heeeeeeeeeeeeey PC peoples! advice sought

catspawcatspaw Registered Users Posts: 1,292 Major grins
edited March 19, 2009 in Digital Darkroom
I'm a mac person. I was a kit programming LOGO on a mac. okay? I can work a PC just fine but I've no clue when it comes to the latest and greatest.

Or in my case, the latest but still useful without being expensive.

Let me back up here:
4 years ago I bought the cheapest Dell laptop they had. Inspiron something or other. Only 'upgrade' was a 15" monitor instead of 13". It cost $500+a small bit, that's all. I needed it for work then, so I wrote off the expense, got some money back and that's been that.

However, I KNOW QuickBooks is best on a PC. I've an extra monitor, good keyboard and trackball that I love. All on a cheap IKEA desk I got for the business. The Quickbooks is a low key 'cheap' (aka free) version, so I know I need to upgrade that. Other than web browsing, I don't NEED it for anything else. That's what the Macs are for, right?

So ... what am I looking for? what am I getting? No laptop -- no point spending $$ on a monitor & screen when I already have ones superior to anything on a laptop. I admit that the Dell Studio Hybrid is pretty damned cute. BUT it's also small, cheap, and basic. Oh, I'll load Lightroom on it because I can (and testing stuff on a PC is smart for me). But even then, I've NO idea what sort of processor I need or even how much RAM.

I mean, QuickBooks Pro??? What exactly does 4 megs give me over 2?

Please help fill in the mental blanks I have here. I've processor and ram options that leave me :scratch:scratch:scratch a lot. I don't want to get the lowest thing and have it worthless in a few years, but I want something decent that'll last 5 for the low level use I'm asking of it.

thanks!!!!!!!!
//Leah

Comments

  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited March 17, 2009
    Ditch your iBook, get a new macbook, and run VMware and Windows on it. Do all your stuff on one machine. deal.gif
    Andy

    Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
  • catspawcatspaw Registered Users Posts: 1,292 Major grins
    edited March 17, 2009
    Andy wrote:
    Ditch your iBook, get a new macbook, and run VMware and Windows on it. Do all your stuff on one machine. deal.gif

    *sob* I love my ibook. even if it does weird things and spam twitter all night.

    eek7.gif

    If I do that, then I need a mac book PRO and I can't afford that!
    //Leah
  • ChatKatChatKat Registered Users Posts: 1,357 Major grins
    edited March 18, 2009
    QuickBooks
    Leah,

    QuickBooks Pro is what you need. The 2009 Version is a memory hog. They say you need 2 gigs of memory to run it - any of the recent processors will run it. But the memory is the biggy here. It's very robust and it will work with small memory, but, I suggest a minimum of 4 Gigs. It will run much faster. And that is regardless of you running it PC or Mac via Parallels or VMWare. If you have a PC, just pop in some memory.

    Do not waste your time with Simple Start. It's too limited for more than a basic checkook.

    I heard about a time limited offer for $79. but you'd have to buy it by today. I will check it out and get back to you by PM
    Kathy Rappaport
    Flash Frozen Photography, Inc.
    http://flashfrozenphotography.com
  • dogwooddogwood Registered Users Posts: 2,572 Major grins
    edited March 18, 2009
    ChatKat wrote:
    I suggest a minimum of 4 Gigs. It will run much faster. And that is regardless of you running it PC or Mac via Parallels or VMWare. If you have a PC, just pop in some memory.

    It's not quite this simple. XP and Vista 32-bit can only use a max of 3 GB of RAM so if you "pop" in 4 GB of memory, you're not able to access 4 gigs. You'll have to upgrade to a 64-bit OS to be able to use 4 GB or more of RAM on a PC.
    Portland, Oregon Photographer Pete Springer
    website blog instagram facebook g+

  • catspawcatspaw Registered Users Posts: 1,292 Major grins
    edited March 18, 2009
    dogwood wrote:
    It's not quite this simple. XP and Vista 32-bit can only use a max of 3 GB of RAM so if you "pop" in 4 GB of memory, you're not able to access 4 gigs. You'll have to upgrade to a 64-bit OS to be able to use 4 GB or more of RAM on a PC.

    huh. I swear the Dell configuration for 32-bit Vista gave me the choice of 4 for RAM. Then again, I was tired last night when running through those configurations :)
    //Leah
  • RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,962 moderator
    edited March 18, 2009
    catspaw wrote:
    huh. I swear the Dell configuration for 32-bit Vista gave me the choice of 4 for RAM. Then again, I was tired last night when running through those configurations :)
    The system can use 3.5 GB, that last GB is either half-full or half-empty depending on whether you work in marketing or not. :D

    [rant]
    Any accounting program that needs 4GB of memory was designed by morons. There is simply no excuse for that. What the hell is it doing--converting account balances into images of five dollar bills? Actually, I tend not to believe it.
    [/rant]
    My Pics
  • PupatorPupator Registered Users Posts: 2,322 Major grins
    edited March 18, 2009
    You'll want to shop at the Dell Outlet. Take a look at the Inspiron 530s. That's a slim tower that saves you some space over the normal size. It's not quite (not nearly, actually) the Studio Mini, but still small.

    Sort them by price (you'll find they start at $199 for a Celeron version), then look in the processor column for first one you find with a Core 2 Duo (not dual core) processor. You want Core 2 Duo. I found one at $359 (free shipping) with an Core 2 Duo 2660, 3GB RAM, 500GB SATA II HDD, DVD Burner, and Vista Home Premium. Google around a bit for "dell outlet coupon" and you can often find a 20-30% off coupon if you time it right. (But look through the Outlet options. They have another for $369 with 4GB RAM and a faster processor but only a 250GB HDD - maybe that would be better for you.)

    That's a good deal for a computer that will have plenty of firepire for Quickbooks Pro and Lightroom. As was previously mentioned, you could upgrade later to a 64-bit OS (Windows 7?) and 4+ GB of RAM if you wanted.
  • catspawcatspaw Registered Users Posts: 1,292 Major grins
    edited March 18, 2009
    Did i mention I get a work discount on Dell products too? :) but yes, we get a discount on the Outlet as well. Inspiron 530s. Check. Sort by price. gotit.

    thanks so much!!
    Pupator wrote:
    You'll want to shop at the Dell Outlet. Take a look at the Inspiron 530s. That's a slim tower that saves you some space over the normal size. It's not quite (not nearly, actually) the Studio Mini, but still small.

    Sort them by price (you'll find they start at $199 for a Celeron version), then look in the processor column for first one you find with a Core 2 Duo (not dual core) processor. You want Core 2 Duo. I found one at $359 (free shipping) with an Core 2 Duo 2660, 3GB RAM, 500GB SATA II HDD, DVD Burner, and Vista Home Premium. Google around a bit for "dell outlet coupon" and you can often find a 20-30% off coupon if you time it right.

    That's a good deal for a computer that will have plenty of firepire for Quickbooks Pro and Lightroom. As was previously mentioned, you could upgrade later to a 64-bit OS (Windows 7?) and 4+ GB of RAM if you wanted.
    //Leah
  • catspawcatspaw Registered Users Posts: 1,292 Major grins
    edited March 18, 2009
    Nifty! Month of March get 31 or 33% off the 530 or the studio hybrid. Duo core 2 core... whata. Can't they make this easier? it's like the bloody 50D and D50!
    //Leah
  • PupatorPupator Registered Users Posts: 2,322 Major grins
    edited March 18, 2009
    catspaw wrote:
    Nifty! Month of March get 31 or 33% off the 530 or the studio hybrid. Duo core 2 core... whata. Can't they make this easier? it's like the bloody 50D and D50!

    Heh, agreed. And Intel got it too - they'll never name products that similarly again I bet.

    Yeah, grab yourself a studio hybrid at those prices. Get the highest number Core 2 Duo your budget can stand. Make sure it has 3-4GB of RAM and Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate (don't settle for Vista Home Basic!)
  • dogwooddogwood Registered Users Posts: 2,572 Major grins
    edited March 18, 2009
    Richard wrote:
    [rant]
    Any accounting program that needs 4GB of memory was designed by morons. There is simply no excuse for that. What the hell is it doing--converting account balances into images of five dollar bills? Actually, I tend not to believe it.
    [/rant]

    15524779-Ti.gif

    Even PSCS4 can work with less than 4GB memory!

    I can only milk 3GB out of my 32-bit OS, at least that's all it lists in the control panel. Perhaps that other 1/2 gig is being used by the OS?
    Portland, Oregon Photographer Pete Springer
    website blog instagram facebook g+

  • RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,962 moderator
    edited March 18, 2009
    dogwood wrote:
    I can only milk 3GB out of my 32-bit OS, at least that's all it lists in the control panel. Perhaps that other 1/2 gig is being used by the OS?

    nod.gif Windows is like the mafia--it always gets its cut. :D
    My Pics
  • catspawcatspaw Registered Users Posts: 1,292 Major grins
    edited March 18, 2009
    Richard wrote:
    nod.gif Windows is like the mafia--it always gets its cut. :D

    with blood? :)
    //Leah
  • RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,962 moderator
    edited March 18, 2009
    catspaw wrote:
    with blood? :)

    More like sweat and tears, in my experience. lol3.gif
    My Pics
  • ivarivar Registered Users Posts: 8,395 Major grins
    edited March 19, 2009
    catspaw wrote:
    However, I KNOW QuickBooks is best on a PC.
    What's wrong with QuickBooks on a mac? ne_nau.gif
    Ivar
    www.ivarborst.nl & smugmug
  • ChatKatChatKat Registered Users Posts: 1,357 Major grins
    edited March 19, 2009
    THe Mac version is not as robust as the PC Version with respect to reporting and has less functionality. What does work is the PC Version on a Mac under Parallels.
    Kathy Rappaport
    Flash Frozen Photography, Inc.
    http://flashfrozenphotography.com
  • catspawcatspaw Registered Users Posts: 1,292 Major grins
    edited March 19, 2009
    ChatKat wrote:
    THe Mac version is not as robust as the PC Version with respect to reporting and has less functionality. What does work is the PC Version on a Mac under Parallels.

    hehe. Id love to see this ibook G4 run Parallels...... not!

    yes, computer upgrade on the future :P
    //Leah
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