Please Help - I need to replace my desktop

jeniveeev

jeniveeev

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,407
Name
Mac
Edit My Images
No
Hi - I hope a few of you can help me out with narrowing down my search for a new workstation. The reason I ask is I dont know enough about computers to know what I need. So I thought I would share what I would like and what it will be used for:

I would like to a Dell Towerstation as I have bought from them before and their repair service has been great up until now.

The computer memory and hard drive's need to be big and fast.

I will have software CS4 & LR2 loaded for processing RAW files.

What size of monitor would you recommend? I have 21" (diagonal) at the moment. Graphics must be good.

I have been looking at the Precision T3500 - Is this over spec'd for what I need? (its a bit pricey!)

Thanks in advance. Jen
 
Considering these two that I saw in the hated PCW 3 days ago, possibly:

Advent.jpg


dell.jpg
 
Having just had a quick look at the Dell site, you'd be better off with a fully spec'd XPS 8100 than a Precision:

Studio XPS 8100

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i5 Processor 660 (3.33GHz, 4MB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit- English
SYSTEM RECOVERY OS Media : MUI Windows 7 Home Premium (64 BIT) Resource DVD
OFFICE SOFTWARE No productivity Software selected
SERVICES AND SUPPORT 1 year of coverage included with your PC
PROTECT YOUR NEW PC McAfee® Security Centre - 15 Month Protection - English
MONITOR 23in ST2320L UK/Irish Full HD WLED Widescreen Monitor (VGA, DVI-D and HDMI)
MEMORY 8192MB (4x2GB) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel Memory
HARD DRIVE 1TB Serial ATA (7200RPM) Hard Drive
GRAPHICS CARD 1GB ATI Radeon™ HD 5770 Graphics Card
OPTICAL DRIVE DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD) with Roxio Easy CD and DVD Burn software
KEYBOARD Dell Multimedia USB Keyboard Dual Tone - UK/Irish
MOUSE Dell Optical Scroll USB (2 buttons scroll) DUAL TONE Mouse
WIRELESS SOLUTION Dell 1525 Wireless PCIe Network Card 802.11n
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module - European
1 Year Collect & Support

£1,303.99 inc VAT & Delivery
Click to expand...
 
I think the Dell Precision range is more suited to server use.
For photography use you would be better off with a Core i5/i7 than a Xeon.
The base T3500 also only has a 250GB drive.

Look at the XPS range.
Get something with a Core i5/i7 CPU, 1TB hard drive, 1GB graphics card,24 inch Full HD (1920x1080) monitor and you will be fine.
 
eos1 said:
I think the Dell Precision range is more suited to server use.
Click to expand...

They are designed as Workstations, in the old fashioned (ie proper) sense of the word in IT terms, but I agree with the rest of your comment, hence the quote above!
 
I bought a Dell Inspiron earlier this year with an Intel Quad Core (cant remember speed), 1Gb NVidea graphics, 4Gb RAM, 750Gb HDD and, although not great spec compared to others, it runs CS4 like a dream.
I also bought the 23" monitor as mentioned above and love it. I currently use a resolution of 2048 x 1152

The PC you are looking at is far superior to mine and you wont be disappointed especially if you go for an i5 or i7 processor
 
OK - I'm going to throw this in before anyone else, and I make no apologies for it!!

How about a Mac instead?
 
Thanks everyone - ok I have a few questions.

What is the difference between a gaming and ordinary pc/work station?
I have been comparing the precision with XPS and Gaming and the XPS & Gaming have a better hard drive. Is this because they are used more for videos and entertainment? I would be better off with more HD....right?

Also, why the big price difference between gaming and XPS?

Hope my questions arent too dumb!!!? {{embarrassed}}

Oh, a mac is out of the question as my software isnt compatible but thank you for chipping in. ;-)
 
Gaming PCs tend to be much more expensive than any other type due due to the fact you need (or gamers 'think' they need) the best technology our there to run the latest games. Trust me, you do not need to spend this much.

A workstation is a bit of a general term as there are multiple ways you can build one, you would probably need a 'graphics workstation'. In that case look for PCs with a large amount of memory (and thus a 64bit OS) and storage space (maybe even a SSD). A good size and quality monitor is also important for image editing (I recommend LG). You wont need anything more than a fairly decent graphics card and processor to process image files. Software (other than games) rarely take advantage of new processor tech anyway.

My recommendation is do not go to Dell at all. Pop down your local PC store and have them build you up a custom PC. Say you need it for image processing and they will know what to build.
 
Ink Guru - The nearest place to me is PC World, I will pop in and have a chat with them tomorrow and see what they come up with and do a price comparison.

I have taken written notes from this thread so Il go armed with info.

Thanks again everyone - great info and help here. ;-))
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top