Building a new computer

[loujul]

I'm overwhelmed by the choices I have when building a computer through Dell. I do a lot of digital scrapbooking and have just started construcing slideshows with Premiere. I usually use Roxio. I'm striving toward a system that doesn't allow me time to make a tuna fish sandwich while waiting for pictures to load. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[Joe M]

It's hard to make specific suggestions without knowing price range and what components you need. For example do you already have a monitor you can use?

I looked at the Dell offerings and would suggest a few things.

First decide if you want to go XP or Vista. With a brand new computer I would go Vista. Dell gives you the choice.

Processor: I would suggest an Intel Core 2 Duo E6600.

Ram: I suggest 3GB for XP and 4GB for Vista.

Optical Drive: Get a DVD writer. Personally I would get two optical drives. One that can read DVD and one that can write DVD.

Hard Drive: Get the biggest you can afford. If you are comfortable adding an additional Hard Drive later that would be a good option. (It's very easy.)

Video Card: Get a dedicated Video Card with at least 256MB of Ram. I like Nvidia but ATI is fine.

Monitor: Dell makes some great Monitors. I would go with one of their Ultrasharp models, the biggest you can afford.

The Dell XPS product line seems to have some good prices right now. Though they can get expensive pretty quick as you add and upgrade components.

I hope this helps.

[loujul]

Thanks so much. I was looking at a Dell XPS420, so we're on the same track. I'll incorporate your suggestions in my constructions. Thanks again!

[Joe M]

Thanks so much. I was looking at a Dell XPS420, so we're on the same track. I'll incorporate your suggestions in my constructions. Thanks again!

Good Choice.

Since you're going with the XPS420 I suggest the E6850 processor.