# Computer question



## TooTall (Nov 15, 2013)

I'm sorry if this is not the place to ask this question. Trying to find what computer hard drive, processor, memory etc. to look for in a new desktop. I am using windows7 and have always used windows. I have heard shooting RAW uses a lot of hard drive space. Again I'm sorry if this forum isn't the place to ask but I don't know where else to go.


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## 480sparky (Nov 15, 2013)

What is the question?


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## astroNikon (Nov 15, 2013)

What type of performance are you looking for for what size and quantity RAW files?  And are you going to just tweak them or do full POST Processing on them .. and using what software?

way too little information .. it's like asking a car repair person that you want to buy a "reliable" car without any further information.

I process RAW files and I'm using a laptop I bought 5 years ago with a AMD Athlon X2 processor, Vista and not much memory.  Granted I'm not "in a hurry" and I'm able to do the little processing that I do.

You need to define your requirements and criteria otherwise a $300 computer could suffice, or maybe a $3,000 computer ?

You also have the option of not shooting in RAW.


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## cynicaster (Nov 15, 2013)

PC's reached a point several years ago where even "entry level" systems had more than enough under the hood to handle hobbyist digital photo needs.  

Really, unless you have some other power-hungry things in mind for the PC that you didn't mention--such as playing the latest computer games or video editing--it's hard to think of a reason to spend any more than a few hundred on a new PC for somebody who is just going to edit photos, send e-mails, and surf the net.  

Head over to your local big box store and drop $350-$400 on an Intel i5 and call it a day.  Whatever you buy, it will have more RAM and harddrive space than you'll ever need (unless, as I said, there are other needs for the PC you didn't mention).


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## Braineack (Nov 15, 2013)

On newegg you should easily find an i5 (lower model chip) with 8GB of Ram, 1TB Hard drive and win8 loaded for under $500.

I bought a combo on Monday that I couldn't pass up with an AMD chip.  It beats out the i5-3750K everywhere but single core processing, so my gaming might not bet quite as good as if I had the intel chip, but I should be better off in all other departments.

After rebates I just over $450 in and that includes:


CASEMBHD7850 1GB GPU750w PSUAMD 8-CORE FX-8320 3.5G CPUMEM 16GB CRUCIALHDD 1TB

Just an Xmas present to myself.  Eventually I'll go to a solid state drive (ssd) for the OS and programs, and use the 1TB and my 500GB and 320GB for storage and actually get a good monitor.


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## TooTall (Nov 15, 2013)

OK let me try to refine my question. Now I use a HP laptop, duel core, 2.30 GHz, 3.00 ram, Windows7. I have a Olympus SZ-12 camera. I use the program that came with the camera. It's slow and gets hot and a box store employee told me there is not much I can do with it. I just purchased a Nikon5100 and would like to use Lightroom and Photomatix some day. I don't play games or want to edit video. If a $300-$400 desktop will run these programs great. I hope I answered all the questions. I tried :Thanks


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## TooTall (Nov 15, 2013)

THANK YOU Brineack. That's what I needed


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## Braineack (Nov 15, 2013)

here's an example: Newegg.com - Gateway Intel Core i5 8GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity Desktop PC Windows 8 DX4885-UR21

i5-4430
8GB of RAM
and a 1TB HDD.

pretty much all you need to know/need.  It's just highly unfortunate it comes with win8 loaded.  This assumes you have a monitor, I assume everyone has at least 3-4 in their basements like I do.


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## lambertpix (Nov 15, 2013)

Lightroom likes RAM, but especially depends on fast I/O -- this makes sense, as you're cranking through big image files one after the other.  Photomatix will be a little more CPU-bound, but would probably be pretty happy with an i5 proc.  Incidentally, if anyone uses Nik tools, I've found that they're optimized for GPU's, and they don't seem to be super-happy with Intel's integrated graphics, so I'll be watching the black Friday ads for a decent video card.  Anyway, here's my current build:

LambertPix » A PC for photo editing

The SDD is really, really nice for fast boots, and if you can give LR a little room on this drive for caching & catalogs, it helps.  The mirrored hard drives are a bit of a luxury, and they're not a substitute for real backups, but speaking from experience, it's just so much nicer to turn on the PC and see a "volume degraded" message vs. "volume not found" -- even if you've got a backup.  I've rebuilt volumes while I continue working -- vs. being completely out of commission while you get a new HDD, replace the HDD, restore from backup, try to figure out what you lost since you took your last backup, etc.  For the extra $100 or so you'll spend for that second HDD, it's cheap peace of mind, IMO.


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## Newtricks (Nov 20, 2013)

TooTall said:


> Trying to find what computer hard drive, processor, memory etc. to look for in a new desktop.



It is easy, the simple answer is... whatever version of windows you are running, a second HDD (hard drive) running the editing software is the solution.


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## Braineack (Nov 20, 2013)

Finished my build up:







I think all in all I have $530 it after I splurged on the super duper sized heatsink.






I got LR5 and Master Collection CS6 installed last night, so I'm ready to rock and roll.


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## Newtricks (Nov 21, 2013)

That is nice, I see your cat like to help like mine. Built my last computer in 1999, AMD chip set on an ASUS MB, 1 gig 133mh ram and a Linux OS I compiled myself, ran non-stop for 10 years until the boot loader failed. At this point I think the case is probably the only part worth salvaging.


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