Recommendations for computer

[BrianB]

Need some idea about what I should be looking for in a computer to buy, so that I can move pictures from a canon 50D to the computer and prepare them for print.I dont need to do a large volume Im no longer working so I dont need to deal with clients.

[wq9nsc]

I have been using a HP Z820 for a few years and I am very happy with its performance for still and video editing.  Many configurations were available, I have mine set up with two Intel Xeon  (server oriented version of the the I7) 8 core CPUs and 256 GB of memory with a Nvidia RTX 2060 graphics card. 

The HP workstations are well built and reliable with a 1125 watt power supply, multiple fans that manage temperature without a lot of noise, and plenty of storage bays and I/0 ports.  Mine came configured with Windows and Linux.  This model has been superseded but many are available off lease and used and were designed to stand up to 24/7 operation unlike a lot of home oriented computers and are very reliable.  I picked up an identical one (except for the video card) for my daughter last summer when she started heavily using MATLAB and needed something with the horsepower to run it and found a nice deal on a used one from one of the big off-lease sellers on ebay.

Don't forget that you want a large high quality monitor to go with the computer given your intended usage.

Rodger

[Waddizzle]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"I was looking at a Dell with core 2 Duo 8GB Ram 1TB harddrive and windows 10 pro I think the monitor was above 1200 x 800”"

"Not enough RAM. I strongly advise a beefier platform than that. Budget laptops and desktops won’t cut it."

Not he nor anybody can't say that with any credence.  It solely depends on what post editor you want to use.  If you want the best, Photoshop, he is correct.  It would be agonizingly slow.  If you use some web based free editor it is probably OK.

Before you decide on and buy a computer you need to know what you are going to do with it.

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I made that recommendation with the utmost confidence.  Today's budget PCs and laptops are obsolete before you open the box.  This is why they are so inexpensive.

It does depend on what post editor you want to use.  Even Canon recommends that you use a computer with a separate graphics card when running Canon's Digital Photo Professional.  Otherwise, performance will be compromised. 

Windows 10 has evolved by leaps and bounds  since it's announcement in 2014, and later release in 2015.  Microsoft announced years ago that there will be no Windows 11.  Windows 10 will be updated indefinitely for the near future.

Over time, the physical requirements have remained the same.  Windows 10 can still run on a machine with 2 GB of RAM,, but just not very well.  Budget PCs have grown from offering 2 GB of RAM to 8 GB of RAM.  

RAM is cheap.  If you want do process a couple dozen photos, then 8 GB will get you by.  If you want to edit and process a hundred photos, then you will feel the pinch of only 8 GB of RAM and no graphics card.

[BrianB]

The most I would be doing is 10 pictures at any given time for post prodution printing so could I get by with one of the "budget computer tower's and mybe upgrade the graphics card

[ebiggs1]

I urge you not to pay any attention to wadrizzle's post.  The bottom line is what post editor you are going to use.  Not how many photos you are doing.  Use a high end editor like PS and you need a more robust machine or it will be annoyingly slow.  Use a freebie web based editor and you need less of a machine.   If it is Canon's free DPP4, buy a machine that Canon recommends.  You can find that info and specs on Canon's web site where you d/l DPP4.  Decide on what editor you are going to use first.

Another consideration is what printer you are going to buy.  Check out what its requirements are. Editor's like PS need a large HD cache so that is a consideration, too.  Decide these questions first otherwise it is difficult to say which machine to buy.

You will need photo storage so several external HD's are a good idea. They are cheap!

So, what editor?  What printer?  What is the budget?

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

I urge you not to pay any attention to wadrizzle's post.  The bottom line is what post editor you are going to use.  Not how many photos you are doing.  Use a high end editor like PS and you need a more robust machine or it will be annoyingly slow.  Use a freebie web based editor and you need less of a machine.   If it is Canon's free DPP4, buy a machine that Canon recommends.  You can find that info and specs on Canon's web site where you d/l DPP4.  Decide on what editor you are going to use first.

Another consideration is what printer you are going to buy.  Check out what its requirements are. Editor's like PS need a large HD cache so that is a consideration, too.  Decide these questions first otherwise it is difficult to say which machine to buy.

You will need photo storage so several external HD's are a good idea. They are cheap!

So, what editor?  What printer?  What is the budget?

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IMO, neither the power of the editor nor the number of pictures to be edited is as important as the size of the files you're editing, It takes a good deal more computing power (speed, memory, and graphics capacity) to edit, say, a 30-megapixel image than, say, an 18-megapixel image. The difference can be nearer exponential than linear.

[Waddizzle]

Canon recommends that you use a graphics card with DPP.

[BrianB]

I was thinking of Gimp or portraitpro and remember the 50D is only a 15 megapixel camera

[Waddizzle]

12:59 PM
I was thinking of Gimp or portraitpro and remember the 50D is only a 15 megapixel camera.

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I know. I said budget priced machine would work for small jobs.

[ebiggs1]

"...the power of the editor nor the number of pictures to be edited is as important as the size of the files you're editing, It takes a good deal more computing power (speed, memory, and graphics capacity) to edit, say, a 30-megapixel image than, say, an 18-megapixel image."

Of course what Robert says is true but it is only a part, even a small part, of the issue.  The editor is what takes the 18mp or 30mp photo and does its thing. Some are more efficient than others.  PS is a hog!

"The difference can be nearer exponential than linear."

What does this mean?  Well again in a real world experience you are probably talking a few seconds to perhaps a full minute.

Your decision, too long to wait?

"I was thinking of Gimp or portraitpro ..."

I have both and I have used both.  Both are hogs. You will need a better machine (better than a bottom rung or budget computer) for reasonable results.  My Dell is 3 years old so it isn't the latest and greatest.  It is an I7 with 16GB of RAM.  I have three internal 2TB hard drives.  The last one of the three is my Z: drive and it is mostly given over to PS/LR and Bridge to use as it sees fit. PS and Gimpshop like and need large cache and swap files space.  It also means you need fast HD's.

You are deciding between "Gimp or portraitpro" that is an odd couple? They are aimed at two totally different areas of editing.  Portrait Pro is not going to be a decent Raw converter but you can add DPP4 for that. Anything PP does Gimpshop will do and it is a good Raw converter.

"... the 50D is only a 15 megapixel camera"

If you are like the rest of us, I doubt that will remain your only camera.  Just sayin'.