Time for a new computer

[Grumpy Old Guy]

My seven year old laptop just can't keep up with Photoshop or Premiere anymore. I'm looking to invest in a real graphics powerhouse PC. I'm even thinking of going back to using a desktop PC for future expandability, and because I enjoy tinkering with computers. No Macs, this is a PC household. LOL!

Does anyone have a computer they're really in love with these days? Right now I'm leaning towards a Dell or Alienware with a superstrong graphics card and an I7 CPU.

Thanks!

Grumpy

[ShepKat]

1. Just switched to a desktop myself-

Have always been a Dell person. Don't think I've owned any other since windows '95.
My first laptop was a windows 7, finally back to a desktop. Don't own a smartphone-
hope to never have to.

Dell has some good ones for sure. Mine is very basic- with the least amount of A.I. -
I still have my photoshop 7 disc- hmmm will have to check if it will load onto it.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

5. Dells are good.

I have a good friend who worked for Dell until she was laid off just before Christmas of 2024. I think they're a quality brand.
My wife has an XPS and loves it. It does a pretty decent job with Photoshop.

[The Madcap]

2. I prefer building my own.

By doing that, I can usually salvage at least a few parts when I build again.

[HAB911]

3. I'm a Dell guy myself, and just got a new one

The problem with Dell is almost everything is proprietary connectors etc. My sequence of events:

Plan A:
Thought I had a pretty good system, Dell Optiplex Tower Plus 7020, 64GB i9-14900K core, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX3070 or 4060, can’t remember. The 7020 is a Gen4 PCIe bus. When I don’t have a camera in my hand, I’m on the computer and seems like I never shut any program down. I started having lock ups when running PS and Topaz would just drop trying to do “save text” with airplane photos especially. I wanted to get an RTX5080 Gen5, but since the case of the 7020 would not accept a 12 in long video card, I planned on mounting it externally with a PCIe extension cable. Duh, can’t be done because the Dell 7020 power supply can’t be upgraded to the 1000W the 5080 has to have. All the Dell pinouts are proprietary and different between power supplies and motherboards. Fallback plan, NVME M.2 M Key to OCuLink which has it’s own power supply for the video card. Could not make that work, close but no cigar, it would work once, then quit working completly. OCuLink is used by gamers to add external video cards to gaming laptops.

Plan B:
Shopped around and decided to try the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 64G Ultra i9 285K and GeForce RTX5080. The EBT2250(nonAI) is PCIe Gen5 as is the RTX5080 which has 16GB of memory. I don’t begin to understand the Dell product lines which seem to always be changing and takes up so much time to pick one. I almost went with the Alienware, mainly because they offer a liquid cooler, but really didn’t need all the flashing lights and transparent case. I thought the 7020 always ran hot, so I added a couple of case fans to this EBT2250. Bottom line, I’m pretty much satisfied, although I think maybe the RTX5080 could use more memory. (sometimes I have 10 to 15 photos up at one time in PS) I don’t try to run my video intensive Schwab thinkorswim trading platform at the same time as processing photos because it has locked up on me once with Topaz. Truthfully it’s a crap shoot with a lot of moving parts for one’s particular set of requirements. Google “best photo editing computer” and start from there!

Edit: The RTX5080 has the option of "Game Ready" or "Creators" (graphic designers/photographer) drivers.
The RTX5090 has 32G but is pricey at $2500-$3700

[Grumpy Old Guy]

7. Sounds good.

Sorry it took so long for me to reply. That's a bummer about the pins on the power supplies and motherboards. Why am I not surprised?

The system you're using now is pretty close to what I'm thinking, although my pockets probably aren't as deep. I'll probably settle for an I7, and I think the graphics card will end up being an RTX 5070. I do want to get as much Ram and Video Ram as possible. I'm thinking 64gb for the main memory, and 16gb for the graphics card. I mostly do Photoshop and Lightroom, but I'm thinking I'd like to try editing some 4k video. I have three cameras that can shoot 4k, and it would be nice if I could put them to good use.

Now I just have to wait for some extra cash to come in! LOL!

Thanks for the advice.

[GiqueCee]

4. I have the same Adobe creative suite...

... in my Dell computer at work, and my Mac computer at home. In my experience, the Mac version of Photoshop is superior to the PC in many ways.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

6. I'm sure the Mac system is better for photoshop.

I hear the top of the line M4 is killer for Photoshop and Premiere. However, we have our whole computer environment built around PCs and Androids, so I doubt we'll be switching soon. I was pretty happy with my system, but it just aged out.

[George McGovern]

8. KC wanted to offer his computer expertise, Grumpy; but he doesn't have any.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

9. LOL!

[George McGovern]

10. Thanks Grumpy!

[Grumpy Old Guy]

11. An update on my computer search.

It has been a couple of months since I first posted this thread. I finally have enough cash handy to get a pretty good midrange PC gaming system. Unfortunately, memory prices have gone through the roof lately, and some top of the line GPUs are in short supply. I looked at Amazon and all the big-box retailers, but discovered that there is a Micro Center store about an hours drive from home. There just aren't many good computer retailers like there were thirty years ago.

I'm leaning towards an AMD Ryzen 7 series CPU, 32 gb of Ram (64 GB is really expensive right now), an Invidia RTX 5070 ti or a RTX 4060 TIGPU with 12 or 16 GB, 1 TB HD, and a 750W or greater cooling system, maybe even liquid cooler. I hope to bring this in under $2k, leaving me some money for an inexpensive monitor that can handle 4k video editing.

I'm buying as much processing as I can afford because I'm hoping to start shooting my wildlife videos in 4K.

I'm even thinking of getting one of those gaming systems with all the flashing RGB lights. I'll probably regret it, but they look like fun. I also like being able to open up the case and tinker around inside.

Wish me luck!

[George McGovern]

12. May the computing force be with you!