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Archive 2016 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.

  
 
jbear
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.


Good knowledge base here, so...
I need to replace a desktop PC. I will be running PS CC, LR CC, Nik Collection,a browser, a printer driver, and that's it. There will be no other applications involved. I am unsure about how to most efficiently utilize my resources.
I can get a standard machine with a large SATA drive or I can get a smaller SSD and use external storage. With a stretch and perhaps a deal...I could swing both.
Just want clean and fast...it doesn't have to impress anyone.
I'm also thinking that I should just go with Windows 10 since that's current.
Not sure what the best approach is, so...what do you think?



Nov 28, 2016 at 02:52 PM
aubsxc
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.


jbear wrote:
Good knowledge base here, so...
I need to replace a desktop PC. I will be running PS CC, LR CC, Nik Collection,a browser, a printer driver, and that's it. There will be no other applications involved. I am unsure about how to most efficiently utilize my resources.
I can get a standard machine with a large SATA drive or I can get a smaller SSD and use external storage. With a stretch and perhaps a deal...I could swing both.
Just want clean and fast...it doesn't have to impress anyone.
I'm also thinking that I should just go with Windows 10 since that's current.
Not sure
...Show more

You don't have a lot of options at the $400 to 500 pricepoint. If you have a friend who can build you a computer to your budget, I would explore it. Otherwise, look at the deals you can get on an OEM Dell/HP/Lenovo machine at your local store.



Nov 28, 2016 at 04:28 PM
jbear
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.


Thanks for the response.
There are many decent PC's out there...I've been looking...but I need to make sacrifices. What to sacrifice is what I'm trying to determine.
Guess I am trying to understand what is the most important thing to keep from bottlenecking...
CPU speed...ram...SSD v SATA.
There are a lot of competent machines with large SATA drives and no SSD. There are some with a small SSD and no large storage drive. It's possible that with the light load I'll be applying that it doesn't even matter, but...just want to educate myself.
I do not need state of the art...just a working unit.



Nov 28, 2016 at 04:33 PM
schlotz
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.


Ok, not needing state of the art will allow you to lower the need for SSD. The next question is are you in PS more than LR? If yes then PS takes full advantage of multiple core processors where LR really doesn't. In general go for CPU speed first and memory second. Although I would recommend getting at least 8Gb of memory and configured such that there is still some open slots to increase it down the road if needed.


Nov 29, 2016 at 08:38 AM
15Bit
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.


At that price i think you need to keep an eye open for older model PC's that come on sale. I couldn't build something from new parts for that if a copy of Win 10 is also needed.

What components do you have in the current PC that could be recycled into the new?



Nov 29, 2016 at 10:15 AM
jbear
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.


Thank you for that. I may be able to jump to about $600. I see a lot of machines in that range. I can configure a Lenovo with a 250 SSD, 1 TB storage HD, 16gDDR4, and i5 6400. I think that should work.


Nov 29, 2016 at 10:19 AM
jbear
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.


So...that's what I ended up with for just under 6. It's replacing a Quad Core AMD HP Pavilion with 4G Ram, so...can't see how this won't be an improvement.
Thanks all!



Nov 29, 2016 at 02:54 PM
monatik
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.


You can build it by yourself


Dec 01, 2016 at 03:34 AM
dtolios
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.


Are you building it yourself or buying a tower off a shelf (or online) ?
Is the $500 including the cost of software (like the Windows OS?) ?



Dec 02, 2016 at 06:03 PM
JohanEickmeyer
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.


You would need a calibrated monitor long before a new machine if you don't already have one.

Also, it would be fine to just upgrade your old machine with more RAM, clean OS install, and an SSD. If just doing casual photo work, you don't need anything fast. Heck, I use a 1.6 GHz dual core AMD laptop for photo editing and it works fine overall hooked up to my NEC wide gamut monitor with calibration. NEC has some monitor models that can be perfectly calibrated to just about any mainstream video card or dedicated video on the motherboard.



Dec 02, 2016 at 06:22 PM
UCSB
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.


It seems like your best chance of getting something decent is to wait until after Christmas and look at the closeouts and clearance sales. Obviously with a strategy like that you just have to see what retailers are dumping.

I would go with Windows 10. With a budget this low, every $ you can add to that upper limit will get you a nicer machine.

Good luck.



Dec 02, 2016 at 11:28 PM
chesterp
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.


Build out a pc.

Honestly, you're going to have to stick to a bottom of the barrel i5 quad core.

Check this out:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.69 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($46.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($41.99 @ Jet)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 460 2GB Video Card ($97.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($28.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $489.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-14 18:48 EST-0500



Dec 14, 2016 at 06:48 PM
OntheRez
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.


I'm not a DOS box sort of guy, but I was stumbling thru Costco the other day with a truck load of food (and good booze for a celebration and they had a laptop for ≈ $650(?) with 12GB RAM and a SSD (256GB ?) Lenovo? Acer? Maybe HP. Didn't look close.

As noted above you can "roll your own" if so inclined and stay with in your rather tight budget. The challenge, of course, is to not buy that "just a bit better/faster/sexier" part cause it will get out of control.

It is true in computing as in all other facets of life that there is no free lunch. Unless you get something hot off of Craigslist or some such thing, $400 will get you a functional but not fast nor full featured tool.

Robert



Dec 14, 2016 at 07:21 PM
chesterp
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.


OntheRez wrote:
I'm not a DOS box sort of guy, but I was stumbling thru Costco the other day with a truck load of food (and good booze for a celebration and they had a laptop for ≈ $650(?) with 12GB RAM and a SSD (256GB ?) Lenovo? Acer? Maybe HP. Didn't look close.

As noted above you can "roll your own" if so inclined and stay with in your rather tight budget. The challenge, of course, is to not buy that "just a bit better/faster/sexier" part cause it will get out of control.

It is true in computing as in all other
...Show more

I second this! Costco has had some badass deals on PC laptops lately



Dec 14, 2016 at 08:29 PM
wjauch
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Looking for a $400-500 CC PS/LR Desktop.


I'd suggest keeping an eye on one of the discount sites such as dealnews dot com. They often list pc or laptop specials. Today there is a Lenovo pc with a discount code for $150 off. Intel Core i5-6400T 2.2GHz Skylake quad-core processor, 8GB RAM, 1TB 7200 rpm hard drive, DVD burner, 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI, USB, media card reader, and Windows 10 Home 64-bit. $400


Dec 14, 2016 at 08:46 PM





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