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edom31 · 09-01-2019, 12:16 PM

Hello all.

Maybe someone really tech-savvy may help me here.

Is this:
Dell Inspiron One 2320 - all-in-one - Core i3 2120 3.3 GHz - 4 GB - 1 TB - LED 23" Specs - CNET

Worth for a hobbyist to use as a desktop stand-alone photo processing center? Reason - I can get it for free...

What software will top-off (I use Lightroom on Mac but may need to change...)

Thanks

Edit - can a Mod move me to the Digital Processing, Software, and Printing forum - I mistakenly posted in the wrong place!

Last edited by edom31; 09-01-2019 at 12:24 PM. Reason: Posted in wrong forum

Adam · 09-01-2019, 12:23 PM - **1 Like**

Free is always nice, but this this has pretty poor specs by modern standards. It should suffice for smaller files, but if you're dealing with files from the K-1, film scans, or even the K-3, you will want to get something with more ram, and preferably an ssd rather than a hard drive.

edom31 · 09-01-2019, 12:42 PM

Originally posted by Adam

Free is always nice

Thank you, Adam... this is exactly why I ask, since just because it is free does not mean one should take it.

My mid-2010 MacBook Pro is running sluggish with LR - I do not have the money for an upgrade right now, so looking at all and every single option I run across.

jeallen01 · 09-01-2019, 01:41 PM - **1 Like**

FWIW, cloning the HDD to an SSD (now pretty inexpensive - around $50 to $80 for a 500 GB drive) would bring a substantial performance improvement to a "lowish spec" PC (been there, done it). OTOH, I would keep the HDD for data storage (been there, done that as well) because most SSDs seem to degrade quicker than most HDDs, even if it means replacing a CD/DVD drive with the SDD or the HDD and using the CD/DVD drive in an external caddy/housing (did that as well).

OTOH, in the longterm, getting a much more modern & powerful (thus probably not an "all in one") PC would probably a better, if "more expensive", solution.

**Ervin 58** · 09-01-2019, 06:38 PM

Originally posted by jeallen01

FWIW, cloning the HDD to an SSD (now pretty inexpensive - around $50 to $80 for a 500 GB drive) would bring a substantial performance improvement to a "lowish spec" PC (been there, done it). OTOH, I would keep the HDD for data storage (been there, done that as well) because most SSDs seem to degrade quicker than most HDDs, even if it means replacing a CD/DVD drive with the SDD or the HDD and using the CD/DVD drive in an external caddy/housing (did that as well).

OTOH, in the longterm, getting a much more modern & powerful (thus probably not an "all in one") PC would probably a better, if "more expensive", solution.

Most SSD’s seem to degrade quicker than most HDD’s....???

Adam · 09-01-2019, 07:03 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Ervin 58

Most SSD’s seem to degrade quicker than most HDD’s....???

Unlike hard drives, solid-state memory has a limited number of write cycles. SSD hardware tries to optimize usage of the entire drive so that wear is distributed evenly, and to automatically disable degraded areas, but the service life is limited if you are a power user.

Usually the lifetime of a SSD is measured in the amount of data that's written over the lifespan of the drive. With current drives, you can expect durability equal to several hundred times the total drive capacity. So, if you have a 1Tb SSD, it might support something like 300 Tb being written to it before no longer being usable.

If you do the math for a typical PC user, SSDs can theoretically last hundreds of years. So, it's not really an issue unless you are running a server. One of the SSD's powering the PF server failed after about 2 years, for example.

Although hard drives don't have this problem, they are susceptible to mechanical failure are therefore no more durable if you ask me. If you want durability the best way to go is backup and redundancy. If you are using SSDs for long-term storage, just be sure to power them on once in a while so that the data doesn't vanish.

jeallen01 · 09-02-2019, 01:00 AM

Originally posted by Adam

Unlike hard drives, solid-state memory has a limited number of write cycles. SSD hardware tries to optimize usage of the entire drive so that wear is distributed evenly, and to automatically disable degraded areas, but the service life is limited if you are a power user.

Usually the lifetime of a SSD is measured in the amount of data that's written over the lifespan of the drive. With current drives, you can expect durability equal to several hundred times the total drive capacity. So, if you have a 1Tb SSD, it might support something like 300 Tb being written to it before no longer being usable.

If you do the math for a typical PC user, SSDs can theoretically last hundreds of years. So, it's not really an issue unless you are running a server. One of the SSD's powering the PF server failed after about 2 years, for example.

Although hard drives don't have this problem, they are susceptible to mechanical failure are therefore no more durable if you ask me. If you want durability the best way to go is backup and redundancy. If you are using SSDs for long-term storage, just be sure to power them on once in a while so that the data doesn't vanish.

Mostly agreed, although I would like to add one further comment based on personal experience:

Whilst I have yet to have an SSD fail (that I know of), the Sandisk 500GB one in my main laptop was installed just under 2 yrs ago, and I used to treat it just like an HDD - but then some tests after a year or so with the disk utility Crystadiskinfo showed a noticeable %tage drop in the predicted life of the SSD. Thought about this and guessed that it was possibly due to having left the machine in Sleep mode over most nights since installation, and so decided to switch it completely OFF overnight in the future.

BTW: At the same time as I tested the SSD, I also tested the 1TB hybrid drive that I installed in the machine at the same time as the SSD to act as the main data storage drive - and that showed hardly any reduction in the predicted life (and it's used quite a lot),

Note to self: now realised that I have again been leaving the laptop in Sleep mode too often -> Switch OFF overnight in future!!!

**Merv-O** · 09-02-2019, 11:52 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Adam

Free is always nice, but this this has pretty poor specs by modern standards. It should suffice for smaller files, but if you're dealing with files from the K-1, film scans, or even the K-3, you will want to get something with more ram, and preferably an ssd rather than a hard drive.

Adam:
You are 100% correct about long-term storage and reliability. With SD cards so cheap now (SanDIsk quality) I simply fill the cards and never overwrite them...I have both Windows and Mac based machines. I will often put all my photos into cloud storage as well. Because, as you've stated, even solid disk drives fail....If you can afford USB sticks and/or large volume SD cards, I would use those as well.

tuco · 09-03-2019, 09:25 AM - **2 Likes**

Since this is in the film processing/scanning thread I'd say for free it will scan and edit film just fine. I have done it on a lesser machine.

jeallen01 · 09-03-2019, 10:38 AM

Originally posted by tuco

Since this is in the film processing/scanning thread I'd say for free it will scan and edit film just fine. I have done it on a lesser machine.

Yes, but has the Dell been "upgraded" to Windows 10? If so, it will also need a memory upgrade to 2 sticks of 1333 MHz DDR3 SODIMMS (i.e. 8GB total) for scanning because Win 10 is a REAL memory hog and loads so much extraneous "You-know-what" (especially during the frequent and almost unavoidable updates) that there's precious little left to run the programmes you want - and especially image manipulation stuff, most of which are known memory hogs (especially if you let the scanner installation s/w load everything IT wants to, as opposed to what you actually need - currently clearing out a lot of that particular "stuff" from SWMBO's very old laptop to keep it running reasonably smoothly under WIN 10.).

OTOH, a decent brand SSD (subject to the issues already mentioned) and 8GB memory should make it run reasonably well and fast - and then use something like IOBit Uninstaller (free and I thoroughly recommend it, especially over, say Revo Uninstaller) to remove as much of the You-know-what as you can.

That's what I had to do to stepdaughter's DELL Win 10 Home laptop, which has a roughly similar basic spec to this DELL all-in-one, after she complained that it was SOOOOO SLOOOW that she hardly ever used it - after those upgrades (which should come in at <$100 US - we pay more!

) it ran like the proverbial train.

edom31 · 09-03-2019, 05:55 PM

Originally posted by tuco

Since this is in the film processing/scanning thread I'd say for free it will scan and edit film just fine. I have done it on a lesser machine.

I'm using a 2006 MacBook Pro for scanning purposes... it is on its 5th or 6th battery, but still boots and functions!

**ChrisPlatt** · 09-04-2019, 03:32 PM - **1 Like**

State of the art fuels retail sales. Us poor folks manage to limp along on older stuff.

Chris

jeallen01 · 09-05-2019, 03:34 AM

Originally posted by ChrisPlatt

State of the art fuels retail sales. Us poor folks manage to limp along on older stuff.

Chris

Quite so, our newest laptop dates from 2012 (SWMBO's is from around 2007!), and the HP quad-core Elitedesk 8000 G2 desktop from 2016 (altough only bought "used" 4 months ago - at a very good price with 8GB, and now fitted with a 500GB SSD -> total around £260/$320US).

The knack with older kit is to make sure you get decent "upgradable" stuff (and "all in one" PCs are often not that!) in the first place, and then know when/how to update it at the lowest reasonable cost to do what you want. OTOH, some stuff like disk drives (of all types) and printers generally get "relatively slower" and more likely to fail mechanically (and printer consumables/repairs tend to get more expensive) as they get older, and need to be replaced by decent more modern stuff.

09-01-2019, 12:16 PM	#1
edom31 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Garden City, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,349	Dell Inspiron One 2320 Hello all. Maybe someone really tech-savvy may help me here. Is this: Dell Inspiron One 2320 - all-in-one - Core i3 2120 3.3 GHz - 4 GB - 1 TB - LED 23" Specs - CNET Worth for a hobbyist to use as a desktop stand-alone photo processing center? Reason - I can get it for free... What software will top-off (I use Lightroom on Mac but may need to change...) Thanks Edit - can a Mod move me to the Digital Processing, Software, and Printing forum - I mistakenly posted in the wrong place! Last edited by edom31; 09-01-2019 at 12:24 PM. Reason: Posted in wrong forum

09-01-2019, 12:23 PM - 1 Like	#2
Adam Administrator Site Webmaster Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 51,609	Free is always nice, but this this has pretty poor specs by modern standards. It should suffice for smaller files, but if you're dealing with files from the K-1, film scans, or even the K-3, you will want to get something with more ram, and preferably an ssd rather than a hard drive. Adam PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide \| Site Help \| My Photography) PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

09-01-2019, 07:03 PM - 1 Like	#6
Adam Administrator Site Webmaster Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 51,609	Originally posted by Ervin 58 Most SSD’s seem to degrade quicker than most HDD’s....??? Unlike hard drives, solid-state memory has a limited number of write cycles. SSD hardware tries to optimize usage of the entire drive so that wear is distributed evenly, and to automatically disable degraded areas, but the service life is limited if you are a power user. Usually the lifetime of a SSD is measured in the amount of data that's written over the lifespan of the drive. With current drives, you can expect durability equal to several hundred times the total drive capacity. So, if you have a 1Tb SSD, it might support something like 300 Tb being written to it before no longer being usable. If you do the math for a typical PC user, SSDs can theoretically last hundreds of years. So, it's not really an issue unless you are running a server. One of the SSD's powering the PF server failed after about 2 years, for example. Although hard drives don't have this problem, they are susceptible to mechanical failure are therefore no more durable if you ask me. If you want durability the best way to go is backup and redundancy. If you are using SSDs for long-term storage, just be sure to power them on once in a while so that the data doesn't vanish. Adam PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide \| Site Help \| My Photography) PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

09-03-2019, 10:38 AM	#10
jeallen01 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2008 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,697	Originally posted by tuco Since this is in the film processing/scanning thread I'd say for free it will scan and edit film just fine. I have done it on a lesser machine. Yes, but has the Dell been "upgraded" to Windows 10? If so, it will also need a memory upgrade to 2 sticks of 1333 MHz DDR3 SODIMMS (i.e. 8GB total) for scanning because Win 10 is a REAL memory hog and loads so much extraneous "You-know-what" (especially during the frequent and almost unavoidable updates) that there's precious little left to run the programmes you want - and especially image manipulation stuff, most of which are known memory hogs (especially if you let the scanner installation s/w load everything IT wants to, as opposed to what you actually need - currently clearing out a lot of that particular "stuff" from SWMBO's very old laptop to keep it running reasonably smoothly under WIN 10.). OTOH, a decent brand SSD (subject to the issues already mentioned) and 8GB memory should make it run reasonably well and fast - and then use something like IOBit Uninstaller (free and I thoroughly recommend it, especially over, say Revo Uninstaller) to remove as much of the You-know-what as you can. That's what I had to do to stepdaughter's DELL Win 10 Home laptop, which has a roughly similar basic spec to this DELL all-in-one, after she complained that it was SOOOOO SLOOOW that she hardly ever used it - after those upgrades (which should come in at <$100 US - we pay more! ) it ran like the proverbial train. Last edited by jeallen01; 09-03-2019 at 11:36 AM.

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09-01-2019, 12:42 PM	#3
edom31 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Garden City, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,349 Original Poster	Originally posted by Adam Free is always nice Thank you, Adam... this is exactly why I ask, since just because it is free does not mean one should take it. My mid-2010 MacBook Pro is running sluggish with LR - I do not have the money for an upgrade right now, so looking at all and every single option I run across.

09-01-2019, 01:41 PM - 1 Like	#4
jeallen01 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2008 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,697	FWIW, cloning the HDD to an SSD (now pretty inexpensive - around $50 to $80 for a 500 GB drive) would bring a substantial performance improvement to a "lowish spec" PC (been there, done it). OTOH, I would keep the HDD for data storage (been there, done that as well) because most SSDs seem to degrade quicker than most HDDs, even if it means replacing a CD/DVD drive with the SDD or the HDD and using the CD/DVD drive in an external caddy/housing (did that as well). OTOH, in the longterm, getting a much more modern & powerful (thus probably not an "all in one") PC would probably a better, if "more expensive", solution.

09-01-2019, 06:38 PM	#5
Ervin 58 Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: May 2016 Location: Aveley Posts: 192	Originally posted by jeallen01 FWIW, cloning the HDD to an SSD (now pretty inexpensive - around $50 to $80 for a 500 GB drive) would bring a substantial performance improvement to a "lowish spec" PC (been there, done it). OTOH, I would keep the HDD for data storage (been there, done that as well) because most SSDs seem to degrade quicker than most HDDs, even if it means replacing a CD/DVD drive with the SDD or the HDD and using the CD/DVD drive in an external caddy/housing (did that as well). OTOH, in the longterm, getting a much more modern & powerful (thus probably not an "all in one") PC would probably a better, if "more expensive", solution. Most SSD’s seem to degrade quicker than most HDD’s....???

09-02-2019, 01:00 AM	#7
jeallen01 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2008 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,697	Originally posted by Adam Unlike hard drives, solid-state memory has a limited number of write cycles. SSD hardware tries to optimize usage of the entire drive so that wear is distributed evenly, and to automatically disable degraded areas, but the service life is limited if you are a power user. Usually the lifetime of a SSD is measured in the amount of data that's written over the lifespan of the drive. With current drives, you can expect durability equal to several hundred times the total drive capacity. So, if you have a 1Tb SSD, it might support something like 300 Tb being written to it before no longer being usable. If you do the math for a typical PC user, SSDs can theoretically last hundreds of years. So, it's not really an issue unless you are running a server. One of the SSD's powering the PF server failed after about 2 years, for example. Although hard drives don't have this problem, they are susceptible to mechanical failure are therefore no more durable if you ask me. If you want durability the best way to go is backup and redundancy. If you are using SSDs for long-term storage, just be sure to power them on once in a while so that the data doesn't vanish. Mostly agreed, although I would like to add one further comment based on personal experience: Whilst I have yet to have an SSD fail (that I know of), the Sandisk 500GB one in my main laptop was installed just under 2 yrs ago, and I used to treat it just like an HDD - but then some tests after a year or so with the disk utility Crystadiskinfo showed a noticeable %tage drop in the predicted life of the SSD. Thought about this and guessed that it was possibly due to having left the machine in Sleep mode over most nights since installation, and so decided to switch it completely OFF overnight in the future. BTW: At the same time as I tested the SSD, I also tested the 1TB hybrid drive that I installed in the machine at the same time as the SSD to act as the main data storage drive - and that showed hardly any reduction in the predicted life (and it's used quite a lot), Note to self: now realised that I have again been leaving the laptop in Sleep mode too often -> Switch OFF overnight in future!!!

09-02-2019, 11:52 AM - 1 Like	#8
Merv-O Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Philadelphia Photos: Albums Posts: 2,098	Originally posted by Adam Free is always nice, but this this has pretty poor specs by modern standards. It should suffice for smaller files, but if you're dealing with files from the K-1, film scans, or even the K-3, you will want to get something with more ram, and preferably an ssd rather than a hard drive. Adam: You are 100% correct about long-term storage and reliability. With SD cards so cheap now (SanDIsk quality) I simply fill the cards and never overwrite them...I have both Windows and Mac based machines. I will often put all my photos into cloud storage as well. Because, as you've stated, even solid disk drives fail....If you can afford USB sticks and/or large volume SD cards, I would use those as well.

09-03-2019, 09:25 AM - 2 Likes	#9
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,033	Since this is in the film processing/scanning thread I'd say for free it will scan and edit film just fine. I have done it on a lesser machine.

09-03-2019, 05:55 PM	#11
edom31 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Garden City, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,349 Original Poster	Originally posted by tuco Since this is in the film processing/scanning thread I'd say for free it will scan and edit film just fine. I have done it on a lesser machine. I'm using a 2006 MacBook Pro for scanning purposes... it is on its 5th or 6th battery, but still boots and functions!

09-04-2019, 03:32 PM - 1 Like	#12
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,702	State of the art fuels retail sales. Us poor folks manage to limp along on older stuff. Chris

09-05-2019, 03:34 AM	#13
jeallen01 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2008 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,697	Originally posted by ChrisPlatt State of the art fuels retail sales. Us poor folks manage to limp along on older stuff. Chris Quite so, our newest laptop dates from 2012 (SWMBO's is from around 2007!), and the HP quad-core Elitedesk 8000 G2 desktop from 2016 (altough only bought "used" 4 months ago - at a very good price with 8GB, and now fitted with a 500GB SSD -> total around £260/$320US). The knack with older kit is to make sure you get decent "upgradable" stuff (and "all in one" PCs are often not that!) in the first place, and then know when/how to update it at the lowest reasonable cost to do what you want. OTOH, some stuff like disk drives (of all types) and printers generally get "relatively slower" and more likely to fail mechanically (and printer consumables/repairs tend to get more expensive) as they get older, and need to be replaced by decent more modern stuff.