I know this is a mostly dead thread, the OP hasn't followed up on what he/she decided and hasn't logged in recently, still, some good advice for those facing the same decisions.
The OP mentioned photo & video editing, and web design. Anything should work for web design, otoh, photo, moreso video editing requirements (video: a powerful CPU w/ optimal cooling, lots of RAM, endless storage) are steep. I begin with the software. What are other users who edit with the software I plan to edit with - what are they eventually purchasing... brands, models, system specs...? Good place to start. I pay attention to comments by those who have no regrets, as well those who do.
My first purposed build, going back to the early 90s, was an audio workstation I planned to record my music with. I was fortunate, I had/have professional musician friends, as well as access to audio engineers... I even enrolled in a digital audio recording class at a local CC. My experience has led me to believe that most people lean towards Apple for these needs, I would have to agree. I didn't want Mac so I built with Windows in mind. The truth is, I used Apple in my audio class and built a Windows based system for myself - you wouldn't know the difference by listening to the finished product.
I can also tell you (at that time, don't know now) I didn't find the Apple experience to be so superior that the extra expense was mitigated by such a superior work flow and environment. As always, these are my opinions. Btw, be cautious how you approach the Apple community, some Apple fans can respond very angrily to criticism of their brand of choice, coming across like technological antifa, really.
Finally. I've had one laptop, a Lenovo G50-45, A6-6310, Win8.1 x64. It's modest but has performed well within its means. I didn't want to build another computer after my 7 1/2 year old XP system finally gave up the ghost in 2015. I can tell you that it seems most manufacturers want you to buy every few years so go out of their way to make virtually any upgrades impossible, either too expensive or by black-listing (or white-listing) replacement components - Lenovo is king here. I had hopes of keeping my Lenovo going for a long time but have since been dissuaded when I learned the battery is soldered on the motherboard. Point of all this, I have been trying to determine what brands are open to easy upgrades, I'm under the impression that Dell is one of the best when it comes to extending the life of an old laptop.
Also, the truth is, if you want to have your cake and eat it too you need to build (or have built) a desktop, which is really the only scenario where you can litterally replace any part for a newer part should something break. The only drawback to computers anymore in my mind is the damn OS, we need more choices, and choices that work with any piece of hardware we throw at it. Really, only one choice right now - Windows IMO - sadly
thank you!
