New laptop for photo editing.

[PeteGlynn]

Chassis & Display
Elimina Pro Series: 16" Matte QHD+ 165Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1600)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen™ 7 Eight Core Processor 7735HS (3.2GHz, 4.75GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB PCS PRO SODIMM DDR5 4800MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4050 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3500 MB/R, 3200 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 3 in 1 Card Reader (Full Size SD / SDHC / SDXC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Elimina Pro Series Integrated 62Wh Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Nahimic by SteelSeries 2 Channel HD Audio
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.2 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
ELIMINA 16" SERIES MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (6 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
TongFang GM6BG5Q (6GB RTX-4050, R7-7735HS, 165Hz QHD)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,121.00 including VAT and Delivery

Budget, happy to add a couple of hundred if advised.

The most demanding thing I'll be doing with this laptop is photo editing using ON1, a Lightroom replacement software package. Otherwise just web browsing and occasional MS Office use..

I won't be using an external monitor.

Power supply, battery, not important, as this laptop will rarely be away from mains electricity.

Comments on the above spec very much appreciated.

Pete.

 

[PeteGlynn]

I've just noticed this thread "Why more than one storage drive?" so I've added a second 1TB drive which I can store my photos on, only adds £50 ish to the price. But there are 7 options for a 1TB drive, I don't really know what's the difference. None of them make a great deal to the cost so advice on these would be appreciated too.

Thanks,

Pete

Edit, a 2TB only adds £100 ish to the price, might be better for future proofing.

 

[TonyCarter]

In general, the idea is to have a relatively small (say 512GB) VERY fast m.2 SSD as your boot/apps drive so everything launches as fast as possible...and any background system processes that use the SSD to run as quick as possibly.

The PCS m.2s are not usually the fastest, or most well-regarded, and we'd normally recommend a 512GB Solidigm P44 Pro, with a 1-2TB Solidigm P41 Plus as the 2nd SSD. Both are well-regarded, have good reliability & endurance, and are not much more expensive than the PCS ones.

I'd also probably suggest upping the RAM to the optimum speed for the AMD CPU...which would be 6000MHz if it's available (you could lose upto 10% just with slower RAM).

You also need to remove Norton, as it's just bloatware at best, and a cause of many instabilities. The built-in Microsoft Security suite is better, and won't break anything.

 

[PeteGlynn]

Thank you Tony,

I've changed the SSD's to your advice, you're right, not much extra. I hadn't noticed Norton was added by default (Albeit a trial version) I've only ever had Microsoft Defender installed as my security for years, never had any problems for years.

Only PCS Pro or Corsair 4800Mhz RAM are offered, which is better?

Pete

 

[TonyCarter]

Only PCS Pro or Corsair 4800Mhz RAM are offered, which is better?

Pete

Ah, must be a laptop restriction then...but if there's not a huge difference in cost I'd go for the brand name item.

There's no easy way to tell what underlying supplier PCS use, and they don't even list the timings for their own-brand items...which means they can swap out suppliers/timings as they see fit.

 

[PeteGlynn]

Thanks again Tony,

Any comments on my original spec, as my first post,

Pete.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks again Tony,

Any comments on my original spec, as my first post,

Pete.

I wouldn’t buy at the moment, these chassis are end of life, the new models with new cpus are on the horizon.

If you’re not in a huge hurry I would wait for the new models

 

[PeteGlynn]

Thank you Spyder,

I'm not in a hurry.

Pete.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thank you Spyder,

I'm not in a hurry.

Pete.

The new laptops have already been announced at CES which was at the start of January. Normally PCS would get the new chassis stocks around March time.

Intels 14th gen mobile chips have had mixed reports so far. But it’s the AMD chassis I’m looking forward to as they’re new 8000 series mobile chips are the first to have dedicated AI cores

AMD confirms Zen 5 is due soon with 'Strix Point' Ryzen laptop chip

AMD is looking ahead to its next-generation Zen 5 architecture, which will debut later this year with significantly increased AI performance.

www.pcworld.com

At the moment, it’s not quite so relevant as when windows 12 ships which is likely this year according to developer leaks. That has AI far more baked into the OS and I have a feeling these new Ryzen CPUs will fare far better