Help!

[absolutx]

don't know if this is the right place to post this, please correct me if i'm wrong..
i'm looking into getting a new computer to process photos, as my current mac is doing it VERY slowly..
should i get another mac, or should i get a windows pc?
macs are fast, is that their only advantage? because they can only be so fast, i can build a faster pc than the fastest mac, no?
so if i'm building a pc, what should i look out for? dual core processor, ram, large capacity hard disc, anything else?
by the way, i'm using a D70s..
thanks in advance

 

[metallilan]

as a tech dude, in my school, most of the intense photoshop work is done via a mac, i dunno why but they generally perform better than pc's esp with those big screen & colour rich mac lcd's.

normal pentium pc's would do fine but you need a good deal of ram to load cs2 cuz they can be memory hungry.

 

[dreamerz]

get mac bk...as their color management are better than windows...

if u intend to get a pc...get a fast cpu(may nt b duo core) n a fair amt of ram...and oso get a mid to high end graphic card...n best 2-3 hdd...

 

[edfck]

as a tech dude, in my school, most of the intense photoshop work is done via a mac, i dunno why but they generally perform better than pc's esp with those big screen & colour rich mac lcd's.

normal pentium pc's would do fine but you need a good deal of ram to load cs2 cuz they can be memory hungry.

totally agreed. i'm not a mac user but i know for sure that photoshop was originally design for mac use. but if u r not going into intensive editing, pc will do. i doing alot of editing n i'm using a pc. if i can afford, i might go 4 a mac. but 4 now, will stick 2 pc.

 

[absolutx]

i love macs as they look beautiful..may be getting another mac..
also, if i buy a monitor, how to choose a good monitor?

 

[zac08]

Loads of RAM (in gigabytes).... and slightly faster processing speed with good bus speed.

A good video card will show you good colours and make sure you have loads of HDD space too.

 

[ShutterBugL]

Get an iMac. U don't need to think about getting a separate monitor.

If you can wait, you may want to wait for the second generation Intel-iMacs. Apple is in a transition stage: it is shifting from powerpc to intel-based chips. Some programs which run on the older macs may not run on the new Intel-macs (yet). Also, if I recall correctly, existing versions of photoshop won't run on the new Macs. Adobe is taking its time rolling out the Univeral versions that will run on both old & new Macs.

 

[unseen]

hmmmm look at bare facts.. if limited by budget, don't consider a mac.. you won't be able to get one which flies while doing PS.
For the same amt of money that you spend, you'll almost always get better performance out of a PC. Those who actually can afford high end macs use it for serious work..
Those who can afford high end PCs almost always use it for games only.

Macs are configured for serious work (like PS/video editing etc).

For now, try configure a PC targetted at work,
- forget about ide, go get scsi drives
- USB2 is too slow, go firewire
- get the fastest RAM available

Not to diss Mac users, but Steve Jobs himself mentioned that when switched over to intel processors, Macs are suddenly twice as fast.
So you can either wait for the intel Macs, or go for PCs..

 

[absolutx]

thanks for all the advice..
but if i'm configuring a pc, what are the specs i should get roughly?
like how many ghz processor, how much ram, graphics card?

 

[moriahphotos]

thanks for all the advice..
but if i'm configuring a pc, what are the specs i should get roughly?
like how many ghz processor, how much ram, graphics card?

I just configured my pc for photo editing use. My specs are Intel Pentium D(Dual-core) 2.8Ghz, 1Gb ddr2 ram, 2 sata hdd (160G + 80G), ATi PCI Express graphic card 256Mb ddr3 dedicated ram. 2 mths old bought at $1600++ ;p Personally, I'll load up the memory cuz XP and PS together can totally wipe out my 1gb ram.. still waiting for the ram prices to drop so i can upgrade to 4gb..

Mine is just a "beginner" set for pc so 2 speak. Hope it'll give u some point of reference:sweatsm:

 

[absolutx]

thanks!
one last question, what should i look out for in a monitor? =/

 

[moriahphotos]

MOnitor? MOST IMPORTANT if u r buying lcd panels.... No dead pixels..... Hmm go for known brands like LG or Samsung...

 

[absolutx]

but crt monitors are supposed to be better right?

 

[zac08]

but crt monitors are supposed to be better right?

Well, it is for gaming purposes where you need high refresh rates. But if you are talking about picture manipulation, then well, there ain't that much of a difference.

But make sure you get a good flat screen without glare and all pixels must be "live" or else your editing will be useless....