| Author | Thread |
|
|
07/11/2008 12:50:41 PM · #1 |
I'm in the market for a new computer. My current computer is so SLOW that I don't even bother editing my pictures anymore. What specs should I look for? Duo Processor? Also, I've always had a desktop but I'm considering buying a laptop instead with a docking station. Any input would be appreciated. Thank you.
Alecia |
|
|
|
07/11/2008 01:07:04 PM · #2 |
A desktop will always be faster than a laptop but there are some laptops out there for doing some pretty fast things. First question is what are you planing to do with it???
Pictures, maybe get an apple.
Home business - Maybe a PC
Think of it like this. The more you spend on a computer the more you get, the faster and more storage you get. |
|
|
|
07/11/2008 01:11:17 PM · #3 |
A lot of people don't care for Dell's but Dell is a good name to buy. They will fix anything that is broken (most of the time) and they are fairly easy to add upgrades too. Stay away from Gateway and IBM's. HP makes an outstanding product as they are geared more towards pictures and movie editing but then you might go with a MAC.
I have like 8 machines right now and they are all PC. The next one I get will be a MAC and the only thing I will use it for is pictures. Everything else will be done on a Work machine running windows. |
|
|
|
07/11/2008 01:11:52 PM · #4 |
| I mainly use my computer for pictures & music. |
|
|
|
07/11/2008 01:14:22 PM · #5 |
Depends on your pricerange...you get what you pay for. $1600 range gets you a damn good Dell XPS 410.
Things to look for..
Graphics card..
RAM speed.. (processer doesn't mean much if the RAM can't keep up with it)
Monitor.. (makes all the difference in the world)
Get a desktop... then save and get a cheap Laptop for $500 or so.. laptops are nice, but not for heavy use.
|
|
|
|
07/11/2008 01:16:06 PM · #6 |
| I always build my on desktops. Laptops I always recommend Dell's to start will. |
|
|
|
07/11/2008 01:28:17 PM · #7 |
| I built a $1500 desktop with a 22 inch monitor in four hours. Did a lot of research and followed online instructions. It was EASY. Looked at a pc with the same exact specs and it was $4500 dollars to buy. Do you have a friend who can build one? if you were closer i'd of been happy to build it for you. |
|
|
|
07/11/2008 02:32:39 PM · #8 |
|
|
|
07/11/2008 03:54:36 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by pearlseyes:
I mainly use my computer for pictures & music. |
One of the things you "pay extra" for on a Mac is the excellent multimedia software: you have a multitrack music recording studio (midi-capable as well), and movie-editing and DVD-authoring built-in. Basically, you have a complete audio-video production studio in a box.
Whatever you get, get as much RAM as possible, as music (and picture) editing will eat it up. |
|
|
|
07/11/2008 03:59:43 PM · #10 |
| Mac will also give you less stress about viruses and such. |
|
|
|
07/11/2008 04:24:33 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by Patrick_R:
I built a $1500 desktop with a 22 inch monitor in four hours. Did a lot of research and followed online instructions. It was EASY. Looked at a pc with the same exact specs and it was $4500 dollars to buy. Do you have a friend who can build one? if you were closer i'd of been happy to build it for you. |
But how long did it take you to install Windows and all the updates?
In my experience, installing from scratch is about a 3-4 hour process all by itself (with XP). |
|
|
|
07/11/2008 04:46:17 PM · #12 |
Built time was 4 hours. I was online gaming in 5. windows intsall went flawlessly
|
|
|
|
07/11/2008 04:57:30 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by Patrick_R:
Built time was 4 hours. I was online gaming in 5. windows intsall went flawlessly |
I couldn't even download the update to the updater and then the critial updates, and then the critical updates to the critical updates in less than 2 hours with a fast cable connection. It took 3 passes of the updater to get everyting up to date. the first pass had 67 critical updates, the second pass had 12, the third had 2. Even the liitle clock on the left side bar said 2+ hours remaining during the initial install. |
|
|
|
07/11/2008 05:20:36 PM · #14 |
| I did vista maybe there were not as many updates. |
|
|
|
07/11/2008 05:46:27 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by Patrick_R:
I did vista maybe there were not as many updates. |
Yet ...? |
|
|
|
07/11/2008 06:01:37 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Yet ...? |
Yeah lol.... Actually I was freaking out about vista but I'm a gamer so I had to have DX10. To be honest I haven't had any problems with it. It's a little paranoid of getting a virus but you can silence its whining.
|
|
|
|
07/13/2008 06:43:00 PM · #17 |
As I mentioned before, I'm not computer savy. How bout these specs? What should I change? Thank you.
Dell $589.00
PROCESSOR Intel® Coreâ„¢2 Duo Processor E7200 (3MB L2 Cache,2.53GHz,1066 FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Service Pack 1 edit
MONITOR No Monitor
MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 4DIMMs
HARD DRIVE 320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cacheâ„¢
OPTICAL DRIVE 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
VIDEO CARD Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
SOUND Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio edit
KEYBOARD & MOUSE Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Optical USB Mouse
FLOPPY & MEDIA READER Dell 19 in 1 Media Card Reader
MODEM No Modem Option |
|
|
|
07/13/2008 07:05:19 PM · #18 |
Originally posted by ben4345:
I always build my on desktops. ... |
hell yeah.. the only way to go |
|
|
|
07/13/2008 07:06:20 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by pearlseyes:
As I mentioned before, I'm not computer savy. How bout these specs? What should I change? Thank you.
Dell $589.00
PROCESSOR Intel® Coreâ„¢2 Duo Processor E7200 (3MB L2 Cache,2.53GHz,1066 FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Service Pack 1 edit
MONITOR No Monitor
MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 4DIMMs
HARD DRIVE 320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cacheâ„¢
OPTICAL DRIVE 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
VIDEO CARD Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
SOUND Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio edit
KEYBOARD & MOUSE Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Optical USB Mouse
FLOPPY & MEDIA READER Dell 19 in 1 Media Card Reader
MODEM No Modem Option |
change video card. integrated is bad |
|
|
|
07/13/2008 07:24:31 PM · #20 |
|
|
|
07/13/2008 07:27:15 PM · #21 |
Originally posted by pearlseyes:
Why is integrated bad? |
It's slow -- it shares the same memory chips (your core RAM) between two different functions. You want a video card which has its own memory chips and leaves the other for your system and applications. |
|
|
|
07/13/2008 08:00:32 PM · #22 |
Thank you for the clarification. Much appreciated.
Alecia |
|
|
|
07/14/2008 01:06:22 AM · #23 |
Alecia,
The integrated video card can be disabled in the BIOS, and you can install an nVidia or ATI card, and you don't have to do it yourself. Best Buy and similar stores will do the BIOS settings and install the card for you, if you buy it from them. An easier path might be to click the "Customize It" button under the computer that you have selected, and have Dell do the work. Look for a dual DVI video card with plenty of on board ram. That will allow you to add a second monitor later.
Paul
Message edited by author 2008-07-14 01:06:48. |
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 12/27/2025 05:36:38 PM EST.
