Essentials to a complete setup? (advanced, pros, knowledgeable people?)

[rpm]

qn, do you know anyone or a place where you can custom build your computer by ordering the individual components? you're almost guaranteed to get more bang per buck esp if you're not looking at things with a restricted budget.

 

[icassell]

As a high school student, Lightroom is only $89

 

[rpm]

id save up an extra $110 for PS tho or even get both for a mere $300 (rounding up) and be done with it. at that price you cant really deny the temptation.

 

[DerekSalem]

How about an iMac? Is that my best bet? or should I look into some windows stuff too? Like an HP or a dell or something like that?

Stick with a Windows machine if you're wanting to save money. I use a gaming rig at home and a MBP while away (and sometimes at home too) and although they're both wonderful for editing and such...there's a monster difference in cost. My gaming rig is a good bit more powerful than the MBP and it would cost probably around $1100 if I were to buy it brand new today...as opposed to my $2400 MBP that I bought 2 months ago (hell, I built this gaming rig about a year and a half ago for $1400 and I bought a MB at the same time for the same price...which was *CONSIDERABLY* less powerful).

Stick with a known brand for the computer and buy a Windows machine.

Oh and total that you'll need:

Godaddy address (they're cheap)
Actual site to build and storage for it (not as cheap)
Computer
few external HDDs (don't put everything on one...make copies)
Photoshop and Lightroom

Shouldn't need anything else. If you can figure out how to use Photoshop+Lightroom to their effectiveness there's really no need for anything else.

 

[dcmoody23]

I just figure I should get the both of them (photoshop and lightroom) for the price, and learn as I go, buy a book to help guide me.

Do you really think that I should get more than one hard drive? If I just load my images to like a smugmug or flickr and back them up on one hard drive i think i'd be alright.. I know there's a major risk that the hard drive could fail, but it's so unlikely that I don't 100% know if it'd be worth doubling the price of a hard drive.. I know they aren't all that expensive, but it all adds up, and I need to be cost effective here.

 

[dcmoody23]

Okay so I checked out the barebones idea from a place called CyberPower, and needless to say my head is still spinning from being so overwhelmed. I'm so technologically challenged that I literally have a headache from looking at all the numbers for customization.. anyways, I e-mailed the company to see if I could get a rep to help me build a system -- good or bad idea? I'm strongly looking into a refurbished: iMac, HP all-in-one, or Dell all-in-one also, and considering new too. This is becoming more then I had expected.

Tips on the what I should look for in my barebones build up? Like the processor I know is important, what else ? --don't get too specific, just the major ones.

 

[Raian-san]

Give us your budget so we can suggest a built for you with all the parts you need.

 

[GeneralBenson]

What is your experience level, and what do you images look like? We like to get caught up in what things we need to get to "go pro", or "get to the next level" or whatever. But the bottom line is, an I'm not trying to be a douche, is that if you technical skills, artistic eye and experience aren't up to par, then you can buy whatever the heck you want, and it won't matter.

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

You can usually find "Barebones" computers on ebay, or newegg or something. They typically have the Motherboard, processor and RAM. You just have to add a harddrive ( or 2 which is good because there are constantly deals on them ) operating system ( you can probably get a a windows 7 OEM disc on ebay for a decent price ) mouse, keyboard, monitor, and you are up and running.
My tower is Lenovo and I really like it. It has a quick install system where everything works off of buttons and switches instead of screws. So its really easy to swap a harddrive ( takes literally 2 minutes ) or to add a new vid card. I would highly recommend giving them a look.

 

[rpm]

id consider getting it new, this way you have hardware warranty on all your components (if you go custom-built), id also recommend going AMD-based chipset (Phenom II X4) if you want to save on the cash or go i5 (intel).

but if you can manage consider the AMD Hexa-core chip or an i7 Quad-core chip. 6GB of RAM (for now - so see if you can get it in two ram sticks so you can save for upgrade later on). get a 9800GT (you should be able to get this cheap these days and its no push over either). get a Corsair 600-700W powersupply and def go for two hard drives...one for your OS+Applications and one for your photographs pics etc and consider (not essential) a third one if you can manage and mirror (RAID1) your data hard drive as a backup. all this can be done by a friend who is in the know or by whoever builds your pc.

Flickr or any photographic community site isnt the best way to back up your images, you ideally want to keep your RAW files and not just your JPEGs.

thats my 2 cents. when it comes to your computer dont gimp yourself, rather make a decent investment and not find yourself buying a whole new rig soon after, a well built computer can easily last you 4 years esp these days where there's more power under the hood than 70-80% of the consumer base actually needs.

 

[dcmoody23]

What is your experience level, and what do you images look like? We like to get caught up in what things we need to get to "go pro", or "get to the next level" or whatever. But the bottom line is, an I'm not trying to be a douche, is that if you technical skills, artistic eye and experience aren't up to par, then you can buy whatever the heck you want, and it won't matter.

Haha I know you're not being a douche.. I totally agree. But I am just a beginner, and my images aren't up to par I would say, but getting there. I have the eye, or at least I've been told, but that was simply about art and not photography so eh. And my budget is $1500, but I can go $2000 if felt it's completely necessary. I mean the less expensive, the better. But I don't want a slow machine with satured colors, and I know that comes with a price tag.

 

[dcmoody23]

id consider getting it new, this way you have hardware warranty on all your components (if you go custom-built), id also recommend going AMD-based chipset (Phenom II X4) if you want to save on the cash or go i5 (intel).

but if you can manage consider the AMD Hexa-core chip or an i7 Quad-core chip. 6GB of RAM (for now - so see if you can get it in two ram sticks so you can save for upgrade later on). get a 9800GT (you should be able to get this cheap these days and its no push over either). get a Corsair 600-700W powersupply and def go for two hard drives...one for your OS+Applications and one for your photographs pics etc and consider (not essential) a third one if you can manage and mirror (RAID1) your data hard drive as a backup. all this can be done by a friend who is in the know or by whoever builds your pc.

Flickr or any photographic community site isnt the best way to back up your images, you ideally want to keep your RAW files and not just your JPEGs.

thats my 2 cents. when it comes to your computer dont gimp yourself, rather make a decent investment and not find yourself buying a whole new rig soon after, a well built computer can easily last you 4 years esp these days where there's more power under the hood than 70-80% of the consumer base actually needs.

Thanks a lot for the response. It's nice to see somebody who knows the technical side of things, because I certainly don't. And I agree about saving the raw files, but right now I don't even have one hard drive so I tend to keep only the cream of the crop, and ditch the rest.. Plus I rarely have ever shot in RAW until this point.

 

[dcmoody23]

You can usually find "Barebones" computers on ebay, or newegg or something. They typically have the Motherboard, processor and RAM. You just have to add a harddrive ( or 2 which is good because there are constantly deals on them ) operating system ( you can probably get a a windows 7 OEM disc on ebay for a decent price ) mouse, keyboard, monitor, and you are up and running.
My tower is Lenovo and I really like it. It has a quick install system where everything works off of buttons and switches instead of screws. So its really easy to swap a harddrive ( takes literally 2 minutes ) or to add a new vid card. I would highly recommend giving them a look.

A quick install system? I don't know how to find that but it sounds like something I'd certainly be interested in..
Thanks for the response.

 

[rpm]

all this based off amazon prices (round up):

Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz - 300USD

ASUS P6X58D Premium (X58 chipset) - 290USD btw comes with 2x USB 3.0 ports

Corsair CMPSU-750TX - 110USD

XFX Radeon HD 5750 - 140USD

Seagate Barracuda 7200 500 GB - 50USD (for OS+Applications)

Seagate Barracuda 7200 1.5 TB - 80USD (for all your data) X2 (if you want to mirror them)

Corsair PC3-12800 1600MHz XMS3 6 GB 3 X 2 GB - 140USD

all that plus the two 1TB: 1190USD


The following you pick:

Cases have both a functional and an aesthetic appeal so these are two that i just know off my mind cause i was looking for them myself at one point but any case really that you like the 'look' of will do, just don't go too cheap on them either. Don't go below Mid-Tower frames or your components will not fit.

Cooler Master HAF 932 - 129USD (Full Tower)
Cooler Master HAF 922M - 90USD (Mid Tower)

OS: at this point W7 is surely the way to go but as to what version i dont think you'll need more than Home Premium. remember you're going to need the 64-bit version not the 32-bit.

btw with your budget you can easily put in another 6GB of RAM and get 12GB from the get go and all of that should be under 1500USD. only thing here you might upgrade in future is the graphics card otherwise everything else would hold its own for 4 years easily (assuming you dont have any hardware failures)..i also assume you'll add more hard drives as you need them but they are pennies in terms of relative costs

edit:

i noticed i forgot a screen, a 24inch screen ranges round the 250USD range.

all in all, computer+LR+PS = just under 2000USD.

if you want me to give you a completely diff list of components that is more 'cost-saving' ask away.

 

[lordfly]

2 grand, and he has a medium-grade computer system and a few programs.

Meanwhile, he has no extra lenses, no extra flashes, no backdrops, no books...

I mean really, we could go into detail all day about "going pro". I'm not pro, I'd like to someday, but I also scrounge what I can get for as cheaply as possible. I use my gaming PC from 2006 (and my only PC) as my photo-editing station. I'm going to make my own lightbox instead of paying 200 bucks for one. I use a business card for a flash reflector. Etc.

At the end of the day, by the time this thread is done, you'll have a bill of sale well over $10,000. Will that make you a better photographer, though?