MamaMonkey Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 I'm hoping to find a really good black friday deal, but what's the current recommendations on a new PC that's less than $800. It needs to run photoshop well and other than photo editing would only be used for this forum, checking email, blogging, etc...I already have a Dell U2412M monitor that I don't want to replace. Thanks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 Current Min Specs: Intel i7 or i9 16GB RAM / 32GB Preferred 500GB Main HD / 1TB Hard Drive Preferred A Dedicated Video Card with its own video memory. 4GB is fine, one that contains 8GB is better. Windows 10 / Windows 10 Pro Preferred The problem is going to be price. As Tariffs hit on devices being imported from China, and those costs are being transferred to consumers. I usually recommend the Dell XPS Desktop line, as they are pretty easy to get, but that $800 price point will be an issue. It might have to expand to $1000 or so. Here is a Dell XPS 8930 for $939.99. We would need to upgrade the RAM, but 8GB could get you started. You would also need a DisplayPort cable, which connects your monitor to the newer display ports on the back of the computer. Unfortunately, Monoprice is out of stock on the 6 foot cables, but should have them at the end of October. We could also go from DisplayPort to DVI-D, but before we get ahead of ourselves, we should pick the computer first, then get the correct cable. Either way we do not want to use a Traditional 15-pin VGA D-Sub connector / cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaMonkey Posted September 13, 2018 Author Share Posted September 13, 2018 Well,,,the husband believes the problem is I have my photos on external hard drives vs having them on my computer. Right now it takes 6 minutes to open a file from ACR to CS. If I copy the file from the hard drive to my computer it takes less time. Does keeping the photos on an external hard drive make that much difference with photoshop??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaMonkey Posted September 13, 2018 Author Share Posted September 13, 2018 I'm using an old Dell Inspirion 5720, if that's helpful... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted September 14, 2018 Share Posted September 14, 2018 7 hours ago, MamaMonkey said: Does keeping the photos on an external hard drive make that much difference with photoshop??? Yes. It depends on how fast the EHD is, how full it is AND the interface that the EHD is using. If you have a full EHD, that's only 5400RPM and is using a USB 2.0 port...you are going to be waiting for things to load. That said, it looks like your laptop has a few USB 3.0 ports. It might be easier and cheaper to get a larger EHD, that's faster. You will need an external hard drive that's at least a 7200RPM model with USB 3.0, OR an external SSD with a USB 3.0 interface. Of course, SSD will be the fastest, but at a higher price-point per megabyte. The next question that I will get asked at this point is what EHD do I recommend. The truth is, they all suck. I like Western Digital's stuff over Seagate, but both are pretty equal these days quality-wise. I personally own G-Drives and they work really well, but tend to be expensive. This Sandisk SSD 1TB drive caught my eye, but it's only 1TB. Here is a USB 3.0 4TB G-Drive, that will need to be re-partitioned as a GPT disk and formatted as NTFS drive for use with a Windows computer. (It comes Mac formatted.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaMonkey Posted September 14, 2018 Author Share Posted September 14, 2018 My external is a little over 2/3 full, so I will get a new one! Thank you!! In the mean time, copying the cr2 files I need to edit to my laptop to edit, then saving them to my external won't damage them? It's continually opening and saving jpegs that causes degradation correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted September 14, 2018 Share Posted September 14, 2018 You are talking about two different things. Coping / Moving Raw files back and forth is fine. Saving and opening your .PSD files is fine. Saving jpegs, reopening Jpegs, re-editing and then saving them, THAT can cause loss of quality. Honestly, you should trash your jpegs if you shoot Raw. Leave the .psd master files alone and save / export them as needed. Do the following: Import your .cr2 (Raw) files to your laptop to a "Current Project / Client Name" folder. If you have more than one card, create a sub-folder for each card. CF1, CF2, SD1, etc. Save the .psd files in a new sub-folder under the current project folder. I usually call mine "Edits" or "PSD files." Create a another folder called JPEG. Under that folder, create a sub-folder called "To Client" or "To Facebook," "To Instagram," whatever. This is where you store your JPEG files. Finish your project, deliver the images to the client, then delete the JPEG folder. Move the Current Project Folder that contains the .cr2 files / .psd files to your EHD. Keep in mind that it's better to copy and paste rather than cut and paste. If something were to go wrong during transfer, you could always cancel / start-over when copying. If you "cut" and paste and something bad were to happen, you could lose files. Yes, I have personally experienced this. Not fun. I never "Cut" anymore when moving something important, I always copy then paste. The neat part is, once you create your master .psd files, you can use Image Processor to open each .psd file, have it run a resizing action for FB / IG, etc. and then have it automatically save them into each JPEG sub-folder. I'm sure Damien has a better way, but this is how I do it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaMonkey Posted September 18, 2018 Author Share Posted September 18, 2018 I definitely need to get more comfortable using image processor!! I did find an old folder of jpeg images (circa early 2000's) from years ago on my laptop that I want to move to my EHD, but if I am understanding correctly, just copying and pasting them over to the EHD should not cause loss of quality? I should just print them off already !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Copying and pasting the files and then uploading them to your printing company has no loss of quality. It’s when you open and re-edit and re-save the JPEG is where you can lose quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaMonkey Posted November 11, 2019 Author Share Posted November 11, 2019 (edited) Over a year later and the time has come!! With then end of Windows 7 and knowing I can't upgrade the RAM in my laptop (I only have 8 GB) I absolutely need a desktop. Any recommendations for $1k-$1,500 range? How does this one look? I am keeping my Dell U2412m monitor. https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-desktop-computers/xps-desktop/spd/xps-8930-desktop/xdvmstcs004s Edited November 11, 2019 by MamaMonkey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted November 12, 2019 Share Posted November 12, 2019 Looks good. I'd buy a DisplayPort Cable and use that to hook up to your Dell U2412m. Here is one from Monoprice. It's about $5. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaMonkey Posted November 12, 2019 Author Share Posted November 12, 2019 12 hours ago, Brian said: Looks good. I'd buy a DisplayPort Cable and use that to hook up to your Dell U2412m. Here is one from Monoprice. It's about $5. Thank you!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaMonkey Posted December 1, 2019 Author Share Posted December 1, 2019 Thoughts on this one @Brian? https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-omen-obelisk-intel-core-i7-9700-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-ti-1tb-hard-drive-256gb-ssd-shadow-black-front-bezel-dark-chrome-logo/6349466.p?skuId=6349466 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 I hate stupid 256GB SSD Main drives. HATE-HATE-HATE THEM!!!Pass. 500GB main at a minimum. 1TB preferred. The main issue is, almost all of the "PS is complaining about the Scratch Disk," "PS is locking up and error messages are popping up..." almost ALWAYS there is a 256GB or even worse, 128GB SSD Main Drive. 256GB is for the Operating System ONLY. Maybe a program or two. No data files, no current photos sessions, nothing. You have to be super-anal at all times on what gets installed on that HD. You will not be able to go, next-next-next...ok...ok...next-next-finish when it comes to programs. Or anything else for that matter. You will have to make it a point to use the D Drive at all times. I realize finding a larger HD in a pre-configured system is next to impossible. Manufacturers LOVE 256GB drives for one reason only: they are dirt cheap. I'm sure with a large HD quantity bulk purchase, those drives are costing them $20-$30 and they get to claim that their computers boot in under 15 seconds. Unfortunately, this doesn't serve the end-users that well. While you could get away with a 256GB drive for daily computing, PHOTOGRAPHY IS A WHOLE OTHER BALLGAME. The storage requirements go up. PS 2020 is being really picky, even with brand-new computers. You just can't go with your "Basic" configuration these days. Even more-so with today's entry-level camera sensors being 24MP. The more Megapixels, the higher the requirements are for a computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 Again, current MINIMUM specs: Intel i7 or i9 16GB RAM / 32GB Preferred 500GB Main HD / 1TB Hard Drive Preferred A Dedicated Video Card with its own video memory. 4GB is fine, one that contains 8GB is better. Windows 10 / Windows 10 Pro Preferred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaMonkey Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 Thank you!! I went with the Dell XPS we talked about in November I'm so excited for it to get here!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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