Laptops
As much as I love building and using desktop PCs, laptops have gradually become my favourite way to edit photography and write articles for my website. Below, I will discuss some of the models that made an impact on me over the years, for better or worse...
1997 - Toshiba Tecra 530CDT
Although I bought it in 2025, this is the oldest laptop I have used. Amazingly, all the original components still function in this machine. The noisy 2.1GB hard-disk bringing back viseral memories of using old computers. Shown here with an era appropriate professional digital camera, this is what you could have taken on the road, as a pro photographer, back in 1997. The ability to take, edit and send photos within hours or even minutes was a game changer for photo journalists, at the time. This combo would have set you back around $15,000 in 97 (or around $30k adjusted for inflation).
Screen:
CPU:
RAM:
HDD:
ODD:
OS:
Battery:
Height:
Weight:
12" TFT (1024x768)
Pentium MMX (166MHz)
32MB
2.1GB
CD ROM
Win 95
2.5h
47mm (1.85")
3.9KG (8.6 lbs)
After receiving the Toshiba laptop, I took it apart to remove its CMOS and suspend batteries. They were long dead already, but apart from replacing the CMOS (which is surprisingly still possible), it is a good idea to check up on and remove them, as they can leak, corroding and destroying the circuit boards. This laptop had been upgraded to Windows 98, but I wanted it how it was in 1997, which involved reinstalling Windows 95. The tricky part was doing this without a functional floppy drive. The easiest option was to put the installation files directly onto the C:/ drive by connecting it to my current laptop and then putting it back into the Toshiba. After that was done, I installed Photoshop 4.0, so that I could do some era appropriate editing. I will try to make a full post on what it was like to fix up, install and use this laptop to edit photos at some point. Perhaps I will do this for its 30th birthday, like I did for the camera.
2005 - 17" Custom Gaming Laptop (Unknown)
This next laptop was the first one on my chronological timeline. I bought this when I moved overseas (from the UK to Amsterdam) for work. After failing to secure a UK model from 'Mesh' and 'Rock Direct', I ended up buying this generic gaming model from a computer shop in central Amsterdam. The initial idea was to travel between countries with this, but I underestimated how big and heavy it was. My dissatisfaction was also marred by heat, battery life, screen and keyboard quality. I switched back to a desktop as soon as I could, but something about the laptop experience stuck with me.
Since this is a generic laptop from such a long time ago it's difficult to find out what the specifications were. I remember thinking it sounded not too dissimilar from the components you could get in a desktop, but the actual experience was disappointing. I imagine this disparity is still present with modern gaming laptops due to similar thermal and power constraints. Things are so much faster and more efficient these days that it's not as big of a problem. Some people are perfectly happy with this trade off, others just don't notice.
2011 - Alienware M11X-R1
My next laptop would be a variation on the "Netbook" theme, which had been around for a few years at this point. The super small size appealed to me at first, but ultimately I ended up being rather disappointed by the small screen and keyboard layout. This 11" machine had a dedicated GPU, which was impressive for the time. Ultimately I longed for a larger and thinner machine with more battery life. I bought this a year after it launched (2010) for about half price (~£900).
Screen:
GPU:
CPU:
RAM:
HDD:
OS:
Battery:
Height:
Weight:
11.6" TFT (1366x768)
Core 2 Duo (1.3GHz)
Nvidia GF GT 335M
4GB
160GB
Win 7
5.5h
33mm (1.29")
2KG (4.4 lbs)
Looking back on this, I am really impressed with the ports, price and functionality. Yes, it's a chonky boy, but the ability to manually switch between integrated and dedicated graphics for performance or longevity is a nice feature! Having twin memory card readers, four USB ports and three display outputs would be damn impressive today!
2011 - Dell Adamo Aspire Onyx
Sticking with Dell, this was their answer to the Apple Macbook Air in 2009. Also machined form a single piece of aluminium, but stealthy black and a sleek design. It was a pretty design, but with poor performance and thus it wasn't too popular. By 2011 they were being sold off cheap and Dell didn't really try anything quite like it again.
Screen:
GPU:
CPU:
RAM:
HDD:
OS:
Battery:
Height:
Weight:
13.1" TFT (1366x768)
Core 2 Duo (1.2GHz)
Intel 4500MHD
2GB
320GB
Win 7
5h
18mm (0.7")
1.8KG (3.97 lbs)
For me this was appealing because it was a bit lighter than my previous Dell, while the screen was a more reasonable size. It's also worth noting that this was one of the first laptops with an SSD. Being an early solid state drive, the speeds were not great by today's standards, but holy wow did that boost operational speed compared to spinning disks! Perhaps an even bigger difference was that it could technically be completely silent, although in practice it wouldn't take long for the fan to spin up and ruin everything. For me, it has only been my latest 2025 model Lenovo (Intel 258v) that doesn't spin up the fan when doing heavy photo editing.
2012 - Dell Vostro v131
Since I liked many elements of the Onyx, I thoguht I would try one more thin & light Dell laptop. With a reasonable price, flashy colour and decent port selection, this Vostro model won me over. Although I didn't keep it for too long, laptops were quickly becoming my favourite way to interact with a PC due to portability.
Screen:
GPU:
CPU:
RAM:
SSD:
OS:
Battery:
Height:
Weight:
13.4" TFT (1366x768)
Core 2 Duo (1.1GHz)
Intel 4500MHD
2GB
128GB
Win 7
5h
21mm (0.83")
1.63KG (3.6 lbs)
2013 - Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga
This thinkpad interested me due to its stylus support. I wanted to be able to draw and paint on the screen. Although that never worked out, I absolutely loved this machine for its keyboard and general feel. Even though I tried out some other models after this, the typing experience stuck with me to this day and I can't believe every other laptop hasn't managed to replicate this level of quality since.
Screen:
GPU:
CPU:
RAM:
SSD:
OS:
Battery:
Height:
Weight:
12.5" TFT (1920x1080)
Core i7 4600u (3.3GHz)
HD4400
8GB
256GB
Win 8
8h
19mm (0.74")
1.57KG (3.46 lbs)
As far as I know, this is my oldest laptop still in use today (now used by my mother-in-law to browse the internet and play solitaire). Looking back on this makes me wish for a modern version. I love the built in pen, SD card reader and keyboard ergonomics! The new 2026 Thinkpad X1 Carbon seems really well designed, being almost fully modular.
2014 - Sony Vaio Flip 13
I remember pre-ordering this model because I loved the idea of its screen hinge, which allowed it to be a tablet, in what I thought was a better way than the Lenovo. I waited a really long time for it to come out and when it finally did, I was so disappointed with the thermals that I ended sending it back.
Screen:
GPU:
CPU:
RAM:
SSD:
OS:
Battery:
Height:
Weight:
15.5" TFT (2800x1620)
Core i7 4500u (3.0GHz)
HD4400
12GB
256GB
Win 8
6h
19mm (0.74")
2.3KG (5.7 lbs)
2015 - Sony Vaio (Unknown Basic Model)
My next few laptops were a bit boring. I had the bland Vaio model above after pre-ordering and then returning the disastrous Sony Vaio Flip-13, which got stupidly hot, not doing much. After that, I had a Dell XPS 13, then an Acer Spin 5, and then a Samsung Galaxy book 12 tablet.
2016 - Dell XPS 13
The XPS range was quite well established at this point, so I decided to try one out and was not disappointed. They are solid machines, with good keyboard, decent power and battery life. They are well built, while not being too heavy and have decent quality screens. Like lenovo, I probably should have stuck to this brand, but wanted to try something else, so after a couple of years I went looking for something a bit different.
2018 - Samsung G-Book 12
This was my first and last tablet PC. It was cool that it had an OLED screen and very cool that it supported a Wacom EMR pen, but the battery life was terrible, the keyboard was attrocious and it was not really powerful enough to do decent painting on. Today, I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab S9+ android tablet, which is a stunning drawing tablet that supports Wacom EMR pens and to be honest the drawing apps on Android feel better than the ones you can get for PC anyway due to the operating system's touch functionality.
2020 - Acer Spin 5
This was an odd choice for me, but the spec seemed really good for the price and it had a built in stylus, which I really like. I wasn't expecting too much considering the very reasonable price, but was surprised by how many boxes it ticked for me. Perhaps the weakest aspect for me was its keyboard typing experience. I thought it couldn't be much worse to type on than this, but the next Acer model that I tried was like "hold my beer" :P...
2023 - Acer Swift 16
This Acer (Swift 16) is a rather double-edged sword. It gets too hot, then noisy and battery life is very disappointing. USB 4 support was a lie and the keyboard is the worst I have ever used (although I liked that it was centred because it had no number pad). The key travel was non-existent and the frequent missed keys were infuriating). All that said, the 16" 4K OLED screen was gorgeous, and it miraculously weighed under 1.2KG. For photographers wanting to travel light, it's a beast. Not cheap back in 2023, but the updated version looks much improved (probably not the keyboard). It's less expensive now, with much more efficient CPUs, better ports etc. I might have been tempted if it had pen support, but alas, it does not.
Screen:
GPU:
CPU:
RAM:
HDD:
OS:
Battery:
Height:
Weight:
16" OLED (3840x2400)
AMD 6850U (8x3.8GHz)
680M (12x 2200MHz)
32GB (DDR 5)
2TB (PCIe 4)
Win 11 pro
7h
12.7mm (0.5")
1.13KG (2.58 lbs)
2025 - Lenovo Yoga 7i 360 G10
Here are my oldest and newest laptops next to each other, both of which were bought in 2025. The Lenovo Yoga 7i 360 has a beautiful screen, comfortable keyboard and nice active digitizer (although I wish it was Wacom). It has a good selection of ports, one USB-C on either side is great for charging! It lasts really long on a battery, although that and the 360 hinge make it a bit on the heavy side. Perhaps the most annoying aspect about it is the trackpad is getting pretty unreliable after less than 6 months of use, and the speakers are starting to make an annoying vibrating sound above 30% volume. Despite this, it is probably my favourite laptop to date, It's just not perfect.
Screen:
GPU:
CPU:
RAM:
HDD:
OS:
Battery:
Height:
Weight:
14" OLED (2880x1800)
Intel 258v (8x4.8GHz)
140v
32GB (DDR 5)
1TB (PCIe 4)
Win 11 pro
25h
15mm (0.6")
1.43KG (3.15 lbs)
My Perfect Laptop
Lenovo keyboards are just outstanding if you type a lot (even on the yoga), so since they get a lot else right too, I will most likely stick with them from now on. What I would like to see from them moving forward, apart from the usually CPU upgrades of course, are:
Bigger storage options, preferably a double-sided 2280 M.2 NVME SSD. I would also like to see them incorporate Sony's hybrid CF-Express type A card reader. These are great because they also accept SD cards, but also supporting Sony pro photographers and/or huge amounts of expandable storage would be a fantastic upgrade over the poultry micro-SD readers found in only some laptops today. Come on, Lenovo, force every camera manufacturer to standardize on these amazing cards! My only other wishes would be for a lightweight larger screen option, like the ACER above. I don't really need the 360 hinge, but if you can keep that then sure.