Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/12/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Montie, the good news is that you will get a lot of computing for your money these days. A much faster and more capable machine for a lot less money. Shopping wise, just prior Christmas is not the best time to secure the best deal nor a lot of the salesperson's time if you need to ask a lot of questions. Whatever you buy will be superseded within six months. I wouldn't fret too much over whether you get the latest and greatest and there is always something new around the corner. Firstly, you have mentioned a laptop. Unless you have a priority need to make it portable, I suggest that you consider a desktop; especially as you are using Photoshop. The screen is the weak link. A laptop screen is inferior to a larger dedicated monitor with a good graphics card for PS. You will also pay significantly more for the same capability with a laptop, because many components have to be made smaller and cooler running than the standard versions. For Macs, you can only shop with a specialist MAC dealer. These machines are excellent and are the choice of many graphics professionals. That is the desk top types. I know that there are a number of Mac enthusiasts on the list and I'll leave any suggestions there to those folk. PC's with an INTEL processor (or an AMD processor) have the majority of the market. In your situation I suggest that you choose a PC from a large company like Dell or HP. You shop on-line and can vary the offered standard configurations as you like. The advantage is that there is a formal support network and the prices are good since they deal with huge quantities. For your specifics that you mentioned: INTEL Core 2 duo is their latest processor (CPU) range. Generally the best value for money is a couple of models down from the top. All of them are plenty fast enough for you. Memory (RAM) at least 1 gigabyte. For Photoshop 2GB is better. You need DDR2 dual channel. Hard drive (HDD) get a monster, they are all ridiculously cheap. For Photoshop it is better to get a second hard drive as well. Windows XP home is fine. XP Pro is better if you are in a network situation. Be aware that Windows Vista is arriving. There are upgrade deals if you buy XP and then change to Vista when available. Get a DVD drive that will burn DVDS and CDs for you Maybe have a look at the on-line sites for the big brands first and your first decision is desktop or laptop. Once you have had a look, drop me a line off-list if you would like some specifics or any questions at all. I'm happy to help. Cheers Hoppy -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Montie Sent: Wednesday, 13 December 2006 06:02 To: Leica Users Group Subject: [Leica] Need a New Lap Top...Cheap! Need some IT help here...my 7 year old Compaq Presario 1200 is dying a slow and hideous death! When I bought it, I knew a little about the technology but I have not kept up and now, after looking for a new one, I have no idea what they are talking about.Dual this... Core that...Ram x 2 (bluetooth is wireless, right)? Anyway...I'm not too big on all the muti-media stuff so I'm not looking for anything super teched out. I also don't store hundreds of photos on my hard drive...I want CD writng/reading capability so I can store edited pics on CDs? Enough memory to safely run CS...is XP home edition cool? I'm still running ME and recently got a note from Microsoft stating that ME is no longer a supported OS ;-( Help the analog man! Suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance! Montie _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information