Getting a NEW Laptop!

[Alfred D.]

I just don't know... I think that if one knows how to maintain their computer, its just basically a no contest win for the PC.

Precisely, Jerry! You hit the nail on the head: "if one knows how to maintain their computer". But the reality is that the overwhelming majority doesn't have a clue.

 

[itsanaddiction]

Wow thanks for ALL of the amazing replies! I have been reading for an hour now! LOL! Trying to make sure I get this all into my brain. Okay here is the clarification:

**NO I don't have a sugar daddy! (I wish - then I would get all the glass I want!!) I have a job! And being that I'm in school still I have basic bills - but nothing over the top.**

1. I'm in college and I plan on opening a business in 2 years. Which I will of course use this "computer" for - not sure now what to get!

2. Currently I own an Acer which has Windows XP and I use a MyBook external harddrive to back everything up.

3. I currently use Photoshop CS2 but will get CS3 on my new comp. I'm also going to add any other software I feel necessary at that time - I don't know much about anything other than Photoshop (Lightroom? etc)
-Also, for software, since I go to LSU we do get ALOT for free - which is where it would come from.

4. This will be my primary computer for everything so I may need to look into getting a desktop - from word processing to photo editing (this is the only thing im really using my comp for now. I'm not a gamer or anything

5. And unfortuantely, I know how to maintain a computer!

**Let me go skim read more and see what I forgot**

 

[Rhys]

Ok... How about this. I worked repairing computers. In all the time I did this I only ever had one Mac to fix. The fix was very simple. That's one Mac in 10 years. I have constant battles with my wife's Dell laptop and its endless series of blue screens of which the latest is:
kernel_data_inpage_error 0x0000007a (0xc07c1e50, 0xc000000e, 0xf83ca01a, 0x0d859860). I have a lot of work out of Windows machines. I never get Linux or Mac problems.

 

[jakedoza]

I think it really depends on the software that you run and what you do with your system.. I have not had a blue screen since windows ME.. but I'm very anal about who I let use my system and what I run on it. Thats just me. I'm on my primary system now and it has been running for 5 days now.. no problems..
Also, laptops have a tendency to get hot.. that can cause lock up problems especially with age. A good "blow job" to clean out dust bunnies and some more thermal goo most usually solves this problem. I have also seen memory go bad in laptops because of heat.. The issue you were having kinda sounds like a memory issue of some sort.. or even a corrupt OS which in most cases is caused by failing hardware.... which wouldn't surprise me.. its a dell..

 

[Mystwalker]

AMIGA RULZ!!!
MAC DROOLZ!!!

<sigh>

OMG! I'm dating myself when I admit I know what you are talking about

If you ONLY want to do graphic editing, go Mac. There is something about the way Mac has operating codes built into their bios that make them faster then PCs. This was when they were using the old chips (RISC), not sure if this is still the case with Intel chips.

If you want to do other stuff like play games, you have to go PC - not very many games for Mac.

Personally, for graphic editing, I would never use a notebook. It is slow enough on a high end desktop, i can't imagine doing same on a notebook.

That part about 'no virus on Mac' - NOT TRUE . I'm guessing there are so few Macs around, all the virus/hackers do not bother with them. But I know from experience that they do exist - try using any college/school system that is "open" to all users and then stick floppy into your Mac without scanning ... SURPRISE!!

 

[frXnz kafka]

It doesn't matter. Buy whatever you want.

 

[PhotoDonkey]

Ever heard of AVG free... there is a reason its called free... because its free... yes, even the updates.

And if you don't want AVG, Avast! Antivirus is also free with free updates. It's also not the resource HOG that Norton is. I imagine AVG is comparable.

 

[Rhys]

If you're prepared to act wisely with a Windows laptop then Windows could work for you.

Acting wisely means...

1. Image your hard drive.
2. Store all your data on a portable hard drive - including email etc.
3. When you install new software, format the hard drive and reinstall from the image then save the new image.

That way you don't have to bother with Windows going belly-up as it often does.

 

[PhotoDonkey]

I format my primary drive once a year and reinstall everything. This cleans up the registry and gets rid of software I have installed and no longer use. I have a five year old PC that is still my primary PC because It works well. The only thing I don't use it for is video editing, because the PC itself doesn't have enough RAM, and loading pictures off my CF card because it doesn't have a CF card reader and the newer PC does. Other than that, I can use it for everything I do. You don't have to be an engineer to do this stuff.

 

[Samriel]

1. I'm in college and I plan on opening a business in 2 years. Which I will of course use this "computer" for - not sure now what to get!

What kind of bussiness? Or to be more precise, what kind of photography? I think in most cases a desktop system will be the way to go.

4. This will be my primary computer for everything so I may need to look into getting a desktop - from word processing to photo editing (this is the only thing im really using my comp for now. I'm not a gamer or anything.

I personally also prefer and recommend desktops, unless you really need the mobility. The beauty of a 24"+ display is undeniable.

5. And unfortunately, I know how to maintain a computer!

Why the "unfortunately"? In this case a PC might be the way to go. I'm actually also building a new machine until the end of the year, and have been amazed at the low prices of hardware (CPUs and RAM). Having a nice Quad-CPU 8GB RAM PC has never been cheaper. You might also get a small form factor barebone housing (i.E. Shuttle), get an additional 15-19" portable monitor, and an additional portable (meaning small) keyboard and mouse, so that if you really need to show the pictures to clients on the spot (after the shooting), you can have your computer set up in 5 minutes. It's not nearly as mobile as a laptop, but it is much ligher than a standard ATX Tower, 24"+ display with a standard keyboard+mouse setup.

 

[jakedoza]

Just remember.. like camera equipment, when building a PC.. you get what you pay for in parts. Shuttle is a cheap MB and I have seen a lot of these fail. The best quality MBs on the market today are ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, and now BFG is making one that should be pretty good. Those are the only ones I would stick with.
Remember.. the MB is the heart of the system, if it crashes.. the whole system crashes.
As far as a processor.. I'm partial to AMD, but Intel is also a great processor.. both are great quality.. AMD does have an edge IMO and had been proven to be better with graphics.. which is why I have no clue at why MAC decided to go with Intel.

 

[Derekhtv]

That would be because, while I also am partial to AMD, mainly because I game on my PC, Intel is proven to be faster with rendering video (i.e. video editing for tv/film).

My comps for any video editing are macs. No exceptions. I have had to edit on Windows based Avid systems, and quite frankly, they are terrible. That being said, my non-work comp is a (built by me) pc :/

 

[Rhys]

I format my primary drive once a year and reinstall everything. This cleans up the registry and gets rid of software I have installed and no longer use. I have a five year old PC that is still my primary PC because It works well. The only thing I don't use it for is video editing, because the PC itself doesn't have enough RAM, and loading pictures off my CF card because it doesn't have a CF card reader and the newer PC does. Other than that, I can use it for everything I do. You don't have to be an engineer to do this stuff.

The problem there is when Microsoft turns off XP reactivation.

I'm going to have to reformat and reistall my wife's laptop because XP has corrupted itself. It's not viruses that have caused this. It's XP that has screwed itself up. Aside from occasional blue screens over the past year, it lost its user account once. I rescued the data and then Outlook over-wrote the rescued emails so they then existed solely on the backup disk. Now we have more blue screens with different messages each time. The hardware's fine - ran the diagnostics CD. It's windows that has screwed itself up.

I have never ever heard of OSX screwing itself up, catching a virus or doing anything untoward that wasn't caused by the deliberate action of a user. Windows is a completely different story with all the software being a vulnerability.

As far as Vista goes, you're only allowed to reinstall that twice before it gets switched off and you have to buy another activation number. OSX does not need activation!

 

[jvgig]

I think that we have determined that it all depends on how much computer knowledge you have and how much you monitor every aspect of your system. If you notice, most people who are at the top of the computer programing world use linux systems because its free and completely customizable if you know what you are doing. The average user will use windows because it is cheap and fairly easy and, for all practical purposes, they would not notice the difference between 95 and vista. Power uses, which we shall define as someone who needs performance but does not want to have to babysit it, in the photography world will be best off with a Mac as they have very few problems when you just let them be. Then if you are pretty good with computers, but do not know how to program all the functions you want yourself, you should go with windows as it gives you the most options and its hardware is dirt cheap. If you get a MacPro, you can build the same system, but double everything for the same price (single quad core->2x quadcore, 4ggb->8gb, no raid->raid, and so on). I have yet to see any performance comparison between a pc a double the specs and a mac, but I hardly doubt that the all powerful OSX will be able to pull that one off.

The only time the fairly good with computers group should own a Mac is if they are working on a project where everyone else is using a Mac, (usually in the video editing world), just to make life easy. Final Cut Pro is pretty darn great for the price as the only other software that competes is Avid at 2x the cost.

My PC which I built myself has a 50% overclock and is completely stable, has no bloatware running, and has not crashed since the initial overclock testing 2 years ago unless I did something really stupid, like delete a critical system file, but since all of my files are on a separate drive, I just reinstalled and within the hour, I was back up at full power. And since I created a reinstall disk with my ideal setup on it, I do not have to worry about the reactivation.

 

[RockDawg]

I don't understand how a Mac can be better for photography. Unless you are using some of Apple's own imaging software and that is the difference, how can Apple be better (or worse)? I mean most people say Photoshop is the best photo software so what's the difference which platform you run it on?