Purchasing new laptop...suggestions?

[proust]

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<p>I'm looking into purchasing a new laptop and am leaning towards the Thinkpad T440s:<br /> 4th Gen Intel Core i5-4300U Processor (3MB Cache, up to 2.90GHz)<br /> • Windows 7 Professional 64<br /> • 8G 4G Base + 4G (1 SoDIMM)• 500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm<br /> • 16GB M.2 Solid State Drive Single<br /> <br /> One of the questions I have is regarding the hard drive. I could spend more and get an SSD for improved performance but I'm not sure about it. A 512GB SSD adds $450 to the total cost and I don't think I can afford it. I could get a smaller size SSD (like 250GB) but I would run out of storage space pretty soon. Or, I could get a 500GB HDD but that's not an SSD, so I lose out on performance...<br /> <br /> My question is - how important is it to have an SSD? (especially if I later upgrade to photoshop. I currently have PSE 11). Can I get an HDD for storage and an SSD for programs etc...if so, what kind of setup would that be (like an external HDD?).<br /> <br /> I'm curious to know what your editing computer is setup like. I need Win7 on a laptop with a budget of about $1100, if that helps narrow down the requirements...<br /> <br /> Thanks so much.</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>John, I'd buy the configuration described in the first paragraph, then buy an SSD and an external 2.5" USB drive enclosure from an alternate vendor; clone the OS to the new SSD and swap out the drive. </p>

<p>SSD is continually dropping in price, and an 80G drive should be more than enough to accommodate the OS with room to spare for basic data storage. The 500G drive can then serve as the mass storage drive. </p>

<p>You can get away with well under $100 additional cost over the stock Lenovo configuration. <br>

<a href="http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/guidedSearch.asp?CatId=5298">http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/guidedSearch.asp?CatId=5298</a><br>

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[Jochen_S]

<p>It seems your Thinkpad of choice has no vacant slot for a 2nd drive, while bigger laptops with an internal DVD drive allow sacrificing that one for a SSD or HDD. So yes, an additional HDD would be external.<br>

Here I would go for a 256GB SSD. - So far I cluttered 130GB of my desktop's 230 and have a 1TB HDD ready to mount. While I love my SSD for accelerating the startup procedure you 'll need yours to safe energy, allow PC operation during bumpy rides and to make up for your lack of RAM. I rarely use more than 8GB here but exceed 4GB frequently.<br>

Is a 500GB HDD really twice the space? - Some freaks claim a spinning system drive should be no more than 50% filled for maximum access speed. Your defragger loves to see vacant space too doesn't it?<br>

I see little use in a huge 512GB SSD. - How would you generate a 300GB chunk of data to work on at once / as a project? - I would sweep old RAWs onto an external drive and keep my best shots as JPGs on a laptop for spontanous bragging "on the road".<br>

To my understanding the 16GB on board SSD of your machine are meant to serve as faster than HDD virtual RAM and to allow getting away with little battery usage when you rewake the machine to read on in your ebook, which should happen with HDD in in continued sleep mode, so maybe an SSD instead of HDD isn't needed that badly? - Anyhow: Whatever you get stuffed into that box, get external HDDs to store and backup your images. Trust nothing, don't erase a card before it got copied onto 2 independent drives.</p>

[Robert DeCandido PhD]

<p>get a 240 ssd for $100 - they run cooler and use much energy than standard spinning drives:<br>

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-228-106&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=404255&SID=377718_desktop</p>

<p>Windows 8.1 is actually a very efficient operating system - and its interface can be improved greatly (look up Stardock 8)...I'd go for it over Windows 7. I use both operating systems and though I prefer Win 7...I also see how Win 8.1 is the better of the two.</p>

<p> </p>

[dcstep]

<p>You don't mention adding the HD+ Display to your purchase. You're in a photography Forum, so I assume that you'll be processing and viewing images with this laptops. The stock Lenovo laptop displays are on the dark side with dull colors, so you'll almost certainly enjoy the improved display. Either way, you'll need to Calibrate the display to have any hope of it being an accurate image processing tool.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>SSD is really a lot faster. Get external USB 3.0 1 TB or smaller (they are getting cheaper all the time) drives for off computer storage, and the smaller SSD will do. Just keep the stuff you are working on, on the computer SSD.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Ditto, David's suggestions to get a good display. If my budget was tight I'd skimp on the other specs rather than on the display. With many laptops it's fairly easy to upgrade RAM and HD or SSD. But there's nothing we can do to improve the display. My low end Lenovo has a very critical view angle and no matter how carefully I position the screen and calibrate it, the thing never looks quite right across the entire screen so it's useless for critical photo editing.</p>

<p>And now that SSD prices have dropped so much I'm seriously considering one for my bargain basement Lenovo, which I mostly use for web browsing and "lite" photo editing of in-camera JPEGs for web display. I didn't realize there were SSDs under $100 now.</p>

[proust]

<p>Thanks for all your replies. I should've clarified that I have a calibrated external monitor and won't be using the laptop screen for that.<br>

<br />My question is regarding how best to manage the photos between the internal SSD and the external HDD as I work on them. I have Photoshop Elements (and plan to upgrade to Photoshop later) and currently my entire catalog of about 300GB is on the laptop's internal HDD (with backups on offline external HDDs).<br>

If I split the files such that only actively used files are on the SSD and then once I'm done editing, they move to the HDD, that means that I'm constantly moving files around from SSD to HDD and changing the catalog in terms of the file locations. Also, if I'm traveling with the laptop and don't want to bring the HDD with me, I will have to copy over the files from HDD to SSD and back to HDD.<br>

<br />Is this the typical workflow or am I missing some part of it? <br>

Thanks for your replies....it's helping me make a decision :)</p>

[MichaelChang]

<blockquote>

<p><em>"Also, if I'm traveling with the laptop and don't want to bring the HDD with me, I will have to copy over the files from HDD to SSD and back to HDD."</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>My Lenovo Thinkpad has an optical drive in its Ultrabase (port replicator, docking station) which I can swap out for a HDD or another battery, but it seems optical drives are no longer considered important and saves cost for the manufacturer at the expense of convenience to the user. <br>

<br>

In the alternative, it wouldn't be too inconvenient to shuffle files for travel purposes to a 32G SD card that can take up permanent residence in the laptop. </p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>If you're using an external monitor be sure the laptop includes an HDMI port if that's an option you'd want or need. My low end Lenovo B575 laptop includes an HDMI port, but if I'm reading the specs correctly for the Thinkpad T440s it has VGA only.</p>

[q.g._de_bakker]

It has a (mini)displayport as digital graphics and audio out. That converts to HDMI using a small and not expensive adapter without much further ado (i do that using the displayport on my old Thinkpad T500 laptops. Because you never know what screen or beamer you are going to run into, i also have a displayport to DVI adapter, and that works fine too).<br><br>I have a number of older Thinkpads (T500 and T61p) that still do what they are supposed to. They, and some newer Thinkpads too, have an Ultrabay (not to be confused with the docking station that fits underneath Michael mentioned above): an internal bay that accepts a number of accessories, such as an extra battery, an optical drive, but also HDDs. I use that a lot, mainly to keep data HDDs in that swap easily to another Thinkpad (though to my chagrin, the trays that fit the T500 Thinkpads do not fit the T61p, and vice versa.) You could than install a fixed SSD, and keep the HDD in the Ultrabay.<br>I don't know whether recent Thinkpads still offer such a bay, but it think it would help do what you need, John.

[Uhooru]

<p>I tend to only have working photos on my main drive (a 500GB) I then back them off to an external when done with the set. Sometimes if I have a lot, I'll just back it all off. I haven't had any issues with re-lining the photos. Another strategy I've used and still do for some things is just immediately put the pics on external drives, maybe a back-up drive as well so in two places. I then import right from the portable USB 3 drive. Its quite fast enough for my use, and that can mean up to 1500 photos for certain gigs, but usually a couple hundred for a day of street shooting, more for covering an event or shooting a wedding.</p>

[proust]

<p>Barry - so you edit with the files off the portable USB3 drive or you copy them over to the internal HDD/SSD before editing them? I don't know what editing software you use (I have PSE 11) but have you run into performance issues if you edit off a portable USB3 drive? My concern with backing photos off to an external drive when done editing is that it breaks the PSE organizer's catalog file structure if the files keep moving around.<br>

QG - it doesn't look like T440s supports Ultrabays....I'm looking into other options for having a fixed 2nd drive so I don't have to deal with unplugging/plugging it every time.</p>

[johne37179]

<p>Ater owning maybe a dozen laptops over a number of years I got a minimum memory, small Apple Air with upgraded RAM and a TB of external drive. i tether it to a D7100 and take it home to my large desktop environment. I doubt I could be more pleased intoday's technologic environment. It is fast, light, capable, compatible -- I run the full CS5 suite on it. I have taken it on extended location shoots and been delighted. Great battery life for operation on location, great screen.</p>

[Uhooru]

<p>John no, if they are on the external drive I keep them in place. If I start with the images on the main drive, I will move them when I feel the need and then re-connect. I use LR, so the changes are non-destructive to the original. I don't change the names of the images when I do this or the folder name they are in, which simplifies the reconnecting process. Its really pretty easy to do. <br>

Interestingly in LR, even if you have disconnected to the underlying images, once you've imported as a "smart preview" you can work on the preview itself and the changes will inure to the image when you reconnect, meaning that when you print or export out, all the changes you made will be reflected in the image. You don't even need the original until its time to export or print. Meantime, the original file will be untouched as LR is a non-destructive editor. I always start in LR and then I export to CS or whatever other program I might use on the image and upon closing, it saves the image in whatever format you've chosen in preferences and brings it back into LR. Note that you can only export into and back from another program like Photo Shop or Elements, when LR is connected to the underlying image. However when NOT connected to the underlying image, you can work away on it in LR. It is easier in practice that perhaps how I'm in-artfully trying to explain it.</p>

[angkordave]

<p>I would definitely consider an SSD; avoid the smaller ones below 256Gb as some have inferior performance. That goes for cheap SSDs as they are not all the same speed. Lr, Photoshop and other apps start up faster with an SSD<br>

A portable USB3 Hard drive for travel is a necessity. I usually work directly from them;now that USB3 is faster than Firewire 800. You would notice any difference as USB3 has a faster transfer rate than a 5400RPM drive which is still used in most Laptops.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Something like some of the Western Digital external drives are not much bigger than a deck of playing cards (Tarot, if you're mystical). Not much trouble to throw in with the laptop.</p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>14" screen is kind of tiny ...</p>