Editing Software and the best PC for it. . .

[tcsilverstar]

Anyone have any idea what to shop for when it comes to using top equipment for editing pictures?

Has anyone used or heard of the Gateway FX6800-01e with an Intel Core i7-920 Processor or is this industry better off going with a Mac?
Would this be ideal for editing photos? I seriously get confused when it comes to the PC stuff. . . Help!?

:confused:

[canonfaithfulforever]

this is just my opinion as some others will no doubt disagree, when it comes to any media trades such as photography and videography MAC IS THE ONLY WAY!! sorry but anyone who considers a pc to be better than a MAC should go sit in an office with a dell and play with some numbers.

now more seriously, macs are my stronger point, if you have the cash a MAC PRO is calling your name, stick at least 4-8gb RAM, 1TB HDD NvIdia Graphics and a 30inch Cinema display(or a dell for a little less cash)
if you want power at a more reasonable price go iMac like i did get a 24inch with 2.8ghz and upgrade to 4gb RAM from OWC mac sales.

Then all is left is to purchase a version of photoshop and/or lightroom if you want the ultimate post-processing workspace.

And dont forget the Logitech MX Revolution :smile: and a WACOM tablet of some size

[Moppie]

Anyone have any idea what to shop for when it comes to using top equipment for editing pictures?

Has anyone used or heard of the Gateway FX6800-01e with an Intel Core i7-920 Processor or is this industry better off going with a Mac?
Would this be ideal for editing photos? I seriously get confused when it comes to the PC stuff. . . Help!?

:confused:


There is a huge variety of options in the market at the moment, Intel have recently released a new line of processors (the i7) but have not discontinued all of the old line up (Q and E series), many of which are still suitable for a photography work station.

The idea that "Macs" are some how "better" for this "industry" is simply false. They now share a common architecture with other mainstream computers, but work with in a closed, and largely propriaty system. It is a very good system, but does limit consumer choice, and is even more limiting at the proffesional level, featuring only one very high end but now outdated proffesional dest top solution (the Mac Pro).
The iMac is a poor substitute, being limited by its range of display choices, internal storage solutions and RAM capacity, as well as the very limited ablity to upgrade (only the HDD and RAM can be upgraded, and then only the RAM is really a user level upgrade, as the HDD requires complex disassembly) (Note, the iMac can work well with Network based storage and when only a few files are processed at a time).

This does not mean computers from other Manufacurers running windows are going to be any better, and the large number of budget based systems often offer far more compromises, with far worse implications to performance and reliablty.
Companies like Dell, Gateway, HP etc, all build a wide variety of systems aimed at a wide variety of different markets.
The very low end, budget, consumer level computers might appear to offer great value at a great price, but also come with the biggest compromises. Cheap parts and lower quality control standards can leave you with a computer well suited to checking email and surfing the net, but that crashes and locks up when you try and process several hundred RAW files, or that has no room to upgrade even the most basic things like RAM or add second a Hard drive.
The high end units, aimed at business and power users are far better suited to photography work, and generally use much higher quality parts.
There are still compromises to be made, again the ablity to upgrade is often limited (remember these companies want you to buy a complete new system, not upgrade your current one).

Buying from a local retailer/wholesaler or self building offers the best solution for getting a high performance and high quality system. But, it is not always the cheapest option, and does require some knowledge of what parts are needed. A really good shop will be able to help with this and provide advice on a good system.


There are quite a few members here who also have a lot knowledge, and can recomment a number of solutions for you, but first you need to give us a good indication of how much work you will do on the machine, and what your budget is.
How many photos to you process at once?
How often to you process photos?
Do your shoot RAW?
What software do you use, and what software do you want to use?
What else will the computer be used for? (e.g. gaming, video editing etc).
Do you need a complete system, including monitor, or just a new box?

The more information you can provide, the more advice we can offer :)






.......when it comes to any media trades such as photography and videography MAC IS THE ONLY WAY!! sorry but anyone who considers a pc to be better than a MAC should go sit in an office with a dell and play with some numbers.


Boy, I'm glad we're not living on the same planet.

[René Damkot]

MAC IS THE ONLY WAY!!

I have worked with Mac's since the Mac IIv. OS 7.
I still use a Mac: G5 and Intel. OSX. Love it.

However, the above statement is simply false. :rolleyes:

[tim]

Any Core i7 processor based system with 6GB or more of RAM will rock!

[Treat me like a tourist]

This one http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7908141.stm

[Bobster]

This one http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7908141.stm
oh dear... all that processing and he didn't even have a 24 or 30 inch screen!

[spectre]

Anyone have any idea what to shop for when it comes to using top equipment for editing pictures?

Has anyone used or heard of the Gateway FX6800-01e with an Intel Core i7-920 Processor or is this industry better off going with a Mac?
Would this be ideal for editing photos? I seriously get confused when it comes to the PC stuff. . . Help!?

:confused:
I have the FX6800-01e (referb with the upgraded 1024mb ATI4850 gfx card) for under $620, you cant build it for less yourself. Besides some driver issues to start...she is a screaming machine. I also got a nice used Dell 2005FPW...so for just over $750...it is a very nice setup with one of the better displays.
I was going to build a new system (like I have my last four systems) but like I have said earlier, I couldn't build it better or the same for less.
They lock the motherboard bios and you have to use the "slower" ram but I do not plan on overclocking for the i7-920 is fast enough for me.

[MaxxuM]

Anyone have any idea what to shop for when it comes to using top equipment for editing pictures?

Has anyone used or heard of the Gateway FX6800-01e with an Intel Core i7-920 Processor or is this industry better off going with a Mac?
Would this be ideal for editing photos? I seriously get confused when it comes to the PC stuff. . . Help!?

:confused:

I'd be redicent in my duties if I didn't chime in on a Mac thread ;).

I vote Mac, with one caveat; I would wait until the new iMac's are announced this month some time (hopefully). As an IT professional in a 10,000+ computer network I've grown tired of debugging computers and percentage wise, PC's dominate my work load. After getting Mac's I've been blissfully trugging along without a serious issue with my personal machines for two years. Not one crash of the OS, no odd behaviors from software and everything I've plugged in has worked. I'll admit freely that I was a Windows person until Vista came out, only using Mac's in course with work, but once that curse came out I've switched sides.

I tend to think of PC's as a Swiss Army Knife; a solution for just about any situation. However, with complexity comes the increased possibility of problems - it's just common physics. Anyone that debates it is obviously off their rocker.

Mac's are designed much more simply with an OS that has been tuned to be as light as possible yet is extremely powerful. That is why you'll never see (that I know of) Windows controlling any mission critical device/service. Conversly, UNIX (flavors) are responsible for just about every mission critical system in the world; from telcom's, NASA to the Stock Exchange. Windows is making inroads, but there is much distrust of the OS still.

You can think of Mac's as tools that do some jobs very well without the hassles of configuration or debugging.

[basroil]

Pretty sure you haven't been to a college campus then, Windows or OSX, 30% + of computers end up crapping out because someone installed something bad on it, or the "IT Professionals" that manage the student network screw up their configuration and require both windows and osx users to install weird things or set up wacky configurations. And somehow the OSX machines are set up in a way that causes them to not properly identify a networked profile, crash often, and generally run slow... Then again, when they had them set up with bootcamp and XP it wasn't much better. Lesson is, get the best hardware you can buy regardless of OS, you'll end up slowing down your machine anyway, so a more powerful machine will last longer before being useless enough for a format.

[MaxxuM]

Pretty sure you haven't been to a college campus then, Windows or OSX, 30% + of computers end up crapping out because someone installed something bad on it, or the "IT Professionals" that manage the student network screw up their configuration and require both windows and osx users to install weird things or set up wacky configurations. And somehow the OSX machines are set up in a way that causes them to not properly identify a networked profile, crash often, and generally run slow... Then again, when they had them set up with bootcamp and XP it wasn't much better. Lesson is, get the best hardware you can buy regardless of OS, you'll end up slowing down your machine anyway, so a more powerful machine will last longer before being useless enough for a format.

I don't know which colleges you're speaking of but I have friends at UT, A&M, Rice, Baylor, MIT, Duke and a few others (remember, I'm in education ;)) and though you're absolutely right, most computer problems are the result of installing things like trojans, viruses or worms there are still far fewer that infect Mac's than PC's. In fact, I can count the major threats to Mac on one hand (not their flavors). You have to seriously mess up to get a Mac OS to fail - even then, it's extremely simple to reinstall while not harming your files. Messing up a PC on the other hand is extremely easy for the laymen.

The only reason the PC's in our network are doing so well is because of Active Directory, period. Though we use Open Directory too, we don't have to restrict Mac users as much. The most Mac users do is clutter their desktops with executable lol. One simple setting in OD and those are gone. Same with PC's though. 2000, XP and Vista keep humming along really nice when you restrict users actions to those that will not do any harm.

But yes, you add a blockhead and a computer, Mac or PC, and they'll trash it one way or another. You just don't have to 'try' so hard to mess up a PC.

[basroil]

I don't know which colleges you're speaking of but I have friends at UT, A&M, Rice, Baylor, MIT, Duke and a few others (remember, I'm in education ;)) and though you're absolutely right, most computer problems are the result of installing things like trojans, viruses or worms there are still far fewer that infect Mac's than PC's. In fact, I can count the major threats to Mac on one hand (not their flavors). You have to seriously mess up to get a Mac OS to fail - even then, it's extremely simple to reinstall while not harming your files. Messing up a PC on the other hand is extremely easy for the laymen.

The only reason the PC's in our network are doing so well is because of Active Directory, period. Though we use Open Directory too, we don't have to restrict Mac users as much. The most Mac users do is clutter their desktops with executable lol. One simple setting in OD and those are gone. Same with PC's though. 2000, XP and Vista keep humming along really nice when you restrict users actions to those that will not do any harm.

But yes, you add a blockhead and a computer, Mac or PC, and they'll trash it one way or another. You just don't have to 'try' so hard to mess up a PC.

Forgot to include the superman complex that some mac users get. Some around my parts just do things that would be considered crazy, and they think they are safe because they have OSX, and only after their machine gets screwy that they realize they did something stupid. Most of those on Windows (that aren't computer savvy) are more paranoid about their machines, just as stupid some times, but on average a bit more careful... And for some reason people think laptops (particularly MBP) are spill proof or something, I've seen enough beer damage to build a brewery from the leftover liquid.

[ChasP505]

...sorry but anyone who considers a pc to be better than a MAC should go sit in an office with a dell and play with some numbers...

OK... I'm on my way! In fact I do just that from 8 to 5 every day! Actually not on a Dell, but a custom PC. My office PC has been the most reliable machine in our little marketing/design department. We have 3 Macs and 6 PCs.

We use our Macs for graphic design and publication layout work. Our PCs are used for general office applications and non-critical photo editing. It's an harmonious arrangement and we all take some time each day to hold hands and sing Kumbaya!