Desktop suitable for Photo editing?

Hey all,

admittedly I'm not actually building anything, but I'm not sure where else to post this, as I'm quite clueless with computer stuff, and i figure the users of this forum would know what different ready-made desktops would be capable of?

Pretty much, i edit a lot of photographs. I edit lots of RAW files. My current desktop gives me "not enough memory" messages and won't let me save my raw files after spending fecking ages editing them. It's very annoying, and it's time to finally change it.

I was talking to a Dell.ie rep person (on their chat thing) and he recommended this;

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=w11t1603&c=ie&l=en&s=bsd&cs=iebsdt1&model_id=precision-t1600


But €1,350 (or thereabouts, with VAT and delivery) is a fair bit more than I'd ideally like to spend (if I must, i don't mind, but I'd like to keep my costs down).

I did a little more googling around and came across this on Komplett's site;

http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_02PC/01_DESKTOP/01_COMPUTE/productdetails/80003854/Acer_Aspire_X3990_i5_2320_8GB_1TB_G510/DTACH_PT_SGKE2_326/default.aspx


From my very vague understanding of computer parts (consumer knowledge; RAM, Processor speed, HDD, etc. I don't really understand different processors or how graphics cards are measured or such to be honest) this seems pretty good (especially at about €600 less than the Dell one!).


I was wondering if anyone here would give it a look over and see what they thought of it? Not exactly loaded at the moment, so don't want to waste my money on something that'll just leave me with the same exact problem I already have.

(Ideally I'd like to edit about 10 RAW files at once in adobe camera RAW, whilst having Firefox running and listening to music on Windows Media Player at the same time. Not sure if it matters but the average RAW photo file would be about 23mb in size).


So just thought I'd ask you guys. (or if anyone knows of a computer that would be suitable at a reasonable price, that'd be great, too!).


(edit; should also point out that I use a 42" TV as a second monitor. This is connected to my PC via HDMI. It'd be essential that i can still do this on my next desktop)



Thank you

Serephucus

Don't go anywhere near the Dell one, that guy was an idiot wanting to take you for all you're worth. The Komplett one is certainly better value, but we should be able to put one together that's better-suited.

If you fill out as much as you can of this first post, we should be able to give you a very good machine for the money.

To be honest with you, I'm kind of wanting to stick with buying from a retail store, as that way when something inevitably goes wrong, I'll be able to moan and complain and I'll have a bit of ground to stand on.

If I get one made for me by a boardsie (whilst there's no doubt you guys know your stuff), when something goes assways, I'll be left with a computer that I've no idea how to fix or what to do with it.

Serephucus

Point taken. A self-built PC takes a little more effort, but you usually get a better warranty than with a Dell or similar.

Dell offers a 1 year parts-and-labor warranty, where-as the components you'd put in a custom PC will almost always have longer. Usually 3-5 years. The hardest part is finding out what part is faulty - which you'd have to do by spending hours on the phone with a Dell idiot anyway - which the Boardsies can help with. Then you send it back to the shop you bought it from, and wait for the new one to be sent to you.

If you don't want to go with a custom one, I get it. I'd give this some thought though. Once you get a small bit of basic knowledge, the rest is easy.

deconduo

This would do the job nicely, much better than both systems you linked above. You could scale it down a bit as well if you wanted. If you're based in Dublin I'll be happy to put it together and set it all up for you as well.

Item|Price
Total build cost: €796.12 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i7-2600K Box, LGA1155|€276.99
ASRock P67 Pro3 (B3), Sockel 1155, ATX|€85.67
2 x 8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€31.84
Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€92.99
Samsung EcoGreen F4 2000GB, SATA II (HD204UI) 8,9cm (3,5")|€109.90
Xigmatek Asgard, ATX, ohne Netzteil, schwarz|€31.61
Antec BasiQ VP350|€33.63
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA|€15.03
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€86.62

Serephucus

And that, is why you should build it. The system deconduo just posted would obliterate either of the two above.

deconduo

deconduo wrote: »

This would do the job nicely, much better than both systems you linked above. You could scale it down a bit as well if you wanted. If you're based in Dublin I'll be happy to put it together and set it all up for you as well.

Item|Price
Total build cost: €796.12 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i7-2600K Box, LGA1155|€276.99
ASRock P67 Pro3 (B3), Sockel 1155, ATX|€85.67
2 x 8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€31.84
Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€92.99
Samsung EcoGreen F4 2000GB, SATA II (HD204UI) 8,9cm (3,5")|€109.90
Xigmatek Asgard, ATX, ohne Netzteil, schwarz|€31.61
Antec BasiQ VP350|€33.63
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA|€15.03
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€86.62

Right, I don't know anything about what you just posted. All alien talk to me (though from an overview of it, does it have 8gb ram or 16gb? and is the HDD 2TB?)

I'm not completely against you putting it together and buying it off you, but how much would it cost, out of curiousity? (I'm in Drogheda, but could collect it from you somewhere in Dublin?)

Edit; i do have to admit though that the price of the Komplett Acer is making it very desirable.

Filled in that form incase it's beneficial (though probably not necessary now!);


1. What is your budget? Ideally €1,000 with a monitor.

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Photo editing (RAW files), internet browsing, Music, Movies & TV shows.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes. 7, preferably.

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? No.

5. Do you need a monitor? Yes

5a. If yes, what size do you need. Currently use a 19", but would like to go bigger if possible, without going too far over the budget. Amazon have some 24" ones for feck all, but not sure if they'd be good or not.

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future?

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? Built in card-reader would be handy, but not essential.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Not familiar enough with computer equipment.

8. How can you pay? Credit Card, Paypal, Cash.

9. When are you purchasing? Would like to be using it within a month.

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Drogheda, Louth

deconduo

Deleted User wrote: »

Right, I don't know anything about what you just posted. All alien talk to me (though from an overview of it, does it have 8gb ram or 16gb? and is the HDD 2TB?)

I'm not completely against you putting it together and buying it off you, but how much would it cost, out of curiousity? (I'm in Drogheda, but could collect it from you somewhere in Dublin?)

Edit; i do have to admit though that the price of the Komplett Acer is making it very desirable.

Its got an 8 core i7-2600k which can be overclocked to 4.2GHz, 16GB of RAM, a 64GB SSD, 2TB storage drive. In comparison to the komplett one, it will do most photoshop work about 2-3 times faster. I'll put it together for free no problem

I'll send you a PM there Deconduo.

hoganpoly

Deleted User wrote: »

Right, I don't know anything about what you just posted. All alien talk to me (though from an overview of it, does it have 8gb ram or 16gb? and is the HDD 2TB?)

I'm not completely against you putting it together and buying it off you, but how much would it cost, out of curiousity? (I'm in Drogheda, but could collect it from you somewhere in Dublin?)

Edit; i do have to admit though that the price of the Komplett Acer is making it very desirable.

Great spec,is there a graphics card included on the motherboard ,or do i have to get one seperate ,thx..

deconduo

hoganpoly wrote: »

Great spec,is there a graphics card included on the motherboard ,or do i have to get one seperate ,thx..

The build I specced has onboard graphics only. It won't run any games, because it was only meant for photoshop/editing.

Eboggles

deconduo wrote: »

The build I specced has onboard graphics only. It won't run any games, because it was only meant for photoshop/editing.

And if you were to be gaming, you wouldn't need an i7 or 16gb of RAM