help me spec out a new computer system

Andy

hey guys. i know we had a long conversation a while back about horsepower etc.

well, i need a new computer. the 1Ds Mark II files are huuuuuuuuuge and so my current sony desktop system will go to my wife and i will get a new setup.

help me spec out a new system? i was intrigued by alienware

i want fast processor, believe that 1gb ram is enough, need raid storage, and what else?


here's an alienware system, to which i'd add the apple 30" cinema display and nvidia graphics board to drive it.

1] Area-51® 5550
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support with Onsite Service
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
AlienRespawn: Alienware® Respawn Recovery Kit
Chassis: Alienware® Full-Tower Case (480-Watt PS) - Space Black
Power Supply: Alienware® 480 Watt Power Supply
Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 560 w/ HT Technology 3.6GHz 1MB Cache
Motherboard: Alienware® PCI Express Motherboard with Intel® 925XE Chipset 1066/800MHz FSB
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz - 2 x 512MB
Video Cooling: AlienIce™ Video Cooling System - Terra Green
System Drive: High Performance with Data Security - Serial ATA RAID 1 - 250GB (250 x 2) Western Digital® Caviar® SE 7,200 RPM w/16MB Cache
Optical Drive One: NEC® ND-3500 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Recorder
Floppy Drive: 3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive - Black
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy® 2 ZS High Definition 7.1 Surround Firewire (IEEE® 1394) - $15 Mail-in Rebate !
Network Connection: Integrated High Performance Gigabit Ethernet
Automated Support: AlienAutopsy: Automated Technical Support Request System
Keyboard: Microsoft® Multimedia Keyboard - Space Black
Free Alienware T-Shirt: Free Alienware® T-Shirt - Black
Free Alienware Mousepad: Free Alienware® Mousepad
Desktop Enhancements: Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager
AlienInspection: AlienInspection - Exclusive Integration and Inspection - $99.99 Value - FREE!
AlienWiring: AlienWiring - Exclusive Internal Wire Management - $99.99 Value - FREE!

and yes, sid (wxwax) gets the prize money for calling this, too :deal :lol3

fish

andy wrote:

well, i need a new computer blah blah blah...

http://www.apple.com/powermac/performance/

David_S85

Andy,


>>
here's an alienware system, to which i'd add the apple 30" cinema display and nvidia graphics board to drive it.
<<
Great monitor! However, from what I've read, and unless something has changed in the last couple months, the Apple Cinema display series will not be very adjustable from Windows (brightness only). Full control is from Apple OS only [Source: PCWorld, Nov. 2004, page 168]. I'm looking into the 23 or 24" wide screens, but one of my requirements is that they also have a separate input(s) for outside video sources, such as a DVD player, so I don't need the computer on to view something. Those are difficult to find, though, but would be fully integratable with Windows machines, and the 1900 x 1200 size seems ideal for editing with tools placed far off to one side.


>>
Free Alienware T-Shirt: Free Alienware® T-Shirt - Black
Free Alienware Mousepad: Free Alienware® Mousepad
<<
well, these are must-have items if you want to remain "hip" with the rest of the world.

- David

pathfinder

andy wrote:

hey guys. i know we had a long conversation a while back about horsepower etc.

well, i need a new computer. the 1Ds Mark II files are huuuuuuuuuge and so my current sony desktop system will go to my wife and i will get a new setup.

help me spec out a new system? i was intrigued by alienware

i want fast processor, believe that 1gb ram is enough, need raid storage, and what else?


here's an alienware system, to which i'd add the apple 30" cinema display and nvidia graphics board to drive it.

1] Area-51® 5550
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support with Onsite Service
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
AlienRespawn: Alienware® Respawn Recovery Kit
Chassis: Alienware® Full-Tower Case (480-Watt PS) - Space Black
Power Supply: Alienware® 480 Watt Power Supply
Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 560 w/ HT Technology 3.6GHz 1MB Cache
Motherboard: Alienware® PCI Express Motherboard with Intel® 925XE Chipset 1066/800MHz FSB
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz - 2 x 512MB
Video Cooling: AlienIce™ Video Cooling System - Terra Green
System Drive: High Performance with Data Security - Serial ATA RAID 1 - 250GB (250 x 2) Western Digital® Caviar® SE 7,200 RPM w/16MB Cache
Optical Drive One: NEC® ND-3500 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Recorder
Floppy Drive: 3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive - Black
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy® 2 ZS High Definition 7.1 Surround Firewire (IEEE® 1394) - $15 Mail-in Rebate !
Network Connection: Integrated High Performance Gigabit Ethernet
Automated Support: AlienAutopsy: Automated Technical Support Request System
Keyboard: Microsoft® Multimedia Keyboard - Space Black
Free Alienware T-Shirt: Free Alienware® T-Shirt - Black
Free Alienware Mousepad: Free Alienware® Mousepad
Desktop Enhancements: Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager
AlienInspection: AlienInspection - Exclusive Integration and Inspection - $99.99 Value - FREE!
AlienWiring: AlienWiring - Exclusive Internal Wire Management - $99.99 Value - FREE!

and yes, sid (wxwax) gets the prize money for calling this, too

This is soooooo funny - And Yes, Sid called it!!!

The MAC really shines when filtering 16 bit images
Do you really need the 30 inch Cinema display? I looked longingly at it, but the $600 fee for the display adapter plus $3200 was just little rich for me, so I opted for the 23 inch display and used the savings to help pay for a Dual G5 Power Mac with 4 ( that's four) Gigabytes of RAM. And Yes, you will find that 1 Gb or RAM is inadequate with the 1DsMkii files.(THAT'S MY STORY AND I'M STICKING TO IT!!)

One of the reasons I opted for the 23 in Cinema display was that if it was not large enough I could add a 17 in LCD I already own for my palettes in PS. Or I could add add a second 23 in Cinema display.

Come on over Andy, the waters just fine!!

Sam

andy wrote:

hey guys. i know we had a long conversation a while back about horsepower etc.

well, i need a new computer. the 1Ds Mark II files are huuuuuuuuuge and so my current sony desktop system will go to my wife and i will get a new setup.

help me spec out a new system? i was intrigued by alienware

i want fast processor, believe that 1gb ram is enough, need raid storage, and what else?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Andy,

I make absolutly no claims to any computer knowledge what so ever! Lack of knowledge has never stoped me from giving out advice though.

I recently read an interesting article about computers for image processing. (I think it's on the Adobe web site) quite an eye opener. Two things that stuck in my brain were dual processers, and 1GB of RAM may not be enough with those huge files you will have. I believe they said PhotoShop likes 2 MB of Ram and 4 would not be too much.

I encourage you to look on the Adobe site for this. If you can find this it will be worth the effort.

I am going to take a quick look. If I find it I will come back and provide a link.

Sam

Andy

waaaaaaahooooooooooooooooo david_s85 is in da house
:welcome to dgrin, david! thanks for joining, and thanks for your advice here. i'll be digesting and will get back to ya (urp....)

davidp (you remember him) says otherwise, btw, regarding the adjusting bit take a look here

David_S85 wrote:

Andy,


>>
here's an alienware system, to which i'd add the apple 30" cinema display and nvidia graphics board to drive it.
<<
Great monitor! However, from what I've read, and unless something has changed in the last couple months, the Apple Cinema display series will not be very adjustable from Windows (brightness only). Full control is from Apple OS only [Source: PCWorld, Nov. 2004, page 168]. I'm looking into the 23 or 24" wide screens, but one of my requirements is that they also have a separate input(s) for outside video sources, such as a DVD player, so I don't need the computer on to view something. Those are difficult to find, though, but would be fully integratable with Windows machines, and the 1900 x 1200 size seems ideal for editing with tools placed far off to one side.


>>
Free Alienware T-Shirt: Free Alienware® T-Shirt - Black
Free Alienware Mousepad: Free Alienware® Mousepad
<<
well, these are must-have items if you want to remain "hip" with the rest of the world.

- David

dkapp

I don't know the first thing about a windows computer. I've not looked at them in over 3 years.

I'd say go w/ the Mac

If you need help w/ a system from Apple, I'm sure there will be more than enough people here willing to help you spend your money!

Dave

Pyogenes

Andy,

As an owner of an Alienware laptop, I wholeheartedly believe you should steer away from Alienware as fast as your ISP will take you.

Their customer support is horrible (had major ordering issues). Their technical support was even worse (had a fried video card after a couple months). I could go on for hours with how bad my overall experience with them is. Let's just say when I asked to speak with a manager, they HUNG UP ON ME!!

Joe

Andy

pathfinder wrote:

Come on over Andy, the waters just fine!!

:yikes $8123

will it at least kiss me in the morning?

Power Mac G5 Dual 2.5GHz
Part Number: Z0AC
56k V.92 modem
Accessory kit
8x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
4GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 8x512
Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
Mac OS X - U.S. English
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT DDL w/256MB GDDR3 SDRAM
2x250GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
Dual 2.5GHz PowerPC G5
Apple Cinema HD Display (30" flat panel) Part Number: M9179LL/A

Andy

joe is in da house!

Pyogenes wrote:

Andy,

As an owner of an Alienware laptop, I wholeheartedly believe you should steer away from Alienware as fast as your ISP will take you.

Their customer support is horrible (had major ordering issues). Their technical support was even worse (had a fried video card after a couple months). I could go on for hours with how bad my overall experience with them is. Let's just say when I asked to speak with a manager, they HUNG UP ON ME!!

Joe

hey joe! welcome to dgrin, and thanks so much for joining! and, for your firsthand experience with alienware. i value your opinion, so alienware is gooooooooooone from my vocabulary.

the left coast crowd is pushing me towards a mac anyhow

DJ-S1

As an owner of an Alienware laptop, I wholeheartedly believe you should steer away from Alienware as fast as your ISP will take you.

I have to agree with that, a friend of mine has an Alienware laptop and it isn't all that fast compared to what it cost. Definitely more hype than substance in my opinion.

And don't let those fanatics on the dark side brainwash you! :nono

dkapp

andy wrote:

:yikes $8123

will it at least kiss me in the morning?

Power Mac G5 Dual 2.5GHz
Part Number: Z0AC
56k V.92 modem
Accessory kit
8x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
4GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 8x512
Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
Mac OS X - U.S. English
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT DDL w/256MB GDDR3 SDRAM
2x250GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
Dual 2.5GHz PowerPC G5
Apple Cinema HD Display (30" flat panel) Part Number: M9179LL/A

This is what i like to see! Your making a step in the right direction

The 30" is a beautiful display, but I would have to recommend the 23". I think the 30" could be a little too big to view on a desk.

Dave

Andy

here's a question for you apple-eaters
i use a pc at work. i have a pc laptop. will i be able to easily make the switch between systems during my daily routines?

Andy

dkapp wrote:

This is what i like to see! Your making a step in the right direction

The 30" is a beautiful display, but I would have to recommend the 23". I think the 30" could be a little too big to view on a desk.

Dave

yeah, but ... it's 30 freakin' inches! and you know what they say, size does matter!

seriously... the 30 incher would show a 1Ds Mark II file at nearly 50% across the screen, so i gather ....

dkapp

andy wrote:

i use a pc at work. i have a pc laptop. will i be able to easily make the switch between systems during my daily routines?

I do it every day with work & home. I don't have a problem. What special applications do you run on Windows that you *have* to have on the apple side? This could be the deciding factor.

Dave

Sam

andy wrote:

:yikes $8123

will it at least kiss me in the morning?

Power Mac G5 Dual 2.5GHz
Part Number: Z0AC
56k V.92 modem
Accessory kit
8x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
4GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 8x512
Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
Mac OS X - U.S. English
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT DDL w/256MB GDDR3 SDRAM
2x250GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
Dual 2.5GHz PowerPC G5
Apple Cinema HD Display (30" flat panel) Part Number: M9179LL/A

Look, if your gona go for all that, don't forget the Wacom graphics pen / pad monitor. I don't remember the model number but you draw right on the flat monitor. Way cool!!!!

The price has come down to a very afordable $2500. Used to be over $3500. I'm gona wait one or ten years, but you go right ahead.

Seriously, they have quite a few different models. (I have a real small one, but significantly better then a mouse) I think they have a new 6X8 model that is only $200. Well worth it.

Sam

dkapp

andy wrote:

yeah, but ... it's 30 freakin' inches! and you know what they say, size does matter!

seriously... the 30 incher would show a 1Ds Mark II file at nearly 50% across the screen, so i gather ....

Upload a few full size files to the web and make a trip to your local apple store. They have internet access at all apple stores. Jump on the 23" & 30" displays to see what looks best to you. The have PS & all the major programs loaded. Just delete the picture when your done

This is how I decided a 23" was more comfortable to view.

Dave

Andy

thansk sam ....

Sam wrote:

Look, if your gona go for all that, don't forget the Wacom graphics pen / pad monitor. I don't remember the model number but you draw right on the flat monitor. Way cool!!!!

The price has come down to a very afordable $2500. Used to be over $3500. I'm gona wait one or ten years, but you go right ahead.

Seriously, they have quite a few different models. (I have a real small one, but significantly better then a mouse) I think they have a new 6X8 model that is only $200. Well worth it.

Sam

it's really nice how you guys are so wonderful about lightening my wallet

Andy

dkapp wrote:

Upload a few full size files to the web and make a trip to your local apple store. They have internet access at all apple stores. Jump on the 23" & 30" displays to see what looks best to you. The have PS & all the major programs loaded. Just delete the picture when your done

This is how I decided a 23" was more comfortable to view.

Dave

there's a killer apple store in soho - i'll be there this week. yabba dabba doo!

dkapp

andy wrote:

there's a killer apple store in soho - i'll be there this week. yabba dabba doo!

Don't forget to check out the 12", 15" & 17" PowerBooks while your there

Dave

Pyogenes

andy wrote:

hey joe! welcome to dgrin, and thanks so much for joining! and, for your firsthand experience with alienware. i value your opinion, so alienware is gooooooooooone from my vocabulary.

the left coast crowd is pushing me towards a mac anyhow

Thanks for the warm welcome. Glad I was able to save you from a huge headache

As far as Mac vs PC - the only reason I own several PC's is my gaming addiction (only bought the Alienware laptop to game while travelling for work. hehe) I started out on a Mac long ago and still miss it once in a while.

I'm out in the west coast for another few days so I guess I'll have to push you towards a Mac also.

Andy

dkapp wrote:

I do it every day with work & home. I don't have a problem. What special applications do you run on Windows that you *have* to have on the apple side? This could be the deciding factor.

Dave

none, really. but would i need to buy new licenses of word, & excel? that would suck eggz....

Pyogenes

andy wrote:

i use a pc at work. i have a pc laptop. will i be able to easily make the switch between systems during my daily routines?

I used to have a Mac and PC set up on the same desk and switched between the two constantly. Plus the Mac was booted into MkLinux half the time to fry my brain even more. Kinda confusing for a little while but I got used to it in a week or so.

DJ-S1

Adobe tips for performance
From the Adobe page here: (for Windows boxes, just in case you don't go Apple)

...Photoshop can access 2 GB of installed physical RAM...

That's a hard limit, so any more than that could be a waste right now.

Speed is limited by the speed of the computer's processor, or CPU (Central Processing Unit). Since Photoshop manipulates large quantities of data and performs many calculations, its speed is greatly dependent on the processor's speed. Photoshop requires a Pentium III or 4 processor. Photoshop CS has not been tested with the Intel Itanium chip, and does not take advantage of its 64-bit processing.

All Photoshop features are faster on a multiprocessor system, although some can take greater advantage of the multiprocessor system's capabilities.

So definitely get a multi-processor machine.

To work with an image, Photoshop requires at least three to five times the file size of the image in available memory (RAM). If Photoshop has insufficient memory, it uses hard-disk space (scratch disk) to process information. Because accessing information in memory is faster than accessing information on a hard disk, Photoshop is fastest when it can process all or most image information in memory (RAM), without using the scratch disk. Allocate enough memory to Photoshop to accommodate your largest image file.



To check use of memory for Photoshop, open the Efficiency Indicator:



1. Click the triangle in the bottom border of the application window. 2. Choose Efficiency to display the percentage of time actually doing an operation instead of reading or writing the scratch disk. If the value is less than 100%, Photoshop is using the scratch disk and, therefore, is operating more slowly.

Gotta try that Efficiency Indicator, that's the first I have heard of it...

fish

DJ-S1 wrote:

I have to agree with that, a friend of mine has an Alienware laptop and it isn't all that fast compared to what it cost. Definitely more hype than substance in my opinion.

And don't let those fanatics on the dark side brainwash you! :nono

Yahbutt...the Tshirt is FREE!

dkapp

andy wrote:

none, really. but would i need to buy new licenses of word, & excel? that would suck eggz....

Yes you do, along w/ PS & other programs. If you switch to Mac, some software providers will actually ship you a copy of the mac version if you send them your Windows copy. I think Pathfinder did this.

There is the Macworld San Francisco conference Jan 10-14. Apple likes to announce new and updated products at this time. For the latest speed bump, you may want to hold out if you can.

Dave

fish

andy wrote:

none, really. but would i need to buy new licenses of word, & excel? that would suck eggz....

Or download OpenOffice for FREE.

Pyogenes

andy wrote:

none, really. but would i need to buy new licenses of word, & excel? that would suck eggz....

You can go uber-geek and use the open source version of StarOffice for the Mac.
http://www.openoffice.org/product/
http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/

Best part is the cost: free!

Pyogenes

fish wrote:

Yahbutt...the Tshirt is FREE!

It better be. Mine shrank after one wash in COLD water.

fish

Pyogenes wrote:

It better be. Mine shrank after one wash in COLD water.

Perhaps it didn't go through the FREE inspection?



AlienInspection - Exclusive Integration and Inspection - $99.99 Value - FREE!

pathfinder

andy wrote:

:yikes $8123

will it at least kiss me in the morning?

Power Mac G5 Dual 2.5GHz
Part Number: Z0AC
56k V.92 modem
Accessory kit
8x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
4GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 8x512
Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
Mac OS X - U.S. English
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT DDL w/256MB GDDR3 SDRAM
2x250GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
Dual 2.5GHz PowerPC G5
Apple Cinema HD Display (30" flat panel) Part Number: M9179LL/A

About the same as your 1DsMkll - right? But you are including the 32 in Cinemas display and the $600 video card needed for the 32 in display. Consider the 23 in and save about $2K. It is almost the size of a 13x19 in print.

Skip the 2nd 250 Gb hard drive - instead spring for a LaCie 500Gb external 800 Firewire BU drive. You're gonna need it for the files from the 1DsMkii.

I have over 150 Gb of images and RAW files from my little cameras. I am sure you will have a LOT more than this.

As for Photoshop - if you call Adobe support they will swap you a copy of PS for MAC if you send in your Wintel copy. And you can then skip the Adobe activation junk - I had Photoshop quit running several times in windows because of that - losing the editing I had done.