Buying new PC

[Emmanz]

Hi Brian - can I attach quotes here for you to look over for me. I’m unsure of budget as just severely needing to upgrade & wanting something that will last. 
 

Thanks in Advance.

Emma

[Brian]

Have you read this?

Buying a Computer in 2021

As far as budget? You want the bad news? Especially for something "...that will last." 

Your budget needs to be around $3000 in 2021. That's just for the computer. Monitor, add another $350 or so unless you have one you can re-use.

Why?

Because Adobe's products, especially Photoshop is using the Video Card for a performance boost. Video Cards are a hot commodity and their prices are insane. A Video Card in 2018/2019 would go for around $600...and that was for a high-performance card. Now that same card is going for $1800. Now the next question / statement will be...

"But I don't need something that fast, I just want to edit photos! Is there something cheaper?"

It's 2021. COVID has created all sorts of Chip Shortages. So manufacturers can't get the individual building blocks that build components which make up computers. Now everyone is "Working from Home" and the demand is so high for computers (ESPECIALLY LAPTOPS) that the prices have gone up. That $500 computer from a Big-Box Store is probably going for around $1200 right now, and no...it doesn't have the Horsepower to run Photoshop well.

So start saving. Also, remember the Christmas Holiday Season will be here before you know it. I have no idea what that will do to the demand.

[Emmanz]

Hi Brian, yes thanks - I based my “please quote me” on your articles.  What I have now is 3 wildly different quotes & just not entirely sure if there are any red flags in them. 
 

Are you able to cast your eyes over them? 
Cheers 

Emma 

[Brian]

Absolutely. Post some screen shots here in this thread.

Here's another Monkey-Wrench...WINDOWS 11. It's coming and I think is just released, so we have to make sure PCs today are Windows 11 compatible. Otherwise you will be buying another computer in 2025, that's when Windows 10 will be put out to pasture and no longer supported by Microsoft / Updated.

[Emmanz]

Thanks so much : 

For the prebuilt systems:
https://www.computerlounge.co.nz/shop/ready-to-ship#!categoryId=419&page=1&q=&scid=-1&isListMode=false&Filters[0].Key=Sort&Filters[0].Value=5&Filters[1].Key=Availability&Filters[1].Value=instock&Filters[2].Key=CPUFamily&Filters[2].Value=Intel%20Core%20i7&Filters[3].Key=ssdcapacity&Filters[3].Value=1%20TB&Filters[4].Key=MemoryCapacity&Filters[4].Value=16%20GB

https://www.harveynorman.co.nz/computers/desktops-all-in-ones/acer-nitro-5-intel-core-i7-gaming-desktop.html

https://www.harveynorman.co.nz/computers/desktops-all-in-ones/acer-predator-orion-2070-gaming-desktop.html

I feel like I gave myself too many options buy asking these places!  

From what I can find are these the specs for windows 11?

• Processor: 1 GHz or faster with two or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or system on a chip (SoC)
• RAM: at least 4 GB
• Storage: at least 64 GB of available storage
• Security: TPM version 2.0, UEFI firmware, Secure Boot capable
• Graphics card: Compatible with DirectX 12 or later, with a WDDM 2.0 driver
• Display: High definition (720p) display, 9" or greater monitor, 8 bits per color channel

 

Thank you in advance - sorry if its a headache!

Emma

[Brian]

Yes, those are Microsoft's Specs...as usual. There is a difference between what they require and what is reality. Their specs are what it takes for Windows 11 to install and load, not to run anything.

It's more along the lines of this:
 

• Intel i9 CPU (Some i7 CPUs will be supported, but it seems to be the latest and greatest from 2020-2021, not a i7 from 5 years ago.)
• 16GB RAM / 32GB Preferred. Actually, I'd go for 64GB if you have a high Megapixel Camera
• 1 TB Main HD / 2 TB Main HD wouldn't be a bad idea.
• TPM Version 2.0, UEFI Firmware, Secure Boot capable. (THIS is the most important part.)
• Graphics Card, one that has a dedicated GPU and its own dedicated Video Memory, 8GB - 16GB. DirectX 12 or later is a standard thing with today's cards.
• Display: 1920x1080 at the minimum. For editing photos, needs to be a IPS Screen.

As for your links, I'm not a fan of Acer; they just don't last. Of course, I'm used to dealing with their laptops here in the States, and those suckers just break. Honestly, I really want your graphics card to be a NVIDIA RTX 3070 with 8GB of Video RAM. That card Photoshop has a love-affair with. Too bad it's so expensive right now, even in US-Prices.

I really like this one: Astral RTX 3070.

Why that recommendation? Adobe Photoshop seems to like NVIDIA cards a bit better, well especially their drivers, but that model or the one just below it, the Malestrom RX 6700 should be fine. For a $200 difference, I'd get the Astral.

[Emmanz]

Thank you!

[Brian]

As far as your pre-built system. It's "Fine." I still would try and get a NVIDIA RTX 3070 Video/Graphics Card. See if you can upgrade that.

[Emmanz]

Can you explain why the two screen shot quotes are so vastly differnt?

[Brian]

From what I can tell, they are two completely different systems. One has Liquid Cooling and the other one doesn't. Different CPUs, different motherboards, etc. The Liquid Cooled one probably has a fancy LED Lighting System and better case as well. Those fancy cases have much more labor involved because routing all those wires / lights and mounting a Liquid Cooling System to the CPU is tedious. It's a PITA. I'm sure the $3000+ model also has higher-end / better components.