Need to buy a new PC desktop..

[EOS mE]

my workhorse died on me, and the current desktop i have isn't all that stable. there are so many different ones out there with different Core2Duo or AMD Athlon 64x2 processors.. I don't know which ones to pick.

I guess what I'm asking is any recommendations on which processor will be better and photo editing and raw conversions??

[prime80]

Core 2 Duo all the way. AMD is not terribly competitive at the moment, and that doesn't appear to be changing any time soon.

The quad-core Q6600 is quite a deal.

[EOS mE]

Originally Posted by prime80

Core 2 Duo all the way. AMD is not terribly competitive at the moment, and that doesn't appear to be changing any time soon.

The quad-core Q6600 is quite a deal.

yea, i was thinking about teh Q6600 from HP in BestBuy. But that particular ViiV system got some mixed reviews. 3.5 out of 5 stars. Frys also sells the same system too but all going for aorund $1200+

[prime80]

I think that system would be more than adequate for anything but heavy-duty gaming.

[Stefan A]

I just switched from PC to mac and I am pretty happy with it's performance with post processing. I got an iMac with 2.8 duo-core - so, that's what I recommend.

Stefan

[salexande867]

With the quad cores flooding the market, the Core 2 Duo prices are really good. The best way to buy computers is to stay slightly behind the market. Gamers drive the PC market, so this works out pretty good if you are just doing photo processing.

For what it is worth, I have a BS degree in Computer Science. I used to build all of my own computers, but now they are so cheap it is hardly worth it. Another option is to configure one from a parts store like Tiger Direct. That way you can selet each component to support your PP work.

[tim]

Have a read of this thread too.

[SuzyView]

Thanks for linking that, Tim. I just got my new laptop last week and it hasn't been connected to the net yet due to my kids losing my security code, but I already love the faster processor. My son recommended I get 3-4 GB RAM. It cost a lot more to do 4, so I ended up with 3. It's still 3x's more than what I've been using and it makes a huge difference. Get as much RAM as you can afford.

[EOS mE]

ah... seems like core2duo in vista maybe not be all that hot in terms of performance.. but in quad-core, it's pretty hot and tempting?

humm..... for sure i'll be increasing more ram into it. The HP system I saw was fairly good, but many had bad reviews of it. perhaps dell?

[Moppie]

Originally Posted by SuzyView

Thanks for linking that, Tim. ..........Get as much RAM as you can afford.

I've just up dated it
The more ram the better, my old machine took a huge boost in performance by going from 512mb to 1.5gb of ram.

Originally Posted by EOS mE

ah... seems like core2duo in vista maybe not be all that hot in terms of performance.. but in quad-core, it's pretty hot and tempting?

humm..... for sure i'll be increasing more ram into it. The HP system I saw was fairly good, but many had bad reviews of it. perhaps dell?

I'm currently useing a Core 2 Duo 2.2ghz I've borrowed while I rebuild mine.
I have to say, that for every day use, under XP I'm not impressed. Its no faster than my old AMD 2600XP, and for some things it actualy feels slower.
HOWEVER, when batch processing with Photoshop it is noticably faster.
Took several minutes to do what would have taken half an hour on my old machine.

Give me a week and I can report back on how much faster 4 cores will be, under XP and Vista


Beaware that quite often the big brand name machines can have limited up-grade ablity.
They are aimed very heavily at the consumer market, and when its time to upgrade you throw them away and start again.
Dell and HP to have high end models that can be upgraded, but, sometimes you have to buy name brand Ram etc.

If your looking for a PC you can upgrade in the future the look at a custom built machine, either do it yourself, or get a local shop to do it for you.
Then in 2 years up-grading becomes much easier.
In my case all I really need is a new m/b proccesor, ram and graphics card.
About half the cost of a new PC.
But, I'm adding a few extras as well

[EOS mE]

Originally Posted by Moppie

I'm currently useing a Core 2 Duo 2.2ghz I've borrowed while I rebuild mine.
I have to say, that for every day use, under XP I'm not impressed. Its no faster than my old AMD 2600XP, and for some things it actualy feels slower.
HOWEVER, when batch processing with Photoshop it is noticably faster.
Took several minutes to do what would have taken half an hour on my old machine.

Give me a week and I can report back on how much faster 4 cores will be, under XP and Vista


Beaware that quite often the big brand name machines can have limited up-grade ablity.
They are aimed very heavily at the consumer market, and when its time to upgrade you throw them away and start again.
Dell and HP to have high end models that can be upgraded, but, sometimes you have to buy name brand Ram etc.

If your looking for a PC you can upgrade in the future the look at a custom built machine, either do it yourself, or get a local shop to do it for you.
Then in 2 years up-grading becomes much easier.
In my case all I really need is a new m/b proccesor, ram and graphics card.
About half the cost of a new PC.
But, I'm adding a few extras as well

Definitely let me know how the Quad-core handles. I don't mind going the DIY route, as I've built several in the past. It's just nowadays, it seems cheaper to just buy a fully built system with warranty than to build my own. as for using brand name rams, well, that's just for Dell, HP or other brand name to rip consumers' off. pretty much u can find a no name brand and it will work just as fine or as stable as any major brands elsewhere. just remember a lot of what we buy as consumer are already marked up by marketing hypes, etc. especially in the semiconductor field.

I work in the industry, so pretty much i can bring my system to work and try different modules out. yeah for me~~ anyhoo, right now i'm stuck in between quad core or core2duo. so... your findings will totally help me out!

thanks~

[Moppie]

Originally Posted by EOS mE

your findings will totally help me out!

thanks~

I'll let you know

Re: ram, I have an HP at work that will only take HP ram, it even has the cut out in a different place so you can't normal DDR ram in the slot (its not DDR2 either).
For some reason the other HP's at work will take stanard DDR ram, so I'm the only one left with a low spec PC.
So its possible there is a bit of a gamble as to how up gradeable some of the brand name PC's are


As for Cost, I can't get the machine I'm getting the same spec from Dell, or HP, and neither of thier sites will let me work out how to upgrade any of thier machines to match.
They do sell lower spec machines for about 50% more than I am paying though.