Getting new monitor. Do I need other upgrades?

bfluegie

I have been lurking off and on for a while trying to decide on a new monitor to replace my 10+ year old 20" CRT. I thought I wanted a full gamut monitor (using the more is better theory) but I think I have finally decided on sRGB. I am not a professional, and I manily just print photos for family and friends. If I want to print something special I go to a specialty photo printer. While I want to move up from Elements to Photoshop CS5, I am not sure that will happen this year. sRGB should be OK for now. I'm leaning toward the Dell U2412, but I will consider others.

I also want to know if my existing 3 year old i7 Dell Studio XPS 435MT computer (running 64 bit Windows Vista) is adequate. I have an ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics adaptor with 512 MB of memory. My system only has 4 GB of memory and my hard drive is 640 GB, 7200 rpm. THe hard drive should be OK, and I have a 2TB external for backup, but I am not sure about system memory and graphics card, especially when I upgrade to Photoshop.

Also, what calibration device is a good choice for this setup? I have seen the Spyder 3 Elite and ColorMunki on other threads, but I have done no real research on this topic yet. Hey, I just figured out the monitor type...

Thanks for any and all suggestions.

NikonsandVstroms

My backup computer which has CS5 is a lot slower than yours so that shouldn't be an issue. Having a newer box is nice and will speed things up but isn't needed.

Also for your graphics card here are the specs:
http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-4000/hd-4850/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-4850-specifications.aspx

So you'll be able to run any monitor on the market, I suggest going for one that has a resolution of 1920x1200 and is 24" since it's the best bang for your buck.

KMpics

A core 2 duo will work just fine for cs programs given enough time New graphics cards are cheep and relatively easy to be had. More importantly your monitor choice is... important! (!!!) Do not just choose any 1920x1200.

Simple answer: Get the reasonably priced Dell U2311 which is e-IPS based instead of TN

I just bought a 23inch LED acer monitor that is just disappointing for color/contrast compared to my other LCD monitors. I thought it would be great for my business as a highly mobile display with its features... being big, light, thin, low power... and I will not use it at all for displaying my photography or editing any of my photos because of its untrue/bad color production. Its an alright monitor but not recommended when you can spend $40 USD more for way better.

bfluegie

Thanks for the responses. Based on this info, I think the Dell which is IPS (I think eIPS) will work out for me. I will wait on upgrades to the computer. Although the i7 is not the new generation, it is quad core and it should do well enough. I will probably upgrade memory and OS when I upgrade from Elements to Photoshop. If a new version of PS is coming out I will probably wait for that, and get feedback from the power users who upgrade right away. Thanks again for the information.

HeroOfCanton

Vista is a memory hog and you will definitely either want to get more RAM or upgrade to 7 before getting serious about PS. I run CS4 on my Win7 x64 machine with 16GB of RAM and it barely scratches the surface on my memory. I ran CS4 on this same OS with only 4GB of RAM for about 18 months and it ran great until I had multiple images (10+) open and then I started noticing a slow down.

If it were me, I would prioritize a new OS over more RAM

bfluegie

Hi. Thanks for the advice about the OS. I have heard that Windows 7 is much better than Vista so an upgrade was on my list. My system can only be upgraded to 12 GB of RAM. That should be affordable along with the OS, but if I have to choose between the two I will definitely get the OS upgrade. When I got this system, I thought Vista was great. Maybe that was because my outgoing system was running Windows ME. Nothing good about that one...

HeroOfCanton

Lol! Windows Vista is ME for the new generation, I'm sorry you got hit twice by that! Remember, if you go Windows 7 and you want 12GB, you will need the 64bit version, 32bit version will only handle 4GB total.

Good Luck!

bfluegie

I just ordered the Dell U2412M monitor. I should receive it around the end of the month. I also picked up the Windows 7 upgrade. Next step, back up the computer before installing the upgrade. Before I add memory I will have to open up my computer to see what I have. I think I heard I have six slots with 4 x 1GB installed, so to upgrade to 12GB I will either have to buy two 4GB modules or get six 2GB modules. I don't know if there is any performance benefit to being matched or not.

So, thanks for all the advice. I still have to get a calibrator. I just saw that the Spyder 4 elite has just been released. I can probably still get the Sypder 3 elite for less. Any ideas on whether or not I should just go for the new one?

Thanks!

lifeinfocus

bfluegie wrote: »

I Before I add memory I will have to open up my computer to see what I have. I think I heard I have six slots with 4 x 1GB installed, so to upgrade to 12GB I will either have to buy two 4GB modules or get six 2GB modules. I don't know if there is any performance benefit to being matched or not.

Thanks!

I found that your computer motherboard is an Intel 1366 socket. That socket is triple memory, meaning that three sets of ram modules will run as one. It will support up to 24gb or ram. So, if you want 12gb now, buy three sets of 4gb. Memory is inexpensive. Consider buying from Newegg or Tigerdirect. Check one of the memory modules to get the right memory speed.