caralizzie

AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor
$154.89    Buy

Motherboard    Asus - STRIX B350-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard
$114.19    Buy

Memory    G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
$129.89    Buy

Storage    Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
$133.90    Buy

Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
$58.89    Buy

Video Card    Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Video Card
$179.99    Buy

Case    Fractal Design - Meshify C Dark TG ATX Mid Tower Case
$94.98    Buy

Power Supply    EVGA - 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
$49.99    Buy

Operating System    Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit
$94.89    Buy

Wireless Network Adapter    Asus - USB-N13 USB 2.0 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter $20.00    Buy

Dell - U2417H 24.0" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor

Here is my list from PC parts picker, it came out to about 1200 CAD today, I'm not sure if something is missing. But it kind of hurts because I think I paid at least 1800-2000 CAD for mine when I built it in February, lol. Unfortunately I had a budget limit so I went with the cheaper monitor, but I'm still really happy with it over the laptop screen I had before. My computer is FAST, it leaves nothing to be desired for what I need it for. 

Hi Brian, 

This is quite a bit late, but I'm writing to thank you for the help building my PC! I was able to put everything together in an afternoon, and I absolutely love how it runs. I also enjoyed going through the process of building it, I feel so much more confident with computers now :)

21 minutes ago, Brian said:

Buy it Right. Buy it Once. Save up and get the Dell U2415.

If you were willing to spend $299 on two low-end displays, then I would save up just a little more and get the Dell. It’s $50 more. 

Good point!

4 minutes ago, Brian said:

Does Costco by you sell the Dell 2414H? Here it is on Amazon.

Your next monitor setup sounds great! Im a teensy bit jealous

They don't sell the 2414H at costco, I can't find it on amazon.ca or best buy either. I'll keep an eye out for it on the PC build sites as well  who knows, maybe I'll save enough waiting to buy parts that I can splurge on a good screen.

With the two monitors I had planned on just calibrating the one with my cheap-o color munki for editing on and having the other screen open for file transfers and bridge, etc. But if the one is crappy quality I'd definitely rather wait and have just one nice monitor. 

The U2415 ultrasharp you mentioned is $349 on amazon.ca (possibly/probably worth the splurge over the big Costco monitor I linked) and $429 at best buy! The ultrasharp also doesn't ship from amazon.com to Canada it ain't easy being a Canuck! 

Thanks for the tip about the HDMI cable, I'll add it to my build parts list.

On 18/02/2018 at 11:55 AM, Brian said:

@caralizzie: Here is a monitor that you should consider and is on my short-list. It's the Dell U2415 and it's the modern version of the Dell U2412M that I always recommend.

I plan on buying two and getting a stand that will connect them. Next Windows computer I buy / build will be a "Command Center" when it comes to the display.

Edit: Here is a 27" display that looks decent spec-wise and has positive reviews: HP Z27n.

Thanks! That ultrasharp monitor is way more expensive in Canada, I may have to look into buying it on amazon.com and ship it. The HP is gorgeous! 

I'm limping my laptop along for the moment, apparently this bitcoin hype is causing graphics cards to be expensive and hard to come by. I'm keeping my laptop hard drive backed up and hoping to make it to black friday. I had considering buying components as they come on sale but I think I'd rather put it all together at once in case I get faulty parts and need to return something. 

https://m.costco.ca/Dell-D3218HN-32-in.-IPS-Monitor-(1920-x-1080).product.100396628.html

^ what do you think of this? it's not an ultrasharp, but this monitor is IPS. Reddit says the resolution isn't good enough for a screen that size but they're all gamers so I'm not sure if that applies to Photoshop. 

https://m.costco.ca/HP-24es-23.8-in.-IPS-LED-Dual-Monitor-Bundle.product.100372654.html

^I'm also wondering about these. 

32 minutes ago, Brian said:

One of the primary reasons for this, is devices, phones, computers, washing machines, microwaves, whatever...the internal components are soldered with Eco-friendly solder these days, not the lead-based solder from year's past.  The lead-based stuff was awesome for components; that's why your 19" CRT TV from 1984 lasted 25+ years, today's stuff is better for the environment but you end up having crappy solder joints (e.g. the flaky power connector on laptops) which cause you to replace your stuff every few years. Which then causes stuff to end up in landfills or 3rd-world countries, since most countries are really bad at actually recycling (They take the stuff, but then ship it to other countries for disposal, like China.) So I'm not sure how well that Eco-friendly solder is working for the planet in the end? Plus, why make a device that lasts 10 years or more? That keeps you out of the market for that long. We are in a throw-away society, gotta get that new phone every 2 years!! 

 

 I just thought of something, I need to hash out this longevity argument so I have a solid case to present to the husband, lol.  He had a bad experience with a relatively expensive desktop that was bricked within in three years, he's not very tech savvy and this was before my time so I'm guessing he just needed to clean it up and do some maintenance but we will never know. He's hesitant to get another one.

Is the soldering in desktops the same as in laptops? Do they just last longer because they don't overheat, get dusty, and get bumped etc, around like laptops? Is the 7-8 year lifespan of a desktop mainly because the components get outdated? Could a person theoretically keep updating components and keep their franken-computer forever? (I'm guessing it would likely be more cost effective to start over every 7-8 years than to do it this way). 

On a bit of a side-note. Is a self-built computer from newegg components something a beginner like me should even consider? 

Overall, spending 2000 every 7-8 years is much more appealing than spending 1500 every 3-4! That and a nice monitor (drool).

Costco is tempting because of their two year extended warranties and tech support, I'm not liking their selection though.. 

Thank you for all of the info!

I also believe in investing in products that will last and I'm 100% with you when it comes to keeping electronics out of landfills. The 3-4 year life span of laptops is a real shame. 

There was some heated debate between my husband and I about the longevity of desktop computers, I'm glad I have you in my corner. I feel more confident to go forward and invest in a good desktop. 

Thanks again and have a great weekend

Hello Brian,

I purchased my Dell Inspiron about 4 years ago and it's getting toward the end of it's life (it runs fine, but the battery is toast, the memory isn't cutting it, and it is continually breaking where the power adapter connects to the computer - super frustrating)

I've done a lot of research on what is needed to run Photoshop along with your advice in this forum. I would like to switch to a desktop, I've heard so much about how much more you get in terms of value, but I'm not seeing the value while I'm shopping. I'll put up a laptop I've considered for comparison: 

https://www.costco.ca/Dell-Inspiron-15-5000-English-Gaming-Notebook%2c-i7-7700HQ.product.100388169.html 

(i7 7th gen, 4 gb GeForce 1050, 16gb RAM, 1TB + 128 gb SSD) I plan on being anal about where things are installed -$1499.99

Another laptop:

https://www.costco.ca/ASUS-ROG-Strix-GL553VD-Q72S-CB-Bilingual-Gaming-Notebook%2c-i7-7700HQ.product.100343306.html 

(i7 7th gen, 4gb GTX 1050, 16 gb Ram, 1TB + 258GB SSD) - 1579.99

And then there's the desktop:

https://www.costco.ca/ACER-Aspire-GX-Bilingual-Gaming-Desktop%2c-i5-7400.product.100347531.html

 (i5 7th gen, 4GB Radeon RX 480, 16GB RAM, 2TB Drive) $1239.99

Looking at monitors, a low price one looks like it will run me $200

I used costco for example because they seem to have better prices than Best Buy or other local retailers. I understand that desktop components are more powerful than laptop components, and my screen will likely be much better on the desktop, I was just shocked to see that the price for a comparable desktop comes quite close to the laptops? I tend to edit in the livingroom because of the kids, but as they get older the option to use a desktop is more of a possibility. What would you suggest in this situation? 

Also, would it be worth it to just upgrade the RAM on my current computer, replace the battery and just keep fixing the power cord issues? 

Dell Inspiron (intel i7, GE Force GT 650M, 8GB RAM, I believe I can upgrade to 16GB, and 1Tb HD)

Thank you for reading through all of that long-windedness!! Thank you for the help.