Dell Inspiron 23-7000

Processor
4th Generation Intel Core i7-4710MQ Processor (6M Cache, up to3.50 GHz)

Operating System
Windows 8.1 (64Bit) English

Monitor
23.8-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Truelife LED-Backlit Touch Displaywith Wide Viewing Angle (IPS)

Memory
12GBDual Channel DDR3L 1600MHz (8GBx1 + 4GBx1)

HardDrive
1TB5400 rpm SATA Hard Drive + Intel SRT 32GB SSD Cache

VideoCard
AMD Radeon HD 8690A 2GB GDDR5

You are going to want a much faster hard drive than that. 7200rpm + minimum, preferably a full sized SSD.

And at least 16G of ram.

Could you? Sure, but the faster/more the better (and 12gb of RAM isn't bad).

You will ideally want a faster drive though, might just get an external to store your video on.

Don't you want two sticks of memory identical in speed and capacity?

The slow hard drive will elongate loading of video clips. Once everything is loaded you might not see the slowness of 5400 RPM so much. But I agree that 7200 RPM is an easy choice here.

The other basic issue though is are you editing big long videos where rendering time is very important? Or are these family videos of kids playing soccer? Sitting there in the editor slicing video into chunks, adding titles, and editing sound doesn't see the benefit of super fast hardware as much as rendering.

Sorry, I wrote the earlier stuff on my mobile...

The minimum I'd probably recommend for any desktop is maybe 8G, but really 16 for anything more than just browsing/email/office. Its just so cheap.

The only problem with 12, is that its an odd size, and its doing 8G for one slot and 4G for another. I usually try to max out the slots. Otherwise if you ever want to upgrade to 16, you may have to buy an 8G chip just to go up 4G because you will have to replace the 4G one already in there if the motherboard only has 2 RAM slots.

And I'd say the hard drive is a must. Minimum I'd do for what you are asking is a 256G SSD for the windows drive and maybe a 1TB 7200rpm drive for storage.

Sorry if this is confusing...

Primary function will be for school homework, email, internet and photo editing.

Video editing is not something I will be doing every day. Just occasional compiling family/sports stuff.

If it takes an extra 3m to compile a 10m clip that's not a big issue.

I can't even watch HD video on my current setup, the monitor is old and I was hoping to get away from the desktop form factor. I like the A_I_O set up, like iMac but not the iMac price + having to buy all new software.

I edit video just fine on my 5 year old overclocked Q6600 system with 8Gb. I edited many kids swimming and diving videos, up to 30 minutes long.

It renders faster than the real elapsed time of the video.

What makes video editing easier is a great display.

Don't use two memory sticks of different capacity or speed.

Don't use 5400 rpm. The cache isn't helpful loading large files.

+1 Spicewood

Edit: Just to elaborate a bit...

FWIW I have 8G on my machine at home and I don't have any problems doing minor family stuff. 12 is an odd size and I honestly dont know why companies do it. I think its just to be "more than 8G" but not spend as much. Pricing points I guess. That along with things like mis-matched timing like Spicewood mentioned. If I was buying new I'd go for 16G or just stay at 8G. I think its better to do normal sizes (and speeds). More than likely you wont notice a huge difference if its just for small home projects...

I would however definitely do more on the hard drive.

That Dell has some odd choices. Like the memory. It probably saves Dell $10 to have 12Gb instead of 16Gb. And that hard drive probably is a poor man's SSD with just enough SSD to help boot speed, but slow for everything else. It is probably a 2.5 inch notebook drive - compact for the all in one chassis. Lots of notebooks use the hybrid drives.

I have read that you must match memory for best performance. If you were to put the 8GB and 4GB cards in there, the fastest the 8GB will operate is at the speed of the 4GB, although you will still have the total of 12GB memory.

I understand the space saving aspect of it, but I guess these all-in-ones are not designed to add new parts when in need of an upgrade?

I am no computer whiz, so someone correct me if wrong. I am still learning this too.

This would be better, yes?

Dell 8700

And this monitor

Dell P2715Q

FWIW, a year ago I got the Dell XPS all in one with 27" QuadHD touchscreen, 16gb ram, 256gb ssd + 2 tb hard drive, and dedicated graphics card for $1100 refurbished through dell outlet. If you wait for a sale you might he able to get something similar.

quote:

---

FWIW, a year ago I got the Dell XPS all in one with 27" QuadHD touchscreen, 16gb ram, 256gb ssd + 2 tb hard drive, and dedicated graphics card for $1100 refurbished through dell outlet. If you wait for a sale you might he able to get something similar.

---

wow, that is a good deal! Nothing close to that right now on the dell outlet web site.

Just found out that using a 4K monitor and CS6 do not play well. The icons are so small in CS6 you can barely see them and their is no option to scale them up. Only CC has that option...and I don't do photo/video for money so I'm not paying $20/mo to have the latest and greatest versions of CS.
Looks like I might have to pick up a copy of PS/Pr Elements 13.

Anyone switch from two monitors to a single 27"+ monitor? I've had two on my desktop for a long time and love the screen space, but one of them died last year and the old 23" display is aging badly.

Can't decide on one large 4K display, or two 24" displays at 1080p. Or maybe even a single 4K 24" display and keep using the old 23" for extra real estate.....

I had to wait a month or two for them to have one of their big sales that coincided with a 20-30% off coupon. I wasn't in a huge hurry to purchase, so I could wait. My buddy got basically the same computer for $900 during the same sale, you just have to watch what they have in stock.

I tried using the current 10% off coupon but it didn't work. Maybe you found a flaw in the system and it's been closed. Those models are one $2k normally.

Follow dell outlet on twitter and they will update you on the latest deals.

There is actually a deal for 30% off dell outlet xps desktops, including the 2720 all in one, the code is 30%XPS . I just added a certified refurbished 2720 with the following specs:

Processor: Intel Core 4th Generation i7-4770S Processor (8M Cache, up to 3.9 GHz)
Windows 8
2TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive 6.0 Gb/s
32 GB SSDR mSATA Full Card
16 GB Dual Channel DDR3L 1600MHz (8GBx2) Memory
Slot-Load Dual Layer Blu-ray Combo (BR-ROM, DVD+/-RW, CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2GB DDR5 with TPM
Dell Outlet XPS 27 2720

Normally ~$2000 on the outlet, and came to $1400 with the coupon. There are cheaper options if you don't mind an i5 processor, and the coupon code is good for a couple more days if you want to see what other inventory pops up.

I have a 2710, and the SSD/HDD and RAM are super easy to change out if you want to upgrade what it comes with. I'm assuming the 2720 is the same way, but you might look into it before purchasing if you want to upgrade. The dedicated graphics card is not upgradable, it is soldered in place.

The one with the SSD is gone but I'll keep a look out.

I actually already ordered the 8700 from Costco, but I can bring it back to the store for a full refund as soon as it shows up at the house.


.... looks like I could add a larger SSD...either way, this is what I really wanted in lieu of another desktop system......$1586 with tax out the door for the refurb XPS 2720

.....for an extra $90 I can add a 27" 2560x1440 27" monitor to the desktop unit i already ordered....what to do, what to do.....