Brink101112 Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 Brian, I chatted in with Dell tech support today and gave them the specs that you suggest for a computer. My 2012 HP Pavillion laptop is randomly flashing a black screen at me so I'm being proactive here. This is what they came up with, is there anything on here I don't need or could or should alter? I'm not one to rush out an buy a new pc at the drop of an hat. I use CS6 because it is what I have and don't really like change. I use my perfectly wonderful D800's for shooting again, it's what I have. I do have an iPhone 11 but that is because my 8+'s shattered the screen couldn't be repaired. I did pick up 2 of the Dell 27" IPS monitors that you suggest so I have those already. I don't need keyboards or a mouse that they have in there either. I'm open to suggestions for sure. https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/pdr/precision-3640-workstation/xctop3640us_vivp?selectionState=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&cartItemId= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 No. I’m about to head to bed, I will tackle this in the morning. SMDH. You are about to waste $2500. Don’t buy anything. Oh, what is your budget? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink101112 Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 That's precisely why I'm asking you. I sent the Dell chat guy the specs in the article on what to buy. I can spend whatever but would love to be under $1500 if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 3 hours ago, Brink101112 said: under $1500 if possible. That's going to be tough right now. Import Tariffs from China and COVID have really jacked up the prices. $1200-ish Computers from last year will cost you around $1800. It's about a $500-$700 increase over models from last year. If you want to spend $1500 max, you are going to have to wait at least a year. But I have a feeling, as people buy new computers, they will just keep paying the higher prices. Who'd a thought that a Windows Computer would cost just as much as a Macintosh? That's 2020 for 'ya! The system that was configured for you was decent, but the thing that really jumped out was the stupid video card. With that configuration, I'd skip the extra 8TB HD for right now and put those savings towards a better video card and this will require a 500 Watt Power Supply. Here is a configuration that I came up with in another thread: Here is the Link to the XPS 8940 that I configured above. The cost is $1820 plus Shipping & Tax. I would try to find some Dell Coupon Codes but $320 isn't too far above your budget, but still...$320 is $320. Here are the specs: CPU: 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10700 processor(8-Core, 16M Cache, 2.9GHz to 4.8GHz) Video: AMD® Radeon™ RX 5700 XT with 8GB GDDR6 Blu-Ray Drive: Tray-load Blu-Ray Drive (Reads and Writes to BD/DVD/CD) (This is required for some reason.) Power Supply / Chassis: 500W Night Sky Bezel Chassis including optical drive (500W P/S is required by the beefier Video Card.) RAM: 32GB, 2x16GB, DDR4, 2933Mhz (Since we are spending this much money, might as well spend another $150 and be done with it.) Hard Drive: 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive (This by far is the biggest "Gotcha" with computers today. Spend the $$ and get a 1TB Main Drive.) Wireless: Dell Wireless Card W1810/QCA9377 (1x1 AC,BT 4.1) (Honestly, nothing beats a hardwired Ethernet Connection, but here is a basic Wi-Fi option.) Warranty: 1 Year Hardware Service with Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis (Seems to be Hardware Only. If you want more phone support, you'll spend an extra $90 at the very least.) Everything else is at the default configuration. I hate McAffee and Norton Antivirus. Those two are worthless pieces of crap these days and it would be the 1st thing I would remove. There is a software package that will remove all of the bits and pieces of McAfee AntiVirus, and I would highly recommend it. It's called the McAfee Removal Tool. Then I would purchase Webroot. Get the $59.99 Option. Yes, the more expensive plan is $51.99 right now and there are minor differences, which you probably won't take advantage of. The big one being come next year, when you have to renew (Antivirus Software is subscription-based now) it will be $79.99 instead of $59.99. As you can see, we didn't add a 2nd internal HD. Believe it or not, you could purchase one yourself, and install it for probably less money than what Dell is charging you. Plus, it's something we can add down the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink101112 Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 Yeah this isn't bad at all. I'm good spending decent money on things to get a stable environment. I've been wanting a desktop to edit on but didn't have the space to put one before and now I do have a home office and can keep that light constant (thanks to Damien my editing life has improved dramatically). I just found out my employer is giving us a $1200 bonus check at the end of this week to help with making our workstations more comfortable while working from home. I am going to use that and a bit of what I have set aside for this purchase to just pull the trigger. I did pick up those wonderful 27" screens that you suggested on here and LOVE them. That's the other thing I'll be able to run 2 monitors off of this new upgraded video card right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 Two 27" screens? Then you need to spend $50 more and get this card: AMD® Radeon™ RX 5700 XT with 8GB GDDR6. I updated the link above. New cost is $1820. What screens did you purchase? What type of interface are you using? HDMI? Display Port, etc. One more question, will you be using this computer to work from home? Will you be logging into a computer network? If so, you will need to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro. You can do this yourself, outside of Dell through Microsoft. It costs $100 to go from "Home" to "Pro." Basically, Microsoft downloads the extra components that make Windows 10 Pro, "Pro" and activates other modules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink101112 Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 HDMI and I purchased the Dell 27" se2717Hc I believe are their model numbers. I am using one on my work computer now and one with my laptop but would like to have dual screens ultimately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 OK, more than likely you will need to purchase TWO DisplayPort to HDMI adapters. Fortunately, they aren't too expensive. I have a funny feeling your new Dell will have multiple DisplayPort ports. But I'm not 100% sure until we see it when it arrives. Though I'm more like 98% sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink101112 Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 I won't be using this computer to work from home. I have one that they provided me. I want to keep anything work related off of my personal computer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 Then you don't "need" Pro. Unless you are a serious power-user like me, save yourself the $100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink101112 Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 Are the display port hdmi adapters the J5 adapter thing? I have one of those on my work laptop and am now running multiple HDMI displays. Ok, I'm not a serious power user I only edit photos and rarely check emails from my pc Also working from home we are in the dreaded Citrix environment which of course is oh so stable and functional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 9 minutes ago, Brink101112 said: J5 adapter thing? I'm not following. J5? Where do you see that? With the Dell Website, it doesn't show the Video Card's ports, so I'm not sure if you need anything or not.. I'm thinking it has 3 display ports and only one HDMI port. Or it could just have DisplayPorts. I'm not really sure and they aren't saying anything. The good news is, DisplayPort is extremely flexible and all you would need is maybe one or two adapters for your dual displays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink101112 Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 oh the J5 is an adapter I have and am using it with my work laptop to be able to connect 2 hdmi monitors to the one video card Also, Dell chat can't configure this particular computer, something about their limitations for being the business site. I wonder if I chat back in and chose the home option instead of business if the agent will be able to configure the one that we want? I'm cool buying whatever I need to buy to have a decent one for a long time. I know their job is to sell me on what they can configure not what you've already done for me. The struggle is REAL. I'll chat back in after a bit. He tried to tell me that the only option the business site is "However We have the XPS 8940 Desktop on Dell Business Web site it comes with Windows 10 Pro OS and comes only with CD/DVD drive only" I've asked multiple times if the cd/dvd drive is only a reader or writer and he's ignored me so he has lost this sale even if it was what I wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 OK, so you are buying this through Dell Business? If so, then the XPS that I linked to above it is more than likely a "Consumer" Model and not on the Dell Business Side. Honestly, I'd prefer each display having a dedicated cable, rather than using a Y adapter. It keeps things simple and keeps Monitor Profiles separate as well. You do not have to go through a Dell Agent. Just click the link above and it should take you right to the page with all of my options already selected. You just need your Credit Card and to review EVERYTHING before clicking buy. You might want to add 36 Months phone support. That's up to you. Here is a screenshot of when I clicked the link above: See how things are already selected? The blue boxes are my choices. If you want to upgrade other things, and spend more money...that's up to you. To save time, here is the link again: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/desktop-computers/xps-desktop/spd/xps-8940-desktop/xd8940ms04s?view=configurations&configurationid=a990c86c-1f24-4fde-95ce-80e73723f96a Oh, I was right. The video card that I selected has three Display Ports and one HDMI Port. So at the very least, you will need one DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter from Monoprice. Here is the card: AMD® Radeon™ RX 5700 XT 8GB GDDR6: 3x DisplayPort 1.4 , 1x HDMI 2.0b and this is what it looks like: From Left to Right: DisplayPort - DisplayPort - HDMI - DisplayPort Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink101112 Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 Thanks so much for all the help. I didn't even click on the options when I bought my custom hp pavillion I just had my ex take care of it since he was a vp at hp. I got his discount so saved a ton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink101112 Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 I just wanted to say thanks again. I pulled the trigger on getting this one and just on a random chance logged into my work (eBay) discounts page and there was a link. I was able to get it for $1460 instead of the 1820- the exact thing. Made me feel pretty good. I'll keep in mind the suggestions to get rid of that crummy McAffee crap and get the other protector. Should be here about 21 January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 6 hours ago, Brink101112 said: $1460 instead of the 1820 BOO-YAH!!! Awesome!! Oh, and I bought my Wife a Dell XPS a few years ago, so I put my money where my mouth is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink101112 Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 Thanks so much for your help. It's great to have a resource as wonderful as you available. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink101112 Posted January 5, 2021 Author Share Posted January 5, 2021 OMG!!! I just had to share...my computer has already shipped!!! It wasn't supposed to arrive until 20 January. Tomorrow is my birthday, so I guess happy birthday to me, it will be here the day after. So glad I had you walk me through this adventure. I know what I'll be doing, uninstalling that stupid McAffee that they force you to buy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Boo-Yah!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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