I had been doing post processing, using "Affinity" on my Dell 17" laptop. And in truth it worked fairly well. But on several occasions I was quite dissatisfied and decided to bite the bullet and try for a better system.

It has all come together, and I offer here my approach to getting a good system on the cheap.

First - the computer. What started this approach was finding a refurbished computer on Amazon that seemed to offer terrific specifications for a very modest price. I had been pricing out a similar system at Dell, and found myself looking at a price closing in on $1000 - and then I would still need a monitor.

The refurbished computer was a HP 8200 low profile tower. It was offered with an Intel Quad Core i-5 processor running at 3.1 gHz., with a 1 terabyte hard drive, a 256 gigabyte Solid State Drive, 8 gigabytes of RAM, a DVD drive, a bunch of USB ports, and Windows 10 Professional. All of this was offered at US $285.00, shipping included. It did NOT have WiFi, tending to prove it was used in either a corporate or a government environment. But a WiFi adapter that plugged into USB was US $17.00

It was too good a deal to pass up - I bit. It came in in about a week. The case suggested the computer was clearly not new - but then it was not promised to be. On the other hand the inside was immaculate. I hooked up an old monitor and fired it up - all worked perfectly. Except I got nastigrams from Microsoft that the Windows 10 Professional had not been registered. Well, the limited documentation that came with the computer did state that this might be the case, and gave simple instructions on registering the Windows system, using the Windows sticker number on the side of the computer, and five minutes later that was done.

I never hooked up the WiFi card - the computer is set up about 5 feet from my router so I simply used an Ethernet cable and all was well.

Right - but the monitor I had was no better than the one on my lap top. I researched monitors on the internet, and decided that the BenQ PD2700Q with its 2560 X 1440 was about the sweet spot for size, resolution, technology and capability, and offered on Amazon at US $329.00 Ouch - more than the computer! I went to eBay to see what I could find. And there it was - the selfsame identical BenQ monitor being offered by BenQ direct as a refurbished version for US $ 235.45, shipping included, and with a full manufacturer's warranty. I ordered it.

That still left one hole in the package - a video card. The HP computer included on-board VGA video, but that is an analog standard with a maximum resolution far below the capability of the BenQ monitor. I studied this carefully. There are a number of video cards offered at between $100 and 300 US - again, budget busters - but they are designed for gamers and feature terrific speed. They also use a lot of power. Well, I am not a gamer - this computer is intended primarily for Post Processing, and while I desire speed, it need be nothing like the 60 - 80 frames per second the gamer cards offer. Also, the gamer cards use a lot of power, more than the HP computer power supply would be comfortable with.

Long story short I ended up buying a PNY Nvidia GeForce 710 card. I went to the local BestBuy to get their confirmation that it would work, and bought it for US $49.38. They were asking $59 for it but cheerfully matched Amazon's price. The card came with the required low-profile brackets, which I had to install myself, that requiring 10 minutes with a pliers and a screwdriver. There was one aspect I was concerned about - the specs for the card said it should only be used with a computer having a 300 watt power supply. Well, the HP has a 240 watt supply. I won't bore you with the details, but I did some further research that in the end demonstrated to my satisfaction that the computer had the power reserve to handle the video card without problem.

The video car included a VGA output, so I installed the card, hooked up my old monitor to the new VGA port, then downloaded the video drivers and installed them. All was well.

Two days later the monitor arrived, in perfect condition in every way. I hooked everything up, but this time instead of the analog VGA output I used the HDMI output, with the supplied cable from BenQ, and turned on the power. I would have expected to say it was anticlimactic - but it wasn't! The monitor performance is beautiful - stunning to my eye - every bit as much as I had hoped for, and more than I expected.

I had loaded Affinity to the new computer already, as well as FastStone, and put both through their paces. Beautiful.

And that is my story - I have assembled a very good PP computer setup for less than the cost of one of many good zoom lenses. It certainly is not top of the line - for that level think 3000 - 4000 US dollars and more - maybe lots more. But it is a very solid system. I see no reason why it won't give me years of performance and satisfaction.

This project might be bit bit much for someone who has no skills at all in working with computer hardware, but only a very modest level of skill is required. There are plenty of YouTube videos showing all you need. Or, the neighborhood geek could do this with his eyes closed, probably for the price of a pizza.

One last note - the computer I bought can be had without the SSD drive for about US $ 90 less - but I love the quick boot time of the SSD, enough to pay the extra.

Here are some links to what I got:

The Computer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0763LLRPK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Monitor: https://www.ebay.com/itm/BenQ-PD2700Q-27-1440p-Designer-Monitor-Refurbished/152684170395?hash=item238caf8c9b:g:sd8AAOSwAP1anSW6

The video card: https://www.amazon.com/PNY-NVIDIA-GeForce-Profile-PCI-Express/dp/B01B2300O4/ref=pd_sbs_147_19?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01B2300O4&pd_rd_r=5WMNHGX3W5FGCCFN0C40&pd_rd_w=ShT7h&pd_rd_wg=xTfyu&psc=1&refRID=5WMNHGX3W5FGCCFN0C40

I have no stock in, or any other form of interest or compensation from any of the above in any form. All I can promise you is that this set-up works for me and I am delighted with it. Cheers!