Need help in buyng a computer

[CanonChic]

What is the best computer to purchase for a beginner photographer? Im going to school for Vis Com Graphic art and printing then transfering to major in photography. I just sold my HP laptop and am not looking to buy a desk top.

[crn3371]

The first thing I'd do is check with your school and see what they use/recommend. No use buying a PC if your school uses Macs or vice versa.

[tomd]

also: many schools offer discounts to students via direct purchase or referral.

Are you looking for PC or are you also considering an Apple?

[CanonChic]

Looking to buy a Mac

[Dunedan]

For laptops, I would look at a Dell. Just don't buy the pre-configured crap. I would configure something with more memory/CPU power/HD space, etc. And get the 3 year warranty with it, and an extra battery.

Ideally, once you get it I usually have it reformatted and Windows installed bare. These manufacturers are great at loading useless software.

[DeVVitt]

The first thing I'd do is check with your school and see what they use/recommend. No use buying a PC if your school uses Macs or vice versa.
Why is that? My school uses Mac, yet I have a PC (would've bought a Mac if I had the money, that's not the point. Thing is I can wait for a long time till that moment). Still, using things as Photoshop on a PC, brings me just as much knowledge about it in Photoshop, except for a few key's and such.

Personally I'd go Mac. I just like them a lot more. They seem a lot more stable to me, work fast enough for a lot of things and they are pretty easy to get used to, even if you switch.

[ThomGascoigne]

I'd have to strongly recommend MacBook I've used mine 12 hours a day for 2+ years without problem.

Only issue for photography is the screen is bit small so getting another screen to plug it into would be worthwhile.

Not sure on current price but I paid $1500 aud for it 2+ years ago

P.S CanonChic what sort of budget range?

[CanonChic]

1500 would sound about right for a budget range, I was looking at the IMac for the large monitor. Is a laptop better then desk top?

[Dunedan]

Ahh well if you want a Mac it's easy. Just find the nearest Apple Store and give them all your money.

[ThomGascoigne]

Ah well I'm a student at art school and I couldn't handle not having my laptop with me some days. It makes study alot easier in alot of aspects. For really in depth long photoshopping etc I prefer desktop but overall I would recommended laptop over desktop.

One solution I've found is just getting a cheap large monitor and keyboard I can plug into my laptop so when at home I can plug all these together and work in more comfort.

[mcluckie]

1500 would sound about right for a budget range, I was looking at the IMac for the large monitor. Is a laptop better then desk top?
I teach Vis Com and Mac is the way to go. Before teaching I ran a design and photo studio for 18 years. Just saying because maybe I'm Mac-biased.

Laptops are probably better for students. The big advantage to desktops are expandability and better performance for less money. Small components cost a premium, but for students, portability is probably very important. IF you can work on a train or something.

iMacs are a great deal. Everywhere I go tends to have a Mac, so I travelled to school with just a 250GB external FW drive. Bus-powered. Everywhere I went, I had all my data. Might be the best deal for you.

[nphsbuckeye]

Buy the minimum amount of memory, then buy more in the aftermarket market. Companies make a killing upselling RAM.

[snails]

Go into your mac store and look around, tell them what you want to do and for how much. Take everything for a test drive.

Buy the minimum amount of memory, then buy more in the aftermarket market. Companies make a killing upselling RAM.

This would be true if you were buying a PC or an older mac* that still had a door for RAM.

But, since the OP is asking for advice on purchasing a new mac, I would guess she's not going to be opening up a unibody MacBook to install more ram.

*I full endorse buying a refurbished mac. My 2006 MacBook Pro I bought used for less than $1000 performs comparably to my 2008 unibody MacBook Pro which ran closer to $1800 new.

[nphsbuckeye]

Go into your mac store and look around, tell them what you want to do and for how much. Take everything for a test drive.



This would be true if you were buying a PC or an older mac* that still had a door for RAM.

But, since the OP is asking for advice on purchasing a new mac, I would guess she's not going to be opening up a unibody MacBook to install more ram.

*I full endorse buying a refurbished mac. My 2006 MacBook Pro I bought used for less than $1000 performs comparably to my 2008 unibody MacBook Pro which ran closer to $1800 new.
Sorry, I skipped most of the thread and skipped to adding my .02. But yes, obviously you can't add memory to a unibody unless you want to void the warranty. :lol:

[snails]

Sorry, I skipped most of the thread and skipped to adding my .02. But yes, obviously you can't add memory to a unibody unless you want to void the warranty. :lol:

Only to a certain degree... the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson%E2%80%93Moss_Warranty_Act) protects consumers from losing their warranty entirely.

[CanonChic]

Wow, thanks! im thinking iMac and doing the external drive. What drive is reccomended?

[snails]

Wow, thanks! im thinking iMac and doing the external drive. What drive is reccomended?

Bus-powered Firewire drives are going to be the easiest to use. I like Seagate's drives (Freeagent Go) (http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/freeagent/#tTabContentOptionsForMac), but OWC (http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go) gets a lot of love too.

[acetic]

For a some students, where portability is a necessity... A laptop is your best choice. The differences between macs and say, dells, are about neck and neck in performance, with PC's being about 10-20% less expensive. Which rougly equates to $100-200. But if your preference is a Mac then that can easily offset the price difference. Personally for me I'd rather have the extra money, but it mostly comes down to preference for laptops.

Desktops are an entirely difference story. The cheapest mac desktop (actual desktop) is something like $2300 (Canadian, mind you) which is absurd because my $900 PC tops it in terms of performance.

The iMac starts at $1300CAD, which for me is a bit pricey. They only have dual-core processors and 4GB of RAM at that price and a base 500GB harddrive. $1000CAD can buy you a quad-core PC with 8GB of RAM, a 1TB harddrive and a cuda-based video card that photoshop can use to accelerate filters and whatnot-- but that $1000 doesn't include a monitor, although that leaves you able to pick out a really nice and accurate monitor.

The iMacs do take up less space though, and are trendy. It comes down to preference vs. price and if you NEED the extra processing power. If you get a PC, make sure you get Windows 7. It's worth it. What ever you get, make sure you get a good amount of RAM.

Hopefully that helps a bit and doesn't just confuse you.

[nphsbuckeye]

Or if you have about $2,000 to spend you can buy a quad core which will be much faster than a duo core. Albeit, you'll buy a Windows unit, but if it's power you're after...

[mcluckie]

Buy the minimum amount of memory, then buy more in the aftermarket market. Companies make a killing upselling RAM.
Maybe, but do the math if you're tossing out memory for lack of banks. Memory is a commodity and Apple buys and prices a year ahead. Sometimes it's a very good deal, sometimes a rape.

Wow, thanks! im thinking iMac and doing the external drive. What drive is reccomended?

Cool, seems like you can use my idea. I have 4- LaCies now, Porsche design with a little USB tail that tucks in if you need it. I also have 2 that I made myself from laptop drives and Cool Drive enclosures. Bus-powering is a little hard to find, so be careful what you order. Apple pushes some big thing with (default) orange bumpers, LaCie All-Terrain 250 and 500 GB. The 500 is $179, the 250 is $119.

[CanonChic]

Maybe, but do the math if you're tossing out memory for lack of banks. Memory is a commodity and Apple buys and prices a year ahead. Sometimes it's a very good deal, sometimes a rape.


Cool, seems like you can use my idea. I have 4- LaCies now, Porsche design with a little USB tail that tucks in if you need it. I also have 2 that I made myself from laptop drives and Cool Drive enclosures. Bus-powering is a little hard to find, so be careful what you order. Apple pushes some big thing with (default) orange bumpers, LaCie All-Terrain 250 and 500 GB. The 500 is $179, the 250 is $119.

Thanks for the external info! :)

[nphsbuckeye]

Maybe, but do the math if you're tossing out memory for lack of banks. Memory is a commodity and Apple buys and prices a year ahead. Sometimes it's a very good deal, sometimes a rape.
When I built my computer in June, I think 12GB was about a $500~600 option from Dell. My memory only cost $210.