Started by SarahJ_77, 10 Mar 2026. 6 replies, 339 views
Gear in this topic: Canon EOS R10
Sorry if this is a silly question, or the wrong place. My old laptop takes forever to open the photos of my beagle (R10 files) and I want to replace it, budget about $800. I keep seeing 16GB and 32GB and something called unified memory and I honestly have no idea what any of it means. I don't edit much, just brightness and cropping mostly. Is there a laptop that just works?
Moved this over to Editing & Software since it's about Lightroom. Welcome, Sarah!
16gb is fine for what you're describing. brightness and cropping on R10 files isn't going to stress anything made in the last few years, your old one is probably just old and full. if you want a mac the new cheaper macbook (the neo?) might be in your budget but i'd wait for someone who actually has one to say how it handles lightroom
SarahJ_77 said:I keep seeing 16GB and 32GB and something called unified memory
16GB minimum, 32GB if you can stretch and plan to keep it five years. "Unified memory" is just Apple's name for RAM that the graphics share, treat the number the same way.
More important than the number: get a decent screen. Half of the budget laptops have panels that can't show the colors your R10 is capturing, and you'll be editing blind. Also get an SSD of at least 512GB, Lightroom's previews eat space fast.
rawtherapist said:get a decent screen
Okay that makes sense, thank you. Is there a way to tell from the listing? They all say "vivid display" which I'm guessing means nothing lol
It means nothing. Look for a coverage number, "100% sRGB" or better. If the listing doesn't give one, assume it's bad.
Found one with 100% sRGB, 16GB and a 1TB SSD for $749. Ordered! Thank you both, really appreciate it. Beagle photos will now load in under a minute, hopefully.