What computer would you buy?

[Village Idiot]

the reason i said mac is because they already come with a lot of software that i like, i never thought about building a PC though. I don't know where the money would go into building a PC though.

Do you have the technical ability to build a PC? I have one I built 2 years ago for $1,700 and it's still fast. It has an I7-920 with 6GB RAM, a 1.8GB GPU, 4 HDD, with one 10K RPM drive, Blu Ray burner, and other goodies. Oh, and I'm running Windows 7 and OS X. It's great that I have a computer that's just about as good as a Mac Pro that costs less and is running the same OS. But if you can't even build your own PC, I doubt you'd want to try and install OS X on a wintel box.

 

[Village Idiot]

I would suggest Mac, if you are focused on photo edition. Mac Book PRo, i5 at least.

For a more afordable computer, try Asus, Sony. DON'T go on HP and Toshiba. Those are the worst in quality. i5 at least, quad core, 4 GB Ram and at least 512 mb Video

OP clearly stated no laptop. *insert snarky remark about not being able to read hear*

2 toshiba laptops with factory problems in my family, 4 HP computers with factory problems with some friends and a personal experience with an HP lap (the lap was beautiful but again, factory problems). NONE of the factory problems was solved by the company, either the Toshiba or the HP (the one's owned by my family). I have Asus and I really liked the computer and I chosed an configuration for Gaming, so mine is quite expensive (laptop). And also, it includes the worldwide waranty. HP and toshiba don't.

One thing I didn't mention is that I've only ever worked on the "business class" machines from HP and Toshiba, not the consumer models. There may be variance among the different lines for sure. I believe the business line may have actually been absorbed from IBM at one point... I did computer work at an office that had 20 or so HP machines and they were all rock solid.

And yes, Asus makes gaming machines that perform amazingly for the price they're offered at. However, for a work computer used to edit photos, reliability and stability are of primary concern.

however all these companies stack up, I'd still get the Dell...

In the past 6 years of refreshes, we've had Dell, HP, and Dell again. Even the business class stuff like to fail. The new Dells have this quirk where the DVD drive will stop working until you open the case, unplug the drive, and then plug it back in. That's just character though...

I can't give business opinion, since I've only worked with customer's home computers. But Asus is stable. Windows 7 is the problem!
I am a MacOS fan. My roomie have a MacBook pro and since january:
Lucas (me)= 6 blue death screen, 5 virus...
Roomie = 0 death screen, no virus...

i have windows 7 and it works flawlessly.

id recommend slowing down on the porn downloads.

Personal anecdotes of such a small scope are useless when trying to sway a person one way or another. I've never had to reinstall Vista or Win7 because of slow downs, spyware, viruses, etc... I had to reinstall my WHS install because of a bad drive. I had OS X crash on my once (on a Macbook Pro), so that I had to reinstall the OS. That scared me to death because I was half way into copying my photos to my first server to back them up and I was afraid I was going to lose everything. Didn't though.

I've known others that have had excellent results with Windows and OS X and people that have have OS X and Windows installs that just totally blew for them. It depends on what you use it for and how you use it. My Hackintosh has been more reliable than the OS X install on my 2nd Intel MBP.

The only reason I choose Dell over other PCs is their legendary warranty and tech support.

Legendarily bad. Dell's tech support and having 4 of them (a Dimension, Precision, and two latitude notebooks) die within 4 months of each other steered me away. Whenever a family friend asks me to fix their busted PC, 90% of the time it's a Dell, and it's busted because of it's shoddy build quality (or shoddy OS).

I do professional work on Win 7, which is Microsoft's best OS to date. But I still don't like it from the user experience and speed aspect.

To the OP: If you have $2,000 to spend and thats it, your best bet is to get a custom-built Windows machine. For $2k the fastest Mac you can get is the i7 iMac, which I wouldn't recommend for photography work. The monitors are gorgeous, but the glare will kill you. The cheapest Mac Pro is $2400.

Unless you work for the government and you're paying for the top teir support. You get people that speak good English and if you need an on site tech, you get one the next day.

 

[Village Idiot]

Macs are hugely overpriced. Convenience sure, but for the same amount of money you could spend on a Mac, you could be rocking an amazingly built PC.

Great read vvvvv
www.3nglish.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/1283525187943.jpg

What's hugely? I compared an 17" XPS to a MBP and it was something like $300 difference. They were nearly indentical with the XPS of course having a better GPU and more drive space. Form factor would have sucked. I prefer Apple's notebooks because of the size, weight, and packaging. iMacs are a little more expensive than other AIO from what I remember, but it's not a huge difference. You can build a Windows computer that's similar to a Mac Pro for much cheaper, but if you used the same components like the Quad core Xeon chips instead of I7's,then the prices get closer.

So, nothing is that huge of a difference...at least $300 isn't a huge difference when you're spending $1500 on lenses, $2700 on a body, and $XXXX on lighting.

 

[KevinPutman]

Macs are hugely overpriced. Convenience sure, but for the same amount of money you could spend on a Mac, you could be rocking an amazingly built PC.

Great read vvvvv
www.3nglish.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/1283525187943.jpg

What's hugely? I compared an 17" XPS to a MBP and it was something like $300 difference. They were nearly indentical with the XPS of course having a better GPU and more drive space. Form factor would have sucked. I prefer Apple's notebooks because of the size, weight, and packaging. iMacs are a little more expensive than other AIO from what I remember, but it's not a huge difference. You can build a Windows computer that's similar to a Mac Pro for much cheaper, but if you used the same components like the Quad core Xeon chips instead of I7's,then the prices get closer.

So, nothing is that huge of a difference...at least $300 isn't a huge difference when you're spending $1500 on lenses, $2700 on a body, and $XXXX on lighting.

Did you check the link I posted?
It explains all of that.

 

[Auriflanos]

One thing, Dont install windows 7 professional. Since I've installed it on my note, as an "upgrade", I have got blue death screens

 

[Village Idiot]

I would suggest Mac, if you are focused on photo edition. Mac Book PRo, i5 at least.

For a more afordable computer, try Asus, Sony. DON'T go on HP and Toshiba. Those are the worst in quality. i5 at least, quad core, 4 GB Ram and at least 512 mb Video

2 toshiba laptops with factory problems in my family, 4 HP computers with factory problems with some friends and a personal experience with an HP lap (the lap was beautiful but again, factory problems). NONE of the factory problems was solved by the company, either the Toshiba or the HP (the one's owned by my family). I have Asus and I really liked the computer and I chosed an configuration for Gaming, so mine is quite expensive (laptop). And also, it includes the worldwide waranty. HP and toshiba don't.

One thing I didn't mention is that I've only ever worked on the "business class" machines from HP and Toshiba, not the consumer models. There may be variance among the different lines for sure. I believe the business line may have actually been absorbed from IBM at one point... I did computer work at an office that had 20 or so HP machines and they were all rock solid.

And yes, Asus makes gaming machines that perform amazingly for the price they're offered at. However, for a work computer used to edit photos, reliability and stability are of primary concern.

however all these companies stack up, I'd still get the Dell...

I can't give business opinion, since I've only worked with customer's home computers. But Asus is stable. Windows 7 is the problem!
I am a MacOS fan. My roomie have a MacBook pro and since january:
Lucas (me)= 6 blue death screen, 5 virus...
Roomie = 0 death screen, no virus...

i have windows 7 and it works flawlessly.

id recommend slowing down on the porn downloads.

One thing, Dont install windows 7 professional. Since I've installed it on my note, as an "upgrade", I have got blue death screens

BSODs are usually the result of hardware problems.

 

[Village Idiot]

Macs are hugely overpriced. Convenience sure, but for the same amount of money you could spend on a Mac, you could be rocking an amazingly built PC.

Great read vvvvv
www.3nglish.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/1283525187943.jpg

What's hugely? I compared an 17" XPS to a MBP and it was something like $300 difference. They were nearly indentical with the XPS of course having a better GPU and more drive space. Form factor would have sucked. I prefer Apple's notebooks because of the size, weight, and packaging. iMacs are a little more expensive than other AIO from what I remember, but it's not a huge difference. You can build a Windows computer that's similar to a Mac Pro for much cheaper, but if you used the same components like the Quad core Xeon chips instead of I7's,then the prices get closer.

So, nothing is that huge of a difference...at least $300 isn't a huge difference when you're spending $1500 on lenses, $2700 on a body, and $XXXX on lighting.

Did you check the link I posted?
It explains all of that.

It tries to explain the Mac Pro, which is only one computer made by Apple.

A Xeon 2.26 processor can be found for $400. That's $800 for two. A 2.66 Xeon processor can be found for about $1000. That's $2000 for two. That's a $1,200 difference. Apple doesn't disclose the exact model, so a different MOBO could be needed. Either way, "That's only 400MHZ gain" is not a justification. That chart fails to mention the price difference for the different chips. Along with saying that 2GB of RAM isn't $100, they fail to point out that 6 1GB sticks are going to be cheaper than 4 2GB sticks. The larger the memory stick, the more it usually is.

There's other issues that that JPG tries to bring up that it doesn't use facts to explain the cost difference and only uses opinion.

So if you're trying to debate with me that Apple computers are "hugely overpriced", then it's not going to work.

 

[mhandy]

I'd go mac. They are more expensive because they use better parts that all work together. You won't have to deal with spyware and viruses either. Check out the refurb site too, they are reasonably priced and come with a one year warranty and are eligible for applecare.

I am biased, but I have owned 6 macs and have never had any major issues with them.

 

[adversus]

The argument over price borders on the silly. Mac's do carry a premium. Everyone knows that. As a Mac user, I'm also annoyed that Apple marks up additional upgrades to ridiculous amounts (memory, hard drive upgrades etc. can all be found much much cheaper from third parties).

I can't speak to iMacs because I don't own one, but my Mac Pro is the most well-built computer I've ever owned. These are the reasons I spent $2400 on a Mac Pro rather than $1800 on a custom built non-Apple machine:

1. The chassis is solid aluminum, very ridged and strong.
2. There's no internal cables. Allows for excellent airflow, this chassis has more air thru-put than any machine I've owned.
3. Longevity. The Mac Pro is considered a workstation or server class platform. The Xeon platform runs cooler, with less power than the comparable i7's, and has higher performance tolerances (less errors at more intense operations, etc).
4. Upgradability. The motherboard in a Mac Pro is two pieces: a logic board that includes the CPU and memory, and the IO board that includes expansion slots and disk controllers. I can put up to 5-6 drives in this chassis without blocking the airflow at all

And finally: Mac OS

All the debate about building a custom Win box vs. Mac OS is null and void if you require Mac OS. Yes you can run Mac OS on non-Apple hardware, but it's not supported, and I have enough issues with third party drivers for Windows on Windows, let alone getting non-Apple approved hardware to get drivers written for Mac OS.

There's also resale value. That brand new Core i7 custom built thinga-ma-gig you just spent $1800 on is going to depreciate, fast. Macs hold their values extremely well. It's not uncommon for Macs to be resold for decent amounts if you want to upgrade to a newer platform.

 

[Village Idiot]

I'd go mac. They are more expensive because they use better parts that all work together. You won't have to deal with spyware and viruses either. Check out the refurb site too, they are reasonably priced and come with a one year warranty and are eligible for applecare.

I am biased, but I have owned 6 macs and have never had any major issues with them.

The same hardware you find in a Mac, you can find in a Dell. Not a valid arguement.

 

[TheBiles]

One thing, Dont install windows 7 professional. Since I've installed it on my note, as an "upgrade", I have got blue death screens

I've been running Windows 7 Pro since it was released. I've gotten a total of maybe 5 BSODs, and, strangely, two of those were immediately after upgrading iTunes.

 

[mattinthehat]

Side-stepping this mac-pc nonsense (haven't we learned with Nikon vs Canon?). Since the title said what would I buy (paraphrasing), I would wait until tomorrow when hopefully the new iMacs are announced with second generation sandy bridge core i series processors. Then I would get the 27" and get as much ram as I could afford up to the 2k limit.

But that is because I already own a home build newegg machine for windows. Which would be my second choice, if the iMac was somehow restricted. Get a sandy bridge i7 quad, probably a nvidia 460, one ssd, one really big hdd, and again, as much ram as I could afford. Then pick out a nice monitor, (or two depending on what was left for budget).

 

[ghache]

I just went on my local computer shop and when trough the stuff they had, built myself a computer. This is what i would buy if i had to buy a new one.

Intel Xeon E5520 Quad 2.26GHZ(5.86GT/S) LGA1366 L2 8MB
400$
Antec 9 full tower case (excelent case i have one)
109$
ASUS SKT 1366 Intel 5500 QPI 6.4 GT/S DDR3 ATX
279$
4 x WD Caviar Green WD10EARS 1TB 64MB Cache SATA II 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
240$
Corsair DDR3 PC3-10666 3 X 4G memory (12 gig)
152$
Antec CP-100 1000W 80+ Power Supply
159$
Asus GeForce GTX 470 1280MB GDDR5 320-bit PCI-E
266$


around 1600$

this is what i would get. parts are under warrenty for ever and most local shops replaced them right away and deal with the RMA themself. if something happend.


Im sorry but i created a MAC Pro with pretty much the same cpu, same specs, same RAM quantity, same hard drive quatity with pretty much all the same specs, video card is pretty much the same


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wtf? really, Talk about a price premium. Do yourself a favor, Buy a sick PC for half the price + get yourself a decent laptop and invest in a nice IPC monitor and a color munky and your will still be under 4500$ LOL

 

[jake337]

Hers a link to a build on another forum. Notvsure if it will fit your budget.

Building a new high-performance PC - Open Photography Forums

 

[Super Simple]

Platform wars! Let the blood letting begin~!

Just kidding...

I run multiple OSes. I have a Mac. My main box is Windows 7. I also do development.

I'd go for a custom box with Windows 7 any day.

The reason my main box is Windows is because it's easier, faster, and more productive for me. Macs, I find, simply cannot network properly or handle peripherals decently, which slows me down. Also, the general way of doing things on a Mac is just slower for me.

The other thing is Visual Studio -- it's far more productive for me than Xcode or MonoDevelop on my Mac. But it's Windows only...

But, it all boils down to what you're comfortable with. Some people can be more productive on a Mac.

If you are equally comfortable on either platform, a Windows box with good hardware is a much better deal.

The platform is the most important first decision -- which works best for you?

Good luck in building your new box~!