[Janieb]

I have recently upgraded to a Nikon D50 camera and thought I would also upgrade my software. I have looked at the system spec for the latest Photoshop elements but am unsure if my Dell Dimension 4700 meets the requirements.
Here are the specs

Windows
Intel Centrino, Pentium III or 4 (or compatible) processor
at 800 MHz or faster (faster recommended)
Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack
Windows XP Media Center Edition 005 (required for Share to TV)
56 MB of RAM (512 MB recommended)
800 MB of available hard disk space
Microsoft DirectX 9 compatible display driver
1024x768 or greater monitor resolution with 16-bit color or greater video card
CD-ROM drive

It is the display driver and monitor resolution (15" analogue) that I am especially unsure of . Can anyone please advise. As you can gather technology is not my strong point!
Thanks
Jane :

[pete schofield]

Hi Jane are these specs for the computer you have?

If so you are going to struggle with Photoshop, it would run but slowly.

You would be better I think with Photoshop Elements which, although a cut down version of Photoshop is still quite good.

Perhaps someone else has a similar spec and can answer differently.

Pete

[Janieb]

Thanks for replying Pete.
The specs are the minimum requirements for Photoshop Elements 4. My machine is 800 M Hz, 512MB memory and 160 GB hard drive. Do you reckon I will be Ok with Photoshop elements?
Jane

[normjackson]

Nice PC, Jane. You should be fine. If this is your monitor it should work OK :
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/prod...=28&l=en&s=dfb
A bigger monitor might be the first upgrade down the line though; would be nicer to use.
Might be worth having a look in the Photoshop Elements manual to see how you can tell how efficiently it is running when you do your editing. This should tell you whether there would be a benefit in speed from doing an upgrade to 1024MB of system RAM (if things slow down and the disk light keeps flashing while you are doing your editing, this indicates you could do with a bit more memory). It may never become an issue for you. Anyways, this site has been recommended here on Birdforum for purchasing additional memory for Dell PCs :
http://www.crucial.com/uk/?OVRAW=cru...OVMTC=standard

[Janieb]

Thanks very much for the advice Norm . Yes that's my monitor so I'll probably go ahead and give it a whirl! thanks again.
Jane

[RAH]

I really think you should consider getting Paint Shop Pro (version 10) instead of Photoshop Elements. Paint Shop Pro is more powerful and just as easy to use. Of course, this is just my opinion.

[Janieb]

Thanks to all for the helpful advice.

[Tannin]

Sorry, but I think you are completely nuts! Hoolie Doolie, did you say a 15 inch monitor? For photographic work? Slip down the street and buy yourself a monitor that let's you see what you are doing. Do this before you buy any software, before you trick up that excellent new camera with accessories, before you feed the kids or pay the rent!

You don't need to spend much. Less than AU$200 (what's that, around e100?) will get you a decent 17 inch CRT. Not top of the range or anything, but perfectly usable if you don't have anything better. I like Acer and Mitsubishi in 17 inch CRTs but just about any brand will do.

Better, you can pick up decent 19 inch CRTs for comfortably under $AU300. CRTs are out of fashion now, so the prices are very low as the manufacturers are tring to move their stocks, and the difference between a 19 and an old 15 doesn't bear thinking about. And CRTs give you vastly more accurate colour than any LCD can deliver.

Or, if you want one, get an LCD. Excellent picture quality if you get a good one (don't ever buy a cheap LCD screen - they are dreadful), superb for text, but inherently limited for graphics work. (LCD screens don't scale well. Fact of life, unfortunately.) Strictly speaking, you shouldn't use one for photographic work - but do as I say, not as I do!

No more running Photoshop in braile. Buy a screen. Today!

[Keith Reeder]

Hey, Tannin.

Isn't it the case that 15" TFT screens have the same viewable area as 17" CRTs?

[Tannin]

Nope Keith, not quite. 15 inch TFT has 15 inch viewable; modern 17 inch CRT has about 16 inch viewable. So it's a little bit bigger, and substantially more flexible than a 15" TFT. A 19 inch CRT has 18 inches viewable.

Besides, Jane said "15 inch analogue" and there is no such thing as an analogue TFT. TFT devices are, and can only be, digital. (But they usually have an analogue input (15 pin VGA) as well as (in the better units) a direct digital input (DVI) which gives better quality in most cases because it avoids a double D - A - D conversion and its inevitabe losses. CRT devices, on the other hand, are, and can only be, analogue. (A CRT badged as "digital", which they all are these days, is not in fact digital, it simply has digital control over the focus mechanism.)

But maybe she meant a TFT, in which case, I would not be in quite such a hurry to sell the grandmother and replace it. Still too small, but much better than a 15 inch analogue screen, which has 14 inches viewable.

[Janieb]

My monitor is that shown as a link to Dell in normjackson's reply above. It says TFT LCD in the details but is listed as analogue on my paperwork from Dell. I'm still a bit confused. I take the point that I will need to update the monitor soon but as a beginner I had not realised how important it would be. Thanks for all your interest.

[Keith Reeder]

Hi Tannin,

this is the monitor in question - http://www1.us.dell.com/content/prod...=28&l=en&s=dfb - TFT, with 1024 x 768 max resolution.

Should be OK?

The "analogue" probably refer to the Video Input Connector type.

[Tannin]

I think you are right, Keith.

Jane, if it's not too late, you can ask that nice man with the foreign accent if he wouldn't mind giving you your grandmother back - you don't need to sell her after all. A 15 inch TFT is a bit on the small side, but usable. Don't rush to replace it. Sure, you will want to replace it eventually, reasonably soon in fact, but you can take your time and select something you are really happy with.

(Tell your grandmother I'm sorry about the inconvenience.)

[Fuzz]

Hi Jane,
I'm a point and shooter who is going to upgrade to fine art photography, both equipment and knowledge. A well known landscape photographer, George Lepp, who writes a column for Outdoor Photographer magazine, has set up a great looking training facility near where I live with stations for 16 students. I got to see it last weekend and I noticed that each student uses a Dell Computer with two LCD monitors, one a ViewSonic V181b (18") and the other was a 15" ViewSonic but I don't remember the number. George wasn't there but I think the reason for the two is to have your photo on the big one and Photoshop on the small one. If that's the case maybe you can get a nice big LCD for your photo can keep your 15" for Photoshop. If you call or e-mail Mr. Lepp (805-528-7385) U.S. he might be able to give you really specific suggestions. His website is www.leppphoto.com One monitor that I'm considering for myself is the ViewSonic VP191b but there are many other choices. Hope this helps.

Fuzz

[Janieb]

Thanks everyone. I'll stick with my monitor for the moment and update as funds become available.

[RAH]

When you are ready to upgrade, I want to mention that 17 inch LCD monitors with 1280 resolution make text appear very tiny. I suppose they would be OK for image editing, but I think a 19 inch (also with 1280) would be much better as a general purpose minitor.

[Janieb]

Thanks, will bear all your comments in mind.