chris_jacobs4

<p>Thank you Steven. That is great insight and information.</p> <p>I'm kind of down to two models:<br> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/GL752VW-DH74-17-Inch-Discrete-GeForce-Metallic/dp/B015ZG9964/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1461079337&sr=8-4&keywords=Asus+-+ROG+17.3%22">Asus ROG</a><br> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GE72-Apache-Pro-029-i7-6700HQ/dp/B0150PK892/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461079177&sr=8-1&keywords=GE72+APACHE+PRO-029">MSI Apache Pro</a></p> <p>Will try to make a decision in the next couple of days</p>

<p>Hi Christopher - Understood. It will serve for the time being, but I will most probably upgrade at some point in the not too distant future. Thank you!</p>

Yes, you're correct on the Asus; sorry about the confusion.

Dieter: I had seen that other Asus unit as well; no SSD drive, but yes, better processor. However, I believe it is currently out of stock and unavailable. I've also seen that elsewhere about the HP Envy having an IPS panel, but I believe it was shown to be incorrect. Christopher: Definitely no less than 16GB on the RAM; agreed. Also agree on the SSD for at least the OS; anything to speed up boot/access time is welcome. I AM hoping to heavily into editng to take full advantage of the i7 processor. BTW, I do have an AOC I2269VW 21.5" IPS monitor which I have hooked up to my old laptop. Obviously, I can hook up whichever laptop I end up getting to that for high end editing. I had totally vapor-locked that it was an IPS panel. It's a very nice monitor and will fit well with a better source unit than my old HP. Thank you both!

<p>Hi everyone. Thank you for the great feedback.</p> <p>The main reason for laptop vs desktop is a practical one. My wife and I will be sharing the laptop as our main home PC and the 17” screen and portability aspect works better for her than a desktop, so that’s what we’ll go with. I’d be okay with a 15” (or smaller) for surfing and then connecting to a larger external monitor when editing, but that isn’t good for her needs and that’s a major component for me in all this.</p> <p>As noted, I’m kind of a “newbie” in photography, and that’s why I truly appreciate the “what’s essential and what isn’t” information you can provide. As an example, I realize having at least a shared SSD drive for the OS and other programs is an advantage; but if a standalone 1TB HDD at 7200 RPM will more than take care of what I want to do, then I am absolutely fine with that; same with the graphics. I don’t want to splurge in one area where it really wouldn’t benefit me and discount another aspect where “more” would actually be better.</p> <p>My budget limit is $1300.00. I’ve always had good luck, reliability and satisfaction at Best Buy, so I will probably purchase there. To be honest, their financing and price matching helps out too. Below are three laptops I’ve seen which I’ve been considering:</p> <p><strong>HP Envy m7-n109dx</strong> (<a href="http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-envy-17-3-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-silver/4632100.p?id=1219780991289&skuId=4632100">http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-envy-17-3-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-silver/4632100.p?id=1219780991289&skuId=4632100</a></p> <p><strong>Asus ROG G751JTWH71WX</strong> (<a href="http://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-17-3-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-black/4714300.p?id=1219807029424&skuId=4714300">http://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-17-3-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-black/4714300.p?id=1219807029424&skuId=4714300</a>)</p> <p><strong>MSI GE72 APACHE PRO-029</strong> (<a href="http://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-ge72-apache-pro-029-17-3-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-128gb-solid-state-drive-aluminum-black/4556210.p?id=1219766808108&skuId=4556210">http://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-ge72-apache-pro-029-17-3-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-128gb-solid-state-drive-aluminum-black/4556210.p?id=1219766808108&skuId=4556210</a>)</p> <p>They all look very nice to me, especially considering that we’re coming from several years old HP and Gateway laptops. I know the Asus has an IPS panel, while the other two do not.</p> <p>Thank you again!</p>

<p>Hi All,</p> <p>Need to purchase a new laptop, a good chunk of which will be used for basic photo editing. Also want to get more into home video editing a bit. My wife and I are both decided on a 17" Windows based platform. I would consider myself a "latter stages newbie" as regards photography. I use "Photoshop Elements 13". I've looked at a number of products and am trying to determine the priority of the various components below. Again, I'm currently "entry level" as regards digital photography, but want to get a system I can grow with and that will "future proofed" as much as is possible these. What I'm asking help with is kind of "How critical are these different areas?" type question. Obviously, the higher you go on components, the greater the cost. I obviously don't need a top of the line professional photographer system, but I don't want a "this will get you by" setup either.</p> <p><strong>Hard Drive System</strong><br />5400 RPM 1TB HDD<br />7200 RPM 1TB HDD <br />7200 RPM 1TB HDD and a 128GB SSD<br /><br /><strong>Graphics</strong><br />NVIDIA GeForce 940M - 2GB<br />NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M - 2GB<br />NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M - 3GB<br /><br /><strong>RAM Memory</strong><br />8MB DDR3L<br />16MB DDR4<br> All have the Intel 6th Generation Core i7 processor<br />All are 1920 x 1080 resolution<br />All have backlit keyboard<br> <br> Thank you!</p>