N@Z 0 Report post Posted January 18, 2005 (edited) Decided to split this into it's own topic from the digital camera thread. I'm thinking of upgrading my ageing PIII 1Ghz 256MB RAM Dell PC. It's already maxed out & can't be upgraded anymore. I need something that will work well for Digital Imaging/post processing using Photoshop CS (an maybe the occasional digital video editing). At the moment it's struggling a little. What specifications would be ideal for this usage? I will also be using it for general office work & internet (emphasis on multi-tasking i.e lots of open programs running at one time). I would like to avoid Macs as I have specific programs that I use regularly which can only be used on PCs plus the cost factor. Plus I still have my Powerbook. I don't need gaming capabilities whatsoever. Soundcard quality is also not very important but it's a bonus if it's of good quality. What specific LCD screen would be suitable? I'm looking into a min of 17". Ideally 19" budget permitting. Total budget around $2K. Edited January 19, 2005 by N@Z Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Q00 0 Report post Posted January 18, 2005 I reckon anything above a 2ghz is more than fine for any form of officework...just a matter of time. Make sure you get at least 1GB of ram if you need to run a lot of programs, esp photoshop. Id recommend any AMD A64 system. Fast and cheap and is miles faster than any Intel system on same cost basis. If yer gonna do any video editing, lots and lots of harddisk space. LCD screens depend on how much left over from the rest of the system. I think that u'd be better off of getting one of those usb tubed soundcards Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tropicalrips 0 Report post Posted January 18, 2005 i hav not been shooting much lately...guess i'll also try one of those "pro" shots i agree with Qoo...N@Z's sound card for his new PC has to be more expensive then the PC itself...this way he can work better on the PC cause he won't be listening to crappy sound from cheapo soundcards tube USB sounds good enough Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N@Z 0 Report post Posted January 18, 2005 Thanks, AMD A64 not overkill you think? What about graphics card? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Q00 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2005 If you dont need gaming capabilities, a nvidia 6200 chip based card will do just fine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N3w_Typ3 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2005 (edited) This is sort of a digital camera related post. I'm thinking of upgrading my ageing PIII 1Ghz 256MB RAM Dell PC. It's already maxed out & can't be upgraded anymore. I need something that will work well for Digital Imaging/post processing using Photoshop CS (an maybe the occasional digital video editing). At the moment it's struggling a little. What specifications would be ideal for this usage? I will also be using it for general office work & internet (emphasis on multi-tasking i.e lots of open programs running at one time). I would like to avoid Macs as I have specific programs that I use regularly which can only be used on PCs plus the cost factor. Plus I still have my Powerbook. I don't need gaming capabilities whatsoever. Soundcard quality is also not very important but it's a bonus if it's of good quality. What specific LCD screen would be suitable? I'm looking into a min of 17". Ideally 19" budget permitting. Total budget around $2K. if you can wait for a while, get the lastest motherboard which support SATA and PCIX ( expand slot ) cos it will be better that the older models in the market and is faster in term of speed, Err i recommend 1 gig of ram space and get the DDR 2 ver ( which is faster can go upz to 800 mhz but costly ) for proccesing speed i recommend intel for very stable normal working PC and AMD for gaming any speed above 2.4 gig is very fast unless ...... Err good LCD screen you can get the cheaper brand "sonicview" which uses the same screen as "sharp", "sony" and "samsung" but different processing chips and broads. should come up to around 2K for such a setup !! if you do not need graphic card that are powerful get a simple model will do for sound card, if really there no need then i suggest forget it Good luck !! Edited January 19, 2005 by N3w_Typ3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N@Z 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2005 I'm being offered the following at $2K: Dell Dimensions 8400 Desktop Intel® Pentium 4 Processor 530 with HT Technology 3.0GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB Microsoft® Windows® XP Pro SP2 Integrated Gigabit Ethernet 1GB(2X512MB) NECC Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz SDRAM Memory 80GB SATA (7,200rpm) Hard Drive 128MB PCIe™x16 ATI Radeon™ X300SE w/TV-out & DVI 17†UltraSharp™ Flat Panel LCD Monitor (Analog & DVI) 3 Year Limited Warranty Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N3w_Typ3 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2005 Well i dare say is a good deal !!! best if got DVD r and rw ( will be useful ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N@Z 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2005 Thanks for reminding me, I just checked it's only a combo drive (DVD Rom & CD-RW) only. Will try to find out whether I can get it with the DVD-RW. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Q00 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2005 whoa.. nice setup. If it were me, id drop the processor speed just a bit and get more ram. Office programs take up a lot of ram...like really alot but thats just me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tropicalrips 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2005 1gb of DDR ram Dual channel should be more then enough...i would also go with a slightly lower processor speed (maybe 2.8ghz) and spend the extra money on a DVD writer or 19" LCD or both LCD monitors & DVD writers are getting really cheap now in SLS, not sure how the price is in Brunei. Benq 16X dual layer DVD writer now is $129, the savings from 3.0Ghz to 2.8Ghz should cover for the DVD-RW Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Firefox 0 Report post Posted January 20, 2005 I paid about $1.4K for: 3.0GHz P4 w/ 1MB L2 cache Motherboard 1GB DDR-RAM 74GB WD Raptor SATA HDD (10,000RPM) Casing + PSU FDD More than good enough to handle video editing and graphics editing. Doing some video editing for my camp these few days as well. You'll need a large HDD to handle DV editing and large photoshop files. Don't skimp on the HDD. Fast and huge is the way to go.. A 120GB SATA HDD with 8MB cache just for editing and storage of files will do. For the primary HDD holding OS and programs, just a regular 40GB and above will suffice. Graphics card is not an issue when it comes to video and graphics editing. It's more important for games and animation or CAD/ CAM. Even onboard video will suffice for video and graphics editing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Firefox 0 Report post Posted January 20, 2005 Benq 16X dual layer DVD writer now is $129, the savings from 3.0Ghz to 2.8Ghz should cover for the DVD-RW Nope. The price breakpoint is currently at 3.0GHz Stepping down to 2.8GHz only saves about $40. Was just converting videos from VHS to digital while surfing and chatting at the same time.. Damn funky.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Q00 0 Report post Posted January 20, 2005 You wouldnt happen to be using an ATI AIW card wouldnt you Firefox? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Firefox 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2005 You wouldnt happen to be using an ATI AIW card wouldnt you Firefox? Nope. I'm using an Nvidia equivalent. It's a Gainward Golden Sample, Geforce 4 Ti4600 (factory o/c'ed to higher speeds) with VIVO functions, dual-RAMDAC's and 2 DVI outputs! Not bad for a card that cost S$300 odd several years ago. =) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
