great for us photographers), and it's never even hiccuped over 1 year of HEAVY usage.

Love me some ASUS!

i7
very fast graphics (NVIDIA GeForce GT 680M - decent by today's standards, awesome last year)
1.5TB
8gb memory (upgraded myself to 32gb)
good monitor (17" 1080 full HD) - calibrated myself using Spyder4Pro (perfect results)
usb3.0


----------



## beckstoy (Jan 18, 2014)

IMG_0001 said:


> m said:
> 
> 
> > IMG_0001 said:
> ...




-1

I've owned an ASUS for 1+ years, and it's exceeded my expectations. Super pleased. I know three other photographers who have had the same success with their units.

Before I purchased any laptop, I went in to a service department of a big-box electronics store. I asked which brand comes in the LEAST. "Hands down, ASUS" the dude said.


----------



## Jamesy (Jan 18, 2014)

I bought a Windows laptop 15 months ago for Lightroom and Photoshop and it is awesome.

Sager (Gamers laptop)
i7-3630QM
Nvidia 660M
16GB
256 SSD (Lightroom catalog and current images)
750GB 7200rpm for extra storage

The W series Lenovo's are really nice but pricey.

Happy shopping!


----------



## ishdakuteb (Jan 18, 2014)

if you would like to stick with the price, i would prefer asus. otherwise, i prefer this:

http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-15-9530/pd?~ck=mn

as for me, i would wait for dell to low down the price of this and then get it...

below is the image that i did in the past to compare this dell xps laptop with macbook pro (note: there is a discrepancy in this comparison that you would be found in support. it should be one year for both... copy cell problem...):


----------



## jrista (Jan 18, 2014)

ishdakuteb said:


> if you would like to stick with the price, i would prefer asus. otherwise, i prefer this:
> 
> http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-15-9530/pd?~ck=mn
> 
> ...



I was looking at the XPS 15 just a few days ago. I find it to be quite an intriguing product. Never been a huge dell fan, but I am very excited that someone is making a retina-level LED display for a laptop, and a Windows 8.1 convertible laptop at that. If I had to choose a laptop right now, it would be the XPS 15 without question. I ended up repairing my old Sony Vaio 18.4" laptop (which only has a 1920x1080 screen of TERRIBLE quality) for only a couple hundred bucks (because that's all I have at the moment)...but the XPS 15 is definitely on my radar. 

BTW, onboard memory sounds like memory that has actually been soldered onto the motherboard. That isn't surprising, given how tightly Apple engineers their products to meet extremely tight specifications. I suspect Dell is using a standard form of laptop memory, which would be much more versatile.


----------



## petefromzim (Jan 18, 2014)

ddl said:


> I have an ASUS N550JV (8 GB RAM, 750 GB 7200 RPM HDD); I wanted a DVD/BD drive laptop to let the kids watch movies (legally!). I am tempted to put a 1 TB SDD in it but I may wait before doing that.
> 
> So far so good as pictures don't look too bad on 1920 x 1080, I got the version without the touchscreen (as I don't like fingerprints and always pushing the screen back) and always use a mouse for finer control. It's got an IPS display panel with pretty decent colors, viewing angle and an antiglare matte cover that prevents a lot of reflections (not on touchpanel version though).
> 
> ...



My son has this computer which I have used extensively. The worst thing about it is the terrible touchpad/mouse - not accurate (tends to jump around) and not responsive. Also I'm not convinced about the screen colours - looks too warm compared to my Dell, although I guess it can be calibrated.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 18, 2014)

jrista said:


> ishdakuteb said:
> 
> 
> > if you would like to stick with the price, i would prefer asus. otherwise, i prefer this:
> ...



I'm coming from an xps 15 and am a bit disappointed about the reliabiility. Performancewise, the machine was super, but now the motherboard is blown and I've had reliability issues for the last year when I stop to think about it. So only a litttle over 1 year of reoliability does not cut it for me if the price tag is that high. If I was to go dell again, I would need the full long term warranty and then the price really is not that interesting. I think I feel I've been burnt by dell I'd say.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 18, 2014)

KKCFamilyman said:


> IMG_0001 said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks,
> ...



Is the W530 fhd screen also tn? Considering the good reviews I had seen from photogrphers and the fact that the thing is designer oriented, I had came to think that it was IPS.

As for a 14in, I can consider it. I will definitely look at it. Thanks.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 18, 2014)

So it looks like ASUS usesrs mostly love their machine. I'll have to check the price for extended warranties. May be it could stiil be more economjcal to go that way... I've continued looking around and haven't found that many other interesting options.


----------



## KKCFamilyman (Jan 18, 2014)

IMG_0001 said:


> So it looks like ASUS usesrs mostly love their machine. I'll have to check the price for extended warranties. May be it could stiil be more economjcal to go that way... I've continued looking around and haven't found that many other interesting options.



Look at this review on that series. Good portions of the rgb color space are missing.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Asus-N550JV-CN201H-Notebook.98311.0.html

Plus the trackpad is not good.


----------



## Canon1 (Jan 18, 2014)

Im a big fan of Lenovo and use a W530.

I spec'd it out with 16GB Ram and i7-3840QM CPU and 1.5GB graphics card.

I do a lot of panorama stitching and the files are HUGE. I can run C6, LR, HDR all at the same time and it tears through tasks.


----------



## Jamesy (Jan 18, 2014)

SSD for LR catalogs
Fast graphics card for things like Liquify in Photoshop
8-16GB of RAM should be fine for both LR and PS

Most i7 laptops these days have decent discreet GPU's so you should be fine there.

1920x1080 full gamat screen is a plus.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 18, 2014)

KKCFamilyman said:


> IMG_0001 said:
> 
> 
> > So it looks like ASUS usesrs mostly love their machine. I'll have to check the price for extended warranties. May be it could stiil be more economjcal to go that way... I've continued looking around and haven't found that many other interesting options.
> ...



It looks like contrast, viewing angles and blacks are quite good, but you are right that there are some big deltaE's there. I've not found the sRGB coverage percentage though. Moreover, it is unclear if that is with factory settings or calibrated display...

The trackpad issues do not bother me too much as I mainly use a mouse.


----------



## KKCFamilyman (Jan 18, 2014)

IMG_0001 said:


> KKCFamilyman said:
> 
> 
> > IMG_0001 said:
> ...



My point is if you look at the model vs srgb pic you will see how much it misses. Calibration will only help if its capable of displaying
the colors. I would consider the samsung ativ book 8 they reviewed if you want to stay in that $$ range but boot camping any macbook retina will not be much more and you can connect an external dvd drive. Pm me and I can help you further if you like.


----------



## ddl (Jan 18, 2014)

It's going to be hard to find a very good laptop screen with good color accuracy and gamut at $1K. I don't do hardcore editing on the laptop but more use it to weed out all the losers prior to finishing on a desktop with better screen monitor.

The laptop is used for portability and if used outdoors then I wanted something with an antiglare or matte finish (as opposed to glossy).

I thought the Asus n550jv provided what I needed and wanted at a reasonable price point.


----------



## Jamesy (Jan 18, 2014)

ddl said:


> It's going to be hard to find a very good laptop screen with good color accuracy and gamut at $1K. I don't do hardcore editing on the laptop but more use it to weed out all the losers prior to finishing on a desktop with better screen monitor.



Agreed. Mine was around $1800 back in Oct 2012 and although I got the better gamut screen SAger offered, it does not compare to my Dell 23" IPS external monitor. Whenever I do any colour work I am alwasy extended to the external.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 19, 2014)

Jamesy said:


> ddl said:
> 
> 
> > It's going to be hard to find a very good laptop screen with good color accuracy and gamut at $1K. I don't do hardcore editing on the laptop but more use it to weed out all the losers prior to finishing on a desktop with better screen monitor.
> ...



Thanks everyone,

I totally understand that budget laptops won't offer professional grade display, I am just trying to find one that is as good as possible for the money. 

I've had my other half cheap laptop calibrated and saw that its screen barely provide 60% sRGB and I know that would not be enough for me. Judging from the link before, the ASUS is not that much over this value as far as gamut is concernerd. Anybody with that machine has had it calibrated and can providde an sRGB value coverage?

Edit: note that this won't be used as a professional photography tool. I am just a hobbyist that is a bit picky...


----------



## jonathan7007 (Jan 19, 2014)

I have been happy with my w520 purchased new in late 2011. These should be available at a good price used. I have not been comparing thi unit to current alternatives because I anticipate keeping it for a while. Haswell has not brought any processing speed upgrade to the table, and although the Sandy Bridge is a little less powerful than Ivy Bridge (w530) the other problems made the 530 unappealing as an upgrade at the time it came out. 

The w520 is -- judging by user complaints -- better than the w530. Read though the forum for this family on the lenovo website. Read those comments. (Yes, I know a forum "collects" the users having problems and overstates the fequency... judge for yourself after reading.) Sad. 

I do love the keyboard. I skipped the color calibrator. Maybe not ready for the w520 model based on comments at the tme. I like the color on the FHD (? right letters) high-res screen.

The "w" series offers a LOT of customization. I am up to 24Gig RAM. There is a PCIe slot so that got an mSATA right away for boot drive. I now have a 750 Hitachi spinning HD in the old optical bay (inexpensive third-party caddies are easy to find) and a 256 SSD in the internal HD bay. Three drives. Good unit.

Many of the users of this computer are engineering professionals. I specified the nidia KK1000 discrete graphics board. There is a "2000" variant that must be better for Photoshop. If you have more detailed questions than what is appropriate here please PM me.

Oh, and I use this for tethered shooting as well as mobile editing. Plan to keep this for a long time.

jonathan7007


----------



## KKCFamilyman (Jan 19, 2014)

jonathan7007 said:


> I have been happy with my w520 purchased new in late 2011. These should be available at a good price used. I have not been comparing thi unit to current alternatives because I anticipate keeping it for a while. Haswell has not brought any processing speed upgrade to the table, and although the Sandy Bridge is a little less powerful than Ivy Bridge (w530) the other problems made the 530 unappealing as an upgrade at the time it came out.
> 
> The w520 is -- judging by user complaints -- better than the w530. Read though the forum for this family on the lenovo website. Read those comments. (Yes, I know a forum "collects" the users having problems and overstates the fequency... judge for yourself after reading.) Sad.
> 
> ...



I had the w530 and thought the screen was too over saturated with colors and was not ips. I would hold out for the w540 with with high rez screens if you went that route plus the battery always had a little wiggle in it. My t430 (same generation) had the same loose battery. I recommend looking at the current line.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 19, 2014)

KKCFamilyman said:


> jonathan7007 said:
> 
> 
> > I have been happy with my w520 purchased new in late 2011. These should be available at a good price used. I have not been comparing thi unit to current alternatives because I anticipate keeping it for a while. Haswell has not brought any processing speed upgrade to the table, and although the Sandy Bridge is a little less powerful than Ivy Bridge (w530) the other problems made the 530 unappealing as an upgrade at the time it came out.
> ...



I've had a look at the Lenovo t430s as you suggested earlier and its review on notrebookcheck. It appears to have a display which is at leat as bad as the ASUS for gamut. Is there something I am missing here?

I still have to research the Samsung ATIV 8 you suggested.

I think I will need to find somewhere I can compare a few of these machines, but they don't seem to be stock at any of the electronics/computer stores around. Otherwise, maybe I can find an online shop with easy return policies and try them by myself...


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 19, 2014)

jonathan7007 said:


> I have been happy with my w520 purchased new in late 2011. These should be available at a good price used. I have not been comparing thi unit to current alternatives because I anticipate keeping it for a while. Haswell has not brought any processing speed upgrade to the table, and although the Sandy Bridge is a little less powerful than Ivy Bridge (w530) the other problems made the 530 unappealing as an upgrade at the time it came out.
> 
> The w520 is -- judging by user complaints -- better than the w530. Read though the forum for this family on the lenovo website. Read those comments. (Yes, I know a forum "collects" the users having problems and overstates the fequency... judge for yourself after reading.) Sad.
> 
> ...



The mSATA and 4 RAM slots are two of the points that gets me to return to the W530. I could get a 256GB SSD as a boot/working disk for the mSATA and reuse the 8GB RAM from my Dell to bring it to 16GB. But with taxes ,It comes to around 2K$ and that is the absolute max I can part with right now (a bit over that I'd even say).

And there are the reports of colors being hard to calibrate for accuracy. It seems there is either wide gamut but unaccurately displayed colors or accurate but smaller gamut and low saturation...

Will I even realize that without side-by-side comparison to a really good monitor?


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 19, 2014)

KKCFamilyman said:


> IMG_0001 said:
> 
> 
> > KKCFamilyman said:
> ...



Ouch, that ATIV 8 from Samsung is even more expensive than the Lenovo. If I am to spend 1900$ before taxes, I'll head the bootcamp way for sure...


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 19, 2014)

If any of you speak french (like I do), here is a link to a very recent French forum post where the OP lists a summary of laptops with quality screens and for which he has found thorough reviews on the web. It is aimed at photographers like us! By the way, I guess even non french speakers can understand his tables.

http://forum.hardware.fr/hfr/OrdinateursPortables/Conseils-d-achat/colorimetrie-portable-dalles-sujet_72788_1.htm#t1398017

I'll spend some times digging in there...

Happy reading.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 19, 2014)

Apart from those previously mentionned, it appears that the ASUS UX51VZ (15.6IPS) and aASUS UX31VZ (13in IPS) are pretty intersting. Only the small drive capacities are not that enticing, although USB 3 makes good use of standard external HDDs.

Oh and I can't find them in stock anywhere...

Here is a review:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Asus-Zenbook-UX51VZ-U500VZ-Notebook.84246.0.html


----------



## KKCFamilyman (Jan 19, 2014)

IMG_0001 said:


> KKCFamilyman said:
> 
> 
> > IMG_0001 said:
> ...



I understand but it's $1,099 at best buy
http://m.bestbuy.com/m/e/product/detail.jsp?skuId=8965053&pid=1218957864443&pcatId=abcat0502000

That sounds like the budget you were looking at. The asus ux51 will cost you a lot. Look for the asus ux302 at best buy also since it has a 1080p screen and costs $799. There is a nicer version called the ux301 but again costs $1800+.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Jan 20, 2014)

Ok, so this morning, I decided to take advantage of the 14 days no questions asked return policy of a local electronic store to try a laptop ans see how it goes. I went for the ASUS N550jv. However, being aware of the poor gamut of the base monitor, I went for the touchscreen machine, just to see. It appears to be an IPS touchscreen monitor and viewing angles are quite impressive.

I ran the full evaluation with the spyder4elite and it suggests that the sRGB is covered around 96-97% and a black point around 0,3cd/m2 and very reasonables color precision with DeltaEs under 5 everywhere. Pretty surprised to say the least.

Attached is the printout from the datacolor software analysis.

Now I'll try it for my computing needs and see how it fares. If it is not up to par, I'll just return it and try the Lenovo, but until now, so far so good.

Thanks to everyone who helped. Your advices were all welcome.


----------



## ddl (Jan 21, 2014)

I think the Asus n550jv hd display is the same IPS panel, touch gets a glossy cover whereas the non-touch gets a matte anti glare cover.


----------



## RustyTheGeek (Feb 1, 2014)

Sorry so late in seeing this but I have set up a lot of laptops over the years.

It's hard to beat the Lenovo. The Lenovo will run rings around the ASUS in performance, display quality, ruggedness and just overall build quality. The Lenovo is very well supported with frequent driver updates and good quality utilities. The Lenovo will likely still be running when you finally decide to upgrade someday for whatever other reason.

The ASUS is a retail level product. The Lenovo is an Enterprise level product. Apples and Oranges. Think of the ASUS as a Canon Rebel or *maybe* a xxD series body. The Lenovo is a 1D series body, hands down.

Get the Lenovo.


----------



## mackguyver (Mar 13, 2014)

RustyTheGeek said:


> Sorry so late in seeing this but I have set up a lot of laptops over the years.
> 
> It's hard to beat the Lenovo. The Lenovo will run rings around the ASUS in performance, display quality, ruggedness and just overall build quality. The Lenovo is very well supported with frequent driver updates and good quality utilities. The Lenovo will likely still be running when you finally decide to upgrade someday for whatever other reason.
> 
> ...


My old laptop just can't handle 64-bit editing apps and after some research I'm leaning towards the Lenovo Thinkpad W540 but didn't really want to drop $1800-2000 (with 16GB RAM and some other upgrades) and was hoping someone would suggest something equivalent for less. Alas, it looks like I'll be buying the Lenovo...


----------



## jonathan7007 (Mar 13, 2014)

Mackguyver,
I was going to PM but maybe this will help others. I totally agree with Rusty, although less from knowledge that the ASUS wouldn't hold up. I have used a Lenovo w520 since October 2011. Lightroom, Photoshop, and all the other things we do with whatever we lug around (I have a "production" desktop, too, which is like the laptop, general purpose machine.) This machine has emerged as the best -- reasonably current -- spot on the Lenovo "W" workstation continuum. The howls about the w530 and now the compromises in the w540 are a little beyond the usual "forum-as-accumulation-of-complainers" characterization. I suggest you buy a used w520.

The w520 is a Sandy Bridge configuration with user-chosen i7. get a four-core version. These chassis accept a lot of customization, like mSATA drives in a PCIe slot stashed inside -- user reachable and changeable. The optical bay can accept various after-market caddies and I now have a Hitachi 750 there with a Samsung 830 256DSSD in the "regular bay. Oh, and a mSATA that used to be my boot drive. So, three drives.

There is a configuration with a color calibrator installed in the palm rest. I didn't hear a lot of enthusiastic praise for that, but some used it successfully. (I like my Munki.) The "FD" screen is bright and a wider gamut. TN but more colorful than usual. Jury still out on the new IPS in the w540. The keyboard is excellent on the w520. There are more process light indicators on the body than is now the case. The w540 significantly changed the buttons around the trackpad.

Perhaps some time searching through this forum will help with the decision. People way more expert than I started to call the w520 the "sweet spot" when the details on the w540 emerged. Look especially at a long thread called "w540 Wish List". There are users from companies large and small that offer a VEY broad perspective on this line and its changes. "gusat", a regular, thoughtful, contributor from Switerland was part of IBM then Lenovo development (as an advisor). The search mechanism will suggest threads for whatever string you type.
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/bd-p/W_ThinkPads
If the link doesn't show PLEASE pm me before you buy the w540.
Here's a December new w540 user's experience and related comments -- might be happy, I didn't finish the thread.
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/Received-my-W540-today-First-impressions/m-p/1365799#M42584

I tether with this on assignments. I have brought it up to 24Gig RAM.

Important:, there is a dedicated graphics board in most w520's. There were two configurations, known as 1000 and 2000, nVidia chipset, because many of the w520 buyers were CAD/CAM people as well as photographers and designers. I bought the 1000 variant, and it's a good boost for Photoshop, and screen display tethering, etc.

There is a downside. The Lenovo-supplied and -approved power brick is just that: a brick! 170Watts (power a small town) because if you have the bigger graphics card set to run and you are rendering giant CAD/CAM environments it will stay ahead of the draw. Most of us also keep a very small 90Watter around for recharging more slowly when idle. The 90 from my previous Lenovo fit and works. Also an active and useful discussion on the forum.

I haven't been on the forum for a little while, so I urge you to go there and see what the building amount of user-evidence about the w540 is saying.

Good luck with the new machine, whatever you choose.

I have appreciated all the good advice and experience you have contributed here, by the way. And images!

jonathan7007


----------



## mackguyver (Mar 14, 2014)

jonathan7007, thank you for the detailed information and after reading more about the various W-series, I see what you're talking about. It sounds like you got the best model and I'll have to look into getting a used or refurbished model. My frustration has mostly to do with having a fairly powerful desktop with the latest Core i7 4770K processor, 32GB of RAM and a Quadro K4000. Most laptops can't come close that kind of processing power, and my old Core2 Duo 4GB RAM laptop feels like a hamster is running inside, even with an SSD drive  Thanks again for the advice!


----------



## KKCFamilyman (Mar 15, 2014)

I have gone thru all the core I series thinkpads. The w530 was good but the high gamut panel is tn and not much good for editing. My advice since you have a good workstation and should use that is get a t440s with the 1080p touch screen. Its got 96% rgb screen and ips. Its a little more affordable and should handle all your basic editing the desktop will not fulfill like traveling etc. the w540 is incorporating newer concepts other pc makers are doing. I can assure you to ignore early threads since hardly anyone has received these main stream. Distributors are just getting them in. They did add a number pad and shifted the keyboard. They tried to lighten the laptop so it feels a little more plasticky. You can get a base model with the 3k display and upgrade the rest for less on your own. Ram, hdd, wifi, wan are all upgradeable. You can even lose the dvd drive for an extra hdd for pp projects. The brick is smaller but a laptop like this is not meant to be an ipad ( light and travel friendly) the w530 was not better. You have 30 days to return so i say try one and if you don't like it return it. I personally use the new x1 carbon with the whqd display and it works well. I do wish the rgb gamut was higher but the contrast is insane. I measure 2200:1. You can always try the t440s first. Its a great laptop.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Mar 16, 2014)

Hi mackguyver,

I just wanted to say that so far, I'm pretty happy with the ASUS N550jv (touchscreen version) I ended up buying. Of course it lacks the micro sata port of the W series lenovo, but I'm happy with the screen and speed. I'm also happy its cost me 700$ less. Of course its only been 2 months since I aquired it so longevity is still to be confirmed, but performance wise, my only gripe is windows 8.1...

I'd say try it from somewhere with a good return policy and see before you go for a used W520 or a more recent and costly Lenny.

If its really for business though, may be the additional expenses on the W is worth it. The ASUS built has nothing wrong, but Lenovo's have a reputation of being sturdy products and that weighs in for professional use.

Regards.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Mar 16, 2014)

By the way, I know Mackguyver saw that thread at the time, but there is a file with the results from my spyder 4 elite calibration on the first post of this thread if anybody wants to further inquire on tha ASUS.

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=19200.0


----------



## climber (Mar 18, 2014)

I'm looking to buy a new computer in near future, which I will use mainly for photo editing. Beside everything else, but photo editing is the main purpose. I am also decided to go with one of Apple products.

Could someone suggest which screen is better for photo editing. Is it 15'' Retina because of better resolution or is it 27'' screen on iMac because it is larger. But it has smaller resolution.

I am interested in the opinion only as regards screens.

Thanks


----------



## mackguyver (Mar 18, 2014)

After much debate, I decided to buy a compromise laptop - the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P, which seems to have everything I wanted (16GB RAM, fast processor, powerful (dual discrete) GPU(s), nice keyboard) except for a top notch monitor. I then realized that I use a laptop so little that it made more sense to put my money elsewhere - a new 1DX - but I really appreciate everyone's advice and will probably circle back to this in a few months or so when I decide to upgrade.


----------



## drjlo (Mar 18, 2014)

KKCFamilyman said:


> Look at this review on that series. Good portions of the rgb color space are missing.
> http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Asus-N550JV-CN201H-Notebook.98311.0.html



I have an Asus U52F, which has great processing and speed, BUT its screen is its weak point. Even my ancient Dell 15" laptop has much better colors and saturation. I've been thinking about a 17" laptop with decent speed and good screen for non-intensive photoshop 6 work, not too expensive and often on sale  Any ideas?


----------



## RustyTheGeek (Mar 18, 2014)

mackguyver said:


> After much debate, I decided to buy a compromise laptop - the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P, which seems to have everything I wanted (16GB RAM, fast processor, powerful (dual discrete) GPU(s), nice keyboard) except for a top notch monitor. I then realized that I use a laptop so little that it made more sense to put my money elsewhere - a new 1DX - but I really appreciate everyone's advice and will probably circle back to this in a few months or so when I decide to upgrade.


I'm not sure about your budget but I would suggest that you might be able to have both. Have you considered a nice refurbished Thinkpad? A T420 is a solid unit that will give you everything for around $500 and then you could add more RAM and/or a SSD drive if desired. If you want an even better laptop for your needs, get a used W520 for around $800 - $1000. Both units are built like a tank, offer great performance and will outlast just about every other laptop out there. Feel free to PM me if you want more info.


----------



## mackguyver (Mar 18, 2014)

RustyTheGeek said:


> mackguyver said:
> 
> 
> > After much debate, I decided to buy a compromise laptop - the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P, which seems to have everything I wanted (16GB RAM, fast processor, powerful (dual discrete) GPU(s), nice keyboard) except for a top notch monitor. I then realized that I use a laptop so little that it made more sense to put my money elsewhere - a new 1DX - but I really appreciate everyone's advice and will probably circle back to this in a few months or so when I decide to upgrade.
> ...


The 1DX destroyed my budget for a while, at least until I can swing a few good shoots, but thanks for the advice and offer.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Mar 19, 2014)

drjlo said:


> KKCFamilyman said:
> 
> 
> > Look at this review on that series. Good portions of the rgb color space are missing.
> ...



This link relates to the standard screen. Seriously, I ran my Spyder 4 Elite on the touchscreen version I own and it has 96% sRGB, low deltaE's under 5 everywhere and decent contrast and uniformity. See the link in my previous post for the Spyder report in pdf. Personally I am very happy and being IPS, the screen has very good viewing angles.

I have seen that the 17'' ASUS N750 with touchscreen might have similar performances so it may be worth having a look.


----------



## expatinasia (Mar 20, 2014)

RustyTheGeek said:


> The ASUS is a retail level product. The Lenovo is an Enterprise level product. Apples and Oranges. Think of the ASUS as a Canon Rebel or *maybe* a xxD series body. The Lenovo is a 1D series body, hands down.



I agree. In fact the only thing that can compete with, and many would say beat, the Lenovo, is the Dell Precision M4800 or M6800. Both amazing machines and they are the equivalent to a 1D Canon as well.


----------



## IMG_0001 (Mar 20, 2014)

expatinasia said:


> RustyTheGeek said:
> 
> 
> > The ASUS is a retail level product. The Lenovo is an Enterprise level product. Apples and Oranges. Think of the ASUS as a Canon Rebel or *maybe* a xxD series body. The Lenovo is a 1D series body, hands down.
> ...



Don't get me wrong here, I'm not putting the ASUS at the same level as the Lenovo. It is just that, as not everyone can justify the expense of a 1D body, not everyone can justify the expense of a mobile workstation. If you are looking for a workhorse computer for earning your daily bread, then the differences are possibly worth the price gap and these Lenovos are compelling options. Otherwise, it is good to know of less expensive alternatives that can get the job suitably done.

For me, an amateur photographer who was looking for a good laptop as his only computer that would also (read primarily) be used for engineering/physics simulations in an academic environment, the 50% price difference was just not justifiable.


----------

