PC Spec - Talk To Me Like I'm 5

danny_bhoy

danny_bhoy

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Spent a while trawling the forum and web in general to try and get the answers I'm after but most is just far too advanced for me. I've worked with computers every day for the last god knows how long but I seem to have lost touch a little bit with the techy side of things.

What I'm after is the minimum spec I need for an editing PC. No frills - just the bare minimum to smoothly run LR5 and CS6.

Any chance that someone can break it down for me? Every time I think I have the components I need nailed down, I come accross something else or conflicting info!

Don't worry about dumbing down or telling me something I might already know.........see the thread title :)

Thanks in advance.
 
not really.

lightroom isnt GPU accelerated and the amount of PS tasks that have (limited) GPU acceleration are negligible.

sure an onboard GPU will use some system RAM but with 8Gb you should be fine there. the intel i5 onboard GPU is plenty powerful enough for a laptop (and external display if you wish) anyway.

(also see my edit on last post about SSD)
 
simonblue said:
As above plus 1tb x 2 hard disk space in an desktop,in an laptop 1tb x 1tb for backups :)
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neil_g said:
not really.

lightroom isnt GPU accelerated and the amount of PS tasks that have (limited) GPU acceleration are negligible.

sure an onboard GPU will use some system RAM but with 8Gb you should be fine there. the intel i5 onboard GPU is plenty powerful enough for a laptop (and external display if you wish) anyway.

(also see my edit on last post about SSD)
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You've given me a great starting point guys, thanks!

I know price must vary wildly depending on loads of variables but would I be far off the mark if I had a figure in my head of about £400-450 to get this put together?
 
Haven't brought anything in a while,so not to sure on pricing,just don't fall into the trap of adding what you don't need.

:)
 
danny_bhoy said:
That definitely won't be a problem Simon :) I'm after the bare bones as it'll be used solely for editing.
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Thats its,i know some people will spent quite a bit on say keeping their computers as quite as possible,but a bit of background noise never bother me :)
 
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Or keep an eye on Dell's outlet site if you're not fussed about a refurbed, but with 12m warranty, unit:

http://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?brandid=1&c=uk&cs=ukdfh1&l=en&s=dfh

I picked up an i5-4460, 8gb inspiron 3847 for a shade over £300 delivered, a saving of £150 over equivalent on main Dell site. Mind you, not used it yet other than to check it over, as delivered day before I went on hols.

There's an i3 on there currently, keep checking back until you find the spec you want and buy quick, before it goes.
 
I had a machine built a few weeks ago: i7 (i5 would have been fine) Devil's Canyon, 16GB, small SSD, larger HDD and no GPU. I have to say, Photoshop flies editing 2GB files (100MP x 10 layers) so I can't complain. Came in at £600 built but could have specced the parts myself for about £50 less.

FWIW, @neil_g cast his eyes over the specs on mine as well, so I'd take his view as solid!
 
danny_bhoy said:
There's an Asus machine nearby with 8GB RAM and what it says is an intel i5 2.7GHz processor. Does it specifically have to state 'quad core'? I'm really showing how out of touch I am here by the way :)
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Some i5s are dual core, some are quad (I think)... I've only bought i3s and i7s recently so I'm not really in touch either. Best to get the actual processor model (including whether it is a "K" or not) and then check.

8GB RAM should be fine - I've rarely seen my utilisation go above that. Right now I have Excel, Outlook and Word open (for work!) and LR in the background. I've just fired up PS and opened up a 1.7GB 16-bit PSD file and I'm only just using > 8GB.
 
Apols for banging the Dell Outlet drum, there's an i5 spec on there now, just shy of £337 delivered:

System ID: F5AHYGKL
Inspiron 3847 Desktop
Certified Refurbished
System Price: £280.82
BaseInspiron 3847 Desktop
ProcessorProcessor: Intel® Core™ i5-4460 processor (6M Cache, up to 3.4 GHz)
Operating SystemWindows® 8.1
Hard Disk Drive1 TB SATA III Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Memory8 GB DDR3 Dual Channel 1600MHz Memory (2x4GB) [QTY : 2 ]
Video1 GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 705 DDR3
SoftwareBack Up Media Not Included
Windows® 8.1 (64 Bit) English
Media Bay16X DVD +/- RW Drive
Network Interface CardDell Wireless-N 1705 + Bluetooth 4.0
Chassis TypeMini-Tower Chassis
KeyboardDell USB Keyboard
Hardware UpgradeNo external monitor included
AdaptersPower Supply: 250V AC Adapter
 
I don't know about talk to me like I'm 5, a 5 year old would probably understand this better than me, so I think it's more a case of talk to me like I'm 95, ( although I've got 20 years to go yet) Seriously, will this set up be plenty enough for what I need, which is a bit of surfing, looking at Utube tutorials, Family Tree Maker, and Photoshop Elements 7 editing, or could I get away with something less?
The price certainly looks good, although I would probably have to sell my Nikon 105 VR to fund it.
Thanks in advance,
Ken
 
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