[Hidden-tech] looking for recommendations for graphics PC

Bruce G. Hooke bghooke at att.net
Tue Dec 5 10:10:49 EST 2006


I am, at least some of the time, a photographer and I work with my
photographs on the computer so here are my thoughts based on my experience.
I can't make any specific recommendations on computer brands and models,
because it has been a while since I bought one. My current computer is one I
assembled myself from parts. 

First off, lots of memory is always a good thing. I currently have 1024 MB
of memory installed on my computer and more would not be a bad idea for what
I do.

If he is working with large images, a fast hard drive is a good thing to
have. However, unless he is using a top notch digital camera the size of his
images is not likely to be that demanding. I shoot medium format film and
scan it into the computer, which can result in individual images that are
pushing 1 GB, which means it takes a long time to open and save images even
with a relatively fast drive.

A large hard drive is also a very good thing. While very few digital cameras
produce 1 GB images they make up for it by producing a lot of images, which
uses up hard drive space fast.

A fast processor does not hurt but is not that critical for the most part. 

I know you said he already has a monitor, but as background information,
here are my thoughts on monitors.

I find it very useful to have two monitors. There are so many tool palettes
in Photoshop that it is useful to have on screen that even with a 19"
primary monitor it is very nice to have a second monitor on which to park
the palettes so that the whole primary monitor is available for the image. I
am not sure if there are ready-made computers that come with built in dual
monitor support. If not, it is simply a matter of getting a suitable video
card and sticking it in. 

For the same reason, a large primary monitor is a very good thing. 19" is
none to big. I also like using a CRT monitor because I have more control
over the color, but LCD monitors may have improved in this area and I
understand CRT monitors are getting hard to find. I color profile my monitor
on a regular basis.

A laptop will work, especially if you plug in an external monitor, keyboard
and mouse, but a tower PC is probably better. A tower allows for more
options, such as installing a dual-monitor video card and adding a second
internal hard drive when the first gets full. On the other hand, a lot of
photographers like to be able to take their laptop with them so that they
can download photographs to the computer on the road, rather than having to
keep everything on memory cards until they get home. What you said about
taking the computer to places with fast Internet also makes sense if he will
have to upload large images on a regular basis. This will only come into
play if he needs to transmit high-res images to customers, photo labs, or
similar places. Images for web use only will be small and quick to upload
even over a slow connection. 

As far as I can tell, most external devices these days seem to connect to
the computer via a USB port, which pretty much any new laptop or desktop
will have.

Regarding the Mac vs. PC debate -- realistically, both will do a fine job
for this sort of work so it makes sense to stick with what you know. 

Now, I just read through what I wrote and it looks like I basically said get
a really nice computer. In the ideal world, yes, but it is also worth
remembering that with a little more patience a slower computer will get the
job done. If money is tight I'd say stick with a desktop if you can both
because they are cheaper and because it is easier to upgrade individual
components as money becomes available. All new computers these days are
pretty fast so you are more likely to want to add things like a new video
card or a second hard drive.

You should look into Windows Vista a bit more. It will not be available to
non-corporate customers until the new year, but upgrade certificates may be
and at the least you want to be sure that the computer you buy will fully
support Windows Vista, since you are likely to want to make that shift
sometime down the road.

Hope that helps. If you have questions about anything I said, feel free to
drop me an email.

- Bruce

-----Original Message-----
From: hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net
[mailto:hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net] On Behalf Of Reva Reck
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 8:48 PM
To: Hidden Tech
Subject: [Hidden-tech] looking for recommendations for graphics PC

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Hi all,
	My husband is a photographer & needs a new PC. He has a good
monitor, which he'll be keeping. I'm used to spec-ing out business PC's, but
don't know much about the requirements of programs like photoshop, or
digital camera interface software. Anybody have any recommendations? 
Does a laptop make any sense? We can't get anything better than satellite
where we live, so I was thinking that for big uploads he could go somewhere
with reasonable internet access speeds if he had a laptop. 
This may well be a gift, so if you know him, don't mention this posting!
	TIA, Reva
-- 

________________________________

Reva Reck
(978) 544-3911
reva at revareck.com
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