New desktop

RumRat

Will This DELL be worth considering? Not sure if you'll find one on the outlet, but, might be worth a look, if it suits....:)

Cisco001

RumRat wrote: »

Will This DELL be worth considering? Not sure if you'll find one on the outlet, but, might be worth a look, if it suits....:)

The zoostorm @ ebuyer is a better option, IMO.
i5-4460 faster than i5-6400, although i5-4460 use extra 19W...

GTX 960 (£160) a lot faster than GT 730 (£50). Although OP probably don't need GTX 960, but for extra £20. I don't see the reason getting dell.

Personally don't like non-atx size PSU from dell as it could cost more if repair/ upgrade when needed.

mr_fishbulb

Mr_Toad wrote: »

Image processing is complex and a lot of the processing is now done by the GPU, Graphics Processing Unit, and RAM on your graphics card.

Depends on what you use (Photoshop version / Lightroom version / plugins), and what filters/tools you use on those programmes.

Photoshop 5 only supports GPU acceleration on these functions:

• Scrubby Zoom
• Heads-up display (HUD) color picker
• Color sampling ring
• Brush dynamic size and brush hardness control
• Bristle Brush preview
• Rule of Thirds crop grid overlay
• 3D overlays (including ground plane, light guides, and bounding boxes for mesh and materials)

For example, I use Lightroom and on my old machine I only noticed an increase from going from onboard graphics to a dedicated graphics card in one of my plugins.

I specifically upgraded my machine because of Lightroom performance. I'm using a Xeon e3-1226 v3 with 20 Gig of RAM, but no dedicated graphics card. The performance is massive over my old machine (which, granted was a Core 2 Duo 6600, 8GB RAM and ATI Radeon HD 5450).

I agree about the SSD though - put your catalogue on that if using Lightroom.

RumRat

Cisco001 wrote: »

The zoostorm @ ebuyer is a better option, IMO.
i5-4460 faster than i5-6400, although i5-4460 use extra 19W...

GTX 960 (£160) a lot faster than GT 730 (£50). Although OP probably don't need GTX 960, but for extra £20. I don't see the reason getting dell.

Personally don't like non-atx size PSU from dell as it could cost more if repair/ upgrade when needed.

I had Zoostorm a couple of years ago and it lasted around 2 months before being returned. I probably had a Friday afternoon model, but, it ensured that I wouldn't purchase another one.
I only suggested it as the OP seemed to have a good experience and some longevity with their existing Dell.

googler

madmum33 wrote: »

It's a Dell Inspiron 530, running XP

Intel pentium dual CPU e2140 @ 1.6GHz
4GB ram
300GB hard drive

1TB hard drive added for storage a couple of years ago.

It's a dinosaur on the verge of extinction.

Nonsense.

Do you have the install disc(s) for XP?

If so, install a solid state drive as the primary, move the 300Gb to a secondary drive bay and SATA slot, and install XP on the SSD

Beef the RAM up to 8Gb

You'll believe a dinosaur will fly.

Cisco001

madmum33 wrote: »

Is the AMD processor good enough, if combined with a graphics card? The zoostorms look flashy, I don't want lights and gimmicks, I need a solid computer that will last a few years with the option to add more RAM and storage if necessary.

That is just a case fan. Ask your son to change it to black case fan without led for u.

Cisco001

RumRat wrote: »

I had Zoostorm a couple of years ago and it lasted around 2 months before being returned. I probably had a Friday afternoon model, but, it ensured that I wouldn't purchase another one.
I only suggested it as the OP seemed to have a good experience and some longevity with their existing Dell.

Can't say for definate these days. I see it as pure luck.

Got friends/ families using all these white box from all big brands, they all got issues with hardwares. Mainly psu causing problem...

madmum33

I've been looking around and found Scan. I'm trying to decide between these two systems:

https://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/configurator/ready-to-ship-budget-value-amd-home-office-pc-v15a

https://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/configurator/ready-to-ship-budget-value-intel-home-office-pc-v15i

The first would allow me to add a 250gb ssd within budget, but I don't know whether the AMD processor is good enough. The second obviously has an i5, but no ssd for my budget. I could add a graphics card to either at a later date if I felt one was needed.

Opinions?

I_have_spoken

Always go for an SSD. I'd go with the 2nd option with an i5, but get a 64Gb SSD for boot/OS/apps and re-use the 1Tb disk from your old PC for data (I assume it's a SATA interface)

madmum33

Yes, it's SATA. I don't know whether it's worth the hassle swapping it over for a saving of £40, I'm tempted to use it as external storage for a second back up.

Is there a huge difference between the AMD and the i5? I could get my son to install windows for me, that would give me a professionally built system with i5, 250gb ssd, 1tb hd and 8gb ram for £477 delivered.