# What computer to get that won't break the bank?



## theres126 (Apr 17, 2013)

Hi- I've had a DSLR for years (Nikon DX40), and primarily used it to take action shots of my daughter playing volleyball. She's graduated and not playing anymore, so I've graduated into taking photos for me - primarily landscapes.  My laptop is very old and needs to be replaced, so I'm trying to figure out what to get. From what I've read, a PC is a better option than a laptop for photo editing. 

Does anyone have recommendations for a reasonably priced PC (including monitor) that is under $1000 and good for processing photos? I'd really like to keep it a lot lower than that, if possible - hopefully closer to the $500-$600 range. I know I won't get the best for that, but it's really what I can afford right now. Also, what are the "must haves" to look for when I start shopping?

Right now, I don't have a good photo software, so I was looking at lightroom. (recommendations/opinions??)  I also have never shot in RAW before, so would like to start doing that as well. 

Thanks so much!!! 

Theresa


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## cenote (Apr 17, 2013)

If its primary use will be play and editing, I recommend an apple. I am a PC guy, but most of my friends have apples, and I am amazed on how much simpler editing seems on apples verses PC.


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## jwbryson1 (Apr 17, 2013)

I just bought a high end Dell that cost me over $2,200, but I also recently had some work done at a local family-owned computer repair shop on an older model Dell I've owned for years.  Great people and they told me they could build me a really nice computer for about $700+ depending on what I wanted included in the system.

So, for your budget, I think this is a good idea.


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## gmazz (Apr 17, 2013)

Any mid-range desktop or laptop will be fine for you, its not like your doing any intense gaming.


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## Garbz (Apr 19, 2013)

cenote said:


> If its primary use will be play and editing, I recommend an apple. I am a PC guy, but most of my friends have apples, and I am amazed on how much simpler editing seems on apples verses PC.



I'm curious to know what differences you think Apple's version of Photoshop and Premier have over their Windows' counterparts. Or how the operating system makes a difference to a specific program?

I'm also interested in how this won't "break the bank" given how apple applies a "shiny tax" to all their products.


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## KmH (Apr 19, 2013)

Garbz said:


> apple applies a "shiny tax" to all their products.


 :lmao: :thumbup: :lmao: :thumbup:


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## sm4him (Apr 19, 2013)

KmH said:


> Garbz said:
> 
> 
> > apple applies a "shiny tax" to all their products.
> ...



Ditto! "Shiny tax"--I *love* that! I have a new favorite phrase now.


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## Light Guru (Apr 19, 2013)

Garbz said:


> I'm curious to know what differences you think Apple's version of Photoshop and Premier have over their Windows' counterparts.



It's not Apples version of photoshop and premier, Apple did not make them, they are still made by Adobe  



Garbz said:


> Or how the operating system makes a difference to a specific program?/QUOTE]
> 
> I've always felt that the windows operating system is just clunky and awkward to use. Remember the programs run on top of the OS so a troublesome OS will cause issues with the programs you run.
> 
> ...


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## KmH (Apr 19, 2013)

Did Apple ever make their own hardware? I mean the hardware inside the box.

Since 2005 or so Apple uses essentially the same hardware PC's use - Intel CPU compatible.


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## im2c0ol (Apr 19, 2013)

I have custom build PC specially for gaming/photoshop and encoding purpose 2.5k which I upgrade it every year. But since I picked up a 13" MBP i7, I no longer use my desktop. I also been through many mid end laptop and even many new monitors the display is blurry not as sharp as you can actually tell your picture is that sharp on a mac or a iPad retina. Mac won over pc because out of the box it's ready for anything. As for PC you'll need to invest in a very high end monitor for video/photoshop editing. You can build a $500 pc but it'll cost you $200-$400 for a nice monitor that will display close to what apple screen does. I'm an IT so I work with alot of new mid/high end HP laptop, and the screen is not even close compare to my mac. I know HP is a piece of crab to compare. I would rate HP number 10 if it's top 10 list as the worse.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2


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## McGrauniad (Apr 19, 2013)

theres126 said:


> Hi- I've had a DSLR for years (Nikon DX40), and primarily used it to take action shots of my daughter playing volleyball. She's graduated and not playing anymore, so I've graduated into taking photos for me - primarily landscapes.  My laptop is very old and needs to be replaced, so I'm trying to figure out what to get. From what I've read, a PC is a better option than a laptop for photo editing.
> 
> Does anyone have recommendations for a reasonably priced PC (including monitor) that is under $1000 and good for processing photos? I'd really like to keep it a lot lower than that, if possible - hopefully closer to the $500-$600 range. I know I won't get the best for that, but it's really what I can afford right now. Also, what are the "must haves" to look for when I start shopping?
> 
> ...



I believe most any PC out there may fit the bill. The issue you have to look at is the monitor and the graphics card that drives that. I built my sister a <$600 PC and spent another $300 on the monitor.   However, I do think you may be able to buy a PC that will also do the trick. I splurged on things like excessive large hard drive, extra external backup drive and extra-quiet fans. Forgo that, invest in online backup which my sister can't do, and you should be able to buy any sub-$500 PC and then spend some money on a good monitor.

Look at the processor and if it does not have Intel HD 4000 graphics, don't get it unless it has a video card. Adobe has a list of supported video cards and you may want to check your PC against that list.  

Also invest in some extra memory - no less than 8Gigabytes, but as much as 16 will be good.

I've given up battling to get my sister to use Lightroom, so she is using CS6 which makes the shiny tax of Apple seem insignificant. I's have tried Lightroom and then maybe GIMP (free software) before I'd spend htat much on CS6.

Good luck.


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## RRD (Apr 20, 2013)

Decisions... decisions. And so many choices!
I actually just completed a similar quest. With today's market being so volatile: Mac, Retina, Windows 8, Windows 7, Cloud computing, I.E. Google, Android,  Tablets, etc. etc. there are certainly many options to consider. 

But for my money ($750), I couldn't find a better deal than my new Windows based lap-top. It came with 8GB RAM, a 750GB HD, an Intel I7 Quad-core (8 cores when hyper-threaded), a good AMD Radeon graphics card with 2GB RAM, DVD burner, Windows 7 Pro 64 bit resident AND Windows 8 Pro 64 bit on accompanying DVD.  It is an HP Probook 4540S. I suspect that I can't mention the name of the vendor, but look around on-line and you should be able to find one. 

If you are just getting started, though, and aren't already heavily invested in the Windows platform, then I'd heartily recommend that you take a close look at the Summer 2012 release of the MacBook 15 (the pre-Retina version). You can find them for about a $1000, if you look carefully. Again the place I bought my HP, not BB BTW, also sells Apple at very competitive rates. An interesting note: After considerable on-line review of various display test results, I have discovered that there apparently is no difference to the human eye between the previous MacBook display (excellent) and the Retina (state-of-the-art). In fact some say under controlled test conditions the color gamut on the older display is actually a little better. Interesting, huh?  
RRD


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## Mully (Apr 20, 2013)

KmH said:


> Did Apple ever make their own hardware? I mean the hardware inside the box.
> 
> Since 2005 or so Apple uses essentially the same hardware PC's use - Intel CPU compatible.



Funny how I can run Windows 7 on my Mac but a Windows machine can not run Mac.


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## rexbobcat (Apr 20, 2013)

Mully said:


> KmH said:
> 
> 
> > Did Apple ever make their own hardware? I mean the hardware inside the box.
> ...



Why would you want to run Mac on a Windows machine? As far as I know, there isn't really any software that is released for Mac exclusively, unless it's a piece of proprietary Apple software. Windows, on the other hand, is compatible with more programs, so it makes sense to want to be able to run Windows on Mac.

There's also Hackintosh, which basically allows you to put OSX on an unsupported machine. 

All of that still doesn't change the fact that Apple uses the same hardware as Windows machines, only at a premium.

But ANYWAYS, any modern laptop should work. If you really want to be able to crunch through photos though, try and get a laptop that has an i7 quad core processor and (I would recommend) 8GB of RAM. Those two aspects are what crunch through data in Photoshop. The GPU is used for some 3D aspects, filters, and video editing in Adobe's software but most basic editing functions use the CPU.


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## im2c0ol (Apr 20, 2013)

Mully said:


> KmH said:
> 
> 
> > Did Apple ever make their own hardware? I mean the hardware inside the box.
> ...





rexbobcat said:


> Mully said:
> 
> 
> > KmH said:
> ...



Hahaha... you guys haven't heart hackingtosh do you? I was running Mac OSX on my custom build desktop to get an experience of the mac osx before I pull my trigger on my Macbook Pro, it was very helpful as I'm a PC guy for 11yrs.

Here's my gig.


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