# computer?



## Mel (Dec 4, 2007)

I'm looking to buying myself a faster computer. What is a good computer that I can store alot of pictures on and a good photoshop software?  Also what is the best way to store my photos? on a disk, on 2 disks, on the computer? One thing i'm finding is i'm putting so many pictures on my computer that I have now and it is slowing it down. Should I just put all my photos on disks and hope and pray they don't get scratched?? I just don't trust that. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!


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## Big Mike (Dec 4, 2007)

Many photographers find that they use up a lot of hard drive space with their photos.  Fortunately, hardrives are getting bigger and cheaper all the time.  If you are going to buy a new computer, get a large harddrive, or better yet, get a 2nd harddrive installed.  I'd suggest at least 120GB, but 300GB or even 500GB hardrives can be had for a decent price.

Having a lot of images on the hardrive, shouldn't necessarily slow things down too much.  Of course it helps if you don't put all your images into the same folder.

To really speed things up, you need RAM.  1GB minimum and 2GB is better.

As far as storage goes...most people use a couple of different methods...just in case.  First there is your hardrive, that's the basic place to store them.  Maybe you install a 2nd harddrive for backup.  Maybe you get an external hardrive.  
Many people also backup their images to DVDs.  This is usually just for archival purposes...just in case your computer gets fried.  Some people even make duplicate copies of their backup discs and store them off-site...in case their home/business burns down.


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## Digital Matt (Dec 4, 2007)

There are thousands of good computers out there.  We need an idea of budget.  Do you want to spend $600 or $2000?


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## Mel (Dec 4, 2007)

Spending would be around $1000. How much would 500GB hard drive be?


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## monkeykoder (Dec 4, 2007)

Fry's seems to have a western digital 500gig for $99 but you would still have to pay for installation and I'm pretty sure it is on sale.


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## Nike (Dec 4, 2007)

iMac


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## stubbsk (Dec 4, 2007)

Get a Dell if you want a new computer. Good place to start.


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## monkeykoder (Dec 4, 2007)

Build one yourself that way you get exactly what you want.


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## TCimages (Dec 4, 2007)

My advice would be to save money on the purchase by buying a smaller primary drive and use the money to buy external or add a secondary internal drive. Storing important files and images on a drive other than the primary is a safer option and offers more flexibility to rebuild in the event you get a virus or have other problems. 

I personally like the following options on a PC (I like Dell) :

Intel Core 2 (Duo, Quad, or Extreme) - 2 ghz +
RAM- 1-2 gig
Hardrive 7200 + rpm (cheapest size) - Sata Interface
Windows XP (Vista still has bugs)
Mid Grade Graphics Card in a PCIe slot (faster if you game)


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## ryyback (Dec 4, 2007)

I agree with TCIMAGES on the specs part. 
I'm an IT guy-ugg, and building your own computer to what you want is going to take some computer know how and cost alot more than buying one at Best Buy or Dell, etc. If you buy one from there, usually under $1000, you can always add more hard drives later on if you need more room.
Always back up your pictures onto a dvd. I back up my pictures, files, etc once a month, just to be safe.
Buying from DELL, you can choose Vista or XP--most prefer XP as Vista, like mentioned still has some issues. It's very "pretty" but sucky-)


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## stubbsk (Dec 4, 2007)

Your get what you pay for, obviously the higher the spec the better, the lower the price the better but generally the higher the spec the higher the price.

Do some research find the best machine for your money and buy it. If you don't have a history of making your own machines then it's not a cheap option really unless your lucky.

Large corporations are your best bet to make your money go further.

DO NOT BUY EXTRAS, such as security packages. Or anything for that matter as these computers remain competitive by selling cheap hardware and making the margin on the essentials. Buy the extras from another shop specialising in that field. Generally though the best security software is free. The less features on it the less intrusive it is so your PP programs will run better. There are usually free alternatives to software like MS Office such as OpenOffice.org. Save your money for external hard drives, which I think is a great idea and for expensive but worthwhile programs like Adobe Photoshop.


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## domromer (Dec 4, 2007)

What about a nice imac ?


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## stubbsk (Dec 4, 2007)

From my experience with them they crash more often then modern PC's, and they properly crash as well, no fixes, you have to reboot. Whereas with vista you only loose the one program that crashes. Your paying for a great computer with a mac but there's little competition for them so you pay for the name, they're not necessarily any better. Similar spec PC's go for half the price.

That's just my opinion, I can't justify buying a mac.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/cto_xpsdt_210?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs Try this, $1000 can get you a flash comp. Unlucky for me the equivalent to that in the UK costs a lot more.


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## WDodd (Dec 4, 2007)

Can never go wrong with a Mac. I just bought my first Mac laptop and I absolutely love it. As far as laptops go they are somewhat competitively priced.

I agree with the aforementioned specs though. Just keep in mind the more you spend on a computer now the longer you will use it if you build it right. (By build I don't necessarily mean you. Custom configurations through Dell etc. would work)

As far as storage, it would be a lot more convenient to store all your stuff on a hard drive as opposed to burning it to disks. To this end it is pretty easy to set up multiple hard drive to mirror each other so that you don't lose any data.


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## YoungRebel (Dec 4, 2007)

Macs crash more than PC ???? Am I missing something... 

I couldn't stand my Desktop PC anymore (Windows XP) and was sick of crashes, viruses, and looots of other problems...

Since I changed to Mac (Mac Book Pro) my life has just become sooo much easier and extremely comfortable... (My experience says that PCs are at least 8times more likely to crash, get slower over the time, get viruses etc.)

So, if you have a little more cash, than do yourself a favour and go with a mac.

btw: I don't know any pc brand that gives a great repair/return sevice as apple does....(even DELL)


Pat


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## domromer (Dec 4, 2007)

Yeah Macs crashing is pretty much what there not known for. 

Also you can quit any frozen app on a Mac. It's called force quit.


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## Sideburns (Dec 4, 2007)

lol.  I actually have to agree here...
I have a Macbook and a PC I built myself.

They both crash equally...

But my PC crashes when I'm doing intensive apps and whatnot...
My Mac usually just dies when I'm trying to watch a video or something.

I like both.  Both are great.
I think PC is better for a lot of things, and Mac is better for some things...

BUT.  They are almost equal now, because everyone is trying to make everything compatible.  The only thing you can't run on PC is the Apple specific stuff that Apple makes themselves.

Go with a PC with 2.0Ghz or faster Intel Core 2 Duo, 1GB or more of ram, and aa geforce 8600 or better video card...you won't be disappointed (as long as you don't buy a totally crap brand).

I usually don't condone buying prebuilt computers with a budget that high...(it's cheaper to build your own)....but I doubt you wanna get into that.


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## 480sparky (Jul 17, 2012)

jasonmilsont said:


> Your pc does have what is known as "virtual RAM", which is an allocated area on your disk generate that the pc uses for RAM requirements, but it is much more slowly than real RAM.




I'm fairly confident that after _*5 years*_, the issue has been resolved.


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## SoCalTiger (Jul 17, 2012)

480sparky said:


> jasonmilsont said:
> 
> 
> > Your pc does have what is known as "virtual RAM", which is an allocated area on your disk generate that the pc uses for RAM requirements, but it is much more slowly than real RAM.
> ...



Not only that, but the prices and other information mentioned in this thread are totally outdated too. Thread should be locked.


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## cgipson1 (Jul 17, 2012)

I really hate spammer wienies!  lol! Resurrecting zombie threads, spewing nonsense.. and then trying to profit of the gullible!  BAD!


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