Desktop PC Spec?

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Ian
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Hi

I know this question has been asked probably a thousand times but what spec would you go for?
I will be using it for photo editing,photoshop/lightroom and just general everyday browsing etc.
Im looking for something that will last me a few years and one I can upgrade when needed.
Ive decided on an i7 processer and at least 16gb ram.
Can someone tell me if Dell are any good? I have been looking at the XPS 8900 price £999.00
Custom built seem to work out more after ive put in everything online.
Im really not sure what way to go and what money I would need to spend.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ian
 
"just buy a Dell" is often heard being said to people who aren't that confident with PCs, they are decent, reliable (as these things get) and good value. Yes there are better PCs for the money but as a no-nonsense solution you can't go far wrong.

Lightroom and Photoshop don't actually need a super powerful computer to work well - I use both on one of the new Macbooks which have weedy processors and they run pretty fine - any decent modern desktop will fly along. You only really need super-duper top of the range PCs if you're doing 4k video editing or gaming.
 
There's nothing "wrong" with Dell. They may use cheaper part and in some cases proprietary parts (e.g. Odd motherboard and psu types) but they generally plod on with bot too much issue.

Like anything in the Dell higher price bracket look at the extra on site support. A bit like applecare it's generally worth it.

Other vendors like novatech or ocuk will use better quality parts but expect to pay more of a premium.

Light room and photoshop doesn't "need" high spec machines but they'll certainly thrive when the programs have a lot of hardware resource.
 
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Thanks Neil
Might have a look at novatech and ocuk
 
Well one thing in your original post that noone seems to have picked up on is "one I can upgrade when needed" which is why replies like 'dell are fine' are pointless.

When you buy a Dell you need to be careful what you go for as some of their PC's often have a lot of integrated components ie GPU etc, limted expansion ports, limited cooling options and that sort of thing.

That's why I wouldn't buy one, I would rather build it myself or go for something from scan.co.uk that use standard MBs, components etc and will allow easy upgrade in the future.
 
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Jase said:
Well one thing in your original post that noone seems to have picked up on is "one I can upgrade when needed" which is why replies like 'dell are fine' are pointless.

When you buy a Dell you need to be careful what you go for as some of their PC's often have a lot of integrated components ie GPU etc, limted expansion ports, limited cooling options and that sort of thing.

That's why I wouldn't buy one, I would rather build it myself or go for something from scan.co.uk that use standard MBs, components etc and will allow easy upgrade in the future.
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Depends entirely on model on any PC.

Both Dell and others can use motherboards with integrated Intel gpu but will still have the capacity to add a pci-e gpu at a later date.

Just research what you're buying.
 
Jase said:
Well one thing in your original post that noone seems to have picked up on is "one I can upgrade when needed" which is why replies like 'dell are fine' are pointless.

When you buy a Dell you need to be careful what you go for as some of their PC's often have a lot of integrated components ie GPU etc, limted expansion ports, limited cooling options and that sort of thing.

That's why I wouldn't buy one, I would rather build it myself or go for something from scan.co.uk that use standard MBs, components etc and will allow easy upgrade in the future.
Click to expand...

What a load of nonsense

He said he was looking at an XPS no issues upgrading components on those at all
 
neil_g said:
Depends entirely on model on any PC.

Both Dell and others can use motherboards with integrated Intel gpu but will still have the capacity to add a pci-e gpu at a later date.

Just research what you're buying.
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Yes, but simply saying Dell is fine is not an answer. Yes others can use Motherboards that have integrated GPUs and give the option to add/overide it with a card later but generally its not clear on the basic specs that they advertise which is why I said be careful what you get.

So I thought it was important for the OP to be aware.

Like I said I wouldn't buy one, their monitors are quite good though :)
 
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f/2.8 said:
What a load of nonsense

He said he was looking at an XPS no issues upgrading components on those at all
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LOL the only nonsense is you saying that.

I didn't even look at the specs for the XPS 8900 so I just did a google for it, the first article in google (XPS 8900 SE) and also a review stated:

Lows
  • Difficult to upgrade
So that was just a lucky guess was it.....
 
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I'm sure any PC costing £999 will be more than adequate, you could spend less for,the reasons given above. I suggest you read the reviews in PC mags and online.
 
I recently bought a business PC from CCL https://www.cclonline.com/pc/business-pcs/ on their advice I went for I5 instead of I7 ( the tech guy said for what I wanted mainly PS & LR I7 was a waste of money)with 16gb RAM and upgraded the SSD to 250gb from 120.
Came with 3 years warranty and cost just over £600
 
Jase said:
When you buy a Dell you need to be careful what you go for as some of their PC's often have a lot of integrated components ie GPU etc, limted expansion ports, limited cooling options and that sort of thing.
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About twenty years ago that was true. But their desktops are as upgradeable as anyone else's and have been for a while.

If you plan on upgrading just make sure you get a standard case model from whoever you buy it from, anything that deviates into too much styling or compactness will always cause problems if that's your thing.

An i5/i7 Vostro desktop will run Lightroom/Photoshop perfectly well - very well with an upgrade to the graphics card and maxing out the memory. Going for anything more extreme is really only needed for video editing, gaming or vanity.
 
Get a k series processor. Decent cooler. Something like a swiftech h220 X. Then overclock it within an inch of its life and it'll render raw files 1:1 pretty much 'instantly' .
 
Surprised no one has said build your own. Would never do it myself but if you know a teenager or two they will sort it for you. Sure there is a site where you enter the specs you want and it shows best price for each part.
 
Jase said:
LOL the only nonsense is you saying that.

I didn't even look at the specs for the XPS 8900 so I just did a google for it, the first article in google (XPS 8900 SE) and also a review stated:

Lows
  • Difficult to upgrade
So that was just a lucky guess was it.....
Click to expand...

is that the same review that gives quite good images of the inside, with a whacking great GTX installed?

http://www.digitaltrends.com/desktop-computer-reviews/dell-xps-8900-special-edition-review/

without reading the full thing it doesn't actually look that bad to upgrade, hard drives seem to look like they're on quick release mounts (common on dell), takes a decent size GPU card, spare PCI slot, looks like it has spare hard drive bays. you could probably replace the cooler with a little work, psu seems to look like standard atx.

dont think thats actually too bad. its not going to be as good quality as a machine for a bit more cash from the likes of OCUK or Novatech, but it looks pretty good as an entry level off the shelf box.
 
neil_g said:
is that the same review that gives quite good images of the inside, with a whacking great GTX installed?

http://www.digitaltrends.com/desktop-computer-reviews/dell-xps-8900-special-edition-review/

without reading the full thing it doesn't actually look that bad to upgrade, hard drives seem to look like they're on quick release mounts (common on dell), takes a decent size GPU card, spare PCI slot, looks like it has spare hard drive bays. you could probably replace the cooler with a little work, psu seems to look like standard atx.

dont think thats actually too bad. its not going to be as good quality as a machine for a bit more cash from the likes of OCUK or Novatech, but it looks pretty good as an entry level off the shelf box.
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Yeah that's the one, it was just to get my point across, that the first review found on Google said that the Dell is not the best for upgrading which is something that the OP wanted.

For a very similar price you can get a better PC from the likes of Scan or OcUK etc that will have a better case, better PSU, better GPU etc. Just look at the inside of that Dell, the cabling is terrible.
 
If you are just doing PS and Lightroom you may want to save some cash and get an i5 instead and spend the money on a larger ssd and or hdd. If you are not going / never intend to overclock then you could drop the k from the chip and buy a 'H' board rather than a 'Z' board saving a bit more money. Your budget is healthy and there has been good suggestions with overclocker and scan. Building a computer these days is a lot easier now than it was with the likes of jumpers etc in times past.

If you are fixed on a Dell the Dell Outlet store currently has some interesting Alienware, X51s at the specs you have, for 600-700 (VAT and delivery to be added) http://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/...d=1515&fid=1512&dgc=IR&cid=296386&lid=5667368
 
Thanks to everyone for your comments.I think I will go the custom route.
Chilliblast,Wired2fire and CCL seem very good anyone used them?
 
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