[gnaztee]

Hi folks,

Looking to upgrade our old PC (Pentium D, 2.8GHz, 2 GB RAM, 300 GB HD) on a budget. I use Lightroom with Nik plugins, PSE 7, and very seldomly Premiere Elements 7. PC will also be a general use PC, but nothing more intensive than photo editing (absolutely zero gaming). I don't care about the newest best thing, I just want to edit photos relatively quickly.

Assuming I upgrade the memory to 6-8 GB or so, how do you rate this PC from Dell?

Newegg.com - Recertified: DELL Inspiron 570 Athlon II X4 630(2.8GHz) 3GB DDR3 1TB Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

With the 4-core processor and 7200 HD with lots of space, it seems pretty good to me (but I'm not computer hardware smart). I'll be pairing an IPS Monitor with it, so saving some bucks to do this.

Thanks!

[jolepp]

With that 6-8 GB memory that should be very nice for the kind of use you have in mind. Be sure to check you can add memory like planned though: that 3G seems like an odd (literally :-) amount to have, and might be because of a motherboad limitation or some such. Also, all the RAM slots it has might be in use with that 3G so you can't add new modules without removing old ones (for example to go to 6 G you'd need to remove 1 G and add 4 G, to go to 8 G remove what it has now and plug in 2 x 4G).

[gnaztee]

Thanks jolepp,

I thought about the capacity for more RAM after I posted. It doesn't say anything about it on the Newegg link I posted, but going to the manufacturer's web site it appears I can go up to 8GB.

[gnaztee]

All right, check that. Priced memory for the Dell, and realized it's more cost effective to go with this:

HP Pavilion P6516f
AMD Athlon II X4 630 2.8 GHz
6 GB DDR3 RAM
1 TB HD (only 5400 RPM)
Windows 7

Still sound okay? Anyone? (are those crickets?)

[jolepp]

Looking good. Just in case: make sure Windows 7 is 64 bit (not 32).

[imtheguy]

Looking good. Just in case: make sure Windows 7 is 64 bit (not 32).

Agreed.

But for very little additional cost you should be able to get the 7,200rpm drive for the 1TB size. It has noticably faster load and boot. I can't recommend it enough.

Old PC buying truism - Nobody EVER complained after the sale that the computer was too fast or that they wished they had bought the slower one.

[wlachan]

Also don't forget the monitor calibrator if you care colour accuracy.

[photolady95]

As a computer tech, I'm not liking the power supply in that computer. It's only 250w. Though I do like the idea you can add a different video card, but adding one would require you change that psu. Also, like Lee I don't like the 5400rpm hdd. Too slow in reading and writing. This is not a new HP, so I doubt you'd be able to change the hdd for just a few cents.

Where did you see this computer?

[Howdy]

Listen to photolady! Allow me to write my personal list of computer equipment, from the most important to the least:
1) Power Supply Unit (PSU). Wattage is not everything, it is the quality of voltage that counts
2) Cooling
3) Motherboard
4) RAM
5) HDD (reliability >>>> speed)
6) Graphics card
7) Everything else (CPU etc.)

Generally, I always build my own PC, mixing and matching the very best components. Rock solid . Companies like Dell or HP select the cheapest "invisible" components (PSU, motherboard, cooling etc.) and concentrate on CPU and other "medial" ones. The result - superpowerful CPU coupled with inadequate PSU and motherboard without any free slots.

Both of computers you have shown do not have any PSU specifications (manufacturer, model number) available. Why? .

Take a look at Looking for an Image Processing Computer - a similar problem. I am all in favour of what "Rson" said although he really should have worded his answer a bit differently.
---
EDIT: I have forgotten about the monitor. For photography - a good one + hardware calibrator is essential. You did not write anything about that so I assume you know what you're doing . From my experience - the better monitor, the easier it is to calibrate. You will need a photography-specialised unit with good uniformity and access to hardware LUT (remember about software for your calibrator or, if you do not have one, get one dedicated to your monitor). This is not cheap, ofc.

[photolady95]

I actually found the psu on the HP on HP's site. I didn't check the one for the Dell but if it's like most Dell's it's probably less than 250w. Actually, after getting into Dell, this system has a 350w, still not enough power though. I've seen harddrives killed just because a new DVD drive was installed. Customer did this, then called me to replace their psu. It's lucky the psu going out didn't take everything else with it, because psu's will do that.

Motherboard: Foxconn......not ever in any computer I build. I've seen these blow caps faster than ECS mobos do.

[Howdy]

A word of caution: as I said "wattage is not everything". A cheap PSU might be rated 350W but in reality give at most 250W (the difference between 250W and 350W was the sticker ). Be VERY careful with cheap PSU's! Before you buy one, always consult a reputable review site. For example, take a look at Why 99% of Power Supply Reviews Are Wrong | Hardware Secrets. The tests are on Power | Hardware Secrets. Happy reading!

[jolepp]

I think the PSUs that come with the computers here should be fine unless there is a significant upgrade such as beefy graphics card planned. As for the faster rpm hard drive, it is nice to have, but after the system is up and running the amount of RAM planned here will absorb much of the performance difference in practice. If it could be had for a small difference in price, then of course it would be worth having, but don't think that is the case here.