computer advice please...

[R_Metzel]

So....right now I have a dell e520 with the Pentium duo core 2.8 GHz processor with 3 gb of ram running windows xp service pack 3. The only thing I use it for is the internet, and editing photos (CS3 and Lightroom)

While this computer runs ok, and is fairly quick, I have been thinking about getting a different computer....

So....my question is, what would serve me better:

A used Power mac G5 w/ duo 2.0 GHz processor and 8 gbs of ram running leopard 10.5 or a new dell studio w/ Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q6600 (8MB L2, 2.4GHz, 1066FSB) with 2gb of ram, expandable to 8, running 64bit vista.

Now, I used to run mac, and loved it, but have since switched to pc ONLY because macs are so expensive. ( I don't care what you say...they are...) But I can get either computer above for about the same price....

Will a quad core even help with photoshop editing? I have no clue.... I had vista, and got rid of it because it was so damn buggy it drove me nuts. But it seems like some of the bugs are now fixed..... Not saying macs are perfect OS either, but I never had a problem with any of my old macs....ever!

Both would be 64bit, so now its down to what will run photoshop quicker and smoother....

I honestly am not very computer savvy, so don't throw big fancy words in...they will just confuse me even more! LOL

[Tony-S]

Buy the Dell. It should outperform a dual-processor G5, and OS X 10.6 will not support PowerPC Macs. Plus, Photoshop CS4 is 32-bit on Macs.

[R_Metzel]

Buy the Dell. It should outperform a dual-processor G5, and OS X 10.6 will not support PowerPC Macs. Plus, Photoshop CS4 is 32-bit on Macs.
Would 2 GB run 64bit vista ok... 2 gb on the 32bit was a dog....I would upgrade to 8 gb once I had the extra cash...but that would be at least few months....

[Tony-S]

I cannot answer Window-specific questions as I'm a Mac guy (others who can will chime in, I'm sure), but generally-speaking, you can never have enough RAM. I have 4 gb in mine and it performs adequately, even when running Windows XP inside Fusion. RAM is pretty darn cheap these days.

[ssdang]

Get the Dell. But you'll need to upgrade the ram to at least 4gb to run vista decently. As for the quadcore, i think you'll see more performance gain for VIDEO editing, but not so sure about picture editing. Also, does the dell come with onboard video?...because that would be a bottleneck when editing photos. Having a dedicated video card will help with the photo editing as will the ram.

[Moppie]

So....right now I have a dell e520 with the Pentium duo core 2.8 GHz processor with 3 gb of ram running windows xp service pack 3. The only thing I use it for is the internet, and editing photos (CS3 and Lightroom)

While this computer runs ok, and is fairly quick, I have been thinking about getting a different computer....



Is there a good reason why, or do you just feel like you need a new PC? :cool:

As Tony said the Dell will run rings around the old G5 Mac, but you will only notice a big improvement over your current system if you are doing lots of multi-tasking, and processing larger numbers of photos at once in batches.

For batch processing the quad cores reign supreme, especially if you want to batch process and do other things.
My Q6600 will let me play COD4 will running a batch in LR converting RAW's to tiffs, and another batch in CS3 converting tiffs to jpegs (that is happening on separate HDD's to the one COD4 is on).

Vista at beta release was buggy, at final release had issues with drivers for older systems and components, but now, is fantastic.
Most stable and user friendly OS I have used. Makes XP look antiquated.


Get the Dell, get at least one extra HDD to keep your photos separate, and go with at least 4GB or more of ram (get it from somewhere else if dell are over charging for it), and you will very happy :)



Get the Dell. But you'll need to upgrade the ram to at least 4gb to run vista decently. As for the quadcore, i think you'll see more performance gain for VIDEO editing, but not so sure about picture editing. Also, does the dell come with onboard video?...because that would be a bottleneck when editing photos. Having a dedicated video card will help with the photo editing as will the ram.


Vista will run happily on 2GB of ram, you only need more if you are also doing RAM intensive applications, like photo work. But then you will need more RAM regardless of the OS.

Both Lightroom and newer versions of Photoshop will make use of as many cores as you can throw at them. For large amounts of processing work, quadcores are fantastic.
Quite often video editing only creates a single thread of instructions, so depending on the software used, there is often no advantage having lots of cores.
As I understand it, all the dells fitted with a Q6600 have an 8800GT or better graphics card, however there is little advantage in having a really powerful graphics card for photo work.
It only needs to be able to produce a enough resulution to drive your monitor(s).
CS4 can now make some use of the the graphics card, but you really don't need anything cutting edge.
Graphics cards are only really an issue when gaming, working with 3D graphics and video editing.

[R_Metzel]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I think I will go with the dell. Batch processing in lightroom, while working in photoshop, and running itunes bogs down my current system a bit.

And I am going to upgrade the quad core to the 1333 fsb and get 6 gb ram out of the gate. off to dell I go.....

Thanks again! :)

[Tony-S]

Rob,

If you're open to other Macs, there will be new iMacs and Mac Minis introduced on Tuesday. Some are suggesting that the Q9000 Core 2 Quad will be optional on one or both. Just a heads-up.

[R_Metzel]

Rob,

If you're open to other Macs, there will be new iMacs and Mac Minis introduced on Tuesday. Some are suggesting that the Q9000 Core 2 Quad will be optional on one or both. Just a heads-up.

Thanks tony....a bit out of my price range right now! :( I would love to go back to a mac...

Just ordered a dell anyways... intel quad core 2.33 GHz 1333 FSB w/ 8 gbs ram, 2 640 gb hard drives, and a 256mb video card, x64 vista....729 shipped..... hard to warrant spending 3300 more for the similar spec's with a mac pro. although the minis are a lot cheaper...I doubt they will jump the ram up to 8gb max or more....and the same price points...