Need a computer recommendation

[runningman]

My wife has gotten into photography a couple years ago and am looking into a new home computer for her.  The Dell laptop we have now is extremely slow when running programs such as photoshop (CS2 I think).  We are thinking of possibly getting a desktop instead with a larger screen.  What do you gurus recommend?  We have like $350 in credit at Costco so I was just browsing their site and was looking at this http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11466139&cm_mmc=BCEmail_408-_-FOCUS-_-7-_-DellInspiron530  Thanks! 

Matt

[ChgrSteve67]

Very nice system.
only appears to be lacking in the NIC department but if your not transferring lots of data between computers across a wired network it will be no big deal.  Also Gig cards are cheep these days.

Has a slot for a 16x PCIe so you can add a better graphics card if you feel you need a better one. Generally people that are into gaming need a better card for faster frame rates.

The Quad core, memory and hard drive in this system will be good for photography.

No firewire for video but again cards are cheep if you decide you need it.

PCIe 1x slot will let you add a TV tuner and capture card if you want as well.

The 24 inch monitor is hugh, your really going to like it.

I would recomend Upgrading to Windows Vista Ultimate. (I think Costco has it for like $169)
More cool stuff and the Vista Aero Glass is really cool.

I have several Dell Computers and I have no complaints.
I bought one a few months ago that I use as a Home Theater PC for my 50" Plasma (HDMI).

Steve (Just my 2 cents)

[KS71owner]

Very nice system.
only appears to be lacking in the NIC department but if your not transferring lots of data between computers across a wired network it will be no big deal.  Also Gig cards are cheep these days.

Has a slot for a 16x PCIe so you can add a better graphics card if you feel you need a better one. Generally people that are into gaming need a better card for faster frame rates.

The Quad core, memory and hard drive in this system will be good for photography.

No firewire for video but again cards are cheep if you decide you need it.

PCIe 1x slot will let you add a TV tuner and capture card if you want as well.

The 24 inch monitor is hugh, your really going to like it.

I would recomend Upgrading to Windows Vista Ultimate. (I think Costco has it for like $169)
More cool stuff and the Vista Aero Glass is really cool.

I have several Dell Computers and I have no complaints.
I bought one a few months ago that I use as a Home Theater PC for my 50" Plasma (HDMI).

Steve (Just my 2 cents)

Agree on all points. My office machine is a Dell Inspiron Quad core, I can run several graphics programs simultaneously (including Photoshop CS2) with no problems. You won't need a high-end video card unless you're gonna run some graphics-heavy games but IMO it never hurts to have one  but then I am addicted to CoD4 and L4D.

I also agree about Vista - my laptop came with it and I've had no problems. Just make sure you have enough RAM to run it smoothly; 2GB or more is best. Vista does use more resources than XP so if you don't have enough RAM you'll notice a difference. Microsoft SAYS 512MB is the minimum for Vista but realistically you should at least double that. I'm running 3GB right now and it works fine.

[runningman]

Thanks a lot for the input!  I think this may be the route to go, I get a discount through Chrysler when purchasing directly from Dell but I can't imagine it being any better then the deal from Costco plus I believe the warranty is a little better also.

[runningman]

Anyone know what the "downgrade" deal is all about??

[Troy]

Anyone know what the "downgrade" deal is all about??

It has Windows Vista installed but includes the Widows XP disks (considered a "downgrade" just because it's older). Honestly, I like XP just because it does everything I want/need and isn't as bloated. However, I run Vista Business at home with no issues.

For any kind of photo/video editing more RAM is better. The older Photoshop versions were memory hogs but I believe the newer ones are a bit better. No matter, some images are huge and the program needs to store the images as well as the edits so memory gets eaten up fast.

Troy

[mikepmcs]

I vote for Dell here too.

[runningman]

Okay, so is the 4G of RAM sufficient??  Also my wife seems to think that the widescreen will distort her images.  She has this issue when she views her pictures at work but I am guessing that this has something to do with the settings???  BTW she has the Nikon D300 that I got her for Christmas a few years ago and she loves it 

[mikepmcs]

NIKON
Only way to go IMO.  I could only afford the D80 but it sure is nice.

[KS71owner]

Okay, so is the 4G of RAM sufficient??  Also my wife seems to think that the widescreen will distort her images.  She has this issue when she views her pictures at work but I am guessing that this has something to do with the settings???  BTW she has the Nikon D300 that I got her for Christmas a few years ago and she loves it 

the widescreen won't affect your images - although they will look better. The computer will need to be set to widescreen ratio but after you've done that it will be fine. 4GB of RAM should be plenty for what you're looking to do.

[69bronzeT5]

I vote for Dell here too.

Oh and if you ever decide to get a laptop, DON'T BUY AN ACER! My Acer commited suicide back in September. For some reason, they are known to just fry themselves.

[Silver R/T]

you can build your own, that's what I did. Came out much cheaper and I got parts that I wanted not what they bundled up. Check out www.newegg.com

[runningman]

NIKON
Only way to go IMO.  I could only afford the D80 but it sure is nice.

Yeah, I did quite a bit of research before I got the 300.  I got it the week that it was released.....I have to admit, it was probably the best investment that I ever made.  My wife takes some interesting pictures and I get to help edit them 

[runningman]

Okay, so is the 4G of RAM sufficient??  Also my wife seems to think that the widescreen will distort her images.  She has this issue when she views her pictures at work but I am guessing that this has something to do with the settings???  BTW she has the Nikon D300 that I got her for Christmas a few years ago and she loves it 

the widescreen won't affect your images - although they will look better. The computer will need to be set to widescreen ratio but after you've done that it will be fine. 4GB of RAM should be plenty for what you're looking to do.

Great thanks.  I will let her know!!