Photo preservation is a real concern, and that’s why people search for the best laptops for photo storage. You need to be sure that your photos are stored with enough space or will never get corrupted, and you also want them to be accessible. While hard drives and cloud storage or great choices, laptops for photo storage are a good investment, especially if you are a photographer or photo editor. With the right device (and tools), you’ll be able to store your digital memories without fearing for their durability or accessibility. In this article, we’ll go over our top four picks for the best laptops for photo storage.
READ: 4 Best Laptops for Photo Editing and Photographers
Dell XPS 15
PROS
- High storage space
- Many ports for USB
- Excellent performance
CONS
- Battery life can be better
Specs:
- CPU: Intel Core i7
- RAM: 32GB
- Storage: 1 TB
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
- Display: 15.6″
- OS: Windows 10 Pro
The Dell XPS 15 is the best choice for both photo storage and personal use. It has strong specs so it’s capable of fast processing. It has a high amount of storage, amounting to 1 TB SSD, so photographers and users who like to collect photos will have no difficulty storing media on this device, along with using it as a personal or professional laptop. With 2 Thunderbolt 3 and 1 USB C, hard drives can work with the Dell XPS 15.
Dell XPS 15
Apple MacBook Pro 13
PROS
- Strong M2 chip
- Excellent performance and ease of use
- Great photo editing capabilities
CONS
- Storage not upgradeable
- Expensive
Specs:
- CPU: Apple M2 Chip
- RAM: 8GB – 16GB
- Storage: 256 GB – 1 TB
- GPU: Apple M2 Chip
- Display: 13.3″
- OS: Mac OS
We cannot avoid placing the MacBook Pro 13 on this list. This laptop is the best laptop you can find for photo editing, and it has enough storage space for photos. It also has the Apple M2 Chip, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD ensuring it can handle multiple tasks at once. The 13.3-inch Retina display is impressive with its 2560 x 1600 resolution, giving you a crisp picture quality whether you’re editing photos or watching movies. The only downside is that its storage cannot be upgraded, so its best to buy the best
If you are looking for something smaller yet still powerful, try the Apple MacBook Air M2.
Apple MacBook Pro 13
Lenovo Legion 5
PROS
- Excellent specs and performance
- Vivid, clear screen
- High amount of storage
CONS
- Battery life could be better
Specs:
- CPU: AMD Octa-Core Ryzen 7-5800H
- RAM: 16GB – 64 GB
- Storage: 1 TB – 2 TB
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB
- Display: 16″
- OS: Windows 11
If you want a laptop that can handle the most demanding tasks and play triple-A games without an issue, look no further than the Lenovo Legion 5. With a vivid, bright screen and a high refresh rate, watching movies or playing games more enjoyable is more enjoyable on this laptop. The CPU is powerful enough to run Photoshop, Lightroom, and other photo editing programs with ease. It also comes with at least 16GB of RAM, which means you won’t have to worry about slowing down over time as your collection grows bigger. On an important note, it has a high amount of storage, a minimum of 1 TB, so it’s perfect for photo storage, especially for those who also like to store screenshots and videos of their gaming experience.
The downside: the battery life isn’t great at just 8 hours but that’s not unexpected with laptops this powerful! A smaller screen means it’s easier to carry around than some other options on our list too – weighing less than 3lbs – making it ideal for traveling photographers who need something they can easily fit into their backpacks.
Lenovo Legion 5
Microsoft Surface Pro 8
PROS
- Great specs
- Adjustable built-in kickstand
- High storage amount
CONS
- Smaller screen
Specs:
- CPU: Intel® Evo Platform Core™ i5/i7
- RAM: 8GB – 32 GB
- Storage: 256 GB – 1 TB SSD
- GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- Display: 13″
- OS: Windows
The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 is an excellent choice for photo storage, thanks to its 8th generation Intel Core processor and ample amount of memory. It also comes with a built-in kickstand so you can easily use it on your lap or at a desk. This laptop has at least a 256 GB solid-state drive, which gives you plenty of space to store your photos and videos. If you want more storage capacity in the future, you can buy additional memory cards that range from 512 GB all the way up to 1 TB (1 terabyte).
One downside is that this machine’s screen size is smaller than other laptops on this list; it only measures 13 inches across instead of 16 or 17 inches like most others tend to be these days. But if portability isn’t important enough for you then this may not matter much given all its other features are within reason.
Microsoft Surface Pro 8
Photo storage requires a lot of space, so you’ll need a high-end laptop
If you’re looking to store your photos (and many people are), then it’s important to have an easy and efficient way of doing so. This means that if you’re going to be storing large amounts of photos or video, then this will require quite a bit of space on your computer’s hard drive. If your current laptop is already full, or if it isn’t up-to-date enough with its performance capabilities and doesn’t have enough free RAM, then the best option would be purchasing a new laptop altogether rather than trying to figure out how best to use what you already own.
Frequently Asked Questions
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How much memory do I need on my laptop for photography?
A recommended minimum of 8 GB is the best option. Most laptops for photo storage come at 16 GB to 32 GB.