New desktop computer needed.

[JudyH]

I currently have an older slow Dell desktop and now I want to get into photo editing. I need a new desk top with faster processor, video card, etc. I don't think a laptop can be configured with what I need, and I need a large monitor anyway.

What I would like to do is to buy one that has the specific components I need. I saw on the HP website that they could configure what I need, however I was told that they make an unreliable product by an IT person that I respect, as he retired from HP and now works for Intel. He has Dell products himself.

Any suggestions regarding good desktop products that you know of?

 

[NKN]

Told my comp guru to buy me a new desktop, last August. He bought a Dell on Amazon. Not home so cannot tell you which one.

Nkn

 

[SMHarman]

Most any laptop will do photo editing without breaking a sweat.

HD video and transcoding it might be a bit of work but even then. Not much.

Do you want a desktop or would you like portability. Even with a laptop plugging in a USB expander with a keyboard ans mouse and a screen gets you a desktop experience.

Personally I am a fan of the 4in1 Lenovo yoga style of machine. Laptop, tablet, tent, stand.

Are you looking at large print quality photo editing where you need a color balanced screen or more photo clean up and cropping.

Also how are you set up for photo workflow. Location of raw files, backups, completed product. Also consider a synology or qnap NAS to store and backup.

Consider a solid state drive in the machine to hold the photos you are working on. 500GB is pretty cheap these days. Beyond that an i5 processor is plenty enough. Screen Rez is important. And tharts about it.

 

[Ty1on]

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/53201251

 

[Talent312]

I have a Lenovo DT at home, and our office uses Lenovo LT's at work.
Quite reliable, AFAIK.

 

[JudyH]

What I think I want is a desktop with :

i7 processor
At least 16 GB RAM
500 GB Solid State drive
4 GB Nvidia GeForce CTX 970 graphics card

And an Asus 24 in. 1920 x 1200 res. monitor, looking for color balanced screen.

Portability is not important, so not thinking laptop.

DH is vision impaired, needs large monitor and large keyboard for the small amount he would use computer for finances, taxes, etc.

Thanks for the above link, will check it out.

 

[RichardinLakeland]

Costco has some really good prices on Dell systems. Several should fit your needs. Might be worth joining and you can order online. Also offer good support.

 

[RonB]

The problem with laptops is that unless you can maintain the exact same viewing angle, you will have trouble setting the exposure on a file. I am not current, but the last time I looked, there were no laptops that would allow calibrating your monitor. As far as hard drives go, I was told to get an ssd for the operating system and the programs, and then get a large hd to store photos on. If you shoot a lot, you will need a large drive for photo storage. A third hard drive for backing up photos would not be a bad idea either ~ Ron

 

[dioxide45]

You could also consider the Mac Mini. We actually bought the 2011 model shortly after they released the current model line in 2014. We use the Mac Mini with Lightroom for photo editing.

I would also recommend a ColorMunki or similar monitor calibration product. You want to make sure you are looking at accurate color if you are going to be editing photos. We use ours on both the Mac Mini and on our laptop PC.

 

[pwrshift]

As someone suggested, you'll find Photoshop photo editing much less power demanding than Premiere movie making. And the storage requirement and backup is considerably less than making 1080 and BluRay movies. I have Adobe Cloud for about $50 a month which gives me use of all their hi end programs, but if it's just photo editing you won't need it. The learning curve on all that software will probably frustrate you if you are not already familiar with them. A laptop might be of use to you as a portable backup to your desktop and Adobe will let you run Cloud on two computers. My biggest complaint with Cloud is that it has to be updated almost every time you turn it on.

I love my main custom made desktop with its two 24" monitors and two 8TB LaCie external hard drives. My high end HP laptop can't compare with it...but the portability adds to its value when you go away and take work with you.

Brian

 

[artringwald]

What I think I want is a desktop with :

i7 processor
At least 16 GB RAM
500 GB Solid State drive
4 GB Nvidia GeForce CTX 970 graphics card

And an Asus 24 in. 1920 x 1200 res. monitor, looking for color balanced screen.

Portability is not important, so not thinking laptop.

DH is vision impaired, needs large monitor and large keyboard for the small amount he would use computer for finances, taxes, etc.

Thanks for the above link, will check it out.

I have done a great deal of photo editing over the past 25 years. When I started, the hardware was critical and even with the best, very slow. Today, even with my Intel 3.3 GHz i5 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and the Intel HD 3000 graphics on the motherboard, editing is very zippy. When I installed an SSD drive a couple of years ago, it got even zippier. I have the Asus PA248Q monitor and love it. :whoopie: ACDSee 19 works great for the majority of my editing, but occasionally I'll use Photoshop CS4 when I need to do finer touch ups.

Don't forget to buy an internal mechanical drive to go with the SSD so you can run automatic backups. I use the free version of Macrium's Reflect, but there are several other good backup programs.

If you buy a desktop from Dell's business web site (http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/desktops-n-workstations), you can pick the exact configuration you'd like. You'll stand a better chance of getting reliable components, and you'll also get excellent support.