Computer Upgrade Help!!

[cupic]

Copying and paste Must have omitted some of the link
Thanks for the up

[ameerat42]

I would disagree with that. - That you "want" an external screen with a laptop.
OK if you just want one as such, but you certainly don't need one.

[arthurking83]

I would disagree with that. - That you "want" an external screen with a laptop.
OK if you just want one as such, but you certainly don't need one.

I disagree with with your disagreement!

My son is always pestering me to fix something up on his laptop(he's a gamer), or get something for him(via his laptop).
I can't remember but it may only be 1366x something else quite low too.
But even HD(1920x1080) could be an issue on a smallish 15" laptop for some(ie. font size).

Going from my old 24" cheapie screen, it was annoying navigating and having to 'put up with' the excruciating small font size.

Change the 24"(HD) for a 32" 4K screen now, and it's better described as detestable! how folks put up with less than 4K and smaller than about 27" especially if photography is a prime concern is not a subroutine I'm familiar with any longer!
4K on a screen smaller than 27"(eg. 24" if available) would be a severe squinting affair I reckon, at 27" it may be fine.
At 32" tho, it's large enough even without the reading glasses I new need to use on other screens!

And 4K is not only great for photography, all PC usage will benefit, large spreadsheets, browsing the net is much nicer too.
I sometimes try to send a window of some form from the 4K to the 24" HD I use as my secondary, and it simply loses too much, especially those spreadsheets, and web pages.
PDF files at A4 size are usable on the HD, and I can't really see a big advantage in going 4K for word docs(unless you like to see 4 in one screen!) or other smallish windows.

OK.. so I haven't really fully disagreed with Am here, in that you don't NEED a second screen, but the advantage in having one is certainly there for many uses(if you use those processes), and once you do go down that path, I'd say henceafter, it could be seen as a must have.

If budget constraints limit this as an option tho, then the preference is to spend more on the guts of the hardware for now, and think about it for the future.
Which is basically what I did.
Spent about $1K on the PC upgrade(you could easily adjust that for a laptop upgrade too tho) .. and then when the funds were possible, I spent over $2K on the screen .. but I got the PC hardware for the screen(ie appropriate graphics card) before I got the screen.

If you reckon you want/need a 4K screen, note that not all graphics cards will do 4K rendering or do it properly! Some claim they may do 4K, but watch for any caveats that it may only be at 30Hz refresh rate. minimum should be 60(or 59)Hz, and if possible, more is better(but super expensive).

Another note too with 4K screens. Some software may not have been updated to scale well to 4K screens. The great Fastone FSViewer, was one for too long, until recently. Very hard to see the tools/toolbar/any font not in the image window. The program hadn't been updated to work well with 4K screens for a long while, considering 4K was easily and now cheaply available for image mad types like us photographers!(made no sense).
Even worse is Nikon's supposedly current CaptureNX-D .. still no update to work(scale) well with 4K screens.

While I usually prefer to send the tool window to my second HD screen and have just the image on view on the 4K screen, with CNX-D I have to do this, or it's hard to use on the 4K screen only. It's not always appropriate to do that tho, so a conundrum is born.
** And it'd be out of character of me not to mention that the idiots at Nikon management are to blame for all the worlds ills too .. bad management, trickle down effect is bad software. Strangely tho, the much older (and no longer current)ViewNX2 and Capture NX2 work fine on the 4K screen, where the newer CNX-D doesn't!

.. just some more info to be mindful of.

[bobt]

I would echo those who suggest a desktop rather than a laptop, so unless you need the portability, consider that as an option. Windows 10 is actually quite good and it recognises lots of peripherals that Windows 7 doesn't - it's also reasonably user friendly.
In terms of software, Photoshop isn't the only game in town and you could do just as well with other, cheaper alternatives. I have been processing photos for years without PS and have never found software to be limiting - usually it's the skill of the operator that is the major limiting factor.

The major, major consideration you haven't yet mentioned is how many dollars you are prepared to spend. It's impossible to suggest your best option without that knowledge. Doesn't matter if it's not a lot of money - at least we can then work within your budget. As it stands, our hands are tied. It's like telling someone to buy a house or a car without having even the vaguest idea of how much you want to spend.

[Mark L]

Hi Jess,

Mark L recently went through a similar exercise to upgrade his laptop and I recommended this unit.... https://www.mwave.com.au/product/gig...Specifications

That link has nothing to do with what I ended up with.