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Best Windows PC 2023

Hi I'm a desktop/Windows user (Corel Draw) and looking to upgrade to a new PC, have read the HP Envy 34 is one of the best around in 2023, can anyone help? Sick and tired of average RAM, processing power and graphics card freezing Corel Draw while it takes forever to process some of my more complex artwork. All help appreciated, Craig.
 

CMYKENGINEERING

Merchant Member
If you or someone in your shop is somewhat tech savvy, a white box computer or building your own are often the better option. That way you don't have to rely on HP's or Dell's or whoever else's configurations and you can go heavy or light in the areas that matter to you.
 

victor bogdanov

Active Member
If you want "the best", build yourself. Avoid any of the big brands loaded with cut corners and junkware

What is your budget? 1k? 2k? 3k?

I'm happy with my
7950x
128gig ram
7900xtx
 

Pauly

Printrade.com.au
Or buy from puget systems.

Yes im aware it says "photoshop" but Corel etc requre similar hardware specs.

 
Happy to pay up to 3K, I've always had built for me in the past (for that reason of extra junk installed on branded systems) but was hoping to get something off the shelf, be easier if I was on Mac haha. Maybe I have to look at custom build again, trouble is where do you stop to future proof the system and it's parts from becoming a dinosour too soon!
 

damonCA21

New Member
Corel doesnt use that many resources, so you don't really need a super high end PC. The main thing is to get a very good graphics card as this makes a big difference to processing times. I have always built my own as its not exactly hard, and use mid range components ( so would have been the latest thing say two years ago ) but do spend more on the graphics card.


Off the shelf systems are normally a lot slower as they put so much unneeded stuff on there you will never use, but uses up lots of system resources.
Also the latest operating systems tend to be much worse than the previous ones ! I run Win7 on my main design PC as it is a lot more stable than the later versions, and doesn't tend to keep trying to do stuff in the background you dont want it to
 

damonCA21

New Member
And as far as future proofing, I tend to upgrade my system every 3 years or so. This seems to give a good balance between component cost and performance
 

visual800

Active Member
this post has been made so many times BUT I stand by dell xps systems. Spend a day and go thru it and get the junk off of it AND remember to cut off updates. These systems are good Ive had great luck with them.
Once you "unblot" them they are awesome.
 

victor bogdanov

Active Member
this post has been made so many times BUT I stand by dell xps systems. Spend a day and go thru it and get the junk off of it AND remember to cut off updates. These systems are good Ive had great luck with them.
Once you "unblot" them they are awesome.
Or just copy the specs of the "dell xps system" and build your self for a 25% savings plus getting a way better non proprietary motherboard, PSU, Case = more upgradable down the road
 

garyroy

New Member
Victor, just remember to account for the cost of your time building the system.
That might be the 25% savings down the drain.
 

SightLine

║▌║█║▌│║▌║▌█
For much more bulletproof uptime...... go with a professional workstation. Dell Precision and HP Z Series are both excellent. They do not include all of the consumer bloatware. The DIY crowd will argue and yes they can build something cheaper with the same specs and they can. But Dell and HP have a LOT of engineering and testing into insuring cooling, airflow, compatibility, etc are all on spot and you can get a warranty that assures service literally within hours. Can also spec systems with ECC ram, Xeon processors as well which also can contribute to even greater stability.
The latest and greatest can also be a bit faster but realistically even slightly older systems can still be phenomenal. I'm using an older Dell Precision T7910, dual 8 core Xeon E5 (3.2ghz 16 cores plus 16 hyperthread), 128gb ram, factory water cooled, quad NVME SSD's, Quadro video (fully supports 10bit color mode in Photoshop). This thing is from 2016 and still keeps up just fine. My point being you can spend more up front for much higher end professional grade and get a LOT longer useful life out of a system and much better stability and reliability than consumer grade systems.
 

victor bogdanov

Active Member
I'm using an older Dell Precision T7910, dual 8 core Xeon E5 (3.2ghz 16 cores plus 16 hyperthread), 128gb ram, factory water cooled, quad NVME SSD's, Quadro video (fully supports 10bit color mode in Photoshop). This thing is from 2016 and still keeps up just fine. My point being you can spend more up front for much higher end professional grade and get a LOT longer useful life out of a system and much better stability and reliability than consumer grade systems.


My main computer at the shop was built in 2013

3770k (was 2nd fastest consumer cpu at time of build)
32 gig ram (crazy amount for 2013)
Rx580 (added a few years ago as the 4870 from 2013 does not support 4k resolution)
Ssd (added sometime after 2013)

Originally had WD raptors hdds

Just last week the 10 year old power supply died and was an easy $75 fix.

I'm surprised this computer is still going strong, handles light design work and chrome, rips.


It's so Dusty and sticky inside



Murals and other heavier design work I do at home on my 7950xt
 

Solventinkjet

DIY Printer Fixing Guide
I'm a build it yourself kind of guy because you can usually get more bang for your buck and I also just enjoy it. But I understand why someone would just want to pay and be done with it for sure. My thoughts on what you should look for below:

If you want fast RIP speeds, processor clock speed is the most important spec. The higher the better.

If you want to be able to RIP multiple jobs at once and print to multiple printers, more processor cores are better.

16GB of RAM is a minimum. 32GB and up is better.

Use an SSD or NVMe drive for your RIP work folder which will load larger jobs into memory faster. Get a cheap hard drive to save your original art files as SSDs are more likely to fail sooner. You should also have a backup plan.

Counterintuitively, a video card doesn't help much. Unless you're making massive files with a lot of raster effects etc. you don't need to go top of the line. Your video card has nothing to do with RIPing as well which is a common misconception.

The machine you posted is going to work well with it's specs if that's all you need to know as well.. The two main downsides of it are the price, you're paying a premium for convenience, and it's an all in one which can be hard to upgrade in the future.
 

victor bogdanov

Active Member
123.jpeg


The day after I buy the new power supply without any research, LTT releases a video bashing this PSU, although it is a best seller.

Found out old PSU was dead on Sunday and had no choice but to grab something off the shelf at bestbuy 10 minutes before closing. I'm sure it'll be fine for a few years until motherboard capacitors start failing due to old age..

Temps are great despite the cooler being covered in 10 years of sticky dust.

No cable management here, new builds are way better cable management
 

JBurton

Signtologist
My main computer at the shop was built in 2013

3770k (was 2nd fastest consumer cpu at time of build)
32 gig ram (crazy amount for 2013)
Rx580 (added a few years ago as the 4870 from 2013 does not support 4k resolution)
Ssd (added sometime after 2013)
This sounds like mine, just a few years newer. Currently dreading having to install win10 on a new build. Current build from 2011.
2600k
16gb ram
gtx460 (replaced with a 1070 when it fried)
130gb ssd
Also replaced 1 power supply thus far
Only difference, mine isn't too dusty/sticky.
 

victor bogdanov

Active Member
Currently dreading having to install win10 on a new build. Current build from 2011.
I also have Adobe CS6 on this computer ,don't know where my install disks are or where the key is so gotta keep it running as long as possible to avoid another Adobe license. my newest computer has the latest Adobe subscription
 
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