[RAART]

Intel Core i3 at Dell - $799
Intel Core i5 at BH- $669

can this indicate which model is older if other specs are pretty much the same?

Take a look at CPU. I can not access the Dell USA web site only Canadian and there are 4 models.

$1,199.99 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i3-6100U
$1,299.99 on sale for $1,199.99 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-6200U
$1,499.99 on sale for $1,299.99 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-6200U
$1,399.99 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-6200U

BH Intel Core i5-5200U

read this to understand new CPU: http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/5-things-need-know-intel-skylake

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Last edited by RAART; 07-20-2016 at 03:42 PM.

[Des]

Intel Core i3 at Dell - $799 Intel Core i5 at BH- $669

I've had two i5 laptops and two with the faster i7 processor (all running Windows 10). For web surfing, emails, viewing photos, etc, you won't notice much difference. But for any image processing at all, the i5 can barely cope. If you are going to do image processing, get an i7 and also upgrade the RAM.

There is a lot of variation in the quality of trackpads and keyboards in laptops. I have had two Asus 13" Zenbooks (one i5 and one i7). Beautiful design, lightweight, metal construction, excellent backlit keyboard (vital in dark environments), good battery life; but the trackpads are flaky. I have a 15" HP Envy (with i7 processor) which is a less svelt design, but the trackpad is excellent, and the processor is quick. The battery life is much shorter than on the 13" models.

I also have a 13" Samsung (with i5) which is probably representative of the cheap entry models. It cost about $A600 (about $US450). It doesn't have a backlit keyboard, the keyboard feel is mediocre, the screen resolution is ordinary, the processor is slow. But the trackpad works pretty well, battery life is good, it is compact and light, and for undemanding everyday use (including viewing photos) it is quite adequate.

Whatever you get, look for as many USB 3 ports as you can. They are much faster than USB 2. You can make up for a small-capacity hard drive with large and cheap external storage - for photos, you need it. But beware of leaving flash drives and leads sticking out of the ports - the ports damage easily (not to mention the flash drives - I have wrecked about 4 or 5). I recently ordered two very compact Sandisk 128gb flash drive that barely protrude at all from the port, so I hope to minimise the risk of damage.

[micromacro]

Take a look at CPU. I can not access the Dell USA web site only Canadian and there are 4 models.

$1,199.99 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i3-6100U
$1,299.99 on sale for $1,199.99 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-6200U
$1,499.99 on sale for $1,299.99 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-6200U
$1,399.99 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-6200U

BH Intel Core i5-5200U

read this to understand new CPU: 5 Things You Need to Know About Intel's New Skylake CPUs

I checked Dell's for $799, it has 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i3-6100U (3M Cache, up to 2.3 GHz)

Can you explain in plain English why CPU will be important?

---------- Post added 07-20-16 at 06:38 PM ----------

I've had two i5 laptops and two with the faster i7 processor (all running Windows 10). For web surfing, emails, viewing photos, etc, you won't notice much difference. But for any image processing at all, the i5 can barely cope. If you are going to do image processing, get an i7 and also upgrade the RAM.

You are really an expert on laptops, and I'm going to buy my very first one. About trackpads, I've noticed the difference tonight.

I just came back from BestBuy, it's the closest store around with at least some selection. Can't say about trackpaks since I've not used laptops before, but yes, cheaper models don't feel right.
I didn't like Macbook Air 13", it's bigger and heavier than I thought, and not that impressive to switch to different OS. 11.6" was better ergonomically.
There was no Dell 13" XPS, but was XPS 15", which is not really informative, big and heavy.

By size Dell 13" XPS is very close to Mac 11.6", and I'm thinking more and more of buying it, but need to compare with more Lenovo models as well.

Lenovo Yoga 11.6" was ok ergonomically, but the screen was too dark on its max brightness compare to bigger size Yoga.

What a pain!

[Des]

It's mostly mumbo-jumbo to me too Lana. And it is boring to tears. In addition to the link provided by @RAART, have a look at this for plain English information: Laptop Buying Guide - How to Buy the Right Laptop

My comments about i5 and i7 are based on models that are a year or two old (2-3 years in the case of the i5). The CPUs get upgraded each year (different generations). If people say that you can get adequate performance for photo/video editing with a current generation i3 or i5, I defer to them. If you are not doing photo editing (or other demanding things like gaming), it probably doesn't matter much anyway. In that case, focus on the things that will suit your needs: weight, portablilty, ergonomics, battery life, screen quality etc.

One more tip. Most now have glossy screens. These generally display a bit brighter, but can be difficult to read out of doors. That might or might not matter to you. Whether you need a touch screen is also a matter of preference.

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Last edited by Des; 07-20-2016 at 08:31 PM.

[Pepe Le Pew]

If you are using Windows, you will need to down load a plug-in to view DNG files in Windows Explorer. Don't ask me why Windows doesn't natively support DNG.

Kinda why I use a Mac

[Des]

And the supplied photo viewer in Windows 10 isn't very good. But there is a wealth of free alternatives. I like IrfanView - Official Homepage - one of the most popular viewers worldwide especially with the plugin set. Allows lossless cropping and rotation of jpgs, basic editing, batch conversion and many other things.

[SpecialK]

This started out as something to only view images. Now recommendations about 16GB memory and I7 processor and $700+. Really?

Oh, I do recommend copying the files off the SD card to the hard drive though.

[RAART]

I checked Dell's for $799, it has 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i3-6100U (3M Cache, up to 2.3 GHz)

Can you explain in plain English why CPU will be important?

I will say that you can take cuts in terms of CPU. The newest generation of the CPU (Skylake or 6th Gen.) will give you better battery performance and they have implemented coding for 4K video speak it will not demand too much processing power from processor and it will run faster. I am now not sure if the Adobe takes advantage of this while they are more on the conservative side and do not implement the newest tech very fast therefore you can sometimes take compromise there.

I can not get a rid of that feeling that you set your heart on the Dell XPS somehow and that can be budget friendly if you do not go for newest CPU but you have to take that older model is power hungry and battery wont last so long as with 6th gen. CPU.

I will advise you that you need to have 8GB of RAM regardless what Adobe or software you use requirements are. You will be disappointed with performance if it is less than 8GB.

SSD will speed up general performance and booting up software, also it will have better battery performance than regular hard drive.

Display is very critical component in terms of colour accuracy and you don't want small resolution display as this will give you very different viewing experience.

As you will have big files, speak K1 RAW files should be around 50MB there will be demand on RAM and CPU and that is the main reason you should not go bellow 8GB of RAM and if possible opt for video/graphic card to get some of the processing power from CPU off. I have one PC with 8GB of RAM and other with 16GB and the difference is amazing how much smother and faster the other runs and both of them are/was/is my secondary PC's. The main one broke even it was really high specs PC and now I do have other priorities than to spend money on the new one, as it will be for sure expensive.

The other thing you have to consider, in case, your main PC is broken you need to have an back up and for this your new laptop should be able to deal with therefore it should have at least medium performance and allow you to do some editing as well.

I will say that Dell XPS 13'' is a good choice but it must have at least 8GB of RAM, i5 and SSD. The display on the XPS is 1920x1080 I think and that's enough. Even you might think that 11'' it feels good and is lighter (I do not know specs for 11'' XPS) on the long run 13'' will be better in my opinion.

Hope this helps.

[Des]

This started out as something to only view images. Now recommendations about 16GB memory and I7 processor and $700+. Really?

Isn't that what we always do here? Q: "I'm thinking about a getting a K10D and an M50". A: "You need a K1 with the three amigos, and three $2000 zooms".

The cue, for me, was that @Micromacro has LR and PS Elements. If she is going to use them on the new laptop, some grunt is needed. If not (and no gaming, video editing etc), just a basic laptop or chromebook.

[stein]

I never use the laptop for editing RAW. Almost never use a laptop at home, that's why I have a 24" monitor and an i7 based workstation at home. When on a trip, I use the laptop just for the sake of being able to see what has been shot (or not)... If I was traveling more than being at home, I'd consider a really serious hardware for the laptop with a big screen but the fact is that I only need it to visually check the photos, nothing more.
If the OP knows what the laptop will be used for (nothing more or less than that ) then it shouldn't be too confusing. A laptop should be light to carry around, must have a reasonable autonomy on batteries, reliability in work and an acceptable price. Everything else will depend on the tasks it has to fulfill.
I also carry a 1T external drive where I stash my photos as they are really cheap today even with USB3 support.

[RAART]

I just forget to mention if you will compare the XPS to Lenovo that ThinkPad 13 is amazing. I had it for work (silver one) and was really mad when I had to return it. It should cost the same as XPS 13. If you like ThinkPad 13 get the silver one as this one has metal body. I had it with following specs: i5-6200U with 16GB RAM (but you can get with 8GB) and 256GB SSD (you can opt here for 128GB). I loved that laptop. Now they give me small Lenovo workstation at work that is better suited and I am still missing that ThinkPad 13.

EDIT: and the OS was Win10 PRO 64-bit. ThinkPad 13 is user upgrade-able and the other one I mention before is not...

[micromacro]

This started out as something to only view images. Now recommendations about 16GB memory and I7 processor and $700+. Really?

Oh, I do recommend copying the files off the SD card to the hard drive though.

Yep, I feel like I totally lost the initial reason to buy cheap laptop.

[stein]

Yep, I feel like I totally lost the initial reason to buy cheap laptop.

You don't want to buy a "cheap" one but the best for the money you are willing to spend. So, make a list of your priorities, set a financial limit and see what fits the bill. I got everything I wanted/needed for 300€ (roughly $330 these days)
As simple as that. Be rational. Spend the excess money on something that will give you more pleasure than spending on fancy names for hardware gadgets you will most likely never use in full capacity...

[micromacro]

Yep, it was hard to be rational knowing nothing. After all day of brainstorming with your help, guys, I know at least what the specs mean. Because of that I did not feel totally lost at the store yesterday, and did not bother salespersons with stupid questions. I plan to go to another store today, hopefully there is better selection than very limited at BestBuy.

Also, the certain specifications are about the same price range with any brand. So, now I will compare by specs first, and narrow wide range of "want" (from $700 and up) going back to "need".

Coming back to the starting point: I need to see raw files on lightweight, small, 11-13" screen, relatively fast laptop, preferably Windows. And I would also like to check some sites while traveling: some news, PF, facebook, flickr. That's all.
No Lightroom or PS installed, and extra 1T external drive finally may be useful somehow.
There are already 3 pages here to read again and again.
Actually, it goes faster than my search for the fist DSLR because I had no idea about PF back then.

[UncleVanya]

Yep, it was hard to be rational knowing nothing. After all day of brainstorming with your help, guys, I know at least what the specs mean. Because of that I did not feel totally lost at the store yesterday, and did not bother salespersons with stupid questions. I plan to go to another store today, hopefully there is better selection than very limited at BestBuy.

Also, the certain specifications are about the same price range with any brand. So, now I will compare by specs first, and narrow wide range of "want" (from $700 and up) going back to "need".

Coming back to the starting point: I need to see raw files on lightweight, small, 11-13" screen, relatively fast laptop, preferably Windows. And I would also like to check some sites while traveling: some news, PF, facebook, flickr. That's all.
No Lightroom or PS installed, and extra 1T external drive finally may be useful somehow.
There are already 3 pages here to read again and again.
Actually, it goes faster than my search for the fist DSLR because I had no idea about PF back then.

I still wonder why you object to using raw+ and viewing Jpgs. The raw files without correction and editing are not really that informative vs jpgs. Editing is another story.

My chromebook does all of this except the raw because raw takes too much ram for my older model.