Laptop suggestions

I'm in the market for a laptop for downloading, viewing and backing up images while on the road.
I do basically NO processing during these trips.  I would mostly use it for downloading and viewing with Breezebrowser and backing up to external drives.

With this in mind I'd love to get some suggestions or at least a general direction.

1. I would like to stay with Windows.  Had a Macbook Pro which was beautiful but just don't like the operating system even though I know it is great.
2. I would prefer to have 3 USB 3 ports but could do with 2 if that made a big difference.
3. Weight.... thinner and lighter the better. Something similar to a MacBook Air but Windows?
4. Does processor speed and ram make much difference for downloading, scrolling and backing up?


Thanks in advance for any suggestions.


Jim

Jim,
I sure am happy with my Lenovo Thinkpad. You can configure these pretty much any way you want from very simple to machines that can do all your processing.

I recently bought one of the new Dell XPS13 machines for downloading on the road and giving presentations. Only 2 usb 3 ports, but you can get a small dock which gives you another 5, plus a range of other connection options. I thought a long time about what to buy. There certainly isn't a perfect laptop solution for photographers out there, or at least that I could find, but this gives me most of what I want and I'm happy with it.

Thanks Mark and Phil. That Dell really does look nice being so compact and light for a 13".

Still my main question would be does the processor and ram make any difference at all for downloading and transferring to external drives or is that limited mainly by usb3 speed? Thanks.

Hello,

I would through an eye on the new Dell Precision 5510. It comes with an Core-I7 quadcore CPU ( or Xeon if wanted ), an incredible fast Samsung m.2 NVME SSD, and can be ordered with a full Adobe RGB 4k display. The overall weight is less than 2Kg.

Robert

You could just take your MacBook Pro and run Windows on it and save a bunch of money

Otherwise, from what you have written that the system's use will be, you don't need anything fancy. Something in the range of a 2.4GHz i5 or faster, 8GB of RAM, integrated graphics and a 1TB HD with the USB 3 ports that you need should be more than good enough for what you say you need.

I'm actually now wishing I hadn't sold that MacBook but that ship has sailed so here I am. EJ, good to have those specs to make a choice from. I'll start my search from there. Actually seems easier for a desktop.... those I build from scratch and I know I want performance while this is just a tool in the box to get images from the cards to backup hard drives while on the road. Thanks.

Another thing you could look at is a Surface Pro 4.

I'm using a Toshiba Kirabook, bought 1360 x 768 screen res model so PS CS6 would work on it if needed. 256GB SSD and i5 processor, handles downloading and breezebrowser just fine and a decent job on PS as well, screen is OK but a bit fussy on viewing angle. Weighs 3lb and has 3 USB, HDMI and a SD card reader. Came with WIN8 which is not a favorite but I can live with it. Close the screen and it sleeps and you can leave it for weeks without charging and wakes up fast. The 45W power supply is is also tiny, good for travel and battery life is pretty decent as well.

Thanks for the replies.  I have been traveling the last few weeks and should have looked back in the forum as I see a nearly identical question was asked.
Also the thread about the Surface 4.
Keeping in mind I have no plans to do any processing on this unit and it's just for downloading backing up and looking at images captured it might work for me.

I just don't want something that will be slow in downloading and backing up to externals.  That's really all I'm asking from this unit.

Jim Zipp wrote: I just don't want something that will be slow in downloading and backing up to externals.  That's really all I'm asking from this unit.

Any processor available will do that without any real impact on performance.  The main thing you will want is USB3 and, if it fits your budget, make both the internal and the external an SSD for maximum file transfer performance.

Perfect. Just wanted to be sure that ram and processor don't have any major impact on those tasks. Thanks.

I purchased a Lenovo Yoga 900 with i7 processor, 512GB and 16GB ram which is around $1399, I looked around and got $100 off, Very thin and light and has 2 usb3 ports


Dave

I found this Asus ZenBook at the Microsoft store for $599 that looks decent but not sure the processor is very good. Might be fine for my use though.
Has the 3 USB3 ports I wanted plus 8GB ram and a 256GB SSD. "might" just be the ticket for my limited use. Seems very similar in size to a Macbook Air.

13.3 in Full HD IPS LED (1920 x 1080)
Weight 2.6lbs
Processor Intel Core m3-6Y30 900 MHz with Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.20 GHz
Memory 8GB LPDDR3 1866 MHz
Hard drive size 256GB SSD
Operating system Windows 10 Home, 64-bit
Intel HD Graphics 515 with shared graphics memory

If my research finds the processor able to handle my needs this might be just what I'm looking for.

Ports

3 USB 3.0 (1 USB Charge+) • Micro HDMI • Headphone output/Microphone input combo
Battery 3-cell 45WHr lithium-polymer (up to 10 hours)*

Seems perfect for your stated needs.  Simply copying files from a card to an external drive uses very little CPU.