New computer

[Dave A]

This spring I bought a new laptop mostly for use in photo PP. It was not really up to the task and lagged badly. I posted the specs here and was told the processor (AMD type) and hard drive (5400) were slow. So now I have decided to go with a tower desktop computer and I'm considering one with these specs.

Intel Core i7-4790
Processor Speed 3.6 GHz
Processor Cores 4
RAM 8GB PC3-12800 (1600MHz DDR3) SDRAM
Hard Drive Capacity 1TB
Hard Drive Speed (Revolutions Per Minute) 7200 RPM

This is within my budget of about $900 Cnd including taxes.
I already have a high def monitor.

Opinions please.

Thanks,
Dave

[Saorsa]

That looks good as far as processing and storage are concerned. I would add more memory to at least 16GB. That makes a real difference in processing speed.

[AlwaysOnAuto]

What is the configuration of the RAM?
ie how many slots and what is the max allowed?
I found a computer with four slots with 32GB max. It came with 8GB in one slot. Adding more will be cake and I shouldn't have to toss out what I already have, unless of course it is obsoleted by the time I've saved enough to add more. DOH!

[DanK]

I no longer follow the technical details of computers, but I would add one thing. Check out the recent thread on wide-gamut monitors. I didn't realize until reading that thread that many video cards can't handle more than 8 bits per channel and that one needs a display port output rather than just the old standard of DVI. I had been considering buying a wide-gamut monitor, but I checked the card using the method noted in that thread, and sure enough, it maxes out at 32 bits (8 per color channel, plus 8 for transparency), and it has only DVI oputputs, so I would have to at the least replace the card.

[Polar01]

Pump it up to 16GB at least not much in extra costs.

Cheers: Allan

[Mike Buckley]

Agreed with all the recommendations for increased RAM.

[george013]

This spring I bought a new laptop mostly for use in photo PP. It was not really up to the task and lagged badly. I posted the specs here and was told the processor (AMD type) and hard drive (5400) were slow. So now I have decided to go with a tower desktop computer and I'm considering one with these specs.

Intel Core i7-4790
Processor Speed 3.6 GHz
Processor Cores 4
RAM 8GB PC3-12800 (1600MHz DDR3) SDRAM
Hard Drive Capacity 1TB
Hard Drive Speed (Revolutions Per Minute) 7200 RPM

This is within my budget of about $900 Cnd including taxes.
I already have a high def monitor.

Opinions please.

Thanks,
Dave

No motherboard?
No graphic card?

You're sure you need a i7?

George

[Dave A]

This may help.....here's all the specs. Dan has me wondering about the DVI output.


Processor Type Intel Core i7-4790
Processor Speed 3.6 GHz

Processor Cores 4

RAM 8GB PC3-12800 (1600MHz DDR3) SDRAM

Hard Drive Capacity 1TB

Hard Drive Speed (Revolutions Per Minute) 7200 RPM

Optical Drive SuperMulti DVD Burner

Pre-loaded Operating System Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

Graphics Card Intel HD Graphics 4600

Dedicated Graphic Card No

Video Memory 1696 MB



Display

Built-in Monitor No

HDCP Compliant No

Native Screen Resolution Not Applicable

Touchscreen Display No



Audio

Sound Card DTS Sound+

Audio Output High Definition Audio with up to 5.1 surround sound capabilities

Integrated Microphone 1

Microphone Input 1

Line-In Input No

Line Out No

Digital Input No

Digital Output No



Networking

Ethernet Port 10/100/1000

Integrated Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n

Integrated Bluetooth No



Inputs & Outputs

Webcam No

Keyboard USB Keyboard

Mouse Optical

Remote No

Modem No

USB Ports 2 Front; 6 Rear

FireWire (IEEE 1394) Not Applicable

Card Reader Compatibility HP 7-in-1 Media Card Reader-Supports SD; SDHC; SDXC

E-SATA Not Applicable

VGA Output No

DVI Output 1

HDMI Output No

Component Output No

S-Video Output No

Composite Output No

Other Input or Output Ports One D-Sub



Computing Features

Processor Cache 8MB Cache

Available Hard Drive Bays 1 Internal 3.5" (occupied)

Available Optical Bays 1 External 5.25" (occupied)

Available PCIe Slots 3 PCI-E x1 (three available); 1 PCI-E x16 (available)

Available PCI Slots 3 PCI-E x1 (three available); 1 PCI-E x16 (available)

Available AGP Slots Not Applicable

Available Memory Slots 2 DIMM (240-pin DDR3) (one available)

Removable Storage No

Power Supply 300W

[george013]

This may help.....here's all the specs. Dan has me wondering about the DVI output.


Processor Type Intel Core i7-4790
Processor Speed 3.6 GHz

Processor Cores 4

RAM 8GB PC3-12800 (1600MHz DDR3) SDRAM

Hard Drive Capacity 1TB

Hard Drive Speed (Revolutions Per Minute) 7200 RPM

Optical Drive SuperMulti DVD Burner

Pre-loaded Operating System Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

Graphics Card Intel HD Graphics 4600

Dedicated Graphic Card No

Video Memory 1696 MB



Display

Built-in Monitor No

HDCP Compliant No

Native Screen Resolution Not Applicable

Touchscreen Display No



Audio

Sound Card DTS Sound+

Audio Output High Definition Audio with up to 5.1 surround sound capabilities

Integrated Microphone 1

Microphone Input 1

Line-In Input No

Line Out No

Digital Input No

Digital Output No



Networking

Ethernet Port 10/100/1000

Integrated Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n

Integrated Bluetooth No



Inputs & Outputs

Webcam No

Keyboard USB Keyboard

Mouse Optical

Remote No

Modem No

USB Ports 2 Front; 6 Rear

FireWire (IEEE 1394) Not Applicable

Card Reader Compatibility HP 7-in-1 Media Card Reader-Supports SD; SDHC; SDXC

E-SATA Not Applicable

VGA Output No

DVI Output 1

HDMI Output No

Component Output No

S-Video Output No

Composite Output No

Other Input or Output Ports One D-Sub



Computing Features

Processor Cache 8MB Cache

Available Hard Drive Bays 1 Internal 3.5" (occupied)

Available Optical Bays 1 External 5.25" (occupied)

Available PCIe Slots 3 PCI-E x1 (three available); 1 PCI-E x16 (available)

Available PCI Slots 3 PCI-E x1 (three available); 1 PCI-E x16 (available)

Available AGP Slots Not Applicable

Available Memory Slots 2 DIMM (240-pin DDR3) (one available)

Removable Storage No

Power Supply 300W

That's a prefab pc out off the shop with win7 installed.
And with on-board video.
Check the free slots in case you want to change/add something. I see there are.

George

[Dave A]

That is right George, a HP from Best Buy. One good thing is I can try it for up to 30 days and if I don't like it I can return it.
This is the monitor I have, a BenQ 27"

Display
Screen Size 27 in

Native Resolution 2560 x 1440

Aspect Ratio 16:9

Touchscreen No

Viewing Angle 178°/178°

Glossy/Matte Glossy

Input Types D-Sub/DVI-DL/DP1.2/ HDMI1.4/Headphone Jack/Audio-In

Response Time (Black-White-Black) 12 ms

Other Features Flicker-free Technology; Senseye;Tilt; Height; Swivel; Pivot

Refresh Rate 60 Hz

Brightness 300 cd/m²

Colour Gamut 100% sRGB

Dynamic Contrast Ratio 20M:1

Static Contrast Ratio 1000:1

Panel Type

IPS Yes

Audio

Built-in Speakers Yes

Speaker Configuration Back

Speaker Output Power 1Wx2

Audio Enhancement Not Applicable

Advanced Features

3D Video Support Built-in No

3D Glasses Included Not Applicable

Built-In Webcam No

Built-In Microphone No

Built-In TV Tuner No

Remote Control No

USB Hub No

WiDi No

DLNA Certified No

Kensington Security Slot Yes

Inputs/Outputs

MHL Ports None

DVI-D Support Yes

HDCP Support Yes

Other Video Inputs None

Video Outputs None

Audio Inputs 1

Audio Outputs Headphone Jack

Power

Typical Consumption 32 W

[Manfred M]

Dave - I will agree with the others, not enough RAM, especially given that you are using integrated video, which shares the RAM with the rest of the system. 8GB is simply not enough on a modern machine. I have slightly different needs than most as I also do video work and my video editing software uses the hardware acceleration with a discrete video card, so I (in theory) can get away with less system RAM as I don't share it, as my video card has 4GB of fast RAM on board..

Photoshop itself can be quite RAM intensive, but Lightroom seems to be a lot less so (basically related to how the two editors are designed), so this may be less of an issue for you than it is for me.

The other significant upgrade I made was to use a SSD system drive. That really speeds things up and is something else I urge people to look at, but I suspect that the price is going to be a show stopper. 1TB hard disks are quite inexpensive, SDD are not....


Note: Just make sure that you can upgrade the RAM on it. My laptop came with 8GB and when I looked at adding more RAM, I found that the motherboard was only designed for up to 8GB, so I couldn't add any more to it.

[Mike Buckley]

The computer has only two RAM slots. You might be inclined to buy an extra memory slot of 8 GB of RAM now, bringing your total to 16 GB. If so, you will then have both slots used. If a year or two from now you decide that you want to increase the total RAM to 24 GB, you will have to remove one of the 8 GB slots and you will have to buy another 16GB slot. So, if you think that's a likely possibility, consider biting the bullet by buying that 16 GB slot now so you don't waste a purchase of 8 GB.

[Dave A]

Thanks everyone for the help. It really helps when hearing from people who are using their computers for much the same purpose.
I don't use PS but do use Lightroom, Photmatix, and Aftershot.

Funny thing is while I'm at work posting these messages my wife shoots me a text saying she ordered this computer already for me as a retirement gift. I retire Oct 31st.
So I guess I'm trying it out now for sure. I just ordered another 8 GB's of RAM so I'll put it in before I even fire it up for the first time. If I'm not happy with the way it handles Lightroom I will return it.

Dave

[MilosVukmirovic]

Hi Dave,
You don't need to worry too much about having DisplayPort connection with that monitor, a DVI connection will be fine. If you tailor all the other parts of computer to your liking and end up having DisplayPort slot in GPU then you can switch to that type of connection.

My thoughts are similar with others: A bit more RAM(16GB should be enough) and an SSD as a system/app disc would be great.
I myself went with the option of only 120GB SSD and have only essential software on it, while all games, funny apps and similar go to other HDD. With that I always have at least 40-50GB of free space and great speed in most used apps.

Cheers,
Milos

[DanK]

I just want to chime in in favor of at least 16 GB. The main reason I upgraded my computer several years ago was how slow it was for editing with only 8 GB.

I'll also chime in in favor of an SSD. I have mine set up with everything but data storage on an SSD, and it makes a very big difference for some operations--basically, anything with disk reads. Unfortunately, the price of SSDs when I bought mine meant that I found it necessary to keep my photos on a physical hard drive.

[Dave A]

I will do the 16GB for sure. Right now I'm using the Passport 2TB external hard drive which is not very fast. At the time I looked at the SSD external drives but for a decent amount of storage the price was more than I was prepared to pay. Seems the price of SSD drives are slow to come down.

Dave

[DanK]

I will do the 16GB for sure. Right now I'm using the Passport 2TB external hard drive which is not very fast. At the time I looked at the SSD external drives but for a decent amount of storage the price was more than I was prepared to pay. Seems the price of SSD drives are slow to come down.

Dave

SSD drives are pricier, but the prices have come down a lot, and unless you have a vast amount of program files, you can make do with a small one. The computer I use now has only a 240 GB SSD. That holds all of my software--and I have a lot--and almost all of my non-photo data files (more than 16,000 of them). It's a little close for comfort--I have only 55 GB free--but then again, I have more software than a lot of people, such as several large statistical programs. If you are willing to put the photos themselves on an internal hard drive, which I do, you may be like me and not need a very big SSD. You can buy brand name 240GB SSDs on Amazon for well under $100.

[Charlie Woodrich]

It also depends upon the type of files you are processing. With 16GB of RAM and a decent video card you should be ok with files that are in the 20MB range. If you are using a Sony A7R2 with compressed files that are 42MB you may want to up the RAM to 32GB if you are using multiple layers in PS.

[Dave A]

I'm happy to say that the computer arrived today and after loading the software I need plus LR I'm very happy with the performance and speed while doing PP. I did up the RAM to 16GB even before I turned it on for the first time.

Dave