New Laptop Time - Selection Help

wittyusername on 26/02/2022 - 13:43

Hello all!

A hinge has broken on my Dell and I'm worried it's not too long before the screen falls off completely. I'm looking to replace it, but hoping the computer geniuses on OZbargain can help!

I have a couple of questions:

  1. How can I tell how many SSD slots there are? On my current laptop, I have a M2 port, as well as a SATA. When I found this out, I threw a spare 1tb SSD in and was super stoked to have all the extra storage.
  2. How can I tell how many / how removable the included ram is? Similar to the SSD, I opened up my current Dell and swapped out the two 4gb ram sticks and swapped them for 2 x 16gb. I like the idea of futureproofing slightly, especially as covid (hopefully) slows, production picks up and prices drop (?).

If anyone has any recommendations, please feel free to post them below.

  • I will mainly be using the laptop for photo editing; which uses photoshop, lightroom and the Topaz AI suites. The Topaz programs are pretty intensive and heavy, so it'd be nice to have a bit of grunt. I have an external monitor, but often like to edit on the go to avoid a huge backlog when I get home. I use a high resolution camera, which can result in each image file being around 80MB. This also means a decent screen, ideally bright and definitely decent colour accuracy.
  • I don't really game much, however I did recently get the remastered Command and Conquer and I'm loving it.
  • SD card slot would be nice.

Thanks for taking the time to read it!

Computing Computer Laptop

Comments

  • freefall101 on 26/02/2022 - 20:05

    The specs on the manufacturer page will tell you what storage connectors and memory slots (or whether it's soldered) a laptop has.

    Probably what matters more is budget, battery life and size requirements. If none of those matter, just go buy this - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/685327

  • gargdada on 27/02/2022 - 05:30
    +1

    I usually select the model number and search "(model no) disassembly youtube".. if that model doesnt show up then "(model no) upgrade youtube".. usually works for me.. most laptops have started providing soldered ram chips so its necessary to check internals before hand..

  • crentist on 27/02/2022 - 14:31
    +1

    most laptop reviews i see (esp on youtube and big review sites) will include the internal view, and mention upgrade options. especially gaming ones, but not only
    it probably comes down largey to the actual reviewers, but the ones who are a a bit more professional tend to include it as part of their standard review format.

    one thing to keep in mind is that some laptops will have an upgradeable ram slot, PLUS soldered ram. these are okay, but ideally you always want to have matching ram sizes, so your upgradeability is still a bit limited.

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