Complete Desktop Needed For Audio & Image Editing

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Ranstedt

Ranstedt

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Hi.

I have this 4 year old computer (Gateway DX4831-05 / i5-650 3.2GHz / 8GB DDR3)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5602487

I was interested in a Dell XPS 8700 at Costco that came with 32GB of RAM, such as one of these, but my budget is only around $850 Increased to $1400
http://www.costco.com/Dell-XPS-8700-Desktop-%7c-Intel-Core-i7-%7c-2GB-Graphics-%7c-Blu-Ray.product.100099526.html ...I don’t care about the Blu-Ray or SSD that comes with some of the expensive Dell’s. I’m just interested in a good computer for my needs.

How does this less expensive Acer computer compare to the Dell XPS 8700’s?
http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model-datasheet/DT.SPZAA.002

Is there another similar computer around $850 (or maybe a little higher) that you’d recommend?

How I use my PC:
- Photoshop CS6 and Lightroom for image processing
- Ableton Live for audio recording / multi tracking + many plugins
- Camtasia video editing
- Multiple programs running at the same time
- While on the web I tend to have many tabs open in my browser, and multiple windows

Thanks for viewing and any advice you might offer.


Approximate Purchase Date: Sometime within the next 14 days

Budget Range: $850 Increased to $1400

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Image editing, Audio editing, internet, movies

Are you buying a monitor: No

Location: Santa Clara, California, United States

Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My current PC is 4 years old and it has issues. I also want something newer and will perform tasks faster. My current PC performed better and longer than I originally anticipated, but many times it took longer to perform tasks than I would have liked. I’d like a speedy computer for my editing needs. Anything will be better than I already have, right? lol.
 
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iganas

iganas

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You will not feel a dramatic boost in performance with that budget, apart from a placebo effect. Your cpu is pretty decent, which rules out the necessity to upgrade. For your image/video editing purposes I would say that the biggest bottleneck of your PC is HDD and RAM. You would be way better off with investing in a fast SSD for OS, programs, and buffering, as well as 16GB of fastest ram you can buy.

Check out this link as a reference for RAM speeds:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR3_SDRAM

And regarding SSD - basically any would do that you can afford, as even the cheapest ones would increase the read/write performance by at least 5 times. For example Samsung 840 Pro is 20(!) times faster than any HDD, which is exactly what you need for large buffers in editing
 
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Ranstedt

Ranstedt

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Cryoburn101
I'd never heard of the pcpartpicker site before. I just checked it out and it seems like a helpful site. I've never built a custom machine before, though that site looks like it makes it easier.

I have a question regarding pcpartpicker - Are all the selections I make automatically compatible?

Thank you for the link.
 
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Cryoburn101

Cryoburn101

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The I5 is slower. An I7 would be better. Also the other builds use 16gigs of ram, versus the 8gigs that one uses. That one though is right at your budget and will still work perfectly. Just not quite as 'future proof'.
 
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Ranstedt

Ranstedt

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MrAlaweey98
Thank you for the suggestion. It seems like an updated version of what I currently have. Probably much better :)
 
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Cryoburn101

Cryoburn101

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Yeah, Pcpartpicker does most of that for you. Its best, after picking the parts it says are compatible, to make sure here on the forums I found. Sometimes there are odd odd issues that may be unknown to Partspicker, but not the forums.
 
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MrAlaweey98

MrAlaweey98

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I know that but the GPU which is a GTX 760 is needed for the video editing and of course this guy who is asking which one is better clearly does not know how to build a video editing pc. If he could then he would save himself money and build a system for $850 twice as better than the ASUS and Dell PC!

 
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Ranstedt

Ranstedt

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I currently have an older I5 . I always assumed the I7 would have been better for me.

I also have 8GB RAM in my current PC. Do you think 24-32GB RAM would benefit me with how I use the PC?

Thanks.
 
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Cryoburn101

Cryoburn101

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16GB is plenty for what you are doing, but more ram wouldn't hurt.
 
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Cryoburn101

Cryoburn101

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Yeah, prebuilt machines cost more for less. I understand what you mean, I was suggesting that a custom PC might be good for the price point versus the prebuilts. It would take some research and know-how, but its not the hardest hobby/project to learn how to do.
 
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iganas

iganas

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Once again, you will not feel a tremendous impact in performance by throwing in $850 in a random direction. Your processor is decent enough compared to the one you can get within that budget + whole new rig. Try borrowing an SSD from a friend or shop (at leas its possible to return it within 14days where I live) and try it out to see what I mean. For less than half of that budget you can bomb up your current rig so it runs way better than any new one for $850
 
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Ranstedt

Ranstedt

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Thank you for your reply!

I mentioned it in my original post, but I didn't elaborate.

My PC has been giving me problems such as grinding sounds (from the HD?), randomly shutting down and restarting w/o displaying anything on the monitor. Most recently I had a bunch of start up issues that prevented me from being able to use it. From my research it could be many things. But it does seem like the HD is failing. I might also have issues with the video card, power supply, and or mother board. This is all based on researching the symptoms on google. So who knows what the issues actually are.

But I figured since this is a 4 year old machine, that I'm not sure I'd want to spend money diagnosing it, and then more money for parts w/o knowing exactly if it will fix my issues. I assumed it would be better just to buy a new machine?

Thank you for the advice regarding the SSD.

BTW, how much money would I need to spend to have a good boost in performance from what I've been using? I'd like to have something dramatic. But at what cost?

Thanks :)





 
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iganas

iganas

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A SSD for roughly $200 and a set of fast 16gb RAM for another $200 - that will definitely get you wowing :) A jump from i5 to i7 will not be dramatic, since your motherboard could only support older generation Lynnfield processors, which are pretty close in performance
 
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Ranstedt

Ranstedt

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Hi everyone.

I've increased my budget from $850, to $1400.

I intend to build my own computer through pcpartpicker.com

Any tips you all can give me?

Thanks for all the help :)
 
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Cryoburn101

Cryoburn101

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Research the parts. Just because it gets a high/low score on Partspicker doesn't mean its bad or good. This is especially true I find with cases. Once you are happy with everything, post the specs on the forums and have it peer reviewed. This will keep odd issues from popping up that made it past the compatibility test on Partspicker.
 
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iganas

iganas

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I just built my own rig with the newest Asus Z97 motherboard, i7-4770K processor, TridentX 16GB of ram, SSD, and a high-end gpu - all in a mini-ITX case. Runs just crazy smooth. So without the gpu and just relying on the one that is built in the i7, you could match my rig with that budget
 
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