New computer questions

[Nell79]

I have a dinosaur PC that is dying fast. The last time I took it to have it repaired, the guy told me not to put any more money into it. That was over a year ago. I was wondering what you might suggest for a new computer system. I mostly just surf the net and do my banking, I love this site and FB:-) I am just getting into photogaphy and post processing (currently using Picasa-it was free and my computer would be too slow for anything more advanced). I would like to be able to edit, store and organize my images etc and burn DVD's (yeah my current system cannot even do that). I have a budget of approx $1500. Thanks for any suggestions.

[CurlyCorry]

Originally Posted by Nell79

I have a dinosaur PC that is dying fast. The last time I took it to have it repaired, the guy told me not to put any more money into it. That was over a year ago. I was wondering what you might suggest for a new computer system. I mostly just surf the net and do my banking, I love this site and FB:-) I am just getting into photogaphy and post processing (currently using Picasa-it was free and my computer would be too slow for anything more advanced). I would like to be able to edit, store and organize my images etc and burn DVD's (yeah my current system cannot even do that). I have a budget of approx $1500. Thanks for any suggestions.

My opinion: Go Mac no matter what.... lol.... save if you have to... but go with a MAC

[Dennismc]

Ideally I would say go mac and learn it. But that's not always the best bet..

With your budget, you can put together one heck of a machine.

Along the lines of a 6 core 3.3ghz CPU, 6gb Ram, 25" lcd, 1 or 2 TB harddrive's, Blueray, HD Video and still have a few hundred to spare..

If interested let me know, I can point you in the right direction, as this is my main job..

[SwissJon]

A Mac would be lovely, but very expensive, and you won't really benefit from it unless you're thinking of going serious in PP.. Otherwise stick to Windows and realise there are faster machines out there, but you don't need them.. Think of it this way.. You wouldn't buy a Ferrari to go down to the shops.

For what you want to do, lower your budget.. Computers have gone down in price substantially, and you can easily afford a Laptop. I would go into a computer shop with an amount in mind.. $600 seems reasonable.. It sounds like the person in the computer shop has got their head screwed on.. It's good advice when someone says "Stop throwing good money after bad." so ask them to recommend something to you.. See how you get on with his/her recommendations and DON'T be tempted to up your budget by much.. Fix a top end that you're not prepared to go to.. I would suggest you look at the low end computers, the cheapest ones on the shelves, and get a rough idea how much they are, and stick to looking at the bottom 25%.

Honestly, no matter what anyone says, surfing the net and doing some light photo editing is not going to tax your computer much.. I've run Lightroom and Photoshop on a netbook before, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but it works, and if you only use it once or twice a month then go for it.

Think about your other requirements as well as speed.. Screen size, weight etc.

And then spend the $900 you have left over on camera gear, a new lens or something you'll really benifit from that won't lose money from the moment you buy it.

[dlambert]

You should be able to find a dozen people to give you decent specs for a machine, but the two things that I won't live without that lots of people seem to miss are mirrored hard drives and an SSD boot drive. The mirrored hard drives aren't a substitute for backups, but considering the price of hard drives these days, it's a cheap way to add reliability. The SSD, of course, adds speed -- once you get into a mid-range CPU / RAM combo, this is the easiest way to get a speed boost in your PC.

Earlier this year, I wrote up my thoughts on spec'ing a PC - these might be helpful.

[Dennismc]

All great points.

On the other end of the spectrum, you can go with a quad core kit, 8gb ram, 1tb hdd, hd video and dvdrw for 450.00, add a nice monitor and you are only at 600...

And that will run anything you want to throw at it. Using it only for internet and some light editing would be amazing, even stay with you while moving up to more serious editing..

Bottom line, dont just buy what you think you need or someone says you need, talk to them and make sure they understand what you want it to do, both today and tomorrow. You do not want to over buy, but you also do not want to cut yourself short and be needing in a year ether..

[Nell79]

Thanks for the comments. I like the idea of spending less on a computer and buying more photography gear:-) It has been a lon while since I have even looked at computers and assumed I would need to budget approx $1000-$1500 good to know I can get what I need for much less and I did chat with my computer guy and he agreed for what I need there is no point in going overboard here. Now what to do with the extra $$ LOL

[SwissJon]

Originally Posted by Nell79

Thanks for the comments. I like the idea of spending less on a computer and buying more photography gear:-) It has been a lon while since I have even looked at computers and assumed I would need to budget approx $1000-$1500 good to know I can get what I need for much less and I did chat with my computer guy and he agreed for what I need there is no point in going overboard here. Now what to do with the extra $$ LOL

Send it to me.. I'll find something to do with it for you..

[gturner]

you can get yourself and incredibly well spec'ed PC for heaps left over.
There is no extra benefit to Mac for photo work regardless of what the others will say, you will just pay a lot more for a lot less.
With the left over you can get a copy of Lightroom and PS 9, a great full HD screen and monitor calibration.