Help with tower PC upgrade.

I would always go for the latest - I have used Windows 7, 10 and 11. But the decision must be taken based on which software the version of Windows will support.

This is mainly an Excel forum - whilst we have these extra sections, it's probably not the best place to ask a question like this. A dedicated Windows forum would most likely be better.

Support for Windows 7 ended 5 years ago.

I would prefer to keep using win7 I reckon I need to update before it stops working

It won't stop working, but there are no security patches or other bug fixes. There are machines out there still running XP.

Support for Windows 10 will end this October. For now, upgrade to W11 is free if you have W10. I did the upgrade recently on a machine that I built myself. Not sure how long it will continue to be free.

I realise that 10 & 11 wont let me use my version of photoshp

What version of Photoshop do you have? I would be surprised if a version that runs on W7 would not run on W10 or 11. I'm not sure what hoops you have to go through to migrate your license, but technically it should work.

It won't matter much for YouTube, since that's on the web, and Microsoft apps.

is the RAM / Memory (and anything else important) and at what level

It's important but based on what you said are your main uses of the machine, any hardware that comes with Windows 10 or 11 is going to probably going to have enough hardware resources for you.

What's your budget? I just looked at refurbs at Micro Center (what is your location?) and refurbs start at $280 with RAM of 12G which will be plenty for you. NewEgg also has some very reasonably price options.

What is your current hard drive capacity? Most computers now come with an option for SSD instead of disk. You will want at least as much as whatever you have now. I would recommend at least 512GB especially if you are doing a lot of graphics work. Processor speed and graphics support is probably not an issue for you; most modern machines will be more than adequate. It's the gamer rigs that tend to be the most high-performance.

I agree with Ali that you may get more information by going to a site that specializes in this type of discussion. Try Tom's Hardware.

Do you mean 6.0 which was released in 2000? Or CS6, released in 2012?

Either one is pretty old and I can imagine that even if you can install it on Windows 11, and it runs, it might have compatibility issues.

I am guessing you want to absolutely minimize any cost. These days Photoshop is a subscription product for $240 a year. But you can get a three-year license for Photoshop Elements for $99, which has a lot of the most common features of Photoshop.

If you are not using it professionally, then maybe an open-source image editor would work for you.

Its photoshop 6.0, Once I upgrade windows I can still use it on my win7 PC when required. Its just a hobby so I can give Gimp a go and see how I get on.

........"Either one is pretty old"........Not as old as me thats why I have some difficulty upgrading as I am not used to all the modern technologies terminology, next on the list is my Nokia 3310 as that will shortly stop working on the I think 4G thingy.

I would try to reinstall your current version of Photoshop on your next computer and just see what happens. It won't hurt anything if it doesn't work.

Nokia 3310? Wow, you're a diehard I had one of those. I think I've had about 6-8 phones since then.

I hate to get into recommending or evaluating specific machines when I know the minimum about your needs. My impression is that the CPU is plenty good enough, the SSD will meet your needs based on what you mentioned earlier, 8GB of RAM is a little light but may be adequate. The RAM part is hard for me to evaluate on paper. Chrome and Edge usually eat up a lot of RAM. Killer price though. Manufacturer, model?

Originally Posted by juco

next on the list is my Nokia 3310 as that will shortly stop working on the I think 4G thingy.

In case you weren't aware, they have remade quite a few Nokia phones with 4G capability - for example: https://www.hmd.com/en_gb/nokia-3210?sku=1GF025CPJ2L02

Originally Posted by juco

Its photoshop 6.0, Once I upgrade windows I can still use it on my win7 PC when required. Its just a hobby so I can give Gimp a go and see how I get on.

........"Either one is pretty old"........Not as old as me thats why I have some difficulty upgrading as I am not used to all the modern technologies terminology, next on the list is my Nokia 3310 as that will shortly stop working on the I think 4G thingy.

I think 3G is being phased out now. 4G has anything between 8 and 25 years depending on what you read. Guessing you're on 3G.

Originally Posted by juco

Below is the detail

Disclaimer: I have more knowledge about this than the average person walking around in the street. I have built my own computers three or four times, do all my own repairs and upgrades, and customize my software configurations. But I am not a professional PC tech. All I know about you and your requirements are what I read in this thread. As far as you know, I'm a random stranger. I suggest you get a second opinion; I suggested Tom's Hardware. They're random strangers too, but if all the random strangers agree then it's better than if you had never asked. But if you were my brother ("Not as old as me" I am no spring chicken myself ) here is what I would tell you.

IMHO the specs you show here will easily meet your requirements, based on how you described what you do on your computer. I would also say that's a very good price with a 12-month warranty. I am puzzled by the Brand of "CIT" combined with Series "Dell Optiplex" and Model "Dell HP". Dell and HP are two independent manufacturers. That makes no sense to me. Is CIT the company you are ordering from? I found a CIT in Staffordshire but it doesn't look like they sell hardware.

The "connectivity" says "VGA" which is a video connector type for a monitor. That is old. It's fine, as long as your monitor has that same type of connection. If not, it's possible to get cables that convert it. Do you know what type of connectors your monitor has? (The more modern connectors are usually DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, or USB-C.)

The only mention of network connectively is "USB WiFi". I'm not sure what they mean by that. One thing it could mean is that it comes with a USB WiFi adapter. That is, it is not built-in, but plugs into a USB port. If you use WiFi I would ask the seller about that, and about what WiFi standard is supported. If you use an Ethernet cable instead of WiFi, ask about that too. There is no mention of Ethernet support. All of those things will affect your network speed, which will matter if you're doing a lot of YouTube.

What type of connectors are on your mouse and keyboard? I am assuming USB, so you will need to make sure this computer has enough USB ports. If the computer has older ports, they will still work--the main difference is speed, which isn't very important for keyboard and mouse. (It's more important if you use a data card reader or external SSD drive). Do you use any other peripheral devices?

The wildcard is whether it will run Photoshop 6.0. It might, you will have to try to find out. However, I do not know how Adobe enforces its licensing. You may have to somehow unregister it from your old computer to be able to install it on a new one. If all else fails you can try Gimp or one of the others. It will be a learning curve after you have used Photoshop for so long.

Originally Posted by juco

Given the choice whats best option small form factor (SFF) V normal size tower?

Can't help with that question. I've never had a SFF PC. I know that laptops often have proprietary parts and are more difficult to work in the case, so it is harder to do repairs and upgrades. But I don't know if the same is true of SFF PCs.

Originally Posted by 6StringJazzer

Can't help with that question. I've never had a SFF PC. I know that laptops often have proprietary parts and are more difficult to work in the case, so it is harder to do repairs and upgrades. But I don't know if the same is true of SFF PCs.

Not that I am likely to be doing my own repairs but was thinking maybe a heat issue with it being so compact, i'll see what I can find out on the internet.

Thanks all for the replies it has been a great help for me as I am not technically minded but you have given me enough info to take this forward and likely to make a purchase in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks to all who posted.