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I'm planning on buying a new desktop pc, mainly for editing pics in Photoshop CS5 so I'll also need a decent monitor. Unfortunately my budget only runs to £600 so a mac is out the question.
I am absolutely clueless when it comes to pc's so would be very grateful for any help on the spec or any recommendations on which company to use
Thanks in advance
My PC cost me £3,000, just for the box, so it's a relative fast machine, but by no means the best. You need a reasonable PC to run PS, otherwise you can be waiting ages for it. Even with my PC, it can be slow depending what I'm doing. Maybe look for a PC that was a display model and it's going cheaper. Good luck on your quest.
£3000?! Crumbs! I spent £700 on my last 'Big Machine' and it flies with PS and LR. Bought off-the-shelf at PC world with a hefty discount as I didn't need a monitor. I've since upgraded the RAM massively, but can't actually see any difference...
If I'd spent £3000, I'd want to be able to take over the world, or travel through time and stuff.
EDIT. Sorry, just realised that wasn't very helpful. PC specialist are good but pricey compared to other options (I bought a laptop from them about five years ago on the recommendation of EPZers and they were brilliant). Dell outlet is good, especially for refurbished stuff, which would easily bring a decent machine within your budget.
You don't need to spend that much 1500 gets you a killer PC
This photo workstation is great value and gets excellent reviews. If you want something ridiculously fast then there's this, but I think it's overkill to be honest.
If you have a mate who can build pc's £600 will get you a very good PC.
MInimum spec would be:
high end Quad Core CPU (top of range Intel i7 are faster than top end AMD CPU's but AMD gets you more power per £)
120GB SSD for OS & Apps + !-2Tb Hdd for data
16GB RAM
Mid range graphics card
IPS MOnitor
If you know what you want, Chillblast are a great company to deal with. I had a system ordered from here in France and they were very helpful all the way through. But I think you have to know what you need first. Oh, and 500 quid will give you all you need.
Quote: My PC cost me £3,000, just for the box, so it's a relative fast machine,
You were conned.
A PC with an i7 quad-core processor and 16Gb of fast DDR RAM is perfectly adequate for Photoshop and/or Lightroom. Both those progams fly on my machine, processing 45Mb Raw files.
A machine of that sort of specification should cost about £500 - £600 from any reputable custom-builder. You don't need fancy graphics cards and sound systems unless you are playing boy-racer games on it.
The only problem I see is the OP getting such a box plus a decent monitor within his budget. The main advice I can give is to avoid paying heavily for the badge of a "known" manufacturer such as Dell or HP. That alone adds 30% to the price without any gain in performance or quality. I'd look on eBay for a custom builder with a 100% feedback rating or take a personal recommendation from someone you know and trust.
.
....just as an example, here is the basic spec. of the machine I bought last November from an eBay supplier called Vibox (google for them if you're interested). It was just over £600:
Intel Core i7 2600 3.4GHz Quad Core CPU
16GB 1600Mhz Crucial Ballistix DDR3 RAM
2TB Hard Drive Storage Space
Integrated On Board Graphics
High Quality Motherboard
CD/DVD RW +/-
Stylish Desktop Case + 450W PSU
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit Included
FREE 1 Year Warranty
There is a review of a different machine by the same manufacturer in the 12 June issue of PC Advisor
.
Quote: I'm planning on buying a new desktop pc, mainly for editing pics in Photoshop CS5 so I'll also need a decent monitor. Unfortunately my budget only runs to £600 so a mac is out the question.
I am absolutely clueless when it comes to pc's so would be very grateful for any help on the spec or any recommendationson which company to use
Thanks in advance
Start here at Chillblasts 'less than £750' range and compare/contrast from that
in my opinon you cannot beat a imac ! they are fast and reliable
Quote: In my opinon you cannot beat a imac ! they are fast and reliable
Even if their spellcheck's don't work! 
But, seriously, read the OP's post before expressing silly opinions. Apple Macs do have their followers on here - but they are way outwith the budget specified (for no gain in quality or performance).
Quote: in my opinon you cannot beat a imac ! they are fast and reliable
Your opinion is flawed, But I can't be bothered to waste 8 hours and 50,000 words to fully explain why...!!!
That said reading the OPs post more carefully is a great start....
Meanwhile here is one myth busted
Custom computers here is a good start.
Tip, Never buy these things in a hurry, Like Redsnappa said, If you can find a local wizard, You might well get a better machine pound for pound, Ask around to see if anyone knows a local custom computer builder, Then check out his reputation, Ask to see machines he has made, Etc etc.
Have a nice day....
Quote: in my opinon you cannot beat a imac ! they are fast and reliable
Recommend a one that is 600 quid including monitor and we'll see if we can beat it, or stop talking McRubbish
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