Used PC for Photoshop - Advice needed
 

Hi all

I'm looking for a used PC which I can use for Photoshop and other photo editing software. I've found this one on ebay;

Ex-F1 Dual AMD High Spec Workstation

"Ex Formula One, High spec workstation, Dual AMD Opteron Dual Core 2.2Ghz Processor, 8 Memory Dimm Sockets, 16GB DDR2 Ram (16x2GB), 80GB SATA HDD, 500GB SATA HDD, DVD ROM Drive, Keyboard, Mouse."

I don't want to spend any more than £150. What do you reckon and if no good what do you suggest for the money?

Thanks

Vortex.

The spec would appear to be fine for photo editing, you'll need a 64bit OS to utilize that amount of ram and the 64bit version of Photoshop. And of course a really good monitor, suggest you look at this site to get up to speed on the sort of monitor you need for good colour reproduction, a cheap one wont cut the mustard if you're after accurate colour rendition. TFT Central - LCD Monitor Information, Reviews, Guides and News

Thanks. I have a copy of Windows 7 and 64-bit Photoshop already. I also have a reasonable monitor , keyboard etc. from my current PC which I'll be re-using. so it's just a new Tower I'm after

Agreed
 

As a keen photographer I echo gg's comments, especially that about the monitor. When I went from high quality normal definition monitor to a relatively inexpensive but superb HD monitor, I was staggered at the amount of extra detail I found during Photoshop processing. It actually made one memorable edit (of a bride that I wanted to isolate from the background to give a "white studio" effect) far more complex to do because it was so revealing of detail!

I am also about to invest in one of these to ensure that my monitor is correctly calibrated. Far from essential, especially if you are starting on a lowish budget, but a nice refinement in the pursuance of consistent and accurate results.

Enjoy your editing and I wish you good luck finding the time to do so! Most of mine is in the wee small hours with the family asleep, maximizing my lucky requirement for only five hours' kip a night...

doesn't look like an "ex-F1" box to me.... :E

Whatever about the spec. of that PC, have a check on the seller's feedback and rating! 96.2% !! :yuk:

I would never buy from a seller with less than 98%, and preferably >99%.

Personally I would pass on that one and move on.

SD

I would second Saab's comment.

I would say you 2 up in your ivory towers need to get a grip and actually read the feedback. Hardly surprising when you consider what he's selling. People pay peanuts, don't read the description, expect more than was ever for sale and leave crappy feedback.

I've dealt with a number of imbeciles on eBay who left negative feedback for absolutely no reason whatsoever. Sold a SkyMap 2 with a clearly described and pictured mark on the screen, yet buyer screamed blue murder and left negative feedback. Bearing in mind that the majority of the general public are categorical retards I don't think it's at all unreasonable to see odd bits and pieces of negativity on sites like eBay.

and how do people like me start? I'm gradually becoming resigned to selling my stuff in the UK. I'd like to use e-bay and others, but I get the feeling it is only for a club of folk who were around when e-bay was invented.

Most people build up a positive ebay rating by buying stuff, then transition to selling. You don't have to have a high feedback score to be successful at selling, as it's the percentage that counts, not the volume. Give good service, get good feedback.

I'm certainly not an evangelist for ebay (their greed is quite remarkable, among other issues I have with it), but if you want to use it, learn how to make it work for you, not vice-versa.

SD

Thanks for all the info regarding ebay but any suggestions on a system for around the £150 mark, 2nd hand or new I don't mind.

You need better than the above.

Also read the Optimize Photoshop performance | CS3 | XP, Vista guide, and then, based on the above, specify your personal minimum system configuration.

Then start trawling ebay, etc.

My 2p -

Avoid Dell, HP, Compaq, Packard Bell PCs because they have too many bespoke components that are impossibly costly to replace or upgrade.

Ensure that any system you get has expansion for additional hard disks - you can never have too many hard disks! :)

It is easy to upgrade HDDs, Optical disks, RAM and graphics card, not so easy (but possible if standard form factor) to upgrade motherboard and CPU.

Go for at least a dual-core CPU, even at the expense (initially) of RAM. You can much more easily add RAM later than upgrade the CPU.

Do not buy a server - no matter how tempting the specification or the price - unless you are deaf or want to become so!

SD

I would suggest you go asking friends and family to see whether anyone's wishing to get rid of business PCs for that sort of price. What with downsizing there's likely to be no end of companies with surplus kit on their books who'd entertain an offer.

SD,

All of your advice seems good, apart from this which i seem to be missing the point of. Can anyone explain it for me?

Servers are designed to optimise cooling and power at the expense of noise. They are extremely noisy, therefore, and should not be used as desktop replacements.

If you need a server and have a remote location for it, fair enough.

I may have exaggerated slightly, for effect! :)

SD

Not all servers are noisy. But yes, many are. Especially the rackmount variants.

However due to the fact they are meant to be managed remoteley, the built-in graphics tend to be lousy and not appropriate for Photoshop type use where you need a beefy GPU. Therefore although you think you might have found a bargain, you'll soon find yourself spending money on graphics cards.

(Although I guess the same could be said for cheap desktops too !)

Some of the smaller 'desktop' type servers are basically that - a desktop dressed up in server clothes, so whilst they've not been great as a server they might be 'ok' as a desktop.

However, that then puts you in the 'lucky dip' category of finding a desktop server that doesn't sound like an aircraft taking off when you turn it on (as with most servers acoustics come secondary to extreme cooling).

You'd also suffer from being able to find desktop OS based drivers for a server platform.

Euuuw.... they're nasty. I wouldn't touch one of them with a bargepole. :yuk:

Re 'noisy' servers - I'm using an HP XW6000 Dual Core Xeon 3.2GHz 147GB 4GB Workstation as a desktop computer and most of the time it's inaudible. There's the occasional rattle when initially selecting an intensive programme but it passes in next to no time.
Cost less than £200.00 on Ebay, upgraded the graphics and never had a problem with it in seven months since purchase.

Thanks you all for the help. I've bought myself a desktop with an AMD Quad Core X4 640 with 2GB DD3 RAM and 500GB HDD for £155. At least it will be an improvement from my current 2003 Athlon 64 PC