Need New PC

sara505 · May 23, 2009

I need to upgrade my Edgartown PC. For Brookline, and when I need to take my work with me, I use a Dell Inspiron, Media Center Edition, which memory I upgraded a while back. I store all of my photos on twinned HHDs and only keep a working copy on my computer - this works well - and I have been pretty satisfied with the Inspiron's performance, overall, but it is now time to improve my Edgartown desk-top.

I have begun off-loading my photos and docs from my Edgartown computer in preparation for switching to a new system ( I also have twinned HHDs there, am thinking of buying a third drive for each that I will keep in alternate locations, switching them off and backing up periodically, ensuring that I will always have a copy of everything in another location, but I digress.).

I have always used Dell - it's what I know, plus I need a PC for the various other programs I run - so I would like to simply call Dell and put in an order (though I could possibly be talked into another brand).

What are the basic specs I should ask for? Processors? Memory? Video card? etc. And most exciting is the prospect of a big new monitor - recommendations (all of the above on a middle-of-the-road budget)?

I have a fairly active photography business, mainly during the summer months when I am in Edgartown.

Thank you in advance.

Andy · May 23, 2009

What programs do you run that "have" to be on a PC?

sara505 · May 23, 2009

Andy wrote:

What programs do you run that "have" to be on a PC?

Noteworthy Composer, a music composing program (though this may be Mac-compatible?; Davka and Dagesh, my Hebrew word processing programs.

Andy, I know you are a Mac convert, so I think I know where you're going with this

.

Nope, neither of these is available for Mac.

sara505 · May 23, 2009

Anyone?

sara505 · May 23, 2009

I guess everyone's out BBQ-ing today.

Pupator · May 23, 2009

First: monitors. Do a search in this area (Digital Darkroom Gear) and you'll find the thread you're looking for. There are very specific Dell models you can buy or pretty much any Apple cinema display.

For the processor you'll want an Intel Quad Core or Core2Duo. Buy the best processor you can afford as you'll never upgrade it. There's more to consider here than just clock speed, too. L2 cache and bus speed matter.

RAM: 4GB of DDR2

Video card doesn't really matter. Pretty much any non-integrated card will be fine for what you do.

If you're going Dell I HIGHLY recommend using the Dell Outlet online. They came with the same warranty as new and I've gotten some incredible deals there. For example, right now they have an Inspiron 530s (though you may not want a slim size computer) with an Intel Quad-Core 2500, 4GB RAM, DVD-RW, 750GB SATA II HDD, etc. for $589. They've got Dual-Cores that are much cheaper than that too. (If you're in to higher end stuff you'd be looking at XPS rather than Inspiron.)

I hope that's helpful.

Nikolai · May 23, 2009

Pupator wrote:

First: monitors. Do a search in this area (Digital Darkroom Gear) and you'll find the thread you're looking for. There are very specific Dell models you can buy or pretty much any Apple cinema display.

For the processor you'll want an Intel Quad Core or Core2Duo. Buy the best processor you can afford as you'll never upgrade it. There's more to consider here than just clock speed, too. L2 cache and bus speed matter.

RAM: 4GB of DDR2

Video card doesn't really matter. Pretty much any non-integrated card will be fine for what you do.

If you're going Dell I HIGHLY recommend using the Dell Outlet online. They came with the same warranty as new and I've gotten some incredible deals there. For example, right now they have an Inspiron 530s (though you may not want a slim size computer) with an Intel Quad-Core 2500, 4GB RAM, DVD-RW, 750GB SATA II HDD, etc. for $589. They've got Dual-Cores that are much cheaper than that too. (If you're in to higher end stuff you'd be looking at XPS rather than Inspiron.)

I hope that's helpful.

To begin with, I'm totally in agreement with Paul about dell outlet.

As for the rest, today's laptops arfe fairly upgradable - within reason, of course. Still, on dells you can replace cpus, hdds, even screens. So you may wanna consider a system which you can actually can upgrade so it will last maybe twice as long.

I just got a new lappy from the said outlet store. I know it may not be a budget machine, but here's my rationale behind my choice.

0) OS. 32-bit days are over. 4Gb RAM limit is really limitingwhat you can do with today's cameras. So you gotta plan for 64-bit one. I installed Windows 7 RC 64-bit and I have full intention to buy retail when it comes out.

1) CPU: I wanted to get a good performace, so I got Intel 2 Duo Quad Core 2.53Ghz

2) Chassis: Dell Precision M6400. This is the only one that support quad core cpu.

3) Screen: I got regular Ultrasharp LED, but didn't quite like it. So I returned that one and got Ultrsharp RGB LED Edge-2-Edge. I can tell you enough how much better it is.

4) Video card. I disagree with Paul on this one. New Photoshop uses GPU, new OS uses it, more and more apps become really graphics intense. Hence I got nVidia 1GB.

5) HDD. My first version had SSD (Solid State Drives, essentially a large flash card). I loved it but they are a bit too expensive/too small at the moment. So my final version had the conventional HDDs. However, now that I know the difference I think I like SSD much more, so I intend to replace the system HDD with 128Gb or 256Gb SSD (and keep the second one at 500Gb conventional) when I will be replacing RC with the real thing (8-10 months). Hopefully the SSD prices will get down, too.

6) RAM: I wouldn't get anything less than 4Gb these days (I actually got 8).

Once again, this was not a budget machine even at the outlet prices. But you can adjust your priorities and decide what parts are important and how much you can afford NOT to have.

HTH

sara505 · May 23, 2009

Nikolai wrote:

To begin with, I'm totally in agreement with Paul about dell outlet.

As for the rest, today's laptops arfe fairly upgradable - within reason, of course. Still, on dells you can replace cpus, hdds, even screens. So you may wanna consider a system which you can actually can upgrade so it will last maybe twice as long.

I just got a new lappy from the said outlet store. I know it may not be a budget machine, but here's my rationale behind my choice.

0) OS. 32-bit days are over. 4Gb RAM limit is really limitingwhat you can do with today's cameras. So you gotta plan for 64-bit one. I installed Windows 7 RC 64-bit and I have full intention to buy retail when it comes out.

1) CPU: I wanted to get a good performace, so I got Intel 2 Duo Quad Core 2.53Ghz

2) Chassis: Dell Precision M6400. This is the only one that support quad core cpu.

3) Screen: I got regular Ultrasharp LED, but didn't quite like it. So I returned that one and got Ultrsharp RGB LED Edge-2-Edge. I can tell you enough how much better it is.

4) Video card. I disagree with Paul on this one. New Photoshop uses GPU, new OS uses it, more and more apps become really graphics intense. Hence I got nVidia 1GB.

5) HDD. My first version had SSD (Solid State Drives, essentially a large flash card). I loved it but they are a bit too expensive/too small at the moment. So my final version had the conventional HDDs. However, now that I know the difference I think I like SSD much more, so I intend to replace the system HDD with 128Gb or 256Gb SSD (and keep the second one at 500Gb conventional) when I will be replacing RC with the real thing (8-10 months). Hopefully the SSD prices will get down, too.

6) RAM: I wouldn't get anything less than 4Gb these days (I actually got 8).

Once again, this was not a budget machine even at the outlet prices. But you can adjust your priorities and decide what parts are important and how much you can afford NOT to have.

HTH

This is all helpful. Thanks. I'm basically picking people's brains and taking notes at this point.
One machine that caught my eye is the Dell Studio XPS. Here.
One concern I have is Vista, which I have been leary of, but how to get 64 bit w/o it.
I'm excited about this - whatever I end up with - I'm due.

Pupator · May 23, 2009

sara505 wrote:

This is all helpful. Thanks. I'm basically picking people's brains and taking notes at this point.
One machine that caught my eye is the Dell Studio XPS. Here.
One concern I have is Vista, which I have been leary of, but how to get 64 bit w/o it.
I'm excited about this - whatever I end up with - I'm due.

Vista really is fine. Some of us have been using it for years without problems. If you can hold off your purchase several months however (until September) you can buy a computer with a free upgrade to Windows 7. Otherwise you'll be paying full retail for 7 when it comes out.

I run Vista 64 bit on two computers and Windows 7 64-bit on the other. I, like Nik, am really looking forward to 7's release (though I like Vista, 7 has some usability features I find very helpful).

I think the "worst" non-integrated video card you can get with a Dell is 256MB, so that's why I said it doesn't matter. If you do as much PS work as Nik does (I use only Lightroom) I'm sure the 1GB card becomes useful.

So - just for kicks, here's an example of an XPS system in the Dell Outlet right now for $1099.

Intel Core - 2930 (I believe that's an i7 chip - the newest)
6GB RAM
640 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
2nd drive;640 GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Bluray drive (with Bluray and double layer writer)
256MB ATI Radeon HD 3650

Nice.

Nikolai · May 23, 2009

Pupator wrote:

Vista really is fine. Some of us have been using it for years without problems. If you can hold off your purchase several months however (until September) you can buy a computer with a free upgrade to Windows 7. Otherwise you'll be paying full retail for 7 when it comes out.

I run Vista 64 bit on two computers and Windows 7 64-bit on the other. I, like Nik, am really looking forward to 7's release (though I like Vista, 7 has some usability features I find very helpful).

I think the "worst" non-integrated video card you can get with a Dell is 256MB, so that's why I said it doesn't matter. If you do as much PS work as Nik does (I use only Lightroom) I'm sure the 1GB card becomes useful.

So - just for kicks, here's an example of an XPS system in the Dell Outlet right now for $1099.

Intel Core - 2930 (I believe that's an i7 chip - the newest)
6GB RAM
640 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
2nd drive;640 GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Bluray drive (with Bluray and double layer writer)
256MB ATI Radeon HD 3650

Nice.

i7 is da WTG!

I'm planning of getting new desktop by xmas. my current thoughts:

i7 eight core
24 gb ram (it's cheeeeeap, why bother:-)
SSD for system/apps, 1tb or so for data
dual video 4gb
blueray, etc.

And, btw, I hate Vista - but I love Windows 7. Go figure...

Newsy · May 24, 2009

CPU benchmarks:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?b=2

scroll thru the various tests - there is one for "Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Retouch Artists Speed Test"

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-q3-2008/benchmarks,31.html

Monitors:

http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=1106889&postcount=4

.

Richard · May 24, 2009

sara505 wrote:

One concern I have is Vista, which I have been leary of, but how to get 64 bit w/o it.

I wouldn't worry too much about Vista. Most of the problems people had were because they put it on machines that were too wimpy or because drivers weren't available for their old hardware. On a new, powerful machine that shouldn't matter. In any event, Win7 is coming this year (probably). RC1 is already available and it looks solid and slick. My daughter just got a new machine and we decided to just go with 7 from day one. So far, no problem, but of course, like all pre-release software, it has no official support from Msft.

sara505 · May 24, 2009

Richard wrote:

I wouldn't worry too much about Vista. Most of the problems people had were because they put it on machines that were too wimpy or because drivers weren't available for their old hardware. On a new, powerful machine that shouldn't matter. In any event, Win7 is coming this year (probably). RC1 is already available and it looks solid and slick. My daughter just got a new machine and we decided to just go with 7 from day one. So far, no problem, but of course, like all pre-release software, it has no official support from Msft.

Thanks, Richard. This is helpful.

kini62 · May 26, 2009

Richard wrote:

I wouldn't worry too much about Vista. Most of the problems people had were because they put it on machines that were too wimpy or because drivers weren't available for their old hardware. On a new, powerful machine that shouldn't matter.

I tried to save some money, get a more powerfull machine- Dell XPS 435, i920, 6gb trichannel, 640GB drive 24" monitor and Vista 64.

I lasted just over 6 hours with the POS that M$ calls Vista. I've been using Windows since 3.1 and Vista is the most convoluted, intrusive, unintuitive, locked down, messed up M$ has ever put out. And yes that included ME!.

Thank goodness for Costco's no question's asked return policy, because it went back.

I paid more, got less (in terms of hardware) with a base model 24" iMac. But what I gained in usability is priceless.

Here's but one example of how OS X just plain works:

Dell with 24" monitor, ATI Radeon 4670 and my old Dell 2005FPW rotating 20" monitor. ATI recognized the monitor and supported the rotation. Vista can't "see" the monitor for anything other than a generic LCD and did not support the rotation. Vista, like it's still 1990, needs an inf file. Well Dell does not provide an inf file for this monitor and Vista. I tried about half a dozen of their others and none would work. All in all counting the wasted time with Dell tech support I lost over 2 hours of time I will never get back.

Mac- Start up iMac, go to monitor preferences, low and behold is shows that I have a Dell 20" 2005FPW monitor attached. Choose portrait, extended desktop. Oh, and I was easily able to "calibrate" my matte 20" panel to show about the same color and contrast as my iMac screen, at least close enough for my needs. Total time, less than 10 minutes.

So on my Mac it supports my Dell monitor, but on the Dell with Vista it would not. So far my experience with OS X is beyond my expectations. Unfortunately Vista lived up to and even exceeded its reputation for being a POS.

Gene

b08rsa · May 29, 2009

I like Compaq PC's. They have lot's of USB ports, fire wire port, and a card reader built in to the tower.but it depends on what all you will use it for. Not to mention a Lightscribe DVD burner. Main thing is the processor speed and RAM. Try to get the most for the least amount of money. I used to build my own, but with new PC's being as cheap as they are, I can not compete building a "Custom" type. How I have mine set up is kinda like you mentioned about dual hard drives. I use a 40 gig as my C:\ to run just applications. Then my 200 gig is strictly for data files. If you already have an old laptop. Depending on how big the HD is in the old laptop, you can pick up a case to convert a laptop HD into an external USB drive for about 15 bucks. As for monitors, I use an HP W2338H 23.3 Widescreen LCD monitor. I caught mine on sale at Staples for $219.00, and I LOVE IT. Crisp and clear display. Hope this helps you out and good luck.
As far as operating systems go, I tend to stick with XP Pro. Since my full time job is working on LAN / WAN equipment.

Ron A.

Need New PC

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