Brian Platt Loc: Poole/Verwood, Dorset, UK

For what you want get lightroom NOT Photoshop as it will handle the NEF (Nikon RAW) files very easily via import as raw and export as tiff/jpeg. A modern Mac mini as I am using, is very good - better than PC (standing by for the flack from you pc chums!) you can use your existing screen, keyboard and mouse.

texaseve Loc: TX, NC and NH

Great reading here...I will also be looking into a new PC when I get home. And I do everything on it, use many programs, plug-ins, store on it and other places too, of course.

singleviking Loc: Lake Sebu Eco Park, Philippines

64 Gig of SSD runs fine for just the WIN7 OS. I also have a 64Gig RAMdisc drive using half of my installed RAM memory. I knew there was more space needed to install and operate WIN8. Your system goes over that because you have other programs running in the background that can be put on another drive and executed, but I'm not sure about the WIN8 OS. My motto has always been."If it works and is stable, don't fix it".

Peter Boyd Loc: Blyth nr. Newcastle U.K.

Great analogy!

OonlyBonly

Watch which operating system you get also. I'm not sure Window$ 8 would be a good match.

lorvey Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

RDH

I am talking about disk space. Programs running in the back ground have nothing to do with that, that would be ram. Win 7 may fit into 64 gigs but that is not sufficient operating space. Allow at least 25% to 50% more space on the drive than what the operating system actually occupies, for temp files.

wteffey Loc: Ocala, FL USA

I have a 10year old E machines that originally came with 528mb (1/2 gig) ram. I upgraded with 1gb ram, plus a seperate video card. It handles PSE 9.0 just fine, although RAW processing is a little slow. My point? In true Republican fashion, many assume budget is not an issue. The recommendations for 16GB ram etc are fine if you have the budget, but truthfully, just about anything you can buy today will be sufficient for photo editing. Video might be another matter.

singleviking Loc: Lake Sebu Eco Park, Philippines

If you set up AMD's RAMDrive in your machine, you can utilize blocks of 4 Gig of RamDisc space for all the temp files to be loaded, stored and manipulated. Basic RamDrive that's free is up to 4 Gig. The purchased version can generate up to 64 Gig of space in 4 Gig blocks and all temp files and background programs can be run from this space. I've got 128 Gig of RAM in my machine and can utilize up to 64 Gig of that RAM as RAMDisc for temp storage or program space thereby saving a lot of wear and tear on my HDDs. Running programs off the RAMDisc is a whole hell of a lot faster than running them from HDDs or even SSDs. Seems like every new iteration of Mr. Softy's WINDOWS programs requires more and more memory and HDD space and the upgrades from VISTA to WIN7 to WIN8 seems to show this eloquently. (RAM minimums of 512 Meg for VISTA, 1 Gig for WIN7, 2 Gig for WIN8)
Pretty soon, those goons at MicroNERD will require a Terabyte of space for their OS and ancillary files. I thought they gave up making programs with gigablocks of code when they upgraded back when they wrote Win2000 although I've never decompiled their OS and actually read the line code.

Lucian Loc: From Wales, living in Ohio

strikerazde...

I never suggested he build it himself, so please go back and re-read my post. I as did several others, suggested he would get more direct bang for the buck by having a system built to cater to his needs rather than buy from a computer/electronics store that would come with loads of unwanted stuff to slow and bog him down.

There are plenty of competent builders that do not charge and arm and a leg plus all the components will come with warranties which are often better than the 6 months or a year the completed computer from a store gives you.

Brenda IS Scottish Loc: GOLDEN Colorado

1 terabyte hard drive. minor correction

singleviking Loc: Lake Sebu Eco Park, Philippines

If you look at the NewEgg and TigerDirct websites, you'll find build houses that will build your custom box for almost nothing. The only limitation with using these build sites is that your OS will come preloaded and you don't get the OS discs. They all tell you to make a backup disc as soon as you take it out of the box. I prefer having the discs in hand and do a clean install of the OS. There are thousands of private computer stores that will assemble a box when you give them your components and install your OS of choice for little cost. It only takes about an hour to get all the components assembled and then another hour or so to load the WINDOWS OS and perform all the updates from the MICROSOFT website.
When you purchase the computer from Dell, or Gateway or any of the prepackaged system configurations they offer, you get the smallest power supply and the cheapest components they can get. The people at TigerDirect and NewEgg will gladly sell you quality parts and advise you of their recommendations all for free. Then just carry your boxes into the local computer geek tech shop and they'll assemble it for $150 or so. You also get a local guy that knows your system in case something goes wrong rather than some mail order warranty facility located in the middle of nowhere.

RDH

What operating system and hardware are you using? I know that Red Hat Linux can use 64gig and some Windows server configs can go close to 200.

singleviking Loc: Lake Sebu Eco Park, Philippines

You have a second generation processor (either Pentium or duel core running with a 2 Ghtz clock). It also has slow 600 or 680 Mhtz. memory and not duel access type and a BIOS restriction of 4 Gig max for RAM. Your old machine can not run multi-threading or ActiveX. Also, your internal bus is antiquated and you may not have SATA HDDs and if you do, they are of the old SATA 1.0 or 2.0 format. You also do not have any facility for USB 3.0. Computer systems have a life expectancy of about 5 to 10 years and yours is ready to retire.
Wait till you attempt to install and run any version of LR and see how slow things get.

FL Streetrodder

I shouldn't think you need any more than 4GB of RAM to handle post processing in PSE. Greater amounts of RAM are generally required only when using programs for Computer Assisted Design (CAD) work or if you're an avid "gamer" hooked on the newer generation of computer games with high tech 3D graphics. As others have mentioned, before purchasing any additional RAM for an existing computer, you need to find out the maximum amount that your present computer can handle. A good website to visit to find out what type of memory and how much your computer can handle is www.crucial.com.