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what to buy? Windows 11


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Hey Brian, I need to add more RAM to my computer before I go office space on it!  I've spent the last 3.5 hours trying to prepare 27 files to send to a client.  I've  made it through 15 and rebooted...twice. My clients are waiting way longer than they should because I can't get my machine to do it's job. Probably because I didnt buy something good enough in the first place.  Thanks for the help!  

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I have a PC desktop running Windows 11 and Photoshop up to date. It is over 3 years old, and has 16GB of RAM. Its hard drive has 592GB free out of 915GB, and it runs a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics card. The last time I shut down was just before posting this thread. I run a cleanup program about once a week.

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You are correct, you didn’t buy “enough” in the first place. While buying something more “affordable” initially sounds like a good thing, it ultimately puts you back in the market sooner rather than later. in fact, your graphics card is very underpowered for the current versions of Photoshop which will cause things to slow down, AND your 16GB RAM is killing you! You want 32GB at a MINIMUM these days with 64GB being preferred. HD Space is fine, CPU is also fine-ish. For now. 

In reality, start saving for a new computer. 

Adobe is adding so much bloat and AI crap to Photoshop now, you can no longer blindly upgrade to the latest versions of Photoshop CC. Even though it’s so tempting.

So what can you do. I’d upgrade to 64GB and that will be accomplished by removing the existing RAM and installing four 16GB sticks of matching RAM. Your system takes DDR4 RAM at 2666Mhz, and that’s getting a little harder to find in 2024. You can install 3200MHz RAM, but it will run at the max speed your motherboard supports; in this case 2666MHz, and there won’t be stability problems. 
 

You will need TWO of these 32GB kits.

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Thank you Brian!  I will start putting some away for a new computer.  I figured the problem was me 😵‍💫  why order 2 kits for 4 16gb sticks vs the kit that comes with 2 32GB sticks? 

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Because your motherboard only goes up to 16GB sticks in each slot, ‘ya Wally! :) 

So says Dell. 

If you want 64, you need four 16GB matching sticks. (Which is two 32GB kits, as in two 16GB sticks in each kit.)

Yes, you will be pulling the existing RAM.

Why?

Because we are going with the faster RAM and I want things matching. Your Motherboard will behave better with matching sticks of RAM in terms of speed and other specs. 

 

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Out of all the people here that I would have expected to tell me that they received the RAM before install, it would have been you. But you just went ahead and did it. :) Guess what? This is how I learned things. You fuck it up and now you need to figure out how to un-fuck things. LOL!! Welcome to computer repair!!

So no video at all? Did you plug your display into the wrong port? Can you post a photo of the back of your computer? Did you physically unplug the computer before you attempted installing the RAM? Are you sure the RAM is seated all the way?

This isn't a Monitor issue. Your computer is hung up and the monitor isn't getting a video signal. You might have to take it into a local "I Fix Stuff" Computer Repair Shop.

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Lol. Sorry! It looked simple enough.  The display was plugged into the nvidia ports at the bottom.  Attached is a photo...

Computer was completely unhooked from everything, in a different room in fact, when installing the ram.  Seems like all 4 of them are in all the way.  Husband even went out and bought a new nvidia card and power supply, but I've been saying too that something must not be hooked up right...

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Evidentally it has something to do with either the cable for my monitor or the monitor itself. A different monitor seems to work (New monitor LG 27" FHD IPS 3-Side Borderless Monitor with Anti-Glare & AMD FreeSync™ (1920 x 1080) - 27MP40W-B)

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Interesting. It could be a cable issue if you got it to boot with another display. I have seen stranger things. Before condemning the monitor, try a different cable. At least the computer works with the new RAM.

As for the video card and power supply, your husband has good taste. :D I would have bought the same things. well, maybe gone a little larger on the power supply, but the 4070 should work with a 650 watt p/s.

One more thing, are you sure you have the power supply mounted correctly? It seems that when you put the case door back on, it's going to block the P/S Fan or am I mistaken?

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I don't think it was mounted correctly at the time, it's all back together now, but running really slowly.  I've updated Nvidia's drivers, but am unsure what else I should look for ?  Even opening word takes several minutes.  SupportAssist on Dell suddenly says it isn't compatible with my OS all the sudden

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9 hours ago, MamaMonkey said:

it's all back together now, but running really slowly. 

You need a new computer. If you put a big and powerful graphics card in a computer, along with a power supply, you need a better CPU chip and Motherboard to go along with it. It's all a balancing act. Plus, you have a Dell, not a high-powered gaming computer with a high-end motherboard. While your Dell worked "fine" with it's components, there was a reason that they were assembled together in the way they were.

This isn't the 1990's anymore. Or early 2000's. You just don't buy a video card and call it good. I'm sure the fancy new NVIDIA Card you are using is being crippled by the Motherboard's speed.

Before you ask, new motherboard, new CPU, new RAM, new case, etc. etc. :)  You might want to look into a custom gaming computer and just have them put in a cheap video card that you can swap over to the new computer. Or even send them a the card. Or find someone locally who builds computers and can re-use the power supply and video card.

Or your Husband can go to town and have some fun.

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As luck would have it it seems machines talk to one another and we now have a fridge on the fritz and a car broke down.  No new pc in my future!  lol 

What do you know about colormunki's, other than they've been discontinued?  I paid the fee to upgrade the software to make it compatible to the calibrate colorchecker, but something has gone drastically wrong as you can see below 😵‍💫

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So I changed the color profile back to Srgb and everything looks fine.  Can I not calibrate this new monitor ( LG 27" FHD IPS 3-Side Borderless Monitor with Anti-Glare & AMD FreeSync™ (1920 x 1080) - 27MP40W-B)?  

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On 2/6/2024 at 6:12 PM, Brian said:

Plus, you have a Dell, 

 

what's wrong with a Dell?  You recommended the one I have way back in nov of 2019 

but alas, my budget wasn't enough to buy something to last I'm sure...

 

Thank you for all the help and time you've spent problem solving all my crap for me!!!  :)  I really do appreciate it!  Computers are so frustrating for me. 

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Nothing is "wrong" with a Dell.

I still recommend the Dell XPS series, even today. You have to keep in mind, that these type of computers are configured using parts that are great when they are put together; they work in harmony. Now you go and get a new Lead Singer, throw it in the Band without an audition, and things don't sound right.

But it's a new Lead Singer!!!

You still have slower existing components and as quickly as technology moves, you are asking a lot from your motherboard. Almost like you got a new fancy transmission with a better gear-ratio for racing...but if you don't have a big enough engine (still a 4 cyl) to give the power to that new transmission, you aren't going that much faster. Same difference. High Performance Computer Systems...it's all a balancing act. Granted you have a new Power Supply and Video Card...now you need the other stuff to go along with it. Like a faster/better Motherboard who has more data pathways to take advantage of what makes an NVIDIA RTX 4070 a RTX 4070. And a CPU to run things. And the RAM that's compatible with your CPU & Motherboard. And-and-and...

  

20 hours ago, MamaMonkey said:

my budget wasn't enough to buy something to last I'm sure...

Yep!! You purchased what you could afford...not what you NEEDED. There are reasons why I recommend the stuff that I do, and yes...they usually cost a lot more. But if you go bigger at the beginning, you are keeping the computer for a longer period. Gone are the days of the $999 Special from a Big Box Store that was "Good Enough" for Photoshop. As I've touched on in my article, Today's Modern Photoshop, you really need to focus on the "Whole Ecosystem" that supports your camera. You can't just "Wing it" with that cheap computer from Costco. Or Dell. Or HP. Or whatever. :D Photoshop, and with all of its new AI Crap/Bloatware, is really killing older computers, and I'm talking ones just from 3 years ago!!

I really only recommend increasing RAM and HD capacity if one desires with a Dell XPS (or any other pre-built standard computer.) If you had a custom Gaming Computer that was built for you, things would tend to be "better," but given enough time, you'd still be in the same boat and have to buy a new one. As soon as you start installing major components, like a fancy Video Card, into a Dell computer, you are really pushing things. It's just the way it is.
 

20 hours ago, MamaMonkey said:

What do you know about colormunki's, other than they've been discontinued?  I paid the fee to upgrade the software to make it compatible to the calibrate colorchecker, but something has gone drastically wrong as you can see below 

Yeah, if you are playing with brand new screens the ColorMunki is most likely not 100% compatible with the Display Panel. You paid the for the calibration software to work, but didn't take into consideration if you purchased a new display, the ColorMunki itself may not be compatible. Now if it's your same display that you have had all this time, then something's not right with the Calibration Software, and you might have to completely un-install it and then re-install things.


 

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Makes sense!  Thanks for taking the time to explain things in ways I can actually understand :)  I think it might be fun to go down the build our own machine route, but we will see.  If we do, I'll certainly be asking a lot of questions here! lol  For now things seem to be running okay, actually BETTER than what they were before 🤞  I finally went out an bought a new cable for my old monitor and the colors are back where they should be *whew*.  Hopefully things remain peaceful over here for a while ;) 

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