Advice for a new computer?

S

SuperSpike113

Senior Member
My desktop is on its last legs and we are looking to replace it. Should I get another desktop or a second laptop? (My hubby sometimes takes our current laptop to work with him)

What hardware requirements should I look for? I intend to get an external hard drive for backup as well if you have recommendations for those too.
 
§

§am

Senior Member
First and foremost questions are, your budget and your intended use for this new device(s)?

After that, things get a little easier to answer, as I could recommend items from a few hundred to a few thousand £/$'s!!!
 
Scott Murray

Scott Murray

Senior Member
Ok at a glance you need minimum 8gb memory laptop or desktop. As for the rest it all depends on your use! I am in the same predicament except I currently have 2 x MBP, one 17inch (stay home one) and the other a 13inch which after dropping it 12mths ago the screen has decided to crack some more. So I am looking at either replacing the screen or the laptop.

The question I would ask is do you need a laptop for yourself? If not then value for money you would be better off getting a decent desktop with back up storage capabilities. Then you could also have media streaming possibilities to your tv. But as was stated, asking what computer/laptop should I buy is like asking what SUV should I buy? Some are good for soccer mum stuff and others are good for getting down and dirty. All depends on what you would want to pay and what you would use it for.
 
T

TedG954

Senior Member
muzza22au said:
Ok at a glance you need minimum 8gb memory laptop or desktop. As for the rest it all depends on your use! I am in the same predicament except I currently have 2 x MBP, one 17inch (stay home one) and the other a 13inch which after dropping it 12mths ago the screen has decided to crack some more. So I am looking at either replacing the screen or the laptop.

The question I would ask is do you need a laptop for yourself? If not then value for money you would be better off getting a decent desktop with back up storage capabilities. Then you could also have media streaming possibilities to your tv. But as was stated, asking what computer/laptop should I buy is like asking what SUV should I buy? Some are good for soccer mum stuff and others are good for getting down and dirty. All depends on what you would want to pay and what you would use it for.
Click to expand...


Wow. I've been getting by with 4GB and that's with 3 programs running huge FX files. My next computer will have more RAM.
 
Scott Murray

Scott Murray

Senior Member
TedG954 said:
Wow. I've been getting by with 4GB and that's with 3 programs running huge FX files. My next computer will have more RAM.
Click to expand...
My poor little MBP struggles running LR4 and PS CS6 with 4gb. But it could be my laptop. I am just advising on the cautious side lol.
 
T

TedG954

Senior Member
muzza22au said:
My poor little MBP struggles running LR4 and PS CS6 with 4gb. But it could be my laptop. I am just advising on the cautious side lol.
Click to expand...

I run LR, PS, and Paint Shop together without a problem. When I throw Photomatix in to the mix, things lock up periodically but not for long. After I read your 8GB recommendation, I checked out DELL. They have an 8GB laptop for $699. When I'm ready, that's something like what I'll get.
 
S

SuperSpike113

Senior Member
I would mainly be for home computing, photo editing, and internet. We currently use a Roku player for our media streaming, so don't really need that. Budget is about $1000 US. My current monitor and printer are from 2002 and my CPU is from 2007, so I'm replacing the whole shebang.

I'm just getting started on this photography thing and don't see it turning into anything other than a hobby so I don't need anything too specialized. We don't do computer games, so photography would be our highest demand on the system probably (besides YouTube).
 
J

jimbro

Senior Member
I bought my current laptop as a general use item although I've always used powerful computers
It's an Asus N55 series with Intel i7-2670QM CPU, 6GB RAM, 750GB HDD and 2GB dedicated graphics
Cost in the UK was £650 around 6 months ago so it would be cheaper now.

I like the flexibility of laptops as you can always have a PC dock at home with large screen, keyboard, etc attached.

HDD size wasn't an issue as I have my own 5TB cloud I can access from anywhere but the 750GB drive is nowhere near full

Main apps I run are

Photoshop Elements 10
MS Office 2010 Pro
IE9
Samsung Kies(syncs up to my Android mobile)
View NX2
VLC media player

£650 is nothing for a decent laptop now but I've yet to notice any slowing of this one despite throwing everything at it
and Asus are known for reliability
 
S

stmv

Senior Member
I used to maintain both laptops and desktops for my home use, but the latest generation of laptops have gotten quite powerful.

I have the I5 processor, and 4G memory, and edit my D800 files with no problems, I am sure upgrading to say 8G would help, but for my use, happy.

I just like the mobility of the laptops so much better then being anchored to some desk. So, when my last desktop failed, I just hauled it to the dump,,
and after a year, don't even think of it (plus it freed up space in the house).
 
nikonpup

nikonpup

Senior Member
whoops, overspent. :) check hp web site desktop everyday computing hp pavilion p7-1380t $549 23" monitor and all in one office jet printer upgrade on ram to 8 gb $750 tax and lic. Now you are under budget.
 
A

Alex66

New member
I am a fan of desktops for one reason I like a big screen, I run a mac and my wife ran a nice Win 7 machine until her office became our daughters bedroom. Her machine is an AMD six core processor and I have to say it goes like a rocket with some of the panoramic software, it now is used as a home theatre. I would consider what you want to do with the machine if you fancy building big montages you will need power and ram. For ordinary photography I think you will get a good bit of benefit from a good processor but you don't really need the fastest an i5 will do well and 8 gig of ram is not much more than 4 so you may as well. If you go the desk top route go for a good screen, I think Dell do a really good 27" if you have the space. Do you know anyone who can build you a machine? you then be able to select the preferred components if some one can work out a list for you. I would also look for one that has USB3 too it is a good bit faster than USB2.
 
S

SuperSpike113

Senior Member
Thanks for all the tips everyone. Alex- my DH has a buddy that does computer stuff as a side business, I will check into that. Though.. we gave him our old laptop to fix like a year ago and haven't gotten it back yet hmmm..
 
§

§am

Senior Member
Go for an i5 Intel processor, 4GB memory (more if you can afford it), a 1GB graphics card, a 500GB HDD for the main system, and a couple 2TBs for storage.
Chuck in a decent size monitor 21" or more, and you've got yourself a decent system more than capable of running what your intended uses are

A laptop you'd only need if you want the mobility, but then you're paying more for that so get a less powerful system.
 
A

Alex66

New member
SS381 said:
Go for an i5 Intel processor, 4GB memory (more if you can afford it), a 1GB graphics card, a 500GB HDD for the main system, and a couple 2TBs for storage.
Chuck in a decent size monitor 21" or more, and you've got yourself a decent system more than capable of running what your intended uses are

A laptop you'd only need if you want the mobility, but then you're paying more for that so get a less powerful system.
Click to expand...

Can't agree more unless you do not have the space for a desktop, then a laptop is a more expensive way to go. Plus with travelling I found most laptops to be too big so I sold my last Macbook and bought a Fuji GS645s instead as my last work gave me a netbook when I left. Actually for travel a netbook is pretty ideal light weight can get a reasonable view of photos and you can run external hard drives off them. Mine even has an internal HD it can run lightroom but is slow but Picassa runs perfectly on her.
 
E

Epoc

Senior Member
Try and buy something with a SSD hard drive for the OS. They are lightning quick. My Win 7 laptop boots up in 14 seconds and Photoshop opens in 3! Buy at least 8gb RAM and an i7 processor. You should be able to get this for a grand if you shop wisely. Oh and get ready for Win 8 as Win 7 laptops are getting harder to find.
 
§

§am

Senior Member
For the intended use, a SSD is probably not worth the extra expense, and neither is an i7 CPU.<br>Sure if you have cash to spare, buy it if you want, but seriously based on the requirements it would be throwing cash away!  More RAM is always a bonus, but again for the intended use, even 4GB on a Win7 OS is fine :)
 
S

SuperSpike113

Senior Member
I think I will go for the desktop since we already have a laptop. My boss and MIL have windows 8 and hate it, I hope I can find one with Windows 7!
 
E

Epoc

Senior Member
SS381 said:
For the intended use, a SSD is probably not worth the extra expense, and neither is an i7 CPU.<br>Sure if you have cash to spare, buy it if you want, but seriously based on the requirements it would be throwing cash away! *More RAM is always a bonus, but again for the intended use, even 4GB on a Win7 OS is fine :)
Click to expand...

As the stated budget was a $1000, I simply gave the best specs that that would buy. With computers, the more powerful you buy, the more you future proof yourself.
 
Top