Choose a laptop for working with Adobe Photoshop. Choosing a laptop for working with graphics

So you're working with graphics. Let's say you retouch photos in Photoshop, edit videos in some Pinnacle Studio and are thinking about buying yourself a laptop. We have two news for you.

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The good news is that today's laptops are almost as powerful as their desktop counterparts. Here's the bad news: they are not very suitable for working in any serious graphics editors due to the small screen diagonal. And yes, of course, the best ones are damn expensive. But if you need every inch of free space or your life consists of constant moving, a laptop will be the only option.

What to rely on when choosing?

Definitely not the same color or familiar manufacturer's nameplate. “I love red, and my dad bought a VCR with the same name for the family as a child” will lead to wasted money. In our case, the most important parameters are: screen, processor, RAM, video subsystem, battery and hard drive. Exactly in that order.

Screen

To work with color you need a modern display with correct transmission colors, good viewing angles and medium diagonal.

What's suitable? What technologies are there anyway?

TN(aka TN+film) is the oldest technology on the market. A simple, cheap matrix with average color rendition and low clarity. Latest models have acceptable viewing angles and normal response time. Good, as the name suggests, for watching movies. Not our case. P.S. On the other hand, if you don’t do any other graphics work other than video editing, this is a chance to save money.
V.A.(PVA, SVA, WVA) - a slightly more worthy option. Good viewing angles, good color rendition. However, the shades are very dependent on your position in front of the screen, and the details of the picture in the shadows are drawn so-so. Not our case.
PLS- good viewing angles, good colors, average response time. You can take it.
IPS(AH-IPS, e-IPS, H-IPS, P-IPS, S-IPS) - the best displays on the market. Excellent color rendition, largest viewing angles without color distortion. The response time, however, is slightly lower than that of TN, which in our case is not significant. We need to take it.

What else?

Diagonal screen is the distance from the top to bottom opposite edges of the screen. Convenient sizes start from about 15 inches and up (usually 15.3 or 17.3 inches) in FullHD resolution, that is, 1920 pixels wide by 1080 pixels high. Coating you should choose a matte one - it does not distort colors and does not glare in bright light.

CPU

Processors from AMD is better neglect. Mobile solutions Zen has not yet been released on the new technology, and its predecessor is already outdated. That leaves Intel and its Core i line.

What is the difference?

Core i3- two cores, two or four threads. Modern ones (5, 6 and 7 series) work well, but may not be enough for resource-intensive tasks.
Core i5- two or four cores, four threads. High-performance processors that are sufficient for most tasks.
Core i7- four cores (less often - two), eight (four) threads. As a rule, the fastest. Enthusiast's choice.

The most attentive ones have already noticed: Core i3 and Core i7 can have the same number of cores. So is performance. For example, the i7-7500U differs from the i3-7100H by, in fact, five hundred megahertz of frequency.

How so?

The answer lies in the letters after the numeric index.

Y - very low energy consumption; slow, but the battery will last a long time
U - ultramobile processor; still slow, but energy efficient
T - low power consumption again
M - mobile processor; nothing unusual
Q - there are definitely four cores here
X— high frequency and maximum performance
H - more or less powerful graphics are built-in

Horror. Which one should you choose?

In fact, to work in Photoshop any processor with these parameters should be enough. Some solutions will work slower when processing RAW photos, applying effects, or even simply launching an application. However, the speed will remain within reason.

The fact is that in addition to the Core i line, Intel also has Celeron processors and Pentium. This is a budget sector, not intended for professionals. “Stones” are only suitable for surfing the Internet and office tasks.

What if I'm not a photographer?

If we are talking about something more resource-intensive, like video rendering, pay attention to letters M,Q,X. For example, 6700MQ or 7700HQ. Frequency such instances range from 2.5 to 4 gigahertz. Please note that the price of a laptop equipped with similar processor may exceed 70 thousand rubles.

RAM

Everything is simple here. The more, the better, regardless of specific programs. Graphics operations have always required a lot of memory: tests show that Adobe Premiere capable of consuming up to 12 gigabytes of RAM. If you work with photographs, optimal choice will become 8 gigabytes(minimum 6 gigabyte). For video rendering it is desirable 16 gigabyte (minimum 8 gigabyte). Remember that savings will directly affect the speed of work in a professional application.

Video subsystem

For photographers who do not seriously plan to play for their workstation, a separate video card is not needed. IN modern processors Intel and mobile AMD have already built-in video cores - they are enough for all everyday tasks.

Video editors are faced with a choice. They can use the processor for compilation (as described above), or transfer this task to the video card. Many editors support this feature, including Adobe Premiere or Sony Vegas.

How it works?

Acceleration occurs using OpenCL or CUDA libraries. Cards from AMD support only the first, NVIDIA - both. The advantage is on the side of the latter, since CUDA is faster in rendering. The more CUDA cores, the greater the performance, the more expensive the laptop. The newest and fastest line of NVIDIA cards starts with the number 10. It's optimal to choose something at the GeForce level 1050/1050Ti or save money and give up a separate card altogether.

Battery

In the case where you plan to carry your laptop from socket to socket, battery life does not matter. The vast majority of them are able to work under load for at least an hour and a half. This is enough time to go online, edit photos, watch a movie and, ultimately, connect the charger.

I need to work “in the field”, what should I do?

Choose ultrabook. It is distinguished from a regular laptop by its small size (the common screen diagonal is 13.3 inches), small thickness, modest performance and high price. But it consumes little energy and can go a day without recharging. Winter, as a rule, but still.

HDD

The standard volume today is 1 or 2 terabytes. If you think that 500 is enough, don’t be fooled. File sizes are growing rapidly, and prices differ little between models of such volumes. Notebook solutions also differ little in speed, so, once again, pay attention first of all to volume.

What about the SSD?

Solid state drive that replaced hard drive. Fast. Damn fast. However, it is not able to increase productivity. It can only speed up the opening of files and the launch of programs. Adjust it to your liking. The best examples are produced by Intel and Samsung.

Stop. The article is coming to an end, and not a word has been said about 3D modeling. This is also graphics!

Rendering 3D objects requires monstrous performance. It's hard to imagine that someone would do this on a laptop. However, if circumstances are against you, choose the most powerful Intel processor with the QX index, a 1070, 1080 or Quadro series video card from NVIDIA and about 32 gigabytes random access memory.

Suitable options

Here are laptops that are suitable for working with graphics according to the parameters listed above. The links lead to YandexMarket, where you can view their characteristics in more detail.

Laptop with 15.6 screen, processor Intel Core i5 8250U 1600 MHz, 8 GB DDR4 memory.

GP72M 7RDX Leopard

Laptop with 17.3 screen, Intel Core i7 7700HQ 2800 MHz processor, 16 GB DDR4 memory

Laptop with 17.3 screen, processor: Core i7 / Xeon 2800/3000 MHz, memory 8/16 GB DDR4

You need high quality screen on IPS or PLS matrix.
Look for a suitable Core i processor.
Remember, less than 6 gigabytes of RAM is very, very bad.
Minimum terabyte of disk space required
Behind good computer you'll have to pay a lot of money

If you ask a professional what you should use for photo processing, he will probably tell you that a desktop PC is best suited for these purposes. Indeed, it is most comfortable to work with images while sitting in your favorite chair in front of a large monitor (or better yet, in front of a couple of large monitors). Unfortunately, this option is not suitable for everyone and not always. For example, if you are a professional photographer forced to travel around the world with a camera and a computer behind you. In this case, you will have to process the images using a laptop. What kind of laptop should be suitable for image processing? Let's try to figure it out.

Laptop for Photoshop

Many photo editors run with difficulty even on weak machines. The same Photoshop can be run on an old budget laptop worth $100. But such work cannot be called comfortable.

RAM. To work with big amount layers are consumed great amount computer RAM. For example, the most latest photoshop CC 2015, simply running “idle” without any open images, will immediately take about a gigabyte of RAM from your computer. Start working with large images and multiple layers, and RAM consumption will quickly reach several gigabytes.

RAM is one of the the most important parameters computer designed for photo editing. How much RAM do you need for comfortable work? The bigger, the better. If we talk about specific numbers, then 4 GB will still not be enough. It is better to buy a laptop with 6 GB of RAM or higher.

CPU. The speed of execution of actions directly depends on the power of the processor. For example, how long a filter will be applied to a photo, or at what speed brush strokes with a diameter of several hundred pixels are drawn. Latest Photoshop versions work great with multi-core processors, therefore, the more cores there are in the “stone”, and the higher their frequency, the better. If we talk about specific models, then processors of the Intel i3, i5 and i7 families or their analogs are well suited for photo processing.

Video card. It doesn't carry much of a load. Of course, some photo editors can work with CUDA (architecture parallel computing from NVIDIA). But in most cases, the processor + RAM combination bears the entire load.

Screen diagonal. As already mentioned, it is most convenient to work on a pair of large monitors. In the case of a laptop - than bigger display, all the better. Unfortunately, large laptop screens have a significant disadvantage. The more inches such a computer has, the less “portable” it is. It’s not very convenient to move around the world with a huge board on your back. Of course, every extra inch is worth it. extra money. In general, everyone will determine the optimal ratio of size and comfort for themselves. But it’s obvious that a ten-inch laptop is not suitable for photo editing.

Budget options up to $500

Lenovo IdeaPad 110-15ACL

Lenovo IdeaPad 110-15ACL

The Lenovo IdeaPad 110-15ACL model is equipped with 8 GB DDR3 RAM with a frequency of 1600 MHz, quad-core AMD processor Quad-Core A8-7410 (2.2 GHz) and a 15.6-inch display with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. The AMD Radeon R5 M430 discrete graphics adapter has 2 GB of video memory. All this is enough for comfortable work with Photoshop.

HP 255 G5

HP 255 G5

The HP 255 G5 processor is weaker than the Lenovo IdeaPad 110-15ACL. Instead of 2.2 GHz, here we have a quad-core AMD Quad-Core A6-7310 with a frequency of 2.0 GHz. RAM is the same 8 GB DDR3 with a frequency of 1600 MHz. But this model has high-speed on board solid state hard disk (SSD) with a capacity of 128 GB. The screen diagonal is 15.6 inches, but the resolution is already Full HD (1920x1080 pixels), which is much better for photo processing.

HP 15-ay091ur

HP 15-ay091ur

The HP 15-ay091ur is similar to the HP 255 G5. The differences are that instead of a solid state hard drive A regular 1 TB HDD is installed. Also, the assembly is not based on AMD, but on the basis of a dual-core Intel processor i3-5005U with a frequency of 2.0 GHz.

Acer Aspire E5-575-32DV

Acer Aspire E5-575-32DV

Acer Aspire E5 is another 15.6-inch Full HD model. The laptop is built on a dual-core Intel Core i3-6100U (2.3 GHz) processor. It has 8 GB of DDR4 RAM on board. A nice bonus is a 128 GB solid-state hard drive. Overall, this is a fast workhorse that will do an excellent job in photo editing.

ASUS X540LA

ASUS X540LA

ASUS X540LA is built on the basis of a dual-core Intel Core i3-5005U processor (it is also used in the HP 15-ay091ur model). Here we have the same 8 GB of DDR3 RAM with a frequency of 1600 MHz, a 128 GB solid-state hard drive. The display also has a diagonal of 15.6 inches and Full resolution HD (1920x1080 pixels).

As you probably already understood, all laptops of this price category have approximately the same parameters with minor variations. Overall, for $500 you can buy a reliable working machine that won't cause you too much trouble when working in Photoshop.

As a rule, working with graphics requires large computing power, and this applies not only to the video card, but also to the processor with RAM. In this material, we will look at what a laptop should be like to work with graphics programs in 2018, and which models and brands you need to pay attention to.

Matrix

This also includes screen size and resolution. To work with graphics, the screen must have a maximum resolution, for example, 2560x1440 or even higher. Regarding the screen size, the user chooses it himself; it is logical that the screen should be as large as possible, but in this case the compactness and all the advantages of the laptop are lost.

Regarding the matrix itself, it is logical to choose one of the varieties of IPS matrices, as this type will allow you to not only display the image as comfortably as possible for the eyes, but don’t forget about color rendition, it is IPS matrices that have the highest quality color rendition. Again, here we highlight the depth of black color and other parameters. Don't forget about the brightness of the picture. An example of a laptop with a good matrix - MacBook

CPU

Even Photoshop 2018 (CC) currently requires a minimum of four cores from the processor, let alone more demanding applications, especially if you work with 3D graphics (although new photoshop has already learned to be in three dimensions), therefore, options with two cores are not suitable, pay attention to quad-core models, by the way, professionals use processors from AMD, supposedly this is the structure computing device is such that it will be easier and more efficient to process graphics, perhaps these are just assumptions, although there is, of course, some truth in this. Regarding the clock frequency, try to take as much as possible, for example, 2100 MHz per core and higher.

RAM capacity

Speaking about the amount of RAM, there can be no maximum here at all; if you have 32 GB of RAM, then this will only be a plus. But the minimum at the moment is 8 GB of RAM, so the best option would be something around 16 GB. Again, there is a possibility of DDR5, then we take just such RAM.

Video card

It is logical to assume that a lot will depend on the video card in terms of laptop performance for working with graphics programs in 2017, therefore, focus your attention on the advantage of the new NVIDIA and Radeon models. Here it must be said that the two brands a large number of both supporters and opponents (NVIDIA, of course, will have more supporters, but Radeon, of course, also has very good video cards), so we choose depending on our own priorities. The memory capacity of the video card should be from 2 GB and above, it is better that the memory capacity is approximately 3 GB

Touch input

Do not forget that there are various devices that help you work in graphics programs, these can be either plug-in (ahem) modules or just a screen with touch input capabilities. Depending on preferences, it is of course better for the screen to have a touchscreen, but this will increase the cost of the design, which will already be expensive

Brands

It is undoubtedly worth paying attention to gaming laptops in particular MSI, Alienware, and recently Asus has been offering very good models. Regarding HP laptops, they have their own Omen line, but unfortunately it’s a stretch for its intended purposes, although the model certainly deserves attention.

The work of an amateur photographer, and especially a professional, is simply impossible without productive computer. The reason for this is the need for digital image processing. The specifics of a photographer's work are associated with certain requirements for the worker. It must have the appropriate characteristics. Processing photos in RAW format requires a certain amount of RAM and processor clock speed. The quality of the matrix and its diagonal are critical. Accurate color rendering is required. Not every computer can satisfy all the requirements. Next, we will tell you in detail what characteristics a laptop for a photographer should have and consider the main models that are best purchased today.

What characteristics should it have?

When choosing a laptop for a photographer, you should first pay attention to the operating parameters of the following components:

processor;
video cards;
random access memory;
hard drive;
interfaces;
screen.

CPU

The choice in favor of a specific processor should be made based on its operating mode. Since the higher the performance, the shorter the battery life will be. Excellent for stationary use Intel will do Core i7. He is productive, has great clock frequency, it requires a large amount of energy to operate. If the laptop will be used “on the road”, which means autonomous operation, the optimal solution would be Core i5 or Core i3. These CPUs have sufficient operating speed, but do not put a strain on the laptop battery.

Video card

The video card should be given maximum attention. In a laptop for a photographer, it must be discrete. Built into the Intel HD processor or similar will not work. must have its own RAM, and for comfortable processing of photos in RAW format it must be at least 2 GB.

The optimal solution there will be an Nvidia GeForce GT 750M. But the processor is the most important integral part laptop for a photographer. If you have to choose a powerful CPU or a powerful video processor, you need to purchase the former.

RAM

The more RAM a laptop has and the higher the frequency of its operation, the better. There is no such thing as too much memory. When choosing a laptop model for photo processing, you should purchase equipped at least 8 GB of RAM.

There are many various models memory, types. Preference should be given to DDR 3 and DDR 4. The optimal solution would be a device with a RAM operating frequency of at least 2,133 MHz. The best is with an effective frequency of 3,200 MHz. With these parameters throughput will be 8×3200=25.6 MB/s.

HDD

First of all, when choosing a disk, you should focus on how it will be used:

for storing photos;
for processing.

In the first case, the disk size must be at least 1 TB - since the source file of one photo often takes up more than tens of megabytes. If you only need to process images, only 128 GB will be enough. In this case, you should opt for an SSD – solid state drive.

Interfaces

For comfortable work, a photographer will need the following interfaces on a laptop:

card reader that works with SD cards and others;
at least 4 USB ports;
HDMI;
Wi-Fi.

Screen

The first thing you need to pay attention to when choosing a laptop for photo processing is the screen diagonal. There is no point in purchasing a PC with this parameter, which is less than 15.6 inches. The optimal solution is 17 or more.

Again, it is necessary to focus on the scope of application of the device. If you use the laptop in the studio, to display photos, or to work while traveling, you should not chase the size. If it is to be used permanently, for retouching, a large diagonal is simply necessary. The situation is similar with permission. The larger it is, the easier work with photo.

Rating of laptops for photographers

For home use The following laptop models are best suited for a photographer:

Apple Macbook Pro with 15.4-inch screen;
Republic of Gamers G74SX with a diagonal of 17.3 inches;
Republic of Gamers G751JL with a diagonal of 17.3 inches.

The last 2 models are high-performance PCs from ASUS. Performance and screen image quality are at the highest level.

If your budget is limited or you need mobility, use on the road, in studios, or frequent transportation, you should make a choice in favor of a laptop:

Acer Aspire E5-551G, Aspire E5-573G-76KH or Aspire Nitro VN7-792G-52S0;
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E555.

The screen diagonal on these models is 15.6 inches.

Conclusion

Choosing a laptop for a photographer is a responsible procedure that requires an individual approach. You should prepare for it in advance. First of all, you need to decide on the budget and the tasks that the personal computer will solve. Based on these two points, you can make a choice. If specific model has already been selected, you should carefully study its characteristics and specifications - and only then purchase it. Productivity is critical. Comfortable work in Photoshop and LightRoom is possible only with sufficient memory and appropriate computing power.

Apple products seem insanely expensive, especially when you compare cheap ones mass-produced laptops with Apple MacBook Pro. But when you start looking for a quality IPS screen for photo and video editing, good keyboard and a touchpad (touchpad or clickpad), for a long time battery life, it turns out that the overpayment for a Macbook is not so great. Moreover, in addition to iron, you also get operating room Mac system OS, which is becoming increasingly popular after the infamous Windows updates 8.

On the market personal computers stagnation. In connection with this, Intel even froze the construction of an American plant for the production of new generation processors worth $5 billion. And this is not surprising. Many buyers purchased tablets and it turned out that for consuming content (watching video, listening to audio, surfing the Internet, social media, games) there are quite enough of them. At the same time, the processor power for last years increased very little. Go to latest processor Intel Haswell with Ivy Bridge In general, it makes sense if you want to reduce energy consumption, because the performance increase is only 10-15%.

Laptops with Haswell processors have indeed greatly improved battery life, as well as the speed of access to the SSD and integrated graphics card. This also applies to Macbook laptops. If important long work from the battery, then you should not take laptops with processors of previous generations.

Processors from AMD are found very rarely in laptops, mainly in the lower segments. Intel is represented by a huge line. Even if the processor is designated as Core i7, you need to carefully look at the markings. From the Core i7 family, the most common ones now are low-voltage (ultramobile, not mobile) Core i7-4500u, or even Core i7-4200u. They have a reduced number of cores and frequency, so they cannot boast of performance (it can be 2 times less!), but power consumption is at an excellent level. That is why they can most often be found on ultrabooks. On larger laptops, Intel Core i7-4700MQ, 4702MQ, 4700HQ, 4702HQ are more often found, the performance of which is significantly higher, the integrated graphics are better, but the power consumption is also significantly higher.

But if you understand hardware, then it’s better to look at comparisons of specific processors of the models you are interested in. You can find many examples that many new Intel Haswell processors are mostly just marketing, when power consumption differs from the previous generation by only 1-3 Wh, and performance has increased by only 5-10%. Therefore, do not deny yourself the pleasure of comparing core i5 and core i7, especially if the former are full-fledged and the latter are low-voltage.

In general, if you will be editing photos and videos in a stationary environment and not on the road, then taking a laptop does not make much sense. Power desktop computer will be much higher, plus you can install a normal graphics card and provide it with cooling. Laptops also have mediocre video cards like the NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M, but they can have a significant impact on power consumption (when the laptop cannot switch to built-in video when necessary). In addition, for a powerful video card you need good cooling, due to which the noise level may increase, and laptop components may heat up more and fail prematurely because of this. Moreover, users rarely think about the fact that laptops need to be cleaned of dust so that coolers (fans) work properly.

At the same time, more and more laptop manufacturers entered the race for pixels following the advent of the Macbook with Retina displays. In this case, most often the resolution used is not 4K UHD (3840×2160) or 4096×2160, but something in between it and FullHD (1920×1080). But since Youtube and Vimeo already allow you to upload video with a resolution of up to 4096x3072, broadcasting in 4K format in the United States is just around the corner, video cameras with 4K resolution have begun to appear on the market, and the appearance of laptops and monitors with this resolution is not far off. Moreover, the first models will be very expensive and will probably drop sharply in price in a year, as has already happened with touch screens.

On the other hand, the capacities of the current solid state drives(SSD) too small, volumes hard drives Recently, they also do not double every 1-2 years, as before. In addition, built-in Intel graphics, even if it is Crystallwell (Iris Pro graphics 5200), it is still too weak to support high resolutions (despite the fact that the performance does not reach the average mobile discrete cards like NVidia GT 750M, and even cannot boast of temperatures). At the same time, of course, the power consumption of the low-voltage core i7 together with the integrated Iris Pro video can be at the level of a discrete video card. Although, for example, the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro uses an even weaker integrated video Intel HD Graphics 4400, despite the resolution being 3200x1800. This, coupled with the scaling problems of Windows 8, leads to negative impressions of such solutions. A small part of Metro applications in Windows 8 (intended primarily for tablets and touch screens) are of course already able to work with high resolutions, and the situation will only improve. But at the moment, of course, rushing to update hardware unnecessarily does not make much sense.

Another problem with laptops is the quality of the screens. In the mass segment, it is very mediocre and completely unsuitable for professional video and photo processing. More expensive models can also be used IPS technology(or similar MVA, PVA, PPS). Compared to a matrix based on the simplest TN + film technology, IPS offers viewing angles increased to 178°, high contrast and color rendition. At the same time, at the moment, IPS displays on 15-17-inch laptops very rarely appear, and their color rendering quality on cheap models leaves much to be desired.

It’s not without reason that many professionals suggest purchasing either desktop computer, including an iMac, or a laptop and a good big one IPS monitor to him. As for iMacs, it is worth considering the difficulty of upgrading them. Latest 21.5-inch iMacs don't even allow you to increase the memory size in a simple way(to do this you need to remove the screen and disassemble the floor of the computer). 27" iMacs latest generation although they allow you to increase the memory size, but for replacing hard disk (including SSD) you will also have to remove the screen.

The Windows computer segment, like the iMac, also consists of All-in-one (AIO) solutions. Often, manufacturers of such solutions follow the path of Apple, making it very difficult to update computers. Among the exceptions is the 27-inch Dell XPS 2720 with a high-quality QHD (2560 x 1440) screen made using IPS technology. Upgrading the Dell XPS 2720 is very easy, just unscrew a few screws and remove the back cover. In addition to the upgrade in this segment, it is also worth paying attention to the processors used. Despite the huge dimensions of such devices, they often use mobile processors, including low voltage. This is also due to the fact that some manufacturers offer to use such computers as huge tablets (and Haswell desktops have lower power consumption the best level, including in comparison with previous generation processors). In addition, often such solutions do not have a discrete video card (they use only integrated graphics) or simple-average video cards (which can also be found on laptops). Haswell's graphics processing speed has increased significantly, but this segment of computers is still not designed for toy lovers. When choosing such solutions, pay attention to whether the computer has a touch screen.

Also, professionals for photo and video processing often recommend a 15-inch Macbook Pro with Retina screen. It is made using IPS technology and is well suited for photo and video editing. Of course, the 13-inch model is more convenient for travel, but for everyday work, 15 inches is optimal size. It's not for nothing that Apple abandoned the 17-inch Macbook Pro. They are not mobile at all, but in stationary conditions you can add a good large monitor and to laptops smaller size. The disadvantages of the Macbook Pro include the memory soldered to the motherboard, which makes upgrading impossible. But this is also typical for many Windows ultrabooks. Mobility requires sacrifice. It's also common for Macbook users with Retina displays to complain that despite the 2880x1800 resolution, few elements can fit on the screen, as if the resolution is only 1440x900.

But for Windows 8 laptops, scaling is even worse. For example, even Photoshop Creative Cloud still does not support screens with high resolution. Not to mention that working at high resolution in Photoshop becomes significantly slower.

The quality of the screen is determined by the brightness of the backlight, its uniformity in different parts screen, contrast, and coverage of the sRGB and AdobeRGB color spectrums. Note that full sRGB spectrum coverage on laptops with IPS matrix only possible when using an RGB LED screen (the backlight uses 3 colors at once, not just one). At the same time, there are also high-quality TN screens on laptops that cover sRGB by 95-98%, but they cannot boast of large viewing angles.

The most worthy Macbook alternatives Pro can be called

Dell Precision M3800 Mobile Workstation - thin and lightweight laptop(about 2 kg) with QHD+ touch screen (3200x1800), 4th processor Intel generation Core i7 Haswell, graphics card NVIDIA Quadro.

Dell XPS 15 with QHD+ screen (3200x1800), made using PPS technology, 4th generation Intel Core Haswell processor (i3-i7), graphics NVIDIA card GeForce GT 750M.

Of the monstrous workstations, you can also include in this list

HP Zbook 15 with FullHD DreamColor display (1920 x 1080), 4th generation Intel Core i7-4800MQ processor, NVIDIA Quadro graphics card, Thunderbolt port.
Please note that you need a DreamColor screen, since a regular one covers about 90% of sRGB.

HP Zbook 17 with FullHD display, 4th generation Intel Core i7-4700MQ processor, NVIDIA Quadro graphics card, Thunderbolt port.
Covers about 93% of AdobeRGB.

Dell Precision M4800
QHD+ screen: AdobeRGB color spectrum coverage about 64%, sRGB about 89%.

Dell Precision M6800
The option with FHD Premiercolor (RGB backlighting) is no longer available, unlike older models.

Lenovo W540 with IPS display 1920x1080 or 2880x1620, 4th generation Intel Core i7-4700MQ Processor, NVIDIA Quadro graphics card, Thunderbolt port, X-Rite calibrator. There are no reviews.

Of the 15-17 inch workstations based on the 3rd generation Intel processor, the following can also be noted:

Dell Precision M4600 Premiercolor (15.6", 1920x1080, IPS, matte screen, LP156WF3 SLB1-B2-B3)

Dell Precision M4700 Premiercolor (15.6", 1920x1080, IPS, matte screen).
A standard FHD panel does not fully cover sRGB.

Dell Precision M6600 Premiercolor (17.3", 1920x1080, IPS, matte screen, LP173WF3 SLB1-B2-B3)

Dell Precision M6700 Premiercolor (17.3", 1920x1080, IPS, matte screen)

HP EliteBook 8560w (15.6", 1920x1080, IPS, matte screen)

HP EliteBook 8560w Dreamcolor (15.6", 1920x1080, IPS, matte screen, LP156WF3 SLB1-B2-B3)

HP EliteBook 8570w DreamColor (15.6", 1920x1080, IPS, matte screen)

HP EliteBook 8760w DreamColor (17.3", 1920x1080, IPS, matte screen, LP173WF3 SLB1-B2-B3)

HP EliteBook 8770w DreamColor (17.3", 1920x1080, IPS, matte screen)

Lenovo Thinkpad W530 (15.6", 1920x1080, matte screen)

Please note that the screens of the above laptops may be different, including even those with a resolution of less than 1920x1080. In general, it is very strange that in this segment you still find a resolution of 1368x768, especially on 17-inch screens.

Dell's QHD+ screens are more suitable for professional photo and video work than FullHD screens. And it's not just about resolution, but about other characteristics.

The color gamut of the Dell Precision M6700 IPS screen is wide because it uses RGB backlighting. The M6700's screen even covers NTSC, which is wider than AdobeRGB. Some even think the M6700's colors are oversaturated, having only seen 45-72% NTSC screens before.

The Dell M4800's QHD+ screen covers sRGB, but sRGB only covers 72% NTSC.
FullHD Dell screen The M4800 covers only 60% NTSC and also has lower contrast.

More laptops (mainly with IPS, MVA/PVA matrices) that were considered:

Sony VAIO Fit 15A multi-flip (15", FullHD, IPS, glossy) - sRGB color gamut is about 97%.

Sony VAIO Fit 15A multi-flip (15", 2880x1620, IPS, glossy) - Color gamut covers 86% of sRGB and 62.8% of Adobe RGB, and the color gamut is 99.6% of sRGB and 68. 6% of Adobe RGB volume.

Sony VAIO Fit SVF15A1S2ES (15", FullHD, glossy) - The display cannot reproduce the AdobeRGB or sRGB color spectrum.

Acer Aspire R572G (15", FullHD, i7-4500U, NVidia GeForce GT 750M) - Color gamut covers 96% sRGB. Acer offers good characteristics for your money, but overall the quality of the products is quite low.

Acer Aspire V5-572pg

Acer Aspire V5-573G - (15" IPS screen from AU Optronics, FullHD, matte) - sRGB color gamut over 90%.

Acer Aspire V5-573P (15") - sRGB color gamut over 90%.

Acer Aspire R7 R7-571G - The color gamut of the LCD screen covers 80.25% of the sRGB space and about 59% of AdobeRGB.

Samsung ATIV Book 8 (PLS) - The display cannot reproduce sRGB and AdobeRGB spaces, although sRGB is covered by 92%. Intel Ivy Bridge.

Samsung Ativ Book 6 680Z5E-X01US (15", FullHD, PLS, glossy, touch) - The display cannot reproduce sRGB and AdobeRGB spaces, although sRGB is covered by 81% and AdobeRGB by 60%. IPS or PLS technology are not used. Intel Ivy Bridge.

Samsung Series 7 Chronos 770Z5E (15", FullHD, TN, glossy) - Display cannot reproduce sRGB and AdobeRGB spaces

ASUS N550JV - 15-inch laptop with IPS matrix. The color gamut of an LCD screen is not only smaller than the sRGB gamut, but also shifted relative to the sRGB gamut, although it covers 92% of sRGB.

Sony VAIO Fit 15A SVF15N1X2RB is a convertible ultrabook with a resolution of 2880x1620. The color gamut of the LCD screen in the ultrabook covers 86% of sRGB and 62.8% of Adobe RGB, and the color gamut is 99.6% of sRGB and 68.6% of Adobe RGB.

Asus Zenbook UX51VZ is a good 15-inch laptop with an IPS screen, but the color gamut is not very suitable for working with photos and videos

Asus Q550LF-BBI7T07 (15", IPS, i7-4500U, NVIDIA GT 745M)

Lenovo Ideapad Y580 20994BU - Color gamut covers 91% sRGB

Lenovo Ideapad Y510p 59400120 - Color gamut covers 82% sRGB and 56% AdobeRGB

Dell Inspiron 15-7537. Series 7000. (1920x1080, IPS, glossy) The color gamut satisfactorily covers sRGB (approximately 80-90%) and AdobeRGB.

Razer Blade

Toshiba Qosmio X870

Asus G75VW

Asus G750JW - LCD color gamut covers 80% of sRGB and less than 60% of AdobeRGB

MSI GT70

Samsung Series 7 Gamer

Vizio CT15 with 1920x1080 IPS matrices

HP Envy 15-17. Recently, the Envy series has ceased to be elite (now the Specter series has become elite), so panels and other components are increasingly used of not particularly good quality.

Gigabyte P35K Matte. There are no reviews.

Gigabyte U35F-CF3. There are no reviews.

Gigabyte P34G with 1920x1080 AHVA matrix (similar to IPS). The color gamut covers 63% of AdobeRGB.

Gigabyte's P25W with a 1920x1080 matrix. Color gamut covers 59% AdobeRGB. Not suitable for professional editing photographs.

Chillblast Photo OC Mobile

System76 Galago UltraPro (OEM Clevo W740SU, Ubuntu, 14.1", 1920x1080, matte ColorPRO)

System76 Gazelle Professional (OEM Clevo, Ubuntu, 15", 1920x1080, glossy ColorPRO).
Apparently, the B140HAN01 screen uses AHVA technology (this is not TN or IPS) with balanced color reproduction and a color gamut that largely covers sRGB. Suitable for basic graphics and image editing.

System76 Bonobo Extreme (OEM Clevo, Ubuntu, 17.3", 1920x1080, matte ColorPRO)

Sager, Eurocom, Schenker XMG, DNS, DevilTech, Kobalt, Mythlogic, AVADirect, Malibal, One, PC Specialist, Falcon Northwest, DiTech, Origin, Digital Storm, FullRange, Bullman, Nexoc, Metabox, BTO, XoticPC, ...( OEM Clevo)

Dell Alienware 17 (1920x1080, glossy, TN) - Color gamut covers 97% sRGB. But the viewing angles are small because TN technology is used.
Some models have screens with RGB LED.

Dell Alienware M18x R2 (1920x1080, glossy, TN) - Color gamut covers 97% sRGB. But the vertical viewing angles are small because TN technology is used.

Toshiba Qosmio 17 (1920x1080, TN) - Color gamut covers 65% of Adobe RGB and 96% sRGB. But the viewing angles are small because TN technology is used.

Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook U904 (14", 3200x1800, Sharp IGZO)

Samsung Ativ Book 9 NP930X5J (FullHD, Haswell) - so far just announced at CES, will appear no earlier than February-March 2014, screen quality is still unknown.

Overall, a very interesting picture emerges. Laptops with a screen well suited for photo and video editing often cost about $2,000 or more in the US. This is especially true for heavy, reliable, but rather ugly workstations. Very rarely, these models can be purchased for less than the permissible duty-free import limit in international postal shipments. Basically, either old models, or refurbished (refurbished), or used ones fit into the limit of 1000 euros.

More budget Asus, Samsung and Sony do not cover sRGB, AdobeRGB so well. But they can be good compromise options, although for professional work with photos and videos it is better to choose other options.

Personally, I settled on the Samsung ATIV Book 8. Although it has an older processor Core generation i7-3635QM CPU, in terms of performance and power consumption it is practically no different from the Core i7-4700QM. Haswell has more powerful Intel HD4600 graphics, but this laptop In addition to the built-in Intel HD4000, discrete video is also installed Radeon card HD 8770M (Video available in other countries) AMD card Radeon HD 8870M).

In second place I had the Sony VAIO Fit 15A. Its screen, of course, has better sRGB coverage (especially for the expensive version with a resolution of 2880x1620), but the Nvidia GForce GT-735 video card is weak, the processor is weaker (although it has a new Haswell architecture with lower power consumption), the amount of RAM is fixed, hinged The design does not inspire confidence. Plus there are a lot of quality complaints about this laptop. Wi-Fi work and a touch screen that turns off, although both of these parameters are practically unimportant for me.

What laptop or computer do you recommend for photo and video editing?

(Updated April 23, 2014)
I added a couple of Acer laptops with an sRGB color gamut of more than 90%. Perhaps, when buying, I would look in their direction.