Laptop for photo processing.

It does look like I'm on a hiding to nothing with this, especially with my budget. There are IPS laptops out there, the HP8740w is 10bit and looks pretty good. (dreamcolour 2 required).

Well you could, if desperate for editing on it, have a monitor you can connect for editing photos. Although that's not the best solution, and is probably what you're trying to avoid in the first place!

About 5 years ago I had to spend £1600 on a gaming laptop to get a good spec, and while the screen was good and it lasted me a while, it had some issues with editing when I compared it to my Iiyama CRT (and since then I've looked at photos on my Samsung 20" and noticed slight discrepancies in blacks, etc).

Also it's worth noting that you will be limiting yourself gaming wise, pretty heavily with a laptop. Even the top end gaming laptops rapidly drop away performance wise as newer games come out. That being said, if you're prepared to replace it or get a newer one in the future (or even play new games at low settings)then it's not an issue.
 
Well you could, if desperate for editing on it, have a monitor you can connect for editing photos. Although that's not the best solution, and is probably what you're trying to avoid in the first place!

About 5 years ago I had to spend £1600 on a gaming laptop to get a good spec, and while the screen was good and it lasted me a while, it had some issues with editing when I compared it to my Iiyama CRT (and since then I've looked at photos on my Samsung 20" and noticed slight discrepancies in blacks, etc).

Also it's worth noting that you will be limiting yourself gaming wise, pretty heavily with a laptop. Even the top end gaming laptops rapidly drop away performance wise as newer games come out. That being said, if you're prepared to replace it or get a newer one in the future (or even play new games at low settings)then it's not an issue.

I can connect to a screen if really needed. The screen on this M6400 isn't too bad though and will be fine for my hobby needs.

I think I have to realise my gaming days are over. I barely have more than an hour or so a week to game so I don't bother with any MP stuff anymore as I'm way too rusty! I've got all the games consoles as well (gathering a lot of dust!) so can fall back on them when needed. I am 38, married with a family, so the days and nights of spending hours pwning a server are well and truly over! :D
 
I can connect to a screen if really needed.
That would be the best advice, from my experience.

I've got a 17" MBP with the anti-glare/matte/not-shiny/whatever screen and it's fine for using on location. I can set it up, shoot tethered, show the client what they want to see and do some basic editing when I'm required to.

However, nothing beats coming back to a dedicated screen for editing, set up in a room somewhere with the appropriate lighting conditions and having been properly colour-calibrated in said conditions. Anything else is really just a compromise.

My advice to you would be to invest in a good IPS screen for editing and pair that with a decent hardware calibration unit in a room with even lighting and a neutral colour on the walls. Then you can go and get whatever laptop you fancy and it shouldn be able to handle whatever you throw at it.
 
Maybe try a TOSHIBA Satellite A660-18D?

A bit on the late side, but for reference's sake, the non-Pro budget gaming Satellites are appalling in every possible way.

They're 100% cheap plastic, the ones I've used are constantly overheating, the screens are awful (colours, brightness and half of them are broken), they're unfathomable and even more flimsy inside when you do have to repair them (compared to every other similarly budget laptop or netbook I've taken apart).

They're atrocious.
 
good for you m8 dell are good and after service is excellent, mac book pros are for people with more style than need, they are not as fast as a good dual core/quad core but at a big price tag, its like buying a ferrari f355 for over £100,000 when a mitsubishi fq400 would get you there faster for only £40,000, i certainly wouldnt bother with one anyhow.
 
A bit on the late side, but for reference's sake, the non-Pro budget gaming Satellites are appalling in every possible way.

They're 100% cheap plastic, the ones I've used are constantly overheating, the screens are awful (colours, brightness and half of them are broken), they're unfathomable and even more flimsy inside when you do have to repair them (compared to every other similarly budget laptop or netbook I've taken apart).

They're atrocious.

agreed.

how many broken plastic parts would you like in your laptop sir?

 
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