Suggestion for a new PC

[prometheus1981]

Hello,
I am studying Photoshop editing and web developing and I need a new computer since my old P4 is really getting sluggish. I have heard that mac's are really good for this kind of thing. Do I fork out the big bucks and get a Mac or can I accomplish this with a PC? Also, if I should get a mac (preferably a laptop) what level of Mac do I need to get (iMac, MacBook, Mac Mini or a Mac Pro)?

[tokenuser]

There was a time when MacOS was the way to go for this sort of thing, but those days are long gone. Indeed, there is a larger selection of software available for Windows based machines anyway, and many OSX users dual boot Windows - so its not like yo are getting away from MS at all.

You'll get more bang for buck out of a desktop system, but any modern laptop (provided its not a netbook type device) will do what you are looking for.

If you are serious about photo editing, you'll want an external monitor/keyboard/mouse anyway, and probably an external hard drive for storage/backup, so pretty much any laptop will work for you.

I have a Macbook (the same as the current $999 base level one from Apple) that is more than enough, plus it has firewire for video transfer - a bonus most "PC" laptops don't have.

I also have a HP Compaq laptop that does it well too.

Apple, Asus, Dell, Lenovo (IBM Thinkpads), HP, Toshiba ... all top tier providers, all good products.

Gateway/eMachines (seriously, these are actually pretty solid), Acer, Spectre ... cheaper 2nd tier, but nothing wrong with them either ... which mean you can spend more on a larger external monitor and other bits.

Just make sure you buy an extended warranty. Laptops (and big screen TVs) are the only products I'd recommend this for - but it will save you form a huge expense within the time of the warranty.

[prometheus1981]

Ok, thanks!

I am a big Dell fan, so would a Dell studio 17 laptop do as good a job as a MacBook base model? I already have a Dell 22" Wide screen monitor I bought for Christmas and a Logitech Wireless Keyboard and Mouse.

[fishtoprecords]

I used to be a big Dell fan, then their service became terrible. I think its better recently.

Get a desktop, they are cheaper and more powerful, by far over laptops.

I got a nice quad processor gateway for under $600 a few months ago.

[davmoo]

I would also suggest a desktop unless you truly need a laptop. With laptops, you're locked in to the hardware...what you buy initially is pretty much what you're stuck with unless you buy a really expensive high end model. You can put in a larger hard drive or more memory, but that's it. You can't, for instance, change video cards as better technology becomes available, or switch to a faster processor as technology and your budget allows. And if your interest is in graphics, then you're going to want to be able to change out your graphics cards every now and then.

And no, I do not think you have to go Mac. If that's the way you *want* to go, there is no reason not to. Go buy yourself a Mac. It will certainly do what you want. But don't go in thinking its a requirement. As tokensuer says, the days that Mac ruled the roost for graphics-oriented occupations is long long *long* gone. I do a *lot* of video editing. And anything anyone else can do on a Mac I can do on this PC, and I can do it just as fast and efficiently.

[computoman]

Save yourself a boatload of money a get a used or a new but not the latest technology machine. Since most of the options are apple, I have a funny feeling someone's mind is already made up.

[phil-mize]

hey save urself some doe and get a nice desktop... then with the cash u saved maybe get a nice backup hdd or a second monitor... i dont do alot of photoshop work or video editing but enough to realize my dual 21.5 1080p acer monitors i picked up from tiger direct for 200 each blow me away every time i sit down at my pc... get some nvidia 512mb 8 series video cards and run sli and a 2.6 or higher dual core with 2-4gigs of ram and ull be fine. i know u can pick up nvidia's 8600gt 1gb cards for about 70 bucks now and i run sli with em and never have they failed me... and windows 7 so far has really impressed me (not like vista is bad) so just wait a lil longer and ull have hopefully a great os to go with ur new rig...