I know the answer is out there but can't get 'search' to work, so here goes.

[earthshine]

7. Sounds like you need a Spock to elucidate it for you.

Or better yet, get the Morgan Freeman character from any movie he is in. (He’s always splaining stuff.)

Too bad for you that I’m much more of a Kirk-type character. I just give orders telling people what computers to buy.

That having been said, before buying a computer, you need to get a real handle on what your needs are.

Editing on a computer is like using addictive drugs. First it starts with word processing. Then you need something stronger, and that’s photo editing. Next you move on to audio editing, which easily parlays you into video editing.
Each progressive drug is 10 times more potent than the last. That is to say, it takes 10 times the computer power (or time) to process photos compared to text. And 10 times that for audio. And 10 times that for SD video. And four times that for HD video. And four times that for 4k video).

It just took my computer two hours to render a five-minute 4K vid. But because my computer has 8 processor cores, I was able to do other things during the rendering.

You are using Paint Shop Pro. I am currently using version 15. Have been using it since version 5. New version, same bugs. PSP crashes a lot. That means you need to keep autosave on. But any time it does an autosave, it completely locks you out of the keyboard and mouse until the operation is done. You need to be aware of this and it may account for some of your problems.

Here are some other recommendations with very simplified explanations:

- Monitor: get bigger monitor. The photos you are taking have so many more pixels than the monitor you're using.

- Processor: The number of cores determines the number of different programs (threads) that can be simultaneously run. Speed is measured in cycles per second. That tells you how many instructions can be executed per second on each core. More cores and more speed equates to a much smoother user experience. (No stuttering.)

- RAM: more is merrier, but with diminishing returns. 16 or 32 gigs will be enough. The more RAM you have, the more the computer can do in memory, and the less it has to access the hard drive.

- Hard drive: You want a solid-state drive as your C: drive. Traditional mechanical drives should only be used as ancillary drives for long-term or archival storage.

When it comes to learning things, say about processor cores, Google is your friend, and YouTube is your best friend.

Go to YouTube and type in any of these terms. A list of videos will appear made by people like you and me for the benefit of people like you and me.

I currently am using Vegas Pro to do video editing. I am learning everything I need from YouTube. There are so many videos about how to use Paint Shop Pro.