CatherineL Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 I have searched topics about PC recommendations and found this: "Here are the specs that I recommend for a Photo-editing Machine: Intel i7 (or i5 if money is tight) 8GB RAM at a Minimum - 16GB or more preferred, like 32GB 1TB Hard Drive for the main drive. I don't care how fast that 128GB / 250GB SSD Drive is, it won't to you a damn bit of good if it's full. Of course the bigger the better when it comes to hard drives. Windows updates can be huge, so I would shoot for a 1TB at a minimum, though a person could get away with a 500GB HD. A video card that has separate & dedicated video memory. 2GB - 4GB is fine (like 4GB) and since Adobe's products are using the graphics cards for a performance boost, a video card with 8GB of Video Memory is a good thing. So call it 4GB recommended / 8GB preferred when it comes to Video RAM. I like Windows 10 Pro but I'm more of a power user. Most people will be fine with Win 10 Home." I am on a 10 year old HP desktop, using Windows 7, Bridge & Photoshop CS4 (hoping to upgrade to CC once I purchase a new computer). I cannot put this off any longer. My computer is so slow working is a complete time suck. I am not a techie person at all so I am wondering if these specs will work or if I need anything extra. And what do you mean by, "I'm more of a power user."? I am a photographer doing mainly portraits and some Team and Individuals. I've tried to comment on other threads on this subject, but I am not able to so I started a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 A “Power User” is a relative term. You’ll know when you are one. Basically, if you are the type that has multiple program sopen, logged into several servers, including virtual ones, have three browsers open with 30 tabs each, all while running a virtual Linux Box...you are a power user. If you edit video, at all...you are a power user. If you overclock your computer, are into liquid cooling and spend more money on a video card than than the price of the rest of computer “just because..” You are a power user. If all you have open is Bridge / Photoshop while dorking around on FB with a free browser tabs open, you are an average user. Threads are locked down. I got tired of arguing and correcting people on the FB Ask Brian. Too much of a time suck. Before you buy anything, what is your budget? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineL Posted March 13, 2019 Author Share Posted March 13, 2019 Ahhh, I see. In that case, I am an average user. As far as budget goes, let’s say $1500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineL Posted March 14, 2019 Author Share Posted March 14, 2019 I also need a monitor. I realize that is probably an additional purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineL Posted March 15, 2019 Author Share Posted March 15, 2019 Brian? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 OK. The usual PC that I recommend is the Dell XPS Tower Line of Desktops. It usually checks off, if not all, the requirements that I have and is affordable. I bought one a few years ago for my Fiancé and I will probably pick up on in the near future. The Dell XPS 8930 for $1199 would be the one I'd start with. Of course, my requirements are a bit more so I'd upgrade a few things (which puts it closer to the $2000 Mark) but for the majority, it works for editing photos. Plus, it allows for a healthy budget like yours to add a monitor and still keep in within budget. Now, another PC that caught my eye is from Digital Storm. It's from the Lynx Line and is the $1999 model. Of course that's blowing your budget and is way overkill. (Liquid Cooling, overclocked, fancy LED Lighting, etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 Now I'm sure you are going to ask which Monitor to purchase next. Damien has a nice article and a few recommendations from both me and him in the list:What to Buy: Monitor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineL Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 Wonderful, thank you so much for your help! Since there is 17% off I was going to upgrade the memory to 16GB (if you scroll down it's the one of the left). But if I decide not to, the 8GB would be ok? https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/desktops/tower-special-edition/spd/xps-8930-se-desktop?appliedRefinements=301,402,202 And thanks for the link to the monitors. I read that article several times! I wish there was one in the $300 range. It seems like it's $250 or $400+. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineL Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 I will probably go with this monitor. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005JN9310/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwdamien-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005JN9310&th=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Hold UP!!! Do not fall for the "Special Edition" Marketing. Yes it's silver. Yes it has a better video card. But I want you to be aware of this: See that? That means you have a TINY 256GB Main Drive and a 1TB Data Drive. Meaning you can only install the Operating System and some programs on the main drive, everything else needs to go on the larger D Drive. (Data.) You'd be surprised on just how small 256GB drives are and how quickly they run out of space. Sure you get 15 second boot times, just wait until the large Windows update can't download and install because you are out of room. The Dell XPS line I linked to has 1TB drives for their main drives. You could always add a SSD Drive and use mirroring software to copy over everything from the traditional HD to a SSD drive at a later date. Same thing goes for RAM, though I'd recommend starting out with 16GB these days with Windows 10. Whatever you do, DO NOT BUY A DELL THAT HAS THIS FOR A VIDEO CARD CONFIGURATION: That is a integrated graphics card and what you do not want. The Dell U2412M is an excellent monitor. Pick up one of these DisplayPort Cables to get the most out of your monitor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineL Posted March 22, 2019 Author Share Posted March 22, 2019 Do you suggest a SATA HDD or the SSD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineL Posted March 22, 2019 Author Share Posted March 22, 2019 And this for a graphics card? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Warning! I have expensive tastes. LOL!! I'm very good at spending other people's money. Since you asked me, I would get the 1TB m.2 PCIe SSD for your main drive. (+$350.00) and the NVIDIA 1060 6GB Card for (+$150.00) more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineL Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 So at this point I’m at $1,699.00 (over my budget not including the mornitor). What about the memory? Can I downgrade on the video card or hard drive and still be ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 I keep running into the same thing. That's why I linked to that $2000 gaming machine. You get even better hardware with that one than the stuff from Dell and it has a 3 year warranty. At this point 16GB is fine but for $50 more, you can go to 32GB. LOL!! It's only money, right? Here is the thing, if you spend more now, you will have a longer life-span out of the computer. You could purchase two $1000 computers every four years or spend $1800-ish and have one last for 8 years or so. What amuses me is that Windows computers are getting just as expensive as Mac computers, if you want high-quality components. Which Damien seems to jump up and down about how Macs are a waste of money. Windows computers are also following the same path. LOL!! When I configure my computers, they are on a 8 year life-cycle. So the things I recommend tend to be a little on the high-side vs recommending a $500 computer that you will replace in 18 months. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineL Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 I understand. Like I said, my current one is 10 years old. I am a creature of habit and I don’t like change, but at this point I am wasting so much time waiting for my slow a$$ computer to run I can’t stand it anymore. And time is money so... thank you so much for all of your help and advice. I truly appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 I myself was in your situation last July. My 2009 iMac just couldn't keep up. I saved up and bought a really expensive new iMac, which is Smokin' fast. I don't plan on replacing this one for another 8 years or so. I almost got 9 years out of my old iMac and couldn't be happier with the new one. So I guess what I'm saying is "Buy it Right-Buy it Once." More than once have I been bitten by the "It's almost as good as..." bug or it's cousin, "I can only afford..." In the end I have Buyer's Remorse and end up getting what I should have purchased in the first place. So if you can save up for a few more months and stick with your current but annoying computer, I'd do that. Get the Smokin' Fast Machine, even if you save up for it and buy it a few months from now. That's what I did. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineL Posted April 2, 2019 Author Share Posted April 2, 2019 Ok, I am ready to purchase. Please check what I have and let me know your thoughts or if I missed anything important. Thank you so much for all of your input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineL Posted April 2, 2019 Author Share Posted April 2, 2019 And is this what you mean by upgrading to 32 for $50 more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineL Posted April 2, 2019 Author Share Posted April 2, 2019 Because then it says this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineL Posted April 2, 2019 Author Share Posted April 2, 2019 And now the sale is over too :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 Forget the Optaine RAM. You can get standard RAM from Crucial.com. I wasn’t aware that you needed a spinning HD. All of the other choices are fine. As for the sale, write all these selections down so you can configure a future system with similar specs. Things don’t change THAT much and when you upgrade things, it’s for more speed and performance, so it’s not like you are losing out. Dell runs sales all the time. Wait a few weeks. Heck, there might be one next week for all we know. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineL Posted April 2, 2019 Author Share Posted April 2, 2019 So you mean just stick with the the 16GB DDR4 at 2666MHz; up to 64GB? Sorry, you have to pretend you're talking to a 5 year old here. ;) And that is a great idea! I will write down what I have selected and wait for a sale :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted April 3, 2019 Share Posted April 3, 2019 Yes. You will install RAM in your computer at a later date. We will get it from Crucial.com. If you don’t want to go this route, and have Dell do it, upgrade the RAM to 32GB for $150 more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineL Posted April 3, 2019 Author Share Posted April 3, 2019 How easy is it to get more RAM from Crucial.com? Is it something you do online or order and install myself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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