Brian: Question RE: Your PC recommendation(s)

[LauraA]

Hi, Brian! I was/am reading through your posts on PC recommendations and am curious if any of the specs and info you've provided on desktops have changed since you first published them? I absolutely must purchase soon (i.e., now), and while I'm dreading it, I want to make certain that if I have to spend a small fortune, I'm making the best purchase decision I can for a long term investment. Thank you for putting all of that together in one place, this is the first place I came to, and was specifically looking for your advice!!!

(I suppose a mobile work station is another possibility, and I love the portability, but they've always been priced far higher than desk top models and I doubt that's changed.)

[Brian]

1 hour ago, LauraA said:

I suppose a mobile work station is another possibility, and I love the portability, but they've always been priced far higher than desk top models and I doubt that's changed.

*SIGH*

I hate laptops for Photo-Editing as much as Damien hates Adobe Lightroom. "Portability" my arse...inconsistent colors is what you are getting. Editing by the Pool, in the Living Room, at the Airport...SMDH. "But I LOVE THE PORTABILITY!!"

BAH! HUMBUG!!

Now that's out of the way, nothing has really changed. The prices are still high, well they are slightly less, but stuff is still hard to find and it remains the worst time to be in the  market for a new computer. But I did configure a Dell XPS Special Edition and here is what it looks like:

That configuration would have been $3000 a few months ago and about $1600-ish 2 years ago. The biggest thing about that whole configuration, the Video Card (aka the Graphics Card.) The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB is the one to get when it comes to Adobe Photoshop.

Here is the link, not sure it will work for you: 

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/desktop-computers/xps-desktop-special-edition/spd/xps-8940-se-desktop/xd8940ser40h?view=configurations&configurationid=0bd84246-962a-453e-85b5-ef2418f95603

[LauraA]

Thank you! Yes, I totally understand the issue with laptops and photo editing. Years ago, I special ordered a Dell mobile workstation with an RGB screen, which was horribly expensive and took forever to get but was worth it (I'm primarily an equine photographer and needed something to use on-location while doing marketing shoots for breeding farms and for working while I travel). Because of Covid, I haven't been traveling nearly as much, but I need something that will serve me long-term (and a desk top will do that while I'm working from home). I'm going to poke around for a look at monitors, too. I need to upgrade that as well.

At some point, I may have to re-visit something that will at least be workable for when I travel, but today isn't that day!

Will this also be  sufficient for video editing? I don't do a lot of it, but I do anticipate that I'll have to do more of it. I truly appreciate your time and input.

[Brian]

7 hours ago, LauraA said:

Will this also be  sufficient for video editing? I don't do a lot of it, but I do anticipate that I'll have to do more of it. I truly appreciate your time and input.

Depends on what you consider "Video Editing." If you are editing video from a Smart Phone or GoPro, it should be fine. If you are doing 4K video at 60fps with multiple cameras, then no, you need a lot more horsepower. Not only is it the editing of the video, it's the time that things take when exporting / converting said video so that the rest of the world can view it. That could take a few hours for one video if your computer isn't up to par. Or if it is, 20-30 minutes. Time is money and if you can edit 4 videos in one day will make you more money than just editing one video a day. So that $10,000 investment will help pay for the computer pretty quickly.

That said, my experience with video is quite limited, so I might not be the best one to talk to. That said, having a Mac to edit video on might actually be better.