[yeatzee]

Hey guys, well after several years of using a crummy HP laptop to edit my photo's I think its finally time to purchase a decent desktop system. The issue is, I haven't a fricken clue what to get and what to look for. Thats where you guys come in

Basically my requirements are that it runs fast (anythings better than what im using now though im sure), can handle all of my editing software without freezing/crashing/slowing down so much its unusable (im looking at you laptop!), plenty of space for my photo's, and a decent monitor There's probably more im just not thinking of but whatever.

Now my budget is microscopic for what im after but its what I have available to me. Roughly $750ish WITH a monitor

My dad's found this and I want to know what you guys think/any other suggestions

Newegg.com - Gateway DX4850-45u (PT.GBL02.018) Desktop PC Intel Core i5 2300(2.80GHz) 6GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity Intel HD Graphics 2000 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

and a monitor

Gateway FHD2303L BID 23 LED Monitor - 1080p, 1920x1080, 16:9, 12000000:1 Dynamic, VGA, DVI, HDMI at TigerDirect.com

Thanks in advance guys

[manishved]

Are you going to edit videos as well? Or just pictures?

[yeatzee]

Are you going to edit videos as well? Or just pictures?

No video editing in the foreseeable future

[wlachan]

Get the NEC EA231WMi monitor then spend the rest on the desktop. I am fond of neither Gateway nor Intel HD Graphics. Will let others fill you in.

[yeatzee]

Get the NEC EA231WMi monitor then spend the rest on the desktop. I am fond of neither Gateway nor Intel HD Graphics. Will let others fill you in.

Why? The NEC appears to be outclassed by the gateway monitor in nearly every way. 1,000:1 vs. 12,000,000:1 contrast ratio? Isn't that a significant amount? My dad was telling me that the best buy guys said contrast ratio was key with photo editing.

[wlachan]

Why? The NEC appears to be outclassed by the gateway monitor in nearly every way. 1,000:1 vs. 12,000,000:1 contrast ratio? Isn't that a significant amount? My dad was telling me that the best buy guys said contrast ratio was key with photo editing.

Forget contrast ratio or max brightness. The KEY to a good quality photo editing monitor is "IPS". The majority of consumer monitors use TN panels which are horrid for photo editing. PVA panels are better, but IPS are the best. I will let you google for detail. Another tip - sales guy's advice is worthless. I thought everybody knew that already.

[yeatzee]

Forget contrast ratio or max brightness. The KEY to a good quality photo editing monitor is "IPS". The majority of consumer monitors use TN panels which are horrid for photo editing. PVA panels are better, but IPS are the best. I will let you google for detail. Another tip - sales guy's advice is worthless. I thought everybody knew that already.

I do already know that...... I do shoot pentax don't I? (despite the average canon/Nikon is t3h b3s7 comment from the stores )

So I guess my question is how much of a quality increase will i see, if at all? Viewing angle isn't that much of a biggie since the computers for me to view and i'll be positioned head-on. The premium seems pretty high for these and I wonder if they are actually as good as people say? I've been using like I said an HP laptop for photo editing and I haven't had any major issues.

Any suggestions for desktops themselves?

[wlachan]

I do already know that...... I do shoot pentax don't I? (despite the average canon/Nikon is t3h b3s7 comment from the stores )

So I guess my question is how much of a quality increase will i see, if at all? Viewing angle isn't that much of a biggie since the computers for me to view and i'll be positioned head-on. The premium seems pretty high for these and I wonder if they are actually as good as people say? I've been using like I said an HP laptop for photo editing and I haven't had any major issues.

Any suggestions for desktops themselves?

The viewing angle issue of TN panels exists no matter how you position yourself. The problem is the top and bottom will become brighter or darker and so is the colour shift. This is not obvious until you get serious on photo editing. Also, IPS panels can be calibrated better, if you will ever need that in the future. Since the NEC can be had for $220, I see little reason buying the TN monitors. As to the desktop, I would probably opt for a custom build W7 64bit, 8GB DDR3, i5 CPU (or AMD Phenom II X4 955 if budget is not allowed) with a pair of WD Black hard drive in RAID1 configuration. But these are off of my head only.

[Doanh]

I agree with wlachan's suggestion but want to elaborate a bit.

- IPS monitor is a must. 16:10 aspect ratio is preferred as it gives you slightly larger screen area compared to 16:9. Beside the NEC, there are other similar IPS monitors from HP, Dell (I have the U2410 which I'm very happy with), LG, Asus, Viewsonic, etc. Read the review before you buy.
- I was surprised to see how much faster LR3 performs on 64 bit system compared to 32 bit. However, I still stick with 32 bit though as I want to play games
- RAM is relatively cheap nowadays so load it up. Maximum for 32 bit is only 4GB so another reason to go with 64 bit system.
- RAID1 (mirror) provides protection against hard drive failure. Western Digital is good. Avoid Seagate. I also have another external RAID1 HD enclosure that I use for back up. I did have both drives setup in RAID1 failed once so I'm a bit paranoid.

Good luck hunting.

Peter

[yeatzee]

The viewing angle issue of TN panels exists no matter how you position yourself. The problem is the top and bottom will become brighter or darker and so is the colour shift. This is not obvious until you get serious on photo editing. Also, IPS panels can be calibrated better, if you will ever need that in the future. Since the NEC can be had for $220, I see little reason buying the TN monitors. As to the desktop, I would probably opt for a custom build W7 64bit, 8GB DDR3, i5 CPU (or AMD Phenom II X4 955 if budget is not allowed) with a pair of WD Black hard drive in RAID1 configuration. But these are off of my head only.

Ok so I guess IPS it is. Is there anything wrong with the NEC since its so cheap?
A custom built computer is out of the question but I know what parts to look for in a completed box now, thanks

I agree with wlachan's suggestion but want to elaborate a bit.

- IPS monitor is a must. 16:10 aspect ratio is preferred as it gives you slightly larger screen area compared to 16:9. Beside the NEC, there are other similar IPS monitors from HP, Dell (I have the U2410 which I'm very happy with), LG, Asus, Viewsonic, etc. Read the review before you buy.
- I was surprised to see how much faster LR3 performs on 64 bit system compared to 32 bit. However, I still stick with 32 bit though as I want to play games
- RAM is relatively cheap nowadays so load it up. Maximum for 32 bit is only 4GB so another reason to go with 64 bit system.
- RAID1 (mirror) provides protection against hard drive failure. Western Digital is good. Avoid Seagate. I also have another external RAID1 HD enclosure that I use for back up. I did have both drives setup in RAID1 failed once so I'm a bit paranoid.

Good luck hunting.

Peter

Ok cool Yes 64 bit was the plan (what im running now), and a lot of RAM is what I was aiming for. Whats a good IPS monitor for roughly $200ish other than the NEC?

I'll look into RAID1 for sure, but im assuming its going to be crazy expensive so that will probably not be an option.

[Steinback]

At first glance the specs on that Gateway look alright, but it's just asking for an upgrade to a half decent graphics card and because the power supply is pretty weak it will almost certainly have to be swapped out in order to upgrade the graphics.

My main complaint about low to mid range pre-built systems is that they tend to be poorly balanced for advertising purposes, with decent processors and RAM but weak power supplies and graphics to keep costs down.

Like wlachan I would build my own system around an AMD chip for a budget build or a Core i5 for a mid to high end system.

[wlachan]

Ok cool Yes 64 bit was the plan (what im running now), and a lot of RAM is what I was aiming for. Whats a good IPS monitor for roughly $200ish other than the NEC?

I'll look into RAID1 for sure, but im assuming its going to be crazy expensive so that will probably not be an option.

These 23" monitors are much cheaper than other IPS monitors mainly because those are e-IPS panels which are lower end IPS, but still far superior than any TN panels. Personally I favour Eizo & Nec monitors.

RAID1 doesn't have to be expensive. There are many motherboards with reliable software RAID and onboard video (read AMD). Intel has the edge on highend CPUs but AMD excels on onboard graphics which should be suffice for Photoshop and LR. Just make sure it has DVI output.

[SpecialK]

I'm using a lower end Gateway SX-2800 quad-core that is decent. It was just over $500 with the 20 inch monitor. However, if that bigger monitor is like the 20" version (that I gave to my mom to replace her CRT box), it is too shiny reflective. Much prefer the Samsung or Viewsonic I have - LCD though they are.

[adr1an]

First and foremost - IPS only for the monitor. Forget TN. If you are careful you will pay not much more than a TN as well.

I recently upgraded. Custom built it. Used a Asus P67 board matched with an i7-2600k thats clocked up to 3.9Ghz w/ 8GB RAM and RAID0. Quad Hyperthreaded Goodness (VMWare screams with 8 cores ) Im cruel I know

Yes RAID0. I'd prefer the speed. And I backup regularly. I use a couple of 2TB USB3 Segates to do weekly images and some incrementals throughout the week. Only cost I think about $150 in drives (4TB total)... Not sure why you'd go RAID1 in a Desktop - since the only sort of backups you should rely on for a HOME computer is "Off-site" - or at least Seperate from the PC. RAID1 wont protect your data when the PC is stolen or the house burns down or the place gets hit with Lightning.

Dont spend money on SATAIII drives over SATAII - Your PC cannot exceed the *Physical* Limitations of a 7200RPM drive at SATAI, let alone SATAII...
That big speed increase is only in the Brochure. Having said that - SATAIII isn't just about Speed - If you know you want some of the NQ features etc of SATAIII etc, go for it.. but don't think it'll give a single byte faster transfer for you You can get cheap *fast* drives such as the Samsung ones for next-to-nix these days...

Anyway - thats my two cents worth - but I build big govt. infrastructure systems and 'stuff' so tend to do things in particular ways... generally the over the top and over engineered way

[cats_five]

My PC works perfectly well using with 2-year (or is it 3-year?) old components - a Gigabyte GA-MA78G-DS3H. Graphics is a ATI Radeon HD 3200 built into the motherbaord, CPU is a AMD Phenom X4 9750, it has 4GB RAM, runs W7x64. I use CS4, I admit it takes time to do a panorama from several images from my K7 but suspect most PCs would... Screen is an Eizo. I plan getting a second IPS screen at some point in time, a bottom-end one. I used to have two screens, I put the image on one and all the various palettes, toolbars and so on on the other.

If you can find an affordable IPS screen that will rotate 90 degrees that can be very useful if you are editing large Word documents. I found it invaluable for finishing my degree project, when I had reached the final stage of re-reading and making sure it was beautifully laid out - I could see each page full-size.

Backups are essential. I have an NAS (I got it to put my CDs onto) with two disks in a mirror, I use SyncToy to backup to it, and I also have quite a lot of stuff backed up to an extra HDD in the PC. I also have an external HDD.... Synctoy comes from Microsoft and is an excellent little utility.

Mentioning my degree reminds me - if you can find a way to qualify for student software it can save a bundle. I did a cheap Open University course a while back and the cost the course, plus W7, plus Office 2010 (the Pro version), plus CS4, was less than a retail copy of CS4. I keep debating doing another course and getting Lightroom except I'd have to put quite a lot of effort into understanding it. All that export business and so on... I might have to buy 'Lightroom for Dummies'!