clauck Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 The pain of using my current computer finally outweighs the fear of buying a new one! I've read through all of your recommendations and just have 2 questions before I make my final decision and click BUY! I'm looking at the XPS 8900 i7 and the difference between a few of the offerings involves a solid state drive (I have no idea what that is). One option says Intel SRT solid state drive (32gb). Another option says 256 GB Solid State Drive. The other options don't have this feature. What are your thoughts on this? Need it? Waste of money? Nice if it's in the budget? I believe you've already answered my second question but I want to confirm that I understand your opinion. The windows options are Windows 7 Professional and Windows 10 Home. It sounds like you think 10 is okay if it comes on the computer and that most issues come up when upgrading to 10. Also sounds like 7 will be gone in a few years (as well as support for it) so maybe it makes sense to go with 10 now rather than upgrade in a few years and have to deal with issues then. Does that sound right? Thanks so much. I would have had no idea where to start so I appreciate your effort in outlining your recommendations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Neither. A Solid State Drive is like a bunch of CF cards all put together in a device that looks like a HD. The benefit to them is speed. Windows 10 can boot up fully in as little as 15 seconds. Now before you go buying stuff, in this case I WOULD NOT BUY EITHER. 256 for a main drive is microscopic by today's standards, let alone 32GB for a SSD drive!!! Please promise me you'll look for at least a 1TB HD and you'll post a screen shot of what you are going to buy before buying it. Pretty Please?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Here, I'm gonna make this easy. If you are a legit on-the-books photography business, then buy this Business Edition Dell 8900: http://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/productdetails/xps-8900-desktop/cax8900w7ph1057 If you are a hobbyist, and can't buy the biz-edition, find the consumer version and try to match all of the tech-specs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clauck Posted March 23, 2016 Author Share Posted March 23, 2016 Sorry-I think I left out some details or didn't explain fully! So (for example) there are 2 models. Both are Dell xps 8900, i7, Windows 7 Professional, 16 GB memory, 2 TB hard drive (and the other specifications you listed in some of your threads). The difference between these two models is one is "Special Edition-includes Intel SRT Solid State Drive (32GB) for fast boot up and extreme power" and costs $120 more. Is the *special edition version worth another $120? Everything I'm considering has minimum 1TB hard drive, 16 GB memory (which I plan on adding to through crucial.com) and is probably i7 as I hope to get into video. I'm just trying to decide between Windows 7 Professional and Windows 10 Home and also if these "special edition" versions with the solid state drives are worth the extra money. I was planning on going through the business side of Dell that you recommended as I believe you said when I call for help I'll speak to someone here in the US but now I'm thinking I may not be able to because I closed my business last year and am just a hobbyist. Does that mean I'm limited to finding it at a best buy, etc.? Thanks! I'll be sure to post a screen shot of what I'm buying before I commit to the purchase! Here's an example of the *special edition models. If I don't need the "+32GB M.2 SSD Cache" with the 2TB hard drive I'd rather save the $120 on the identical model without it.http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-8900-desktop/pd?ref=3361_ttl&oc=cax8900w7ph1257&model_id=xps-8900-desktop 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Do not fall for the marketing tech-speak. Don't spend an extra $120 on the "Special Edition." Do not spend a $120 on a 32GB SSD drive. You can always add a SSD drive at a later date. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Oh I know what that is. Mac has an equivalent called a Fusion Drive. Just get the one without it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clauck Posted March 23, 2016 Author Share Posted March 23, 2016 Thank you!!! Okay- so here's what I'm thinking...http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-8900-desktop/pd?oc=cax8900w7ph1117&model_id=xps-8900-desktop. Would this earn your stamp of approval? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 BUY IT! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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