How old is your computer?

petersmart said:
?
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What else can I say, it sounds complicated and pain to set up and run stuff in VM`s.
Don't you then need to set up, configure or install things in the VM`s before you can use them.
Do the VM`s share the drivers, settings and internet configuration of the host machine / OS or whatever.
Or do you have to go through a process for every VM you create.
Or do you just make a VM in a few minutes and away you go with your program or internet browsing in the VM
 
petersmart said:
And the fact that you can have a vast amount more RAM (I have 96GB the max in the Z800 is 192GB!).
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Z800 boxes with Processor, RAM and storage are only about £400 on evilbay. Good value for someone wanting one.
 
Caerus said:
What else can I say, it sounds complicated and pain to set up and run stuff in VM`s.
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Not really. I keep a directory of VMs already set up with various operating systems. When I need a new one I just copy one of the masters which only takes a few minutes.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
Not really. I keep a directory of VMs already set up with various operating systems. When I need a new one I just copy one of the masters which only takes a few minutes.
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I've used them for years and find no problems with them at all - and as I said totally transportable from system to system and OS to OS (inc Linux, Mac OS, Windows) etc.
At the moment I'm typing this reply on my Photography VM and once I've finished I simply close it down and if I need then go to another VM - or run 2 or more at once.
And if I do a complete re-install of Windows or Linux I don't have to waste time re-installing a shedload of programs.
 
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AndrewFlannigan said:
Z800 boxes with Processor, RAM and storage are only about £400 on evilbay. Good value for someone wanting one.
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If you're looking for one I'd always go with the twin Xeon 6 core option giving 12 cores and 24 threads.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Just a simple 2 part question really, your editing computer, what year is it from and what platform is it?

Thanks
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I had a Windows 3.1 mainly for writing documents and it was about 3 years old by the time I replaced it.
Had a Windows 98* and it was about 12 years old by the time I replaced it. (* It was Windows 98, not Windows 98SE.)
Had a Windows XP, but that was my mother's computer which was about 10 years old by the time she let me have it, and I had it for about 4 more years.

Current computer is Windows 7 which I had for 3 years and counting.
 
This one connected to the net is steam powered. (hang on while I chuck on some coal :)) My editing computer is a lot newer (still a few years old though) As long as it works I don't care.
 
built this pc in 2010 which consists of I7 2600k overclocked for a few years to 4.8ghz now running at 4.2ghz because it started to get too hot and cant be bothered stripping it to clean the crud out
started with XP and now windows 10
since it's first build iv'e added 500 gig ssd more memory and a nvidia GTX 970 4gig graphics card

keep meaning to build a new machine but life keeps getting in the way
 
2014 Custom desktop i5 with lots of storage running Kubuntu
2019 Lenovo Yoga i5 2-in 1 laptop running KDE Neon
 
Caerus said:
What else can I say, it sounds complicated and pain to set up and run stuff in VM`s.
Don't you then need to set up, configure or install things in the VM`s before you can use them.
Do the VM`s share the drivers, settings and internet configuration of the host machine / OS or whatever.
Or do you have to go through a process for every VM you create.
Or do you just make a VM in a few minutes and away you go with your program or internet browsing in the VM
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VMs are very slick these days. They take on the parent hardware/internet etc. so nothing to set up. You can toggle between VMs directly. And to add a new one takes minutes once you've picked an OS, user name and password it's ready to use.
 
ianp5a said:
VMs are very slick these days. They take on the parent hardware/internet etc. so nothing to set up. You can toggle between VMs directly. And to add a new one takes minutes once you've picked an OS, user name and password it's ready to use.
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I tried it the other day and I can see how it is suited to workstations with tons of ram and cores to divide up.
On my laptop with 2 cores and 8gb ram it ran like :jaffa: and I had a lot of trouble setting it up with error messages.

It was oricle vm virtualbox which was free to be fair and a lack of experience and poor pc to use didn't help lol.

Still a very cool idea though and I will have a go with a better pc some day.
 
I'm weighing up buying one of the above HPZ800 workstations with oodles of ram and Xeons or doing a new Ryzen build. I'm already familiar with what they are capable of as mine is currently an overclocked x5650 with 24gb ram, but it's already 9 year old tech and motherboards have moved on a lot. Faster bus speeds, more efficient CPU's with more cache, NVMe for storage speeds potentially 8x faster than SATA2 limitations (even using SSD) and native USB3 support. Apparently there's a slight bottleneck on my GPU too as the PCI version is only v2. Right now because they are so cheap they still make a decent purchase to last a couple of years but long term if I wanted another pc to last as long as this one I'd be building with the best I could afford now.
 
Right now, I'm using an old second hand Tosh L450D that (I think) is about 10 years old, running Ubuntu 18.04.2.
The original Athlon X2 board got swapped out after it died for a faster Intel T9400.
 
Steeps said:
I'm weighing up buying one of the above HPZ800 workstations with oodles of ram and Xeons or doing a new Ryzen build. I'm already familiar with what they are capable of as mine is currently an overclocked x5650 with 24gb ram, but it's already 9 year old tech and motherboards have moved on a lot. Faster bus speeds, more efficient CPU's with more cache, NVMe for storage speeds potentially 8x faster than SATA2 limitations (even using SSD) and native USB3 support. Apparently there's a slight bottleneck on my GPU too as the PCI version is only v2. Right now because they are so cheap they still make a decent purchase to last a couple of years but long term if I wanted another pc to last as long as this one I'd be building with the best I could afford now.
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You can use NVMEs on the Z800 (mine does 1.8 and 1.5 GB/Sec), and also use RAID 0 (using the built in hardware) - mine has 3x500GB SSDs in Raid 0 running at 750MB/Sec and 120GB of that is set as the C: drive.

As long as you set up CoreTemp to turn off at 75C and SpeedFan you are good to go.
 
Caerus said:
I tried it the other day and I can see how it is suited to workstations with tons of ram and cores to divide up.
On my laptop with 2 cores and 8gb ram it ran like :jaffa: and I had a lot of trouble setting it up with error messages.

It was oricle vm virtualbox which was free to be fair and a lack of experience and poor pc to use didn't help lol.

Still a very cool idea though and I will have a go with a better pc some day.
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2 cores is too low to run a VM - you need at least 4 cores.
 
Caerus said:
I tried it the other day and I can see how it is suited to workstations with tons of ram and cores to divide up.
On my laptop with 2 cores and 8gb ram it ran like :jaffa: and I had a lot of trouble setting it up with error messages.
It was oricle vm virtualbox which was free to be fair and a lack of experience and poor pc to use didn't help lol.
Still a very cool idea though and I will have a go with a better pc some day.
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I used to use Virtual box, but when I installed it on my new PC it didn't want to start. So I use Gnome Boxes now instead. My i5 8Gb ram laptop has 8 cores and runs them no problem.
 
Early 2015,

Windows 8.1 (64 bit), AMD A8, Radeon HD graphics, 6GB RAM, AMD Radeon R7 240 + HD8570D Dual Graphics.

Still as fast as the day I got it, most of the time. It does have the odd wobbly whereby it slows down badly but that's usually if I have DPP4 and LR open at the same time. I should really get more RAM.
 
2015 5K iMac. i5 and 24GB RAM. It's fine for editing, it's just Lightroom which is dog slow!
 
ok so most of the PC is now 1 day old.

The Graphics card and case are still 5 years old though.
 
Surface Book (2015) - i7 w/ Performance Base

Surface Pro 4 (2015) - i5

Home PC (2011) - i5-2500k, 8Gb, SSD

All run W10, totally lag-free and have no plans to replace (Until the Surface Book 3 gets released)
 
late 2013 macbook pro. I am using Final Cut Pro. My comp needs to be upgraded to a newer Mac but so far handles everything. Although I am sure in a couple OSX updates that will change.
 
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Desktop 1: 2017, Ryzen Threadripper 1920x 32GB ram, Vega 56 and GTX 780 - OS = Windows 10 1903
Desktop 2: 2014, Intel i7 4820K, 16GB ram, radeon HD 6850 - OS = Windows 10 1903
Laptop: 2014, Dell XPS 15 (9530), intel i7 4702HQ, 16GB ram, GT 750M - OS = Windows 10 1903
Server: 2019, Intel i5 9600K, 16GB ram, iGPU (runs 10Gbe LAN, RAID controller and SAS expander cards) - OS = Fedora 30 workstation
Work: 2010 HP Z800, Dual xeon 5650, 24GB ram, Quadro 4000 - OS = Windows 10 1809
 
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2018 Dell inspiron 3268 i5 processor 8GB RAM and 1TB memory and a 36" monitor :)
 
cosmicma said:
built this pc in 2010 which consists of I7 2600k overclocked for a few years to 4.8ghz now running at 4.2ghz because it started to get too hot and cant be bothered stripping it to clean the crud out
started with XP and now windows 10
since it's first build iv'e added 500 gig ssd more memory and a nvidia GTX 970 4gig graphics card

keep meaning to build a new machine but life keeps getting in the way
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If it still works fine, why spend the money on a new machine?
 
I’m still using a bottom of the range iMac from Christmas 2010. The only change is that I upped the RAM from 4 to 8GB.
 
davholla said:
If it still works fine, why spend the money on a new machine?
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to edit 4k video
the processor in this one isn't fast enough, i can play 4k just fine but when it comes to editing and the final render it's nigh on impossible

to change the processor out for a faster more up to date version means new motherboard , memory, PSU ( probably ) and obviously the CPU.
oh and a nice new shiny case :)
 
cosmicma said:
to edit 4k video
the processor in this one isn't fast enough, i can play 4k just fine but when it comes to editing and the final render it's nigh on impossible

to change the processor out for a faster more up to date version means new motherboard , memory, PSU ( probably ) and obviously the CPU.
oh and a nice new shiny case :)
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That makes sense. I have just realized that my 3rd PC has lasted longer than my first two together. I wonder when I replace it - hopefully not for a bit - if the next one will last even longer.
I think PCs last longer than laptops but I am not sure.
For sake of clarity I do now have two machines one is using for photoediting and is Linux the other my wife uses and is windows - apart from panoramas no photo editing is done on it.
 
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I have a HP Prodesk 600 G2. It's from 2015 and running Windows 10 1903

  • i5 6600 CPU
  • 64Gb Memory
  • 2 x 256Gb SSD disk (disk 2 is for my Lr catalogue and previews)
  • nVidia GT730
  • 2 x HP z23n (1920 x 1080) screens
All my data is stored on a Synology NAS

Not that anyone asked this bit, but the apps I run the most ...

  • Lightroom (susbscription - currently v8)
  • Serif Pageplus x9 - DTP
  • Sage Accounts - suspect this would run on any old crap
  • Affinity Photo
  • Affinity Publisher (once I can be bothered to learn a new DTP)
  • Photoshop - rarely use it
  • Wondershare Filmora - basic video editing
  • MS Office

It runs fine - I suspect it would struggle if I tried to edit 4k video as it can be a little clunky trying to edit HD - however I rarely do this so it isn't much of an issue to me.

Lr works fine though the whole import process never bothered me, it can take time but I've never been desperate to edit my photos but there is definate lag in there but once imported I don't have any issues.

I am mildly interested in the posts recommending a HP z800 workstation. We have a couple of these at work and they are definately 'snappier' which I think I would appreciate - although I work in IT I don't know much about PC hardware so when I see things like Intel xxx CPU it means naff all to me - and I buy all the PC hardware for the business! (it's not my money so I usually just go for the most expensive!)
 
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Late 2011 MBP running OSx 10.13.6 (High Sierra), upgraded the RAM and to an SDD myself. Still runs Lightroom and PS CS6 just fine :)
 
This year my 2009 even with SSD upgrade was just too slow for video editing and sluggish with Lightroom too, so I upgraded to new Mac mini with 32Gb and very happy with that. Still using the old iMac as backup and extra screen.
 
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2019 Huawei X Pro - i7-8550U, 16Gb, 512Gb SSD, nVidia MX150....... after my 8-year old HP, it seems lightning quick - maybe it is? :D
 
Laptop is a Dell Inspiron 7560, 32GB RAM, i7 7K, 256GB M2 SSD, plus upgraded with a 500GB 2.5" SSD (upgraded the RAM from 16GB), 2 yrs old.
Desktop is a late 2011 21.5" iMac, 16GB RAM i5, upgraded to 1TB SSD, startup to login around 10 seconds! very fast! bought from ebay about 3 yrs ago now
 
Up until this week it's been a combo of

2011 iMac (3.4 GHz Intel 4 Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6970M 1024 MB, 12Gb on an eternal 512Gb SSD)
2017 Macbook Pro (3.1 GHz Intel 2 Core i5, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650 1536 MB, 16 GB, 512Gb SSD)

The iMac still runs everything fantastically with the exception of some video editing which now puts it under pressure so it has now been replaced with a

2019 iMac (3.6Ghz Intel 8-core i9, Radeon Pro 580X with 8GB,16Gb, 512GB SSD)

Biggest difference is the screen, wow what a difference!
 
My PC is now 6 years old and runs as well as it did on day 1 - 4th gen i5 with gtx660 and Dell 2713hm with debian 10 & darktable - it's the longest time i've had a pc for and I would imagine it will run fine for another few years - I did strip down the cpu & gpu heatsinks a couple of months ago and apply new compound which has helped reduce core temps
 
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Homebuilt in 2017 but upgraded along the way.
i7 6700k watercooled, Gigabyte g1 sniper b7 motherboard, Corsair 32GB Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200MHz, Nvidia gtx 970 gpu, Corsair rm1000 x power supply, Samsung evo samsung evo 970 1tb nvme m.2 ssd (added this year) for O/S and lightroom cat, 250gb Transcend SSD370S 512GB SSD used for storing older raw files. 2 x 2tb sata drives for general storage all backed up to a synology ds413j just in case. Windows10 pro. Best upgrade has been the m.2 evo 970 hard drive. Will upgrade the gpu as and when the right one comes up for sale at the right money but for now this is serving me well for photoshop and lightroom editing.
 
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