Scientist in Sweden need computer help.

[Soffan]

Hello
I work in a scientist project in Sweden and need an opinon regarding a new computer that our team have bought. We are using photoshop to fix scanned tissue pictures in TIFF. The pictures are really big, between 1-3 Gb. So of course we need a good computer. We have a computer with 8 Gb RAM and 3,4 GHz processor and that wasn´t enough, so we told the computer guys that we needed a better computer. And of course, we are lab nerds and don´t know so much about computers. So of course we trusted them. What we got was a Dell Precision T5600 Xeon E5-2603 1,8 GHz 16 Gb RAM. But we don´t think the computer is any good. It´s freeses even when your not using photoshop, and sometimes I can´t even send an email. But the computer guys told me that this is how things work. But I doubt it. We runned PC Mark and the score for the new computer was 2462 and for the old one it was 2753. I guess this means that the older computer is better, or? We paid the double price for the new one (3000$ vs 780$ for the old one).
I would really like your opinion. Is it normal that a computer that is 1,5 year old, and ¼ of the price, is better than a new one? Or is there something wrong with the new one. Can I expect something more from a Xeon or is this just wrong computer for image editing. I have seen that you have been discussing Xeon and if they are good for gaming and so on....
I would really like your opinion. Just tell me everything of what you want!
//Sofie

 

[alexoiu]

Hi, If running Windows 7, can you check the Windows Experience Index for processor, memory and graphics (Control Panel, System, Check the WEI)?
The system is a professional one, so it should work, unless there's something wrong with the settings.

 

[popatim]

Send it back for a refund and get yourself a some new IT people.
Anyone tells you that a new computer freezing is normal needs to be in the unemployment line.

For photoshop get an i7-3770 or 3770k, 16gb to 32gb ram, a small ssd for the OS, a large Storage drive 7200rpm minimum, a destination SSD drive. It doesnt need to be big - just fast, and a scratch disk (an ssd again). Lastly get a supported GPU to aide in processing. Something like and amd 7850 or 7970.

All this should cost about 3k built and tested for you.

 

[shaun_shaun]

I think you guys were scammed big time .. you can build a super high-end pc for $3000.. even $90 AMD Phenom II X4 945 has a better CPU Mark score than Xeon E5-2603.
are you using a separate graphics card or using IGPU ?? If not I highly recommend getting a high-end nvidia based graphics card with CUDA support since it gives you distinct advantage for softwares like Photoshop .. but first I recommend getting a better cpu .. if you have a good budget I recommend getting a high-end cpu like i7-3960X.