Computer ?

I have a gateway T1616 laptop:

Processor AMD Turion™ 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58
1.9 GHz | 512 KBx2 L2 Cache
HyperTransport™ technology at up to 1600 MHz
Chipset ATI RS690T
Memory 1.5 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

I was trying to batch process 40 or so raw images and it kept crashing my computer. Also I have noticed that utilizing topaz labs and photoshop elements 6 is a little slow. What could I do to fix my computer so that I can work with my raw images faster? More memory? Or is a better dual processor going to be the fix?

Are the Macbook Pros better suited for photo editing, or is it possible to match performance in a PC based system for less $$?

Not sure what photoshop and topaz labs would benefit from more...processor or RAM? Thank you!

How old is it? I haven't heard about Turion in a while so I wonder if it's an older system. What OS? What RAW software? How did it crash?

PCs and Macs both work, it's really about what you prefer. PCs are generally cheaper, partly because the Mac machines use very high end parts.

Jtack,

Just a few thoughts....

(1) With those laptop specs, RAW batch file processing is going to go pretty slow. Boosting the memory might help *a little*....but basically your system is not really set up to handle RAW files very well, especially if you are shooting with a high-MP camera (like 5D Mark ii).

(2) Macbook Pros are certainly more expensive than PC's....until you start really comparing what's under the hood. PC laptops will certainly save you cash, but you are paying for a product that is simply not a good. Apple doesn't really compare to the low-end laptops that sell for $600-800 at Staples. Rather, they are more like the high-end laptops sold for $1100+.

So if you are out to get the best bang for the buck, you can't beat a PC.

(3) If you are thinking about going Mac, I'd try to read up on and then sample the OS for yourself before buying! I use a Macbook (non-Pro) for work and love it. Never a problem in 3+ years with it....except for the fact that someone stole my last one from a university library!!!

jtack, your system is really low in memory, you should be using 2gb at minimum for photoshop. 4gb preferred.

your processor is also really slow as well. it might have been a good laptop when you bought it however long ago but you should really upgrade if you plan to to a lot of batch editing. I recently helped a friend of mine get an i5 chipset laptop that runs circles around mine for 600 bucks (end of models are always a good buy I find...). Mine is a dual core 3ghz chip with 4gb of ram and his is a i5 something around 3.2ghz and 8gb of ram gateway with a massive LED display that really makes my computer look like garbage and it cost nearly 1/3rd of what mine did... but then again mine is a couple years old now.

If you walk into places like bestbuy and just look at what they have on the shelf you might just be surprised at how much faster theirs will be compared to yours. Granted I prefer to use my desktop when doing most work as that screen is much larger and calibrated (still can't get my laptop to calibrate). Anytime they are releasing new computer models is the time to go shopping for a new computer because all of the previous top of the line models will drop drastically in price and you'll get a nice deal on a laptop or desktop that's really not that far off from the new model...

The other option is to build yourself a desktop like I do and make life easier because then you are picking exactly what you want in the system...

jtack wrote in post #10685142
I have a gateway T1616 laptop:

Processor AMD Turion™ 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58
1.9 GHz | 512 KBx2 L2 Cache
HyperTransport™ technology at up to 1600 MHz
Chipset ATI RS690T
Memory 1.5 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

I was trying to batch process 40 or so raw images and it kept crashing my computer. Also I have noticed that utilizing topaz labs and photoshop elements 6 is a little slow. What could I do to fix my computer so that I can work with my raw images faster? More memory? Or is a better dual processor going to be the fix?

Are the Macbook Pros better suited for photo editing, or is it possible to match performance in a PC based system for less $$?

Not sure what photoshop and topaz labs would benefit from more...processor or RAM? Thank you!

That computer is what, 3-4 years old? Might be time to get a new system.

Is Apple better than PC? Yes, it can be. Many of the top photographers and editing houses use them, but do you really need one? Only you can say. Think of it this way. A budge Ford will have all the leg room, speed, and warranty of a comparable Audi, but will do so for 20% less. That 20% will include aluminum instead of plastic, better customer support/satisfaction and a more stable environment (less crashing, viruses and a single point of support). Will a Mac make you a better artist? No. Will a Mac be easier to use? Probably.

PC companies build computers as well as Apple, but they're also just as expensive. They're built of carbon fiber and other exotic materials that are highly durable and very light. Alienware (Dell), Voodoo and HP all have their premium lines.

If you're comfortable with Windows, you shouldn't change 'just because'. Go use a Mac for a while. Watch a few 'switching' videos at Apple.com or YouTube and see what all the hubbub is about. When people talk about the "Apple Magic", what they really mean is if you love working on your computer, learning how it's used properly then you become better at using it - which makes you better at 'photography'. If you love Windows and actually enjoy it, that same magic will apply.

I personally don't care for mac. I think they are over priced for what you get...

I think for people like me that like windows and the ability to get many little programs to handle all the things I like to do for free is a great thing. It's always a hassle when I look for programs to use on the mac that was given to me by another friend...

I use windows 7 on my main PC and xp on my laptop. windows 7 is a massive difference than everything before it and I really enjoy working with it. Plus once you go 64bit you'll never want to mess with anything less. so much smoother in general.

I have yet to ever have an issue with windows 7 crashing or giving me trouble in general. Do I know people who have? of course... but those are the idiots that will download anything and everything and let it all install all kind of viruses and everything else. hence why I just spent 5 hours the other day at a friends getting hundreds of infected files off his computer because he likes to download flash games and let them install everything in the install file instead of doing custom installs.

go look up:
worm.win32.netsky winupdate86.exe

yeah, not cool....

I had to use 5-6 programs to eradicate the damn thing from his computer...

But personally I haven't had a virus in years because I know how to browse the web and know how to protect myself and my tower hasn't had virus protection on it since it was built over 3 years ago.... It's all about knowing what you are doing and not being dumb...

BoneJj wrote in post #10685888
I personally don't care for mac. I think they are over priced for what you get...

They are expensive, but they are not overpriced. Macs are full-featured computers and when you compare them to other computers with the same feature set then they are priced just about the same. The advantage of PCs is that you can get them configured for features you don't want (e.g., Bluetooth, 802.11n wifi, 64-bit OS, etc.), thus reducing their costs.

jtack wrote in post #10685142
I have a gateway T1616 laptop:

Processor AMD Turion™ 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58
1.9 GHz | 512 KBx2 L2 Cache
HyperTransport™ technology at up to 1600 MHz
Chipset ATI RS690T
Memory 1.5 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

I was trying to batch process 40 or so raw images and it kept crashing my computer. Also I have noticed that utilizing topaz labs and photoshop elements 6 is a little slow. What could I do to fix my computer so that I can work with my raw images faster? More memory? Or is a better dual processor going to be the fix?

Are the Macbook Pros better suited for photo editing, or is it possible to match performance in a PC based system for less $$?

NO, they are not, everything that can be done on PC can be done on Mac, and vice versa. difference is choices. with PC your choices are basically unlimited, with mac you got few. its like buying ice cream, do you want 100 choices or someone telling you you can have either vanillia or chocolate.

reason why your PC is slow:
1) limited amount of ram
2) what OS are you running?
3) how much stuff do you have running in background?
4) Turion even the dual core, are a lot slower then Intel C2D counterparts.

Thank you all for your input!
I am running:
Windows Vista
Cleaned up start up to eliminate stuff I don't need.
Used Vista Optimizer to turn off things I don't need.
Use AVG for virus protection.

I hope you did upgrade to Sp2?

as far as vista goes it used to have a lot of issues when it launched, most of it got fixed by SP1. But still 1.5GB ram is not enough for modern OS, be it vista, OSX or 7.

OS with only 1.5GB ram will strugle, then add the slow HDD in laptops and you will have a lot of HDD trashing going between RAM and HDD.

Then that brings up to the CPU, Turion even when it has launched was a weak chip.

In your case the biggest difference would make RAM upgrade, and possibly a better HDD. You probably have 5200RPM disk in there. The new Seagate 500GB +4GB Flash Hybrid 7200RPM drive will make a big difference.


as far the crash diagnose, start with:

1) memtest, this will test your memory, http://www.memtest.org …0/memtest86+-4.10.iso.zip burn that ISO on a disk, boot from it, and let it run for couple hours, overnight or longer. Post your results.

2) also try http://crystalmark.inf​o …stalDiskInfo/in​dex-e.html this will show you SMART info from your hard drive, if your HDD detects possible failure.

Ok, thats a good start

jtack wrote in post #10687275
Thank you all for your input!
I am running:
Windows Vista
Cleaned up start up to eliminate stuff I don't need.
Used Vista Optimizer to turn off things I don't need.
Use AVG for virus protection.

there is most of your problem right there....

AVG is a damn resource hog! it's by far one of the ****tiest virus softwares out there to date.

Trash that damn program.

nekrosoft13 wrote in post #10687223
NO, they are not, everything that can be done on PC can be done on Mac, and vice versa.

Sorry, this isn't true. Since PC's cannot run OS X (without hacking) there are plenty of things Mac's can do that a PC cannot.

BoneJj wrote in post #10687956
there is most of your problem right there....

AVG is a damn resource hog! it's by far one of the ****tiest virus softwares out there to date.

Trash that damn program.

Thanks, what would you recommend? I thought AVG was good, I thought norton was the resource hog???

Microsoft Essentials is pretty good and pretty light.

If you want to keep that thing, you can shell out a couple hundred to get a 64+ gig ssd card and then a little more to have at least 2 gigs of ram... 4 if you can, but then the video card doesnt do it justice.

There is a difference between some of the apple products... i say mac pros are a great investment, which a lot of big companies would probably use --- but those are $5000+.

but macbooks are so overpriced.

my notebook i got last year still has better specs than the current macbook pro. The cpu processing power is great but who cares about .3 ghz of speed? I will just overclock mine (and since i applied some arctic silver thermal compound, my notebook can take it.)

anyways my notebook only has, 4 gigs of ram with up to 8 gigs, 500 gig hdd, 1 gig dedicated video card -

the thought of 2 video cards on the macbook is kind of cool, but the actual way it works is lame. It uses the better card when you do "work," but the card is not even that great.

I say the mac OS is what makes it worth the price if anything - which doesnt say much. you can run photoshop on either format and thats about it.

for $1000, you can easily build a pc that beats the highest end macbook pro, and for a little more, you can find a laptop that does that.

the hardware in a macbook pro is the same that you can find for pc... the manufacturer just makes it specific to the mac (but now that apple uses intel, its easier to hack the os for use with pc's --- not like the old ibm processors that were used which was not compatible with a pc)

ALSO, macbook pros dont use any workstation hardware which is different than the mac pros. workstation computers are what the "real" graphic designers and those guys that make big 3d animations and junk use.

---------------
the average computer lasts about 5 years, but its already out of date no later than 2 years so whether you have a mac or a pc, its out of date in a couple of years. its pointless in trying to have the best possible thing when it comes to computers. I tried when i was building my stupid gaming computers and all i did was spend money every paycheck to try and save up for the next best thing.... now i just do it on camera equipment, except in 5 years my L lens will still be the same price i got it used