PC Choice

Currently, I am still using a Pen4 (i know, i know i am oldskool) and was thinking of buying refurbished:
HP Pavilion p6580t W7HP-64 i7 860 2.8GHz
1TB SATA 6GB DVDRW(LS) 1GB NIC WLAN 15-in-1 Rmkt PC
for $639.20

but a friend offer an used:

HP m9200t
MB, ASUS: IPIBL-LB
CPU, Core 2 Quad Q9300 (Y) (2.5GHz /1333 MHz) 6 MB L2 cache; Duo Core (95W)
HD, 750 GB 7200 rpm SATA 3G (3.0 Gb/sec)
RAM, 8 GB (4 x 2 GB) DDR2 PC2-6400
PS, 350 W
VC, GeForce 8800 GT
TV card
16x DVD
for $250

Would these set up good enough to run Photoshop CS3 and Lightroom software?
Should I skip the HP m9200t and just buy the refurbished p6580t?
If the scale is one (Pen4) to ten (p6580t) please let me know where you would spot the m9200t?

I am sorry with too many questions. I am lost. Thanks for your help in advance!
Kevin

I'm using a Q6600 with 4GB of RAM for CS4, Bridge, etc, so a Q9300 will be fine. It won't be a speed demon, but it will do the job especially for lower megapixel cameras. It's a good price too.

If you don't have an IPS/CRT monitor I would get the 250$ system so I could afford one.

The other one is nice but the 250$ is no slouch and the price is very right.

Your friend is a REAL friend...go for it!!!!

I upgraded from a P4 like yours to the i7-860 similar to what you're looking at, but I got it on cybermonday for $500...and after selling my P4 and related gear my net cost was $300...your $250 deal is a real deal.

Thanks Tim. I will be using it with a 15 mpx camera.

Thanks Sp1207. I got a Dell U2311H IPS monitor, but I think I am still going to pick up the Q9300 for $250 so that I can spread more dol. over to add a Sigma 30mm to my lens family.

Thanks kitacanon. Yes he is a good friend. We help each other out in many occasions. I can't wait to pick it up . The refurbished i7 for ~$600 is still an awesome deal, isn't it?

Tigerkn wrote in post #11632016
Thanks kitacanon. Yes he is a good friend. We help each other out in many occasions. I can't wait to pick it up . The refurbished i7 for ~$600 is still an awesome deal, isn't it?

I think this is better than the one you listed...same price, more Ram, more powerful video card...unless you need wi-fi (which can be bought separately for less than upgrading the other two)...unless you think 6gb is enough...getting 2gb more requires getting a pair of 2gb DIMMS, not just one, to make sure you have a matched pair...
...ad if you will use CS5 PS will take advantage of the greater Ram (1.5gb vs 1gb) of the video card.

Pavilion Elite HPE-350t W7HP-64 i7 860 2.8GHz 1TB SATA 8GB DVDRW(LS) 1.5GB NIC 15-in-1 Rmkt PC

But for the casual user of PS, I'm sure your friend's quad-core would be more than adequate....and the jump from P4 will impress you a lot.

Thanks for the info Kitacanon! You are one of the many nice Potner here for sure!
I am going to pickup the Quad for 2fifffty. Can't wait to put the P4 aside.

Tigerkn wrote in post #11633752
Thanks for the info Kitacanon! You are one of the many nice Potner here for sure!
I am going to pickup the Quad for 2fifffty. Can't wait to put the P4 aside.

No problem...

Do me a favor?
Do you shoot Raw images? Do you use DPP to convert/save RAW to Jpeg?
If so....
How long does it take for your P4 to convert a Raw file to Jpeg....?
Just as a reference....
It took my P4 18 seconds to convert a 40D Raw (14mg) file that hasn't been modified much....and now on my i7, only 4 seconds do the job!
When you get the "new" pc I'd like to know how long it takes it to do the job....thanks....

BTW...HP's new 2nd gen i-series PCs are going for $650 (i5-2300 comparable to the 1st gen i7-860) to $850 (for the same box with the i7-2600) and up....with on board graphics that are supposed to be better than the low end separate cards...the only problem is with gaming...using a separate card apparently disables some software that helps graphics...it's complicated, but I don't think it should affect photoshop users....

I shoot both RAW and JPEG, depending on the occasion but I do not use DPP to convert. I use LR and PSE. Beside I don't even touch the 40D anymore since I got the 50D . I will play with it and let you know once I have everything up and running.

Second one for sure, quad core,(the q9900 is decent, isnt anything compared to an i5 quad or i7, but is decent for smaller MP camera's and PP) decent GPU, and big HDD, with 8GB ram... That's a steal. And any quad core with 8GB ram is MORE than enough to run LR and CS. 8GB ram will make everything run smoother than a babys ass!

Thanks Pop.

I'll take the $250 computer.

I currently run a Q9550 myself with 4GBs of RAM, which only has slightly better real-world performance than the Q9300. I also shoot a 50D using 15MP RAW files so I think I have a pretty good experience with what you might see in your own PC.

Using lightroom, I have no issues with PPing. It goes by pretty fast (much faster than other PCs I've used), and overall I have no issues. The only time that Lightroom does seem to struggle is when using the Spot Removal tool. Other than that, I've pretty much been happy with my system.

Ill take the 250 one if you dont want it

Thanks r31ncarnat3d.
Thanks unlimited6986

A few cents worth consideration....

(1) Is it running Windows 7 or Vista? It looks like the original version came running Vista in 2008...so the immediate question that came to mind is, "Is this computer upgradable to Windows 7"? And it sounds like it is upgradable....so good news there.

As someone that has seen more than his share of hosed Vista computers.....I wouldn't touch this older HP unless I was planning to upgrade to Windows 7. Of course, it's possible the owner has already done so, but I'm guessing at that price....probably not!

(2) The hardware performance will be fine at that price....but the main things to look out for are going to be (a) the hard drive and (b) the power supply. You're likely dealing with 2+ year old parts, which is fine for things like memory. But an HDD at this age could start to falter on you within the next year. And HP doesn't particularly make good power supplies -- in fact, I just swapped one out on a 2008 HP about 2 months ago for a friend!

Speaking for myself....unless I were really cash strapped, I think I'd opt for the i7 option, primarily because I'd be more confident that it would last longer. Of course, we're playing the 'law of averages' here, and your buddy's Quad core system could prove to be a steal, if parts don't conk out on you in the next couple of years.