Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

I currently run an HP Envy i7-10700 with 8 gb. of RAM DDR4. I wanted to up the memory to 16 of DDR5 but found out to do this I would have to replace the core as well. So, I have been looking at options and ran across this computer that seems to have more than the cost would indicate. This is a Dell XPS8950. It has the latest 12th gen. core i7-12700, 32 gb. RAM DDR5, 1 TB HHD, 512 gb. SSD, Intel 770 graphics card, and the processor speed is showing at 4.9 GHz. This exceeds the speed of some i9 computers by nearly double and is faster than almost all the computers listed between 1400 and 4000 dollars. The price they are showing is 1070.99. How can they sell a computer with the latest i-core, 32 gb. of DDR5, and two hard drives for that price? I must be missing something!

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

The two places I found online for that price are sales that end in just a few hours. On amazon it's for Prime Members only and the clock is ticking

DianeL Loc: Charlotte, NC

There are deals out there. You just have to search. I purchased a refurbished for my sister with 512 gb SSD, 32 ram and it was only $336. She has been using it for years.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

It is a mass-produced standard model so the components are bought in large numbers at a discount. Plus, some of the components are older versions that are cheaper now but will do the job. I particular the Intel 770 is an "on mother board" graphics and therefore much less than a plug in high end graphics card.

alvin3232 Loc: Houston, TX

Your upgrade
A single 8gig of ram DDR4 runs about $33.00 to add to your current PC

You mention that you wanted to upgrade to DDR5, which you would need a new CPU, Motherboard, and Ram at about $1000+ for a whole new system. Based on your current i7 pc your upgrade will still run like a champ. But will the new CPU and DDR5 make a big impact on you? Just food for thought.

Alvin

therwol Loc: USA

You should read the Amazon reviews (1-3 stars) before buying this thing. No HDMI port. No dual monitors without an adaptor. Proprietary components inside that the user can't replace. Weak power supply which pretty much precludes adding a dedicated graphics card. No SD card reader. Think about it.

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-XPS-8950-Desktop-Computer/dp/B09VR7ZJL1/ref=pd_lpo_1?pd_rd_i=B09VR7ZJL1&th=1

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

Look at micro center. A cheap gaming computer will work wonders for several years

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Not a good choice. To get the best performance from many of todays post processing programs you need a dedicated graphics card with at least 4 GB of ram on it. The Intel 770 graphics card is an integrated shared memory card. It is a good machine if you will be running Microsoft Office, but not good for graphics intense software. You should also get at least 16gb of system ram. As a starting point you might want to consider reviewing the hardware in a gaming computer. While a modern gaming computer may be a bit overkill it will at least give you an idea of what is required for graphics intensive software.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

Thanks all. The onboard graphics card is the killer for me. I hate it when a company puts things together to lessen the price and doesn't allow the consumer to be able to upgrade. It is just another way of making their product proprietary. I'm glad some of you were familiar with the Intel 770 graphics card. I know my way around computers better than the average Joe on the street but am far far from being an expert in such matters. I'm glad you guys are out there!

BebuLamar

I think you can still upgrade by buying a new graphic card. You can then disable the built in graphic.

therwol Loc: USA

The 450 watt power supply in this computer can't power a decent dedicated graphics card.

rcorne001 Loc: Cary, NC

Consider looking into manufacturers who will let you have some control over putting together your own. I went to Lenovo and looked at business class machines with quite a bit of horsepower. As it turned out, a friend's husband worked there and let me use his family and friends discount. I was able to go the next level up getting a machine that should last a long time. So check out some of the other manufacturers and even check with friends to see if any have contacts that would allow you to get decent discounts.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

Good idea. I know a couple of people in the area that build computers from the ground up. I didn't think they could build one with a price that would compete with a mass-produced one. By asking for just the things I need, like a lot of RAM and a good graphics card, and leaving out things like a burner and storage (I have a large amount of external storage), maybe I could keep the price down.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Go to this site: https://photographylife.com/the-ultimate-pc-build-for-photography-needs
They range from $1400 to $2000 depending on how many things you can reuse from your old machine and which level you build. Mine was about $2000 for the top end specs a few years ago. Monitor, keyboard, mouse not included. I have added two more internal drives, one for photos, one for documents + the SSD C drive for the OS and apps. I also have a large external drive for doing daily backups - I keep about three weeks worth, then delete the old ones and add on new ones.

Read all the article, they have different builds for photography based on different generations of tech and different price levels. The machine I am on was based on one of their builds, using an iBuyPower gamer I bought in 2012 and swapping out the MB, CPU, RAM, Video Card, power pack and some other parts. Then over the last few years I have added more drives, upped the RAM to 64, gone to a 32" graphics arts monitor etc.

Summary of my system:
Operating System
Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i9 9900K @ 3.60GHz
Coffee Lake 14nm Technology
RAM
64.0GB Dual-Channel DDR4 (18-18-18-39)
Motherboard
ASRock Z390 Taichi (CPUSocket)
Graphics
BenQ PD3200U (3840x2160@60Hz)
2047MB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (ZOTAC International)
Storage
5589GB TOSHIBA HDWE160 (SATA ) 101 °F
931GB Western Digital WDC WD10EZEX-00BN5A0 (SATA )
476GB Samsung SSD 970 PRO 512GB (Unknown (SSD))
11176GB Western Digital WD My Book 25ED USB Device (USB )
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24NSB0
Audio
High Definition Audio Device

rlv567 Loc: Baguio City, Philippines

Not for most people. The fetish of higher and higher specs is a siren song. If it now works well, and/or can be upgraded easily and cheaply, do it, but would you really gain anything from super-dooper , cutting edge performance??? You could add more DDR4 - IF you really need it!

Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City