Buying new computer....do you think these specs sound okay?

<p>Garrison......it had to take you awhile to compile all of that for me. I greatly appreciate it, and I'll pass along this info to my computer guy. I really love that Antec Sonata case, and the fact that the USBs aren't on the bottom like on my current system. </p>

<p>My husband and I went out looking at computers yesterday, and he says he'd like to get a larger monitor......approx. 27". Would you also recommend Dell in that size?</p>

<p>I'll try to remember to get back here and report back on the purchase. Since my computer guy is busy with Xmas orders, I told him I can wait until after Xmas. So I'll talk to him again next week sometime. </p>

<p>Thank you SO much!</p>

<p>You're welcome. And I forgot the video card. I'm not much into gaming so I don't follow the cards. But the best card you can buy for $100 is suitable these days. It depends on bells and whistles for outputs as well. Some want hdmi etc.</p>

<p>The great thing about building a custom PC like this, is the ability of only swapping out the parts you need to when you wish to upgrade. I have one of the original Sonata's and it's housing it's third build. Sometimes just a new hard drive goes in. Sometimes I just need to update the video card. Or in an afternoon, you can swap out the cpu, mobo, and ram, and hook up your existing parts like hard drives and dvd burners. This is very hard to do on name brand computers like Dell, Acer, HP etc. With those, you usually have to update all at once and is a more expensive cost to your bank and the environment.</p>

<p>Sorry, I don't know anything about the 27". I use 2 x 24" myself.</p>

<p>Are you in a large city? I'd look through Craigslist for decent shop and I'd consider building up a dual-boot computer. That means you'll have two operating systems. It's very popular today to run Ubuntu as a second OS with Windows. Maybe google it and research on how cool it is. It's linux and bomb proof and like Mac (Unix) is very hard to get infected. I use Ubuntu almost exclusively except for when I have to do darkroom work and then I simply re-boot into Windows for Adobe software.</p>

<p>Chris, There are some 27" IPS monitors out there but they are pretty pricey. They are all somewhere close to 1 grand and you mentioned you are not planning to spend that much. Dell sometimes offers discount for the Dell U2711, but you may have to wait.<br /> Another issue you may have with these monitors are most (if not all) of 27" IPS monitors being "wide gamut" which means they can cover (close to) the AdobeRGB color space. If you can take total control of the color management, they are great. However, if you can't, it can be frustrating because they will show very bright and over-saturated colors in non color-managed applications.<br /> You can get a very nice 24" IPS monitor like the HP ZR24w for about $400 or less. Something a little bit smaller and cheaper can be HP ZR22w (22"), Dell U2311 (23"), U2211 (22"), or NEC EA231w (23")for $250 to $300. All these monitors have an IPS panel and standard gamut, so you will have good color accuracy, good viewing angle and you won't have to deal with the over-saturation problem.<br /> Good luck the the purchase and have a happy holiday.</p>

<p>Garrison, yes, I agree......from what I've read this is definitely the way to go. And I won't have a lot of 'stuff' on my computer that I don't understand. I at least know how to change out components, and on this system I'll be able to do that.</p>

<p>As far as the Ubuntu thing..... now you're getting way over my head. :-) One step at a time for me. But that's the exciting thing about computers and even photography. I keep learning, and eventually maybe I'll be able to understand and implement something like that. What I hope to do is keep this new computer for only business stuff and photography editing. Any Internet stuff will be done on a different computer. I don't know if this makes sense, but it seems to me that it will prevent me from getting a bunch of garbage or viruses on the new computer.......thereby making it last longer. Anyway....we'll see! </p>

<p>Thanh Le.....excellent advice......thanks! When I share this info with my husband, maybe he'll reconsider. The monitor we have now is only 17", so even a 22-23" one will be a big step up for us. And there is a considerable price difference. The color management issues are something to consider, especially for me, because I wouldn't know how to manage this. I plan to take the New York Institute's Photography class sometime within this year. I hope to eventually be able to understand more of the technical side of photography. Thanks so much for your comments, and have a wonderful holiday yourself! </p>

<p>For photography work:</p>

<ol>

<li>The computer itself almost doesn't matter. Anything faster than a nettop/netbook class machine will do. Just make sure it has 4GB of RAM or more. A current generation dual core Pentium is good enough. A whole working package with a usable LCD panel shouldn't be more than $400 or $500.</li>

<li>Spend money on the <em>second</em> display. If you've the budget, get an IPS LCD panel. If you haven't the budget, see about getting a good lightly used CRT. Grade for grade, the old CRT's were actually better for photo work. Edit the image on the CRT and put the toolbars, editing palette, etc. on the bundled LCD panel.</li>

<li>Spend money on a color calibration system. The Xrite Colormunki is pretty good because it covers both display and print profiling. Display only profilers can be had for less; it just means you'll have to use the printer manufacturer's ink and and perhaps paper.</li>

<li>If you're getting the system custom built, spend money on a SSD. An inexpensive 80GB unit is more than big enough to hold Windows, Photoshop, scratch files, etc. The SSD is the difference between instantaneous responsiveness verus thumb twiddling. Add an internal, second traditional mechanical hard disk for the image file media. A sub-$100, 1TB drive will last you ages.</li>

</ol>

<p>Win7 can image your OS, take a close look at this, its the best insurance you can get if you ever need to recover your system for what ever reason.<br>

So get your self a external hard drive, and have Win7 store the image of your OS there.<br>

Listen to what Garrison is telling you, ask more questions if needed, its the best advice you have received so far.</p>

<p>B and H has the NECP221w bk sv for $595 right now. It comes with calibration system, and I think that includes shipping. I know you said you wanted a 24, but this is a pretty good deal on this rig.</p>

<p>Robert......I agree that the monitor is almost more important than the computer. And I will calibrate my monitor, something I've never done before. I'll check into the Xrite Colormunki. Thanks!</p>

<p>Bill......I don't quite understand the first part of your post, but I'll ask about it. I'm sure the computer tech guy knows. And I AM listening to Garrison! ;-) Thanks!</p>

<p>Russell.......I didn't even think about exploring the B&H website for computer/monitor info. Thanks for the info. That IS a great price......almost 1/2 price over what it usually sells for. But I thought I was supposed to be looking for an IPS monitor. I'm confused. This monitor got great reviews on a photo website, so I would think it would be good enough for me despite the fact that it isn't an IPS. Can someone clarify this for me? Thanks!</p>

<p>cheers, Bill.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hi-<br>

Re the monitor NECP221w bk sv for $595, yes, the specs are nice, and the included calibration system assures you of a quality picture. A couple of other considerations:</p>

<ol>

<li> The NEC is wide gamut, aRGB. You will be spending much of your time, at least at first, in an sRGB universe. Be sure to verify that the NEC has a solid sRGB emulation mode. If it does not, you will experience the color distortions referred to a couple of posts previous.</li>

<li>The Dell Ultrasharp U2211h is $240, occasionally available refurb for $199. It is standard gamut, sRGB, and has a few hundred more pixels horizontally than does the NEC. tftcentral speaks highly of it. Granted, it has no built-in calibrator. But for the dollar savings, you could forego one; you could always ask the techs at your school's media lab if you could borrow theirs.</li>

</ol>

<p>Hope this helps, and have a great holiday.</p>

 

<p>Christal: If you're gonna spend $1300 for a PC, why not just get a Mac? The PC advantage has always been that you can buy an adequate machine for less than the Apple version. Your objections to Dell notwithstanding, I have been very happy with my 4gig / 1 terrabyte Dell Studio XPS. Found it for less than $500 bucks at their outlet. Whatever machine you buy, make sure it has an eSata port for an external hard drive you will eventually buy. Good luck.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>If you're gonna spend $1300 for a PC, why not just get a Mac? The PC advantage has always been that you can buy an adequate machine for less than the Apple version.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>$1300 hardly buys a Mac laptop. On the other hand, I just gave her a parts list for the same amount and has 8 core, ssd, 12 gigs of ram, 3 TB of storage. More importantly, it'd be faster than a $5K Mac Pro with 3 X's as much storage.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>Your objections to Dell notwithstanding, I have been very happy with my 4gig / 1 terrabyte Dell Studio XPS.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Yes, I'd reconsider Dell too. They sell more computers than everyone else combined.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>$1300 hardly buys a Mac laptop.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Hardly buys a Mac laptop? Technically incorrect (again). It does with $300 to spare: http://www.apple.com/macbook/<br>

Arguably its an entry level MacBook and not even a MacBook Pro. But its brand new. And for still less than $1300, you can buy a refurbished MacBook Pro (2.66GHz Core 2 Duo): http://www.refurbishedmacbookdeals.com/apple-us/macbookpro/FC375LL/A<br>

It is covered by Apple's standard one-year limited warranty -- the exact same warranty as a new MacBook Pro. <br>

But<em> $1300 hardly buys a Mac laptop</em>? Nope, that’s incorrect. Use “the” Google. <br /><br /></p>

<p>"Hardly" is a subjective term. I have sneezes that cost me more than $300.</p>

<p>Excuse him, Cristal. He's been clicking on my name and following me into threads to split hairs and hi-jack threads at the expense of people like you. Things are looking up though. At least he's doing it with recent posts and not two days behind, like usual.</p>

<p>It's $1250 for the bottom of the line MBP where I am. Then taxes and enviro fees on top. Who in their right mind would suggest a $1000 entry level Mac laptop with a Core 2 Duo with 2 gigs of ram for Christals' needs? You can get $600 netbooks faster than that.</p>

<p> </p>

<blockquote>

<p>"Hardly" is a subjective term. I have sneezes that cost me more than $300.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I’m sure you do. Lets see, the MacBook referenced cost $999, so that $300 differences you sneeze at is nearly a third of the entire cost of the product. A 3rd is hardly? </p>

<blockquote>

<p>Excuse him, Cristal. He's been clicking on my name and following me into threads to split hairs and hi-jack threads at the expense of people like you. </p>

</blockquote>

<p>Talk about delusions of grandeur! </p>

<blockquote>

<p>It's $1250 for the bottom of the line MBP where I am.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That would be a Macbook PRO. And yet your memory of what you wrote, that I’m apparently splitting hairs on is exactly “<em>$1300 hardly buys a Mac laptop</em>“. The statement is incorrect even with your fudge factor of the word <em>hardly</em>. In fact, $1300 buys you a Mac laptop with extra money in your pocket or more RAM or a cheap display, or an external HD etc. The statement you wrote is without a doubt wrong. </p>

<blockquote>

<p>Who in their right mind would suggest a $1000 entry level Mac laptop with a Core 2 Duo with 2 gigs of ram for Christals' needs? </p>

</blockquote>

<p>Irrelevant in terms of the incorrect post you made: $1300 hardly buys a Mac laptop. $999 buys you a current, new Mac laptop. Just check your facts before you hit that Confirm button.</p>

<p>Okey dokey</p>