Didnt we just cover this like 2 days ago???
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134502
First I want to ask all the people who responded to this question why they responded if they know nothing about computers???? If you dont know.. then keep your mouth shut. I mean seriously.. what kind of answer is .. "Sounds like you need a MacBook..." I mean really.... WHY does he need a MacBook... You sure as heck dont know why because HE/SHE doesnt even know why..
nystalents.. I hate to be rude to anyone on this forum.. but this forum really is not the right place to ask this kind of question.. MOST People who answer have NO FREAKING clue about computers and it always ends up in a MAC vs PC debate..
I'm all for MACs, but they are expensive and do not like to play well with others.. very proprietary, and not to mention.. my PC can out perform one at less then half the cost.. Thus I am PC guy, but a very picky PC guy since I have been a hardware computer tech for the past 12 years. Do yourself a favor and ask why you are wanting a powerful laptop.
I can tell you that you do not want a laptop at all to do any sort of editing..
they are not that reliable because they are mobile and the hard drives can crash on you at any time..
they are expensive to repair
they overheat because they are so compact
If you do buy one.. Get the best extended warranty plan they offer.. and if it were me I'd buy a toshiba or a lenovo.
Also if you buy one be preparied to spend about 2 grand..
I built my desktop for about 1200 and it will still run circles around any laptop you put against it.. I can go on and on about this subject from experience.. I am a computer technician that is a photographer.. not a photographer that knows a little about computers.
I would not buy a prebuilt PC either..
Why?
because all prebuilt PCs.. like MACs.. are getting more and more proprietary.. as well as they are built using parts that are bought by a company that bought them from the lowest bidder.. thats why they have to sell you a service plan with the PC.. so if it breaks they can fix it..
I suggest that if you decide you do not want a laptop and you decide to go with a desktop that you check around at some of the local computer shops and have them build you one..
WHY?
well it will most likley be built with quality parts..
I'm sure they will let you choose XP instead of vista.. and if you really like the UNIX OS that MAC uses then you can always install a flavor of UNIX on it instead of windows.
I will also suggest not to get a huge hard drive.. If you do loose a hard drive it is a heck of a lot harder and takes sooo much more time to try and recover all the info than that off a smaller drive.. say anything <500 GB.
Also stay away from the external drives.. hard drives are not meant to be mobile.. thats how they crash and develop bad sectors.. most of my experience from data recovery has been from external drives and laptop drives..
I just recovered our photographers 1TB external harderive that had our engagement photos on it along with several other wedding she had done..it had been knocked over while it was on.. it took me a week to recover everything.. she was lucky.. I saved her about 5 grand.
anyway.. do your research and ask KNOWLEGABLE people.. people that know about computers. If you have any questions feel free to PM me.