A Question for Photoshop Users (OT)

[TwoOldPoohs]

Hi everyone,

Those of you who use Photoshop (or another memory-intensive program) to edit all the fabulous photos I see on these boards, I have a question for you. What brand PC do you use? How much memory does it have? Do you like your PC, and if so why? Or why not? Would you buy it again?

My PC is really old and really slow and starting to make funny noises. I think it's time to buy a new one, but I'm not sure what to get. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Ilene

 

[Dan Murphy]

I currently use a Dell, 2 gig memory. I am happy with it, have purchased Dells in the past, will again in the future. As to why, they are well priced, good hardware, good support and service, pretty much the standard in the industry.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

I built my own PC, can't remember the spec anymore but it's a Pentium 4 with only 512 Mb of RAM. For the screen I use ViewSonic 18" LCD monitor calibrated using Spyder Pro.

 

[Muushka]

I am running Photoshop Elements on a 256 ram, Windows XP and 1 or so gig processor laptop. My poor computer is working sooooo hard when I run this program. No, I don't like it at all! Fortunately my husband is in the market for a new computer (his is 6 years old and he is a software engineer if you can believe that!). He will get a kick-butt one and I will do the photography on that one. I can't wait!

 

[TwoOldPoohs]

Thanks for your replies, Dan, Kelly and Muushka! I've been pricing Dells, since I've used them for years both at home and at work. Does anybody have any recent experience with Gateway? Best Buy has one on sale this week that looks interesting.

 

[TheLionKing]

I bought mine from a localstore, so it isn't really a brand.

All I suggest is that you get at least 1 GB of fast RAM and a a large hard drive that is fast.

You might even consider two hard drives as you can use the second hard drive for a scratch disk to make Photoshop run even a little faster.

 

[We-Luv-Disney]

I also like the Dell products, currently I am running with a Dell E510 Pentium 4 3.4Ghz HT, 4 GB of DDR2 Ram, 2 160 GB hard drives, 256mb video card and Dell 20'' LCD monitor. I did go a bit overboard with the memory, but I got a killer deal on the system plus monitor so I could not resist I use Photoshop CS and also play a lot of games so the extra memory helps out.

I went with Dell because I have had good luck with them. But don't overlook other companies, HP makes a very good product and they also use the lightning fast AMD dual core processors which are very good for photo editing.

You will definitely need at least 1 GB of Ram and a good size hard drive, at least 160. A big monitor is great too maybe 19" LCD or CRT.

I hope this helps out, picking a new computer can be a tough task, just make sure to get what you want or there will be trouble

 

[Muushka]

I know my husband is fed up with the 'brands' per se. He hates their logo that comes on when you boot up. That includes Gateway, Compaq and all the other brand names.

Hi next computer is coming from our local computer geeks (that also provide our ISP). We will pay a little more for it, and he is frugal like me, but thinks it will be worth it for a few good reasons. Happy shopping!

 

[fiffy]

Hmm... I have a compaq laptop with only 512mb ram and a 1.5 gig proccessor but I am able to run AOL (memory hog) Photoshop (memory hog) Homestead (a site building program which is also a memory hog) and listen to CD's at the same time with no problem. I have an AMD processor which is faster and more stable then a pentium so that helps. Plus compaq gives you a set of quick restore disks which allow you to reformat your HD back to factory defualts. Very helpful if you find yourself over run with virous's. If your not useing windows Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmentor on a comon basis then you really should start. They will get rid of useless juck on your computer and make it run more eficently. I had a compaq desktop in the past with an AMD processor and both computers ran wonderfully. I would suggest getting one myself.

 

[Ronda93]

I run two Dells, one desktop, one laptop. I've been happy with both. My advice: unless you're one to build your own PC, stick to the major brands, Dell and HP are good. Also, buy as much RAM as you can afford. Seriously, it should hurt to think how much you're paying for it. If you have to skimp anywhere, don't short the memory. It makes everything zoom.

 

[TwoOldPoohs]

Thanks again everyone for all your suggestions!

The thing is - once I decide I need something, I need it now. (I guess that's why I love digital cameras so much ... you know, instant gratification and that sort of thing.) So I went out and bought a PC today. I bought this Gateway. I decided to go with this PC because I'll be able to transfer the hard drive that I added to my current PC from that machine to the new one. That'll save me from having to copy 80 gb worth of data. Oh, and I, um, splurged on this. I guess I got a little carried away.

Now the fun part begins ... installing software ... configuring applications ... figuring out where Microsoft decided to hide things in Windows XP. Ugh.

 

[rtphokie]

Hi everyone,

Those of you who use Photoshop (or another memory-intensive program) to edit all the fabulous photos I see on these boards, I have a question for you. What brand PC do you use? How much memory does it have? Do you like your PC, and if so why? Or why not? Would you buy it again?

My PC is really old and really slow and starting to make funny noises. I think it's time to buy a new one, but I'm not sure what to get. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Ilene

I use a PC I put together myself. 1.6Ghz Athlon 1900 CPU and 1.5 Gig of RAM. It's at least 4 or 5 years old but does the job so I have no plans to upgrade anytime soon.

It's the RAM that's the important part with Photoshop. Get as much as you can afford. Adding some more RAM to your existing PC might just be nough to stave off buying a new one and could save you a bunch of money.

The only reason I put it together myself is that everything was running fine but I wanted a faster processor and a motherboard that could handle more memory. It was simple to pull out replace the old MB, drop in new memory, and drop all the old cards back in and reconnect the drives. $200 for a nice new machine (at the time) made a lot of sense.

If I were buying a new one, I'd still look at a Dell. Their customer service isn't as good as it used to be, but others is even worse. I'd also consider a Mac but it's hard to get as much for the money there.

If you or your spouse work for a big company, you might be entitled to an employee discount. You never know until you check.

 

[We-Luv-Disney]

Thanks again everyone for all your suggestions!

The thing is - once I decide I need something, I need it now. (I guess that's why I love digital cameras so much ... you know, instant gratification and that sort of thing.) So I went out and bought a PC today. I bought this Gateway. I decided to go with this PC because I'll be able to transfer the hard drive that I added to my current PC from that machine to the new one. That'll save me from having to copy 80 gb worth of data. Oh, and I, um, splurged on this. I guess I got a little carried away.

Now the fun part begins ... installing software ... configuring applications ... figuring out where Microsoft decided to hide things in Windows XP. Ugh.

Wow nice system , it looks like it has a super fast processor! the AMDs are real rockets! My new computer also has Windows Media Addition and to tell the truth I really could car less for it! I am considering buying a widows XP professional upgrade but am not sure yet. Oh I was looking at the same monitor at best buy the day, it is amazing