Buying a computer and jumping into software, I've waited too long! Several questions.

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Sevenup

Senior Member
Life got very hectic with parents ill or dying, and raising a young family and my camera has sat in the bag 99% of the time in the last 3 years! I have done a few portrait appointments for friends that needed no retouching and just cropped them in paint, because I've not owned/joined/used software in well over a decade. :p


I have a small job lined up in the next month with photographing a business and upgrading their website.

I am looking at something in the ballpark of $1200-1300.

I am looking at desktops, but am open to a laptop. While I appreciate convenience of moving a laptop around, I seem to have best luck with desktops lasting 6-8 years and laptops 2-3.. so for the money, I am leaning desktop/workstation. It will be primarily used for photography and running a computer embroidery digitizing program for my machine embroidery habit. I also will run teamviewer to view/manage 4-6 other computers on my end. My daughter may do something part time like Amazon customer service on it also.

I don't even have software but am looking at joining PS under an educational license and wearing myself out on the youtube tutorials. I remember Niktools being mentioned also, any reason I'd want to start with that?

I get the processor and speeds, I am confused about how to see how much it is possible to expand in some of the ports. I also am a bit confused about a decent monitor if I get a desktop alone- what should I look for in a monitor?

Please give me thoughts on these options, I am thinking the first 2 are better, or send me links of something appropriate for my needs.

https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC...1492098023&sr=1-3&keywords=computer+i7+gaming

  • System: Intel i7-7700 3.6GHz Quad-Core | Intel B250 Chipset | 8GB DDR4 | 1TB HDD | 24X DVD±RW Dual-Layer Drive | Genuine Windows 10 Home 64-bit
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1060 3GB Video Card | 1x DVI | 1x HDMI | 1x Display Port
  • Connectivity: 6 x USB 3.0 | 4 x USB 2.0 | 1x RJ-45 Network Ethernet 10/100/1000 | Audio: 7.1 Channel | Keyboard and Mouse

https://www.amazon.com/Vision-Compu...d=1492095562&sr=1-54&keywords=computer+i7+ssd

  • Processor: Intel Core i7-4790 Processor (3.6GHz) | Intel® H81 Chipset | Multi-VGA output support : DVI-D/RGB ports | Hard Drive: 500 GB SSD (Solid State) |Windows 10 Home Operating system Disk included package documentation
  • RAM: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz | Optical Drive: SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW Dual Layer
  • Connectivity: 2x USB 3.0 |4x USB 2.0 | 1x RJ-45 Network Ethernet 10/100/1000 | Audio Realtek ALC887-VD with 8 Channels Audio| 2x DVI
  • Expansion Bays/Slots Total(Free): 2(1) Ext. 5.25" | 4(3) Int. 3.5/2.5" | 1(0) PCI | 2(0) PCI-E x1 | 1(0) PCI-E x16 |


https://www.amazon.com/Latest-Eluktronics-P650HP6-Graphic-Design/dp/B01NBUH1HO/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1492095083&sr=1-7&keywords=computer+i7+ssd

  • Latest 7th Gen Intel® Core i7-7700HQ Quad Core Processor, Windows 10 Home 64-Bit; 16GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM
  • 6GB GDDR5 VRAM Nvidia® GeForce GTX 1060 VR Ready Graphics Card; An intelligent thermal design with triple cooling fans for the CPU & GPU performs where others fail.
  • 15.6" Full HD IPS LED EDP Anti-Glare Display (1920 x 1080); HDMI 2.0b; 2 Mini DisplayPorts v1.4; 2 USB 3.1 Type-C
  • 256GB M.2 (SSD) Solid State Drive + 1TB Storage Hard Drive; Latest Intel Wireless AC 2x2 & Bluetooth® v4.2
  • Full Size RGB Silver-Lining Backlit Keyboard, Sound Blaster® X-FI® MB5, Gigabit LAN, 1 Year Warranty






https://www.amazon.com/FX502VM-AS73...=UTF8&qid=1492096269&sr=1-4&keywords=asus+rog

  • 15.6 Inch Full HD Display with Windows 10 Pre-installed
  • Fully loaded with Latest 7th Generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz (Turbo up to 3.8GHz)
  • Powerful NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB discrete graphics
  • Cooled by Intelligent Dual Fan System to cool the CPU and GPU independently
  • Fast 128GB SSD combined with Large 1TB 5400RPM HDD and 16GB DDR4 RAM
  • Extensive connectivity with HDMI/mini Display/USB 3.0, 802.11a/c WiFi dual band, SD Card Reader,



 
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S

Sevenup

Senior Member
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N7JB08V/ref=psdc_13896597011_t2_B01NBLH6JF


  • Intel i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core | Intel B250 Chipset | 8GB DDR4 | 128GB NVMe M.2 SSD | 2TB HDD | 24X DVD±RW Dual-Layer Drive | Genuine Windows 10 Home 64-bit
  • Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB Video Card | 1x HDMI | 1x Display Port
  • Connectivity: 6 x USB 3.0 | 2 x USB 2.0 | 1x RJ-45 Network Ethernet 10/100/1000 | Audio: 7.1 Channel | Keyboard and Mouse
  • Special Feature: 802.11AC Wi-Fi USB Adapter

 
S

Sevenup

Senior Member
Sorry the links are broken, I've tried redoing it twice and it keeps rebreaking it when I edit the post. They do work if copied and pasted though.
 
S

Sevenup

Senior Member
T

TedG954

Senior Member
To process large photographic files, the main thing I'm concerned with is RAM. 24GB of RAM is a good start. Hard drive storage can be supplemented with stand alone drives.
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Sevenup said:
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-x8900-8...787011,p_n_feature_four_browse-bin:2289792011

  • Intel Quad Core i7-6700K 4 GHz Processor
  • 32 GB DDR4 RAM Included; 32 GB Maxium
  • 2 TB HDD + 256 GB SSD Storage; Blu-ray and DVD/CD Combo Drive; 10 USB Ports
Click to expand...
That would work.

I'm running half that much RAM on this machine and I just opened five random raw files with my browser running. The Task Manager shows I'm using 40% of my available RAM so yeah... I'd say 32GB is way more than enough. The rest of the system looks really good. It'll certainly crush Photoshop/Lightroom.
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Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Sevenup said:
Thanks, I'm comparing specs with a couple others..
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA3FA5DC1699

I hope to figure this out and get it ordered today.

Any thoughts on monitor resolution?
Click to expand...
More important than monitor resolution, IMO, would be the ability to properly calibrate the color using discrete RGB channels. You may not want to color calibrate your monitor right away but some time down the line you might and doing a proper job means adjusting the individual color channels. Cheaper monitors often force you to use color "Profiles" or only give you access to crudely adjust things like Brightness and Contrast. That doesn't mean you have to spend a ton of money to get that option you just have to look for it. Googling something like "Best monitors for photo editing" should put you on the path to finding something reasonably priced yet good for working with digital photos.
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S

Sevenup

Senior Member
Thanks,
I am familiar with calibrating the color channels, because I've done that on my current monitor. Maybe I can get away with not getting a new one for now...
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Sevenup said:
Thanks,
I am familiar with calibrating the color channels, because I've done that on my current monitor. Maybe I can get away with not getting a new one for now...
Click to expand...
If it has good sRGB coverage, and it's calibrate-able/calibrated, I'd say you're probably in good shape. If it's really old though, this may be a good time to consider an upgrade.
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D

Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
I run 24GB of RAM and that is a really sweet spot for me. i5 or i7 will both work good. A decent Video card is key for Adobe CC. If you can swing it a SSD drive is really nice. It speeds up Windows and the programs. You should just use it for Windows and your programs and all user files and photos go on standard drive. I personally have all my photos on external drives. Really only important if you have a lot of files.
 
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