i need a new computer.....

i'm in the market for a new PC. my computer is an old pentium 4, 280 GHz with two gb of ram. as you can imagine it's pretty slow when working with lightroom and PS.

so how much computer do i need and are there any good deals out there? i don't do gaming or have any special needs besides running lightroom and PS, and i really don't want to break the bank.

thanx for your help.

ed rader

Whatever you get, avoid the slimline systems, since they don't allow much for expandability. You at least what to be able to expand the video card and PSU if you ever need to upgrade in the future in case you want to play or even edit videos.

If you had to go at the minimum, a quad core CPU, with an Nvideo 9800 video card, 8Gb Ram, and 7200rpm or better hard drives (Windows 7 x64). That's what I run and have no problem running CS5 & LR3. Of course, my laptop is a dual core with 4Gb Ram (Windows 7 x64) and I'm able to run CS5 & LR3, but it gets really sluggish.

Look for a Dell or HP Tower with an i5 or i7 inside. 4-8GB of RAM, though you can add to it yourself. You'll want 2-3 hard drives for best performance. Get an SSD if you want it to really scream, you can add that later too. Video card isn't really too important. Windows 7 bit is best.

With the advent of USB 3.0, I suggest that you make sure your new PC will have USB 3.0 ports. Sure would make a card reader work well.

Good luck.

thanx guys. anyone have an idea what i will need to spend? i'm so out of the loop on the newer boxes and i just don't have a clue...and here i live in silicon valley !

ed rader

If you're not tech savy, I suggest getting a pre-built system from Best Buy or Fry's. A mini tower or tower will give you expandibility. I'm tech savy enough that I can build my own system, but I don't want to hassle with it. I just want to take it home and use it. If you get something with an i5 or i7 CPU, you probably wouldn't have to worry about video issues. If the system doesn't come with 8GB RAM, upgrade it so it is. A single hard drive system is sufficient. SSD is too expensive and drive storage isn't great. SSD is actually best utilized in laptops. SSD's are Solid State Drives, which have no moving parts. Regular hard drives have platters with arms.

Prices can vary, depends on what you want. Plus stores usually try to sell you additional stuff, like monitors and printers, which aren't necessary, unless you really need/want one. What's your price range?

ecub wrote in post #11115437
If you're not tech savy, I suggest getting a pre-built system from Best Buy or Fry's. A mini tower or tower will give you expandibility. I'm tech savy enough that I can build my own system, but I don't want to hassle with it. I just want to take it home and use it. If you get something with an i5 or i7 CPU, you probably wouldn't have to worry about video issues. If the system doesn't come with 8GB RAM, upgrade it so it is. A single hard drive system is sufficient. SSD is too expensive and drive storage isn't great. SSD is actually best utilized in laptops. SSD's are Solid State Drives, which have no moving parts. Regular hard drives have platters with arms.

Prices can vary, depends on what you want. Plus stores usually try to sell you additional stuff, like monitors and printers, which aren't necessary, unless you really need/want one. What's your price range?

thanx Ed. i'd like to spend $700 or $800 but i'll spend more if need be. i'm not worried about HDs because i use external drives. i don't need any peripherals but i will probably upgrade to a 24" monitor soon which i can't do with my current computer. for now all i want is the computer tho.

my wife bought me the computer i'm using now and it was like $399.

ed rader

My laptop is an older HP w/ 1.6 GHz Pentium M and 2GB RAM. I am also in the market for a new laptop, as I don't want a desktop. It will be a cold day in Hades before I buy a Dell. I have had nothing buy bad luck with them. I run CS4 PS and Bridge and it seems fine, but anything after that, it seems to bog a bit. It still running (knock on wood), but I will be replacing it soon. I have looked at another HP laptop and found pretty much what I want for around $899. I have thought about a Mac, but just can't justify the extra expense.

Did you decide laptop or desktop? I just got a nice HP Pavilion dv7 from Costco with their Deal of the Day series. It's got the 5! core and 6GB RAM, 17 inch monitor for under $800. But the desktop I got from Staples Black Friday last year was amazing for $399. So, if you can wait a little, you can get a great deal somewhere. Don't buy anything with a HD under 7200 for speed. And 6GB RAM is the minimum if you want to do PS and watch a movie, for instance.

Suzy -- i need a desktop...a main computer for my home office.

how does this look?

Studio XPS 8100 Desktop
Processor: Intel Core i5-650M Processor (3.20GHz,4M cache)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
1 TB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM)
8 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz (4 DIMMs)
16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
1024MB nVidia GeForce GT 220

dell refurbs from $699 to $749. no tax or shipping charges for me.

ed rader

That's a good deal. I've always steered away from Dells and Gateways, because I never liked their support. The reason is they only support the operating system that you bought it with. If you have Windows 7 and upgrade to a newer OS, they won't support it. But for the everyday person, Dell's are awesome systems.

Is that from a local dealer or online?

i7 processors are even faster. How much more is it if you upgraded to that one?

27" iMac would do great

ed rader wrote in post #11115684
thanx Ed. i'd like to spend $700 or $800 but i'll spend more if need be. i'm not worried about HDs because i use external drives. i don't need any peripherals but i will probably upgrade to a 24" monitor soon which i can't do with my current computer. for now all i want is the computer tho.

my wife bought me the computer i'm using now and it was like $399.

ed rader

Hey Ed, Are you willing to build your own? You can get much much more computer for the price if you build your own.

I can spec you out a machine on newegg and you can follow this guide that i wrote for another forum.
http://forums.d2jsp.or​g/topic.php?t=33861612​&f=189

P.S- External drives are really slow and they will absolutely bottleneck your computer performance wise. It's like using a L lens on a point and shoot.

Jdmhood wrote in post #11116162
Hey Ed, Are you willing to build your own? You can get much much more computer for the price if you build your own.

I can spec you out a machine on newegg and you can follow this guide that i wrote for another forum.
http://forums.d2jsp.or​g/topic.php?t=33861612​&f=189

P.S- External drives are really slow and they will absolutely bottleneck your computer performance wise. It's like using a L lens on a point and shoot.

JDM -- i'd rather not build a computer but i appreciate the offer. i use external drives just for storage and back-up of raw files. everything else (which ain't much) stays on the computer.

you have the right idea about money tho. i don't want to spend more than necessary because i feel my computing needs are really pretty basic.

ed rader