sff or laptop for extensive PS use

[Raikonnen]

Hi all,

for space and travel reasons I can not have a full size desktop. Can you recommend a laptop or sff powerful enough for medium to heavy PS use, little to no gaming, heavy web use and streaming/netflix

I'd prefer to not go above 15" for a laptop when recommending...I'd take it to coffee shops for work etc.
A laptop would certainly be more useful but I know will be a lot more expensive... 🙁

 

[VirtualLarry]

As a corollary to this, how many cores can PS utilize effectively? Can it use a quad-core? More? Or would it benefit from a faster dual-core?

I have someone that's looking for a new PS machine. (Their current machine, if I've heard correctly, has only 3GB RAM?)

I've got a G3258 @ 4.0, and a G3900 @ 4.3, both with 16GB of RAM. Would either of those make a decent PS machine? I don't think that this is "professional" PS work, mostly pro-sumer, I think. Especially considering their current machine. (I don't currently know what CPU, but possibly a Core2Duo, like an E8400.)

 

[sdifox]

Whichever gives you more memory.

 

[giantpandaman2]

You could get a SFF Dell Precision 3420 series. Adding in an AdobeRGB capable monitor will set you back about the same as a laptop...but it'll be much more powerful and have better longevity.

In laptops I'd look at VAIO Z Canvas, Surfacebook, or Dell XPS 15/Precision series. Touchscreens can make photoshop work much more fluid if you like that in your workflow.

 

[Valantar]

What's your budget?

If you're on a somewhat tight budget, an SFF PC will get you far more than a laptop.

Lenovo's ThinkCentre M line has both an SFF (mid-size, 3.46" x 14.05" x 13.31", starts at 9 lbs) and a "Tiny" (ultra-compact, 1.36" x 7.20" x 7.05", starts at 1.3 lbs) version. Naturally they differ in both performance, heat dissipation and upgradeability, but both provide far superior performance, longevity and specs to a similarly priced laptop. They're MIL-SPEC rated for durability, and made for enterprise use, so they can take a beating (both in terms of use and transportation).

The ThinkCentre M SFF gets you the most bang for your buck, and total performance. You can configure it to an i7-6700, up to 32GB of RAM (or upgrade it yourself, it has 4 DIMM slots), Windows 10 PRO, various PCIe devices, and various storage options including SSDs. A version with the i7, 512GB SSD and 32GB RAM, plus W10 Pro and 2x2 Intel AC WiFi will run you $1060 from their website (although you could seriously reduce that by ordering the base RAM and HDD and upgrading to your own SSD and RAM).

The Thinkcentre M Tiny comes in three versions, and for your use I'd look at the M700 or M900. They differ in a few features, mainly maximum options for RAM, m.2. SSD support (although strangely you can't add one in their configurator), maximum SSD size options, and a few other details.

A ThinkCentre M Tiny M700 with an i7-6700T (35W, 2,8GHz), 16GB RAM, 256GB SATA3 SSD and W10 Pro will run you $831.
A ThinkCentre M Tiny M900 with an i7-6700T, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SATA3 SSD and W10 Pro will run you $985.
Again, with both of these you could save a decent amount by buying low-end RAM and HDD and upgrading yourself.

Of course you'd need to get a monitor as well, and they wouldn't really be portable in the sense of "work from a coffee shop."


As a comparison, the cheapest <17" laptop at Newegg with an i7-6700HQ and 16GB RAM is $1650, from a no-name manufacturer (Eluktronics). You can get an HP Zbook with the same specs for $1895, although that's still not a premium line like the ThinkCentre desktops. If you move to 17", you can get a similarly-specced Acer for $1179. Although the words "high performance Acer notebook" scare the living bejeezus out of me, you might feel differently. Of course, you'd have to BYO SSD with that one too.

 

[Raikonnen]

I've found some good reviews on the skull canyon which I'm leaning to and using an old notebook for non-photoshop coffee shop time....anyone have experience with Skull Canyon?

 

[daxzy]

I've found some good reviews on the skull canyon which I'm leaning to and using an old notebook for non-photoshop coffee shop time....anyone have experience with Skull Canyon?

I have one. It's very small form factor, but because of that, its CPU price/perf ratio is not great ($600 for bare bones; you could get a desktop i7-6700K/Z170/Good Case for less). With added M.2 SSD and memory, we're probably looking at least $800 for everything (more realistically $1000). The Iris Pro is quite capable, I did Overwatch/Medium/1080p50 or so - something you won't find on desktop Skylakes.

 

[Raikonnen]

Yeah I'm really leaning to the skull canyon. It seems to have everything and is future-proof with great port selection (except I can't upgrade cpu).

Basically I want to have a computer that can do photoshop work as well as have music streaming with no issues and perhaps a couple internet tabs running in the background. As well of course as the small form factor. a desktop isn't in consideration at all.

It's this or laptop or (surface pro 4 or wait til 5) but those options will be much more than $1000 I'm sure. Gaming will not be a factor.

 

[daxzy]

It's this or laptop or (surface pro 4 or wait til 5) but those options will be much more than $1000 I'm sure. Gaming will not be a factor.

Surface lineup only has U-series (15W) laptop processors. They are only in 2C/4T configurations and are usually lower clocked. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Surface Pro 4 were to have holiday sales this year. You can get the Core m3 version with keyboard for $600 (going on now). If that price scales to higher end models (a big if), expect an i5/8gb/256gb with keyboard/stylus to be around $900. Most likely because they're clearing inventory for the Kaby Lake version coming soon. Again, because you are paying for the portability (and the touch-screen), you pay more $ per perf. Also you can't upgrade the memory/SSD. But the device itself (and screen) is extremely nice.

 

[Raikonnen]

Thanks for the assistance everyone. I think the Skull Canyon is best for me. I'd love to get a fully loaded pro 4 but the cost is too great. I'll keep the old latop for coffee shop stuff where i won't use PS.

If anyone has an alternative to the Skull canyon that has similar features but could be upgraded (chip) let me know!

Always helpful here. thanks!

 

[sdifox]

Yeah I'm really leaning to the skull canyon. It seems to have everything and is future-proof with great port selection (except I can't upgrade cpu).

Basically I want to have a computer that can do photoshop work as well as have music streaming with no issues and perhaps a couple internet tabs running in the background. As well of course as the small form factor. a desktop isn't in consideration at all.

It's this or laptop or (surface pro 4 or wait til 5) but those options will be much more than $1000 I'm sure. Gaming will not be a factor.

Ebay has refurb (with 1 year ms warranty) surface book with i5, 8gb ram and 128g ssd for 1050 plus shipping. but with integrated video so that will not help ps much.

 

[Blue_Max]

If you want to do your photoshop IN the coffee shop, you'll need a laptop. Period.

I don't know PS well enough... does it benefit from nVidia CUDA?

 

[Valantar]

Thanks for the assistance everyone. I think the Skull Canyon is best for me. I'd love to get a fully loaded pro 4 but the cost is too great. I'll keep the old latop for coffee shop stuff where i won't use PS.

If anyone has an alternative to the Skull canyon that has similar features but could be upgraded (chip) let me know!

Always helpful here. thanks!

The ThinkCentre M Tiny models that I mentioned are comparable to the Skull Canyon (i.e. around 3-4 times the volume/size, still amazingly tiny), have more room for better cooling (from what I've seen, the SC runs hot and loud under load), and might be somewhat upgradeable - they use low-power desktop CPUs, not laptop ones. Unsure if these are soldered or LGA, though. If they're LGA, you should be able to stick in a low-power Kaby Lake when they arrive (given BIOS support, of course). From checking ark.intel.com, the i7-6700t only comes in LGA form, but ark isn't always the most accurate source.

They lag behind in a few measure though: no TB3, only the m900 supports m.2 SSDs, and they top out at Intel HD 530 graphics (might affect GPU accelerated PS filters and such?) - but the i7-6700T is clocked higher than the i7-6770HQ (2,8-3,6GHz vs. 2,6-3,5). Combined with a less thermally constrained chassis, this could be a noticeable performance difference for CPU-bound loads. Also, support for 2,5" drives gives you cheap mass storage, and with the M900 supporting m.2 drives it's equal to the SC in terms of drive performance (unless you're insane and plan on RAIDing two NVMe SSDs).

The Dell Optiplex 7040 Micro looks to be roughly equal to the Lenovo - it's configurable with the i7-6700T, 16GB of RAM, and an m.2 NVMe SSD, and is similar in size.

If it were up to me, I'd have to weigh the added GPU power of the SC versus the improved thermals and noise of the Lenovo or Dell (with upgradeability as a possible bonus). Other than that, pretty much a wash - and as such up to personal preference.

This video shows the M900 thoroughly, including where you can install the m.2 SSD, and just how easy it is to service. Upgrading the CPU in this (given compatibility) would be a piece of cake.

 

[Raikonnen]

Thanks for the info. I don't mind the Think Centre M900...it does look comparable but I still think the SC is the way to go....better port selection and graphics for the same price....I think the fan noise will be ok for me....the lack of being able to upgrade the chip is my only hesitation.....but I think it won't be a huge deal for me as I usually get 4 years out of a laptop and then buy a whole new one....I may build a mini atx of some sort....if I get ambitious or less lazy. haha