Brian

I'd recommend a "Gaming Computer" that wasn't an Alienware. Dell bought Alienware a few years ago, and they are just glorified Dell business computers with fancy cases. Alienware of today is not how it was 20 years ago. Actually, you can get a lot of the same stuff in a Dell XPS workstation for a lot less money. Apple is a "Go Big or Go Home" company now, way more than ever before. Unless you have $4600 to spend on a Mac Laptop or $5200 to spend on a Mac Studio Desktop, Apple is not in your budget of $1500. In fact, you really need to save up another $1000. I know, it's expensive...but so is everything else in US at the moment. Going back and forth is possible, but I wouldn't recommend it. Pick a format, Mac OR Windows. If you want to go back and forth, I'd recommend in using something called a NAS, or invest in a Cloud Service that runs on both platforms. Please realize going back and forth IS NOT FOOL-PROOF. Always expect to have compatibility issues, possibly corrupt files. Apple makes things really easy to switch, it's just writing to a Windows format is always a PITA. In fact, some thumbdrives that I've created for clients that use Windows Computers, their Windows Computers can't read the thumbdrives correctly, so I almost have to copy things to cloud, then to a PC, in order to get things to work. Fortunately, I don't have many clients today, so I really haven't put much effort into streamlining things. But I can say this, it's better to pick one side-of-the-fence to be on and stick with it. This is what you are looking for in 2023, for a computer that is "Good for Photo Editing." https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/desktop-computers/xps-desktop/spd/xps-8950-desktop/xd8950adlfktjs See that $2429.99 price-tag? I'm not kidding about the $2500 budget. Keep saving, otherwise you will be back in the market within 12-18 months. In which case you will have spent the $1500 on the under-powered computer, only to purchase the $2500 computer that you should have bought in the first place. The days of the $999 Computer that is "Good Enough" are long gone. I know it's painful to save, but I'm trying for you not to spend $4000 when you should only be spending around $2500. I hate wasting money, and if you try to get that $1500 computer, you are throwing money away. With the Chip Shortage and Supply Shortages still in effect, plus the import Tariffs that US Gov't is imposing on goods from China, it's still a bad time to be in the market for a new computer. It is a little better, a year ago the budget was around $3200, but I don't think we will be pre-2019 levels any time soon. Just like homes in my area have doubled in price, ($250,000 to $500,000) and the average salaries haven't increased much, or I pay a lot more for food at the Supermarket, computer prices have also increased.

That CPU Draws around 100 Watts by itself, and the Video Card draws around 220 Watts. Then you have the Motherboard, Hard Drives, USB Devices, etc. It should be enough. I wouldn't go any less.

Buy or build…with current prices it’s kind of a wash. You will spend more money building things yourself than if you purchased a off-the-shelf PC, but you will get better components if you build. Take a look at my pinned articles, most of my requirements haven’t changed much, except that you really need to pay attention to the video card. Built or off-the-shelf, doesn’t matter. When it comes to today’s modern Adobe products, the video card (GPU) is more important than the CPU.

For the most part, yes. There is one minor difference, is that now you really need to pay attention to what video card / GPU is installed and if it has dedicated video memory or not. Now, this hasn't changed since 2022, but with the current releases of Adobe's Products, we are getting more errors and problems and they all have one thing in common: the user's Video Card isn't playing well with the most recent versions of Photoshop. Even if the computer is "only" a few years old. Hell, even Adobe Bridge is having issues with Video Cards. So in essence, the Video Card selection is just as important, if not more important, than the CPU Chip! For the last 40 years or so, the CPU was the dominant thing that let you know how "good" your computer was, and it's just not that way anymore.

Here is the link to the Windows Forum. https://ask.damiensymonds.net/forum/18-the-windows-pc-hardware-forum/

You mean like the various pinned articles at the top of this forum?

Those are “Aliases,” which is Mac-Speak for shortcut. I’d use the finder outside of Bridge to see where those files are pointing to. If they are pointing to a Memory Card and you no longer have those source images on those cards, you are kinda screwed.

Not by you or me. You will need Professional Recovery Services for this one. Period. I'd contact this company for a quote: Gillware Data Recovery Specifically, here is the page you will be interested in: https://www.gillware.com/flash-drive-data-recovery/ There is a phone number / email / chat links. I'd send them this photo. Hopefully they will be able to get some things back.

No. When it comes to a 27" screen, do not buy a 1920 x 1080 screen resolution. For Photo Editing purposes, 1920 x 1080 only works up to a 24" screen. For a 27" you want a 2560 x 1440 or a 4K screen. Take a look at this one: Dell 27-inch QHD 1440p (2560 x 1440) IPS Ultra-Thin Bezel Monitor

The first step is for you to purchase a new Windows Computer, with an IPS-Based Screen and a Large External Hard Drive. I'd recommend looking at a 12TB model of some kind. You will want to delete ANY existing partitions on this drive and create new ones WITH YOUR WINDOWS COMPUTER!!! I CAN NOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. NEVER TRUST A APPLE PRODUCT CREATING WINDOWS PARTITIONS!! I have tried, and have failed each time. Nothing beats creating a Windows Partition on a Windows Computer. Since we are migrating data, I want something solid and predictable. No need to purchase software, Windows has a built-in disk utility. Takes about 5 minutes. Then you will need to buy software to install on your Mac that will allow it to write to a NTFS (Windows) Partition. It's about $20 (US Dollars). By default, a Mac will READ a Windows Drive, but not write to it. Of course, there is a way to enable this feature without buying anything, but I don't trust it. Apple doesn't support it and since this is your data, I'm not screwing around. I would not trust any exFAT Partitions either, even though you can Read/Write between a Windows Machine and a Mac with exFAT. Don't fall for Marketing, exFAT is not Bullet-Proof. So get your Windows Computer and get back to me.

OK, now I'm back from Vacation and I'm in the same boat. I'm still on Catalina and Apple is forcing software developers to "Move Along" to other operating systems. I have heard mixed reviews on which OS to upgrade to and at this point, I am thinking about upgrading my 2017 iMac to Big Sur next. The latest-and-greatest Mac Operating Systems really want a M1 or M2 CPU. But before I upgrade, I'm finishing a Wedding that I'm currently editing and clearing out any other important things I need to do BEFORE I attempt upgrading. Why? Because there is a chance that this upgrade will screw up things and then I will be dealing with computer issues AND trying to edit a Wedding / Delivering Files to Clients. I know the FOMO is strong, but in all honesty, unless you like using the really fancy new tools in PS, which require beefy video cards, you aren't missing much. Levels are still Levels. Layers are the same, etc., etc. It's just people think they are missing something HUGE if they don't have the latest and greatest version. To be completely honest, PS CS6 is all one "Needs." LOL! There is a very good chance that Version 24 won't like your current video card and you will be forced to use Version 23 anyways. I will warn you, this is a one-way proposition. If Big Sur screws up your computer, so-be-it. No going back. In order to upgrade, YOU WILL NEED TO USE THE SAFARI WEB BROWSER ONLY, no Firefox or Chrome on this one, this web page's links only work with Safari. Copy and paste this link into Safari: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211683 It will take you here: Simply click on the Big Sur 11 link and it will open up the App Store: Click Get and let it do it's thing. I would close out EVERYTHING while doing this. No FB, No E-mail. No Netflix. After upgrading, see if there are any updates for your various programs, especially CleanMyMac X. You want to be on the latest version with software like that.

Click the three dots above the comment box: I am now more convinced your Motherboard has issues. This should not be happening. But since this is a Mac Book, I'm not surprised. Yes, I would try using the plain USB-C ports and see if you can get a good data transfer. Start slow and be methodical. But if there is something wrong with the controller chips that make the Thunderbolt ports work, it doesn't matter what type of drive you use, you still could have issues. Garbage Out = Garbage In / Garbage In = Garbage Out. Corrupted Data is just as bad as lost data; in either case, you can't do anything with either. 2nd options: You are uploading things to a Cloud Service, which will take FOREVER Investing in some sort of NAS and transfering the data via a SMB connection. (Basically, your own Private Cloud Storage.) This way you can transfer files over WiFi / Ethernet and skip using the Thunderbolt / USB-C Ports, which I do not trust on your computer. Buy a new Mac and transfer data through a Ethernet Connection / WiFi. This is a tough call. You can try using a plain 'ol external drive that's non-thunderbolt and see what happens, but I'm thinking we are going to be talking about you buying a NAS of some kind, which will be a bit pricey.

I'm just not seeing what you are seeing. But one thing jumps out at me: Shutter Speed. Why so high? I know, "I don't want motion blur..." but when it comes with LED Lights, Shutter Speed is so important. Unless you are shooting with Pro-Grade / Color Balanced LED Lights, like the ones used at Professional Sports Arenas, all bets are off. You are probably dealing with the most inconsistent LED lights: Christmas Lights. I would not judge/condemn your cameras AT ALL with these type of lights. A failing shutter...you would know. It's pretty obvious, this page has a good example. What's probably happening is your shutter speed and the frequency of the lights aren't in complete sync, and you are capturing your shutter curtain in the shot. It's almost like when your shutter speed is too high when using a flash and you get the front or rear shutter curtain in the shot. Your ISO is also insanely high, @ 20,000...you need external Off Camera Lighting on a stand. You can control the amount of ambient by slowing the shutter down to 1/60th or 1/80 and cranking up the ISO to about 1600-ish, give or take. 4000? 20,000? for a shot like this, no-way. As for potential motion blur, the short duration from the flash should freeze your subject; in fact, I've captured kids twirling on a trampoline, in mid-air, that are tack-sharp, at 1/60th of a second. Of course, if I were using something like an Alien Bee Strobe, I'd probably be around 1/160th, since those lights aren't that quick and the light hangs around / tends to linger. What I really think is, this environment was just plain too dark for your camera to handle and I don't care what the Camera Maker's Marketing claims otherwise. Remember, the Human Eye is still way better in "Seeing" a scene like this, and while the camera sensors have gotten way-better, they still need to improve more. If this were me, there would be no way I would attempt photographing anything in this area without flash, and I shoot weddings...in lots of dark barns. Also known as where "The Christmas Lights & Candles should be bright enough..." to photograph in. Umm...No. LOL!!! What I would do is practice. The Holiday's are approaching and you should be able to get a string or two of LED Lights. Set your camera up on a tripod, (if you have one,) hang them up in a room and photograph a large Coffee Can or Vacuum Cleaner. Or something that won't move, get bored and complain. Then fiddle. Be methodical. Slow that shutter speed down. Even if you go all the way to 1/30th. See what happens. Most of the time, your SS should be 1/125 or lower when dealing with cheap LED Lights. 1/60th is also a good place to be at.

If you want the latest version of PS, you need Big Sur at this point. Apple is forcing software companies to push people along. If you have a older Intel Mac, I’d probably go with Big Sur at this point and time. But hold off until I get back from vacation next week. Running this forum from my phone is tough.

I don’t see anything changing in the short term, just look at the average prices of homes in the US. For example 5-6 years ago you could get a 2000-2500 square foot home in the US for about $250,000 or so, at least by my home. Now our pricing is catching up with Canada and that same home is $500,000 or so. The ones that list for $450,000 end up in bidding wars, it’s insane. The era of the “$999 Special” that’s “good enough” are long gone. Buying a $999 computer and then upgrading RAM and HD Capacity a few years down the line are also over. That world does not exist any longer. Even software is switching over to a leased model. Hell, Video Games for my iPad are “free,” but keep trying sell me things over and over or else I’m forced to watch a commercial. Prices have gotten a little better, but I do not see them returning to Pre-Covid / 2019 levels.

Anything with M1 or M2 Macs are all integrated into the CPU Chip. Separate Components no longer exist; Macs today are glorified iPads. When it comes to Photoshop, you really need to upgrade the Video Card to a middle range one when it comes to a Mac. RAM isn’t as important as it was with a Intel Based Mac, but since I build my Macs with a 7+ year time-frame in mind, I’d opt for 16GB RAM. HD, 1TB is still “fine,” but you can never have “too much.” It all depends on your budget.

It does appear that some of your shutter curtain is getting in the way, but I’m not 100% sure. We’re you using off camera flash or natural light? As of right now I need to know the shutter speeds you were at. Some flashes / Strobes like Alien Bees like 1/160th of a second. Others like 1/200th or even 1/250th, depending on the camera body. If you are used to shooting at higher shutter speeds, you can’t use the same exposure triangle as you would with Natural Light. Let’s pick a few of the really bad images and get me the details for each one.

I’m currently away on vacation this week and will answer this fully when I get back to my computer. Yes, it will be a major pain-in-the-ass switching back and attention to details will be required. A Computer with at least 64GB of RAM will be required. I have a Nikon D850, so I can empathize. More to come…

A 24” IPS display such as this one: Dell P2422H 24" 16:9 IPS Computer Monitor Screen with Display Port Cable and USB 3.0 Upstream Cable - New Model https://a.co/d/5gK1JF3 Or if you want bigger, a 27” IPS Display that has 2560 x 1440 resolution. Do not buy a 27” or larger screen that has a resolution of 1920 x 1080. That resolution works up to 24” screens and if you go bigger, the image for photo editing looks like crap.

I'd increase the Warranty to two years: You could downgrade to a 3070 if you want to keep the costs down: Or you can keep the configuration that you chose above, that's fine too. Enjoy your purchase.

Here is a video demonstrating the RAM upgrade process. Head to the Preferences and select Energy Saver. Here is what mine looks like: You might want to poke around in there.

Honestly? I would stay right where you are. Unless you have an absolute NEED, like a certain software package needs Monterey to run, I wouldn't bother upgrading. I have a 27" Tricked-out 27" iMac from 2017...64GB RAM, 1TB SSD, similar video card, and I'm on Catalina. If you are looking to do something to help with performance, I WOULD UPGRADE THE RAM. In fact, I would purchase TWO of these Crucial 16GB RAM STICKS to increase your RAM from 16GB to 40GB. (If you want to go the Full Monty, buy 4 of those sticks and increase the RAM to 64GB.) Why not upgrade? You really aren't missing much. Unless you have a brand-new Mac / Mac Laptop, current iPhone 13 or 14, current iPad, current Apple TV, etc. AND you use Apple's software primarily...THEN it's worth upgrading. For a 2017 Mac with a Fusion Drive? "Meh..." If all you are doing is wasting time on FB, watching way too-much Netflix, paying Bills and keeping up with e-mail, there really isn't a huge benefit. But in the end, it's up to you. If you do take the plunge, make sure you are on the latest-and-greatest version of PS CC. Versions from 2020, Hell...even 2021 are too out of date as of this point. As far as Monterey...it's at version 12.6 and those versions tend to be pretty stable.

Awesome!

Try it now

Oh, one more thing, this may not affect you, but give Damien's Article a Read. You will want to turn off Premier Color if it's running.