View Full Version : New PC Required
Hi all,
I'm in need of a new bigger, better, faster PC now as my workload is steadily increasing. Can anyone advise me of a spec I will need to look for, capable of high volume editing with several apps open at the same time. The time has come to start looking for something built for the purpose of starting my own business and need something reliable. Even if I have to save up my pennies, I really do have to address this before my current PC starts having problems. Your kind advice would be very much appreciated. x
Gina
Josh Bear
01-01-11, 09:46 PM
Hi
Having made the move from pc to mac over a year ago I can recommend them. The new iMacs are excellent although if you want even more power and flexibility have a look at the Mac pro ( note I am not talking about the MacBook pro).
I visited an apple store and spent time with one of their team. I went in wanting a top of the range mac pro but their guy discussed my needs and I walked away spending nearly £1000 less than I expected to. A visit to an apple store is (IMHO) the exact opposite of a visit to PC world. I.e. They know what they are talking about without reading the product label.
Best regards
Josh
Graham_of_Rainham
01-01-11, 11:25 PM
My existing Dell is nine years old and still going well. One stuck pixel and the battery now only lasts half an hour...
My new one should arrive on Wednesday.
I got a great deal with a FREE Monitor (which I upgraded to an Ultrasharp)
Well worth looking at
Patrick
01-01-11, 11:59 PM
Hi all,
I'm in need of a new bigger, better, faster PC now as my workload is steadily increasing. Can anyone advise me of a spec I will need to look for, capable of high volume editing with several apps open at the same time. The time has come to start looking for something built for the purpose of starting my own business and need something reliable. Even if I have to save up my pennies, I really do have to address this before my current PC starts having problems. Your kind advice would be very much appreciated. x
Gina
Im with Josh almost a year with a Mac now iMac and A MacBook Pro.
Any mac in my view is better than Windows based PC.
Patrick
The current imacs are as fast as a mac pro tower just not as much expansion flexibilities.
All this mac business comes at a price compared to a windows based system, however if you need a stable machine that will last and is perfect for photo editing............;-)
johnthegasman
02-01-11, 12:22 AM
Hi Gina,
go to your local Apple store they will sort you out! You can run windows on a mac, if you need to, there are several programs that let you switch from one to another at the touch of a button. They have a business section and a one to one training package which is brilliant to get you going and they will answer all your questions. They make PC World look like amateurs. There after sales service is second to none, trust me.
Happy new year
John.
I too thought about this 'runnin windows on a mac' scenario before I switched, I think it was for peice of mind or something stupid, but with respect I can't think of anything that a photographer would need that you can't get for a mac? Please correct me if Im wrong!
So before you waste money on some software that you will never need, get the mac first and see if there is anything you miss that you cant get.
Its like buying a farrari and cripling it with tesco tyre's*LOL
Thank you for all your replies. I have heard so many photographer friends recommend the Mac but why? I'm a bit scared to make the change over but if the graphical quality is better then how is that possible, what's the difference between PC (Windows) and Mac, apart from price?
Ash, your ferrari comment made me laugh xx
Hi Gina, its not about graphics and what you see on the monitor, more about speed and stability, photoshop or whatever you use still looks the same on both computers.
To sum it up quickly, all I could think when I first got a mac was why is windows so complicated?
Main diference is the operating system(the brain) telling the computer how to do things.
Since mac's started using intel processors which for many years were windows only, the mac is now more versatile than ever.
Ash.
Patrick
02-01-11, 11:14 AM
Hi Gina, its not about graphics and what you see on the monitor, more about speed and stability, photoshop or whatever you use still looks the same on both computers.
To sum it up quickly, all I could think when I first got a mac was why is windows so complicated?
Main diference is the operating system(the brain) telling the computer how to do things.
Since mac's started using intel processors which for many years were windows only, the mac is now more versatile than ever.
Ash.
I agree with Ash on most points here, except when he says the graphics look the same as most PC's they are very much better in my opinion unless you start comparing to Eizo or Lacie or one or two other £800 plus monitors.
I run Windows on a separate partition as I have my accounts package to think of and a couple of Windows only programs.
Gina you would adapt to the new operating system in no time, the keyboard is much the same and Snow Leopard is very user friendly.
The first thing I noticed on unpacking both my iMac and MacBook was the build quality, everything is so beautifully done. and the Magic mouse is just that, a joy to use.
There are now about ten members in the photo club that have gone over to Mac and not one has regretted it.
Apparently according to the magazine Mac Format Apple sold 3.89 machines in the last three months, plus iPad sales this makes Apple the US biggest computer maker. With 10% of the US market and 5% of world sales and growing. 150% in the past 3 years. They must be getting something right particularly as they are more expensive than their Windows competitors.
I am not intending to dis any Mac fans - but the fact is that Windows 7 is actually pretty good and you will save money and have a mich wider choice of hardware and software with a Windows system.
I have just rebuilt a 4 year old PC for my daughter (PC tower system) and it's running Windows XP and it flies. I'm not recommending you do that, but it goes to show the value of Windows PCs.
More fundamentally, do you want a laptop or a desk or floor-based computer? Best prioritise what you want to do with your computer and what kind of software you will be running on it.
My father in law bought himself a very good quality Acer laptop with 15.6 inch screen, 4GB memory and an Intel Core i3 CPU, plus 320GB hard drive, for £450 from Comet before Christmas. I believe they will knock £50 off if you trade in your old computer as long as it will switch on.
Ian
Macs all the way for me. Speed, stability, reliability are all in a different league to most Windows PC's. People say that macs are more expensive but if you compare like for like specs, the difference is small. The total cost of ownership is significantly less with Macs. I run 5 computers, 4 macs and a linux server and I estimate that in the three years since I switched to macs I have saved the cost of buying them in the reduction in maintenance and downtime. In the three years I have been running Macs I have not had a single day of downtime and my total virus count is 0 (don't run anti-virus software either). To run my various businesses and do all I need to do from a personal perspective, there is only one program I need that is not available in OS X native version so I run it on my MacBook using VMWare to run Windows.
Once you go Mac you never go back !
There is nothing wrong with buying a Mac, but I personally believe the perceived 'advantages' of a Mac are over-stated my Mac fans. And that shouldn't be a surprise, should it? :)
I'm not a fan of Windows. I just use computers.
But many ex-Windows users aren't aware of the great step forward Windows 7 represents, both from XP and Vista. And I have known several converts to the Mac who soon switched back to Windows. And of course I've known those who have switched from Windows to Mac who have been very happy.
I am, it has to be said,personally sceptical of the 'no need for anti virus' claim that Mac users seem content with. You don't need to pay for Windows security software if you don't want to. Viruses simply aren't a problem on Windows as long as take simple precautions.
I do tend to respond to threads like this that are dominated by Mac fans because they are not balanced. There is nothing critically wrong with buying either system, but the most important thing is to consider the pros and cons carefully before making your decision.
Ian
Macs all the way for me. Speed, stability, reliability are all in a different league to most Windows PC's. People say that macs are more expensive but if you compare like for like specs, the difference is small. The total cost of ownership is significantly less with Macs. I run 5 computers, 4 macs and a linux server and I estimate that in the three years since I switched to macs I have saved the cost of buying them in the reduction in maintenance and downtime. In the three years I have been running Macs I have not had a single day of downtime and my total virus count is 0 (don't run anti-virus software either). To run my various businesses and do all I need to do from a personal perspective, there is only one program I need that is not available in OS X native version so I run it on my MacBook using VMWare to run Windows.
Once you go Mac you never go back !
I agree with Ash on most points here, except when he says the graphics look the same as most PC's they are very much better in my opinion unless you start comparing to Eizo or Lacie or one or two other £800 plus monitors.
You can stick a high end monitor on any old computer, you will only get an image as good as the signal being input to it dictated by the graphics card.
I was pretty much generalising about the graphics between mac and pc of the same spec.
Ash
Ive nothing against windows 7 either, Ann has just got a HP 17" laptop with a core i3 processor running windows 7 and from the short time ive used it is very fast and for 400 quid you cant go wrong, its all about how much you want to spend at the end of the day.
Also I think if you have kids its important that they learn to use both systems.
The laptop was from comet by the way gina, I dont no if they are still doing the offer, I can always post you a link.
cheers
Ash.
Patrick
02-01-11, 06:48 PM
I am not intending to dis any Mac fans - but the fact is that Windows 7 is actually pretty good and you will save money and have a mich wider choice of hardware and software with a Windows system.
I have just rebuilt a 4 year old PC for my daughter (PC tower system) and it's running Windows XP and it flies. I'm not recommending you do that, but it goes to show the value of Windows PCs.
More fundamentally, do you want a laptop or a desk or floor-based computer? Best prioritise what you want to do with your computer and what kind of software you will be running on it.
My father in law bought himself a very good quality Acer laptop with 15.6 inch screen, 4GB memory and an Intel Core i3 CPU, plus 320GB hard drive, for £450 from Comet before Christmas. I believe they will knock £50 off if you trade in your old computer as long as it will switch on.
Ian
Running both Snow Leopard & Windows 7 (still running on the partition) I have the opportunity to compare side by side, and Snow Leopard wins, and yes, I liked Windows 7 very much until I changed over to a Mac and liked that more.
If Gina is going to use the machine for professional photography a high end monitor is advisable. This is where cheaper Windows based machine catches up with an iMac on cost. A 27" iMac 32Ghz dual core i3 is £1399 delivered or a refurbished one from the Apple store (full warranty given by Apple) A Windows based machine with the equivalent high end monitor would work out at much the same cost or very possibly more.
The 27 inch monitors used my Apple are 2560 x 1440 resolution and look amazing.
I profiled my humble 21.5 inch iMac with my Spyder when it was first delivered, interestingly there was no change it arrived accurately profiled as did my MacBook.
I do feel as you say Ian, much is overplayed by many Mac users as regard Anti Virus safety, there are viruses out there just not as many as with a Windows based machines. I do run Sophos Anti Virus on my machines, the home user version is free and my research shows it to be very well thought off.
The rise in popularity of Mac machines will inevitably attract more attention from the virus writers.
Patrick
Josh Bear
03-01-11, 11:06 AM
Patrick's point on external monitors is an excellent one. In fact the need for an external monitor is partially what drove my choice of mac pro vs iMac. I needed a monitor with additional inputs to act as the display for the xbox :).
I too was a a long time windows user. I had a power PC myself and ran a laptop downstairs for my wife and kids. All sort of worked well but when the laptop lost the will the live I took the opportunity to buy a small screened iMac for the family. The first thing I noticed was the silence from home during the day. The phone calls from my wife starting with the sentence " hi, it's me. The computer is doing this (insert random crash message)" just stopped. The family found the mac really easy to use and I agree with the comment from Ash that it makes you think why windows was so complicated by comparison. Given that I had multiple external hard drives and windows programs it took me another 9 months before I could face what I thought would be a huge move to a mac for myself. But with decision made I visited an apple store and had an appt with one of their sales guys and as I said earlier left with the model I needed rather than the one I thought I needed saving me a considerable amount of money. The service was excellent. For example I wanted more ram installed. The apple tech told me to go and have a coffee and a cake and they would fit the ram right there and then. Post that they offered free one to one training if I wanted it and even offered to transfer all my data from my PC. The cherry on the top for me was the phone call I received from the sales guy three weeks post purchase asking me how I was getting on and reminding me to give them a call if I wanted any help. Over all the years of buying a PC I have never had that sort of service.
I am now running a mac pro with 4 internal hardrives (which install in seconds with no exposed wires in the case) 14 gb of ram, and all backed up using time machine which means I can go back and correct those "small" deletion errors we all make from time to time:)
So in summary. I am not an apple fan because of the name apple. I am an apple fan because I do appreciate simplicity, i appreciate something that just works the way it supposed to with a significant drop in crashes vs my windows machines (note there are still some occasions when you need to force quit a specific program but I have never seen a full system crash yet) .
So going back to the start whichever route you go down all you will see on forums are the personal views of individuals which have been shaped by their experiences none of which should influence you but rather provide background knowledge on the given subject.
Best regards
Josh
Gina seems to have gone all quiet! :)
Regardless of platform, I personally would probably go with quite a powerful laptop and when at home (or at the main place of work) I'd connect it to a large external monitor.
If you want to run a powerful laptop, don't expect great battery life.
The choice of external monitor is quite technical as there are several types of LCD panel available and the differences in quality can be large. Unfortunately, LCD monitor manufacturers rarely declare what type of panel is used and some even change the panel type without changing the model numbers! For photography you should aim for an IPS (in-plane switching) panel monitor. These give the best colour reproduction and viewing angles and are easier to calibrate. They don't have fast refresh rates (typically 6-8ms rather than 2-3ms of TN-type panels which are not so good for photography) so don't expect an IPS monitor to be good for high speed gaming.
A 24 inch screen with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels is a good starting point and most now have LED back-lights, which means more stable light quality over time, and less power consumption. These start at around £250. Maybe budget for your laptop at around £500 and you can get an excellent system for around £750. Maybe also budget for a backup drive and a full size keyboard and mouse when using the big screen (£100 extra).
Laptop spec:
Minimum 4GB RAM
500GB hard drive
15.6 inch screen - 1366x768 resolution, LED backlight
n-category wireless networking
Gigabit LAN wired networking
Look out for USB3 support
HDMI monitor support
Would be nice to have a PCIe card slot
So what's your impression so far Gina?
Ian
Hi Josh. I too wish the imac had more inputs for external sources, however a bit late for you now but might be helpfull for others, there are third party adapters that allow any hdmi input to be displayed through the imacs mini displayport at 720p.
check this link:
http://www.kanexlive.com/products/kanexXD.html
cheers
Ash.
I'm still here Ian, just about to go out with the family so will give a more detailed response later xxx
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like the cheapest Macbook with a 15" screen is priced around £1500. You could get three similarly specified Acers for that money.
The cheapest Macbook appears to be a 13.3 inch screen model and this is not much less than £900.
Ian
Patrick
03-01-11, 03:04 PM
Gina seems to have gone all quiet! :)
Regardless of platform, I personally would probably go with quite a powerful laptop and when at home (or at the main place of work) I'd connect it to a large external monitor.
If you want to run a powerful laptop, don't expect great battery life.
The choice of external monitor is quite technical as there are several types of LCD panel available and the differences in quality can be large. Unfortunately, LCD monitor manufacturers rarely declare what type of panel is used and some even change the panel type without changing the model numbers! For photography you should aim for an IPS (in-plane switching) panel monitor. These give the best colour reproduction and viewing angles and are easier to calibrate. They don't have fast refresh rates (typically 6-8ms rather than 2-3ms of TN-type panels which are not so good for photography) so don't expect an IPS monitor to be good for high speed gaming.
A 24 inch screen with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels is a good starting point and most now have LED back-lights, which means more stable light quality over time, and less power consumption. These start at around £250. Maybe budget for your laptop at around £500 and you can get an excellent system for around £750. Maybe also budget for a backup drive and a full size keyboard and mouse when using the big screen (£100 extra).
Laptop spec:
Minimum 4GB RAM
500GB hard drive
15.6 inch screen - 1366x768 resolution, LED backlight
n-category wireless networking
Gigabit LAN wired networking
Look out for USB3 support
HDMI monitor support
Would be nice to have a PCIe card slot
So what's your impression so far Gina?
Ian
I was also thinking along these lines of a good laptop, but recommend you guest it:), a MacBook plus a Mac 27" monitor around £650 or an Eizo around £800 for a 24". Its true no Mac laptops at the moment sport USB3 only USB2 but they do have one firewire 800, and firewire can be daisy chained so many external drives can be run.
A good laptop and a top class monitor (Eizo, Lacie, NEC also do some top quality Pro monitor as do I believe Sony) is a workable one. This approach would mean at a later date the Mac pro could be invested in and the monitor could be used with that. The laptop then being use for field use
With respect Ian cheap £250 monitors you are suggesting to Gina are not I don't think good enough, as a potential Pro Photographer she should be aspiring to Pro kit.
If Gina decides to stay with windows I would still recommend the same high end Pro monitors
Josh's suggestion of a Mac pro if budget permits is obviously a good one.
Mac software is not the problem it used to be either, all the software Gina is likely to use as a Pro Photographer is offered for Mac, where it isn't there are alternative Mac only software out there to choose from. If she already has Win based software the Licenses can be moved over to Mac in my experience at no cost.
Also from a business point of view, second hand value on Macs is greater, they simply do not depreciate as fast as Win based machines. You have only to watch Macs on eBay to confirm this fact.
Patrick
Josh Bear
03-01-11, 04:20 PM
Hi Josh. I too wish the imac had more inputs for external sources, however a bit late for you now but might be helpfull for others, there are third party adapters that allow any hdmi input to be displayed through the imacs mini displayport at 720p.
check this link:
http://www.kanexlive.com/products/kanexXD.html
cheers
Ash.
Thanks Ash, but in all honesty I would still go for the Mac pro as I wanted the additional storage capacity of the 4 hard drive bays and I am also utilising the 4 firewire 800 ports which are amazingly fast.
Best regards
Josh
Patrick
03-01-11, 06:41 PM
Thanks Ash, but in all honesty I would still go for the Mac pro as I wanted the additional storage capacity of the 4 hard drive bays and I am also utilising the 4 firewire 800 ports which are amazingly fast.
Best regards
Josh
Hi Josh have you tried daisy chaining the firewire? I was wondering if speed were lost when doing so. I have an external storage using the firewire but iMacs have only one so I was intending having another hard drive daisy chained of the H/D I have.
Patrick
Josh Bear
03-01-11, 08:04 PM
Hi Josh have you tried daisy chaining the firewire? I was wondering if speed were lost when doing so. I have an external storage using the firewire but iMacs have only one so I was intending having another hard drive daisy chained of the H/D I have.
Patrick
Hi
I did a bit of reading on the subject and the summary seems to be yes you can daisy chain and the only time there will be a slow down of speed will be if you access a file off one of the drives and then whilst that activity is happening try and do something on another drive in the chain. Slow down is due to using the same bandwidth.
Hope this helps
Josh
Patrick
03-01-11, 08:25 PM
Hi
I did a bit of reading on the subject and the summary seems to be yes you can daisy chain and the only time there will be a slow down of speed will be if you access a file off one of the drives and then whilst that activity is happening try and do something on another drive in the chain. Slow down is due to using the same bandwidth.
Hope this helps
Josh
Sounds Reasonable, I intend buying a 2TB Western Digital By Book with raid for Backup and use the 1TB My Book I already have as as a hard drive extension with only my image files only on it.
I have a Buffalo WiFi TeraStation which is very good but as my image files get larger it takes a long time to back things up.
The firewire on the My Books as you say is lightening fast, even with a small amount of slow down will not be inconvenient.
Patrick
Patrick
Laptop spec:
Minimum 4GB RAM
500GB hard drive
15.6 inch screen - 1366x768 resolution, LED backlight
n-category wireless networking
Gigabit LAN wired networking
Look out for USB3 support
HDMI monitor support
Would be nice to have a PCIe card slot
Ian
Very attractive spec. for me, indeed.
I'm looking for a laptop these days although it's not very urgent (as my main PCs are desktops). My good old IBM laptop assembled in 2004 got a thunder surge last July.
Lenovo's orthorized service center returned it to me without repair saying the repair period expired in March.
A pity because it runs ok except one point - the USB ports do not recognize any external devices - monitor, keyboad, HDD, USB memories ...
At the moment I'm swaying between a laptop and a netbook.
yoshi
TheBull1875
04-01-11, 05:36 AM
Personally firmly in the Windows 7 camp. I have an i7 machine and and a 27" monitor. Younger son has a Mac and I have still had to go and do things for him like getting his wireless printer to work for example(not sure if that is down to him or the Mac though :-)). I have had this machine for over a year now and it has never crashed and never had any downtime for repairs either. Nor have I had any viruses. I am guessing by the demographics on here that there are not a lot of gamers? I am one of these numpties that love Call of Duty etc as well. Don't get them for Mac. I know I can dual boot etc, just seems a waste of time. There is without a doubt a better range of hard and software available for Windows. I guess at the end of the day it is finding a machine that does what you want for the price you want. Up to this machine I have always built my own from scratch ( I was in too much of a hurry for this one), Can't do that with a Mac. Future proofing is impossible but at least with the PC you can upgrade various components as you like. Not sure you can do that with a Mac. As for PC World!!!!! Just don't go there!!!!! Sad, clueless individuals thrown into a job most do not understand except sell sell sell.
There is without a doubt a better range of hard and software available for Windows. I guess at the end of the day it is finding a machine that does what you want for the price you want. Up to this machine I have always built my own from scratch ( I was in too much of a hurry for this one), Can't do that with a Mac. Future proofing is impossible but at least with the PC you can upgrade various components as you like. Not sure you can do that with a Mac.
Yes, you summarized the pros of Windows/PC very nicely. currently I use two desktop PC's which were built on BTO and I added later some other divices myself as well as one completely self-built PC.
The wider range of choices of both hardwares/softwares including free softs / higher possibility of getting good advices from other PC users when necessary etc. ... price competition is quite hard here so it helps me a lot;)
I think I partially understand the advantages of Mac which I learned from my Mac-user friends and do not necessarily intend to insist on Windows PC. Maybe I should also add that my Mac-user friends are mostly professional people although not in photography. But again, I'm not saying that correlation exists between Mac and being professional.
I just would like Gina to make a well informed decision especially when she starts her own business.
yoshi
You don't need to spend £800 on a top notch 24 inch monitor, much more like £250-£300 for an iiyama, for example, with an IPS LCD panel.
If you have a PCIe slot you can add Firewire 800 or USB3 adapters.
Ian
I was also thinking along these lines of a good laptop, but recommend you guest it:), a MacBook plus a Mac 27" monitor around £650 or an Eizo around £800 for a 24". Its true no Mac laptops at the moment sport USB3 only USB2 but they do have one firewire 800, and firewire can be daisy chained so many external drives can be run.
A good laptop and a top class monitor (Eizo, Lacie, NEC also do some top quality Pro monitor as do I believe Sony) is a workable one. This approach would mean at a later date the Mac pro could be invested in and the monitor could be used with that. The laptop then being use for field use
With respect Ian cheap £250 monitors you are suggesting to Gina are not I don't think good enough, as a potential Pro Photographer she should be aspiring to Pro kit.
If Gina decides to stay with windows I would still recommend the same high end Pro monitors
Josh's suggestion of a Mac pro if budget permits is obviously a good one.
Mac software is not the problem it used to be either, all the software Gina is likely to use as a Pro Photographer is offered for Mac, where it isn't there are alternative Mac only software out there to choose from. If she already has Win based software the Licenses can be moved over to Mac in my experience at no cost.
Also from a business point of view, second hand value on Macs is greater, they simply do not depreciate as fast as Win based machines. You have only to watch Macs on eBay to confirm this fact.
Patrick
Here is an excellent 23 inch Dell monitor with an S-IPS panel for well under £300:
Dell U2312 23 inch Widescreen IPS Panel LCD Monitor (bezel - grey/silver in colour): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories
Ian
Patrick
04-01-11, 11:37 AM
You don't need to spend £800 on a top notch 24 inch monitor, much more like £250-£300 for an iiyama, for example, with an IPS LCD panel.
If you have a PCIe slot you can add Firewire 800 or USB3 adapters.
Ian
As good as iilyama are they are not as good as Eizo or Lacie.
Indeed it is possible to have Firewire fitted to Windows PC, I only mentioned it as an alternative to USB3, if Gina buys a Win PC with USB3, its doubtful if Firewire 800 would be required, although its said to be better for video.
To refer to your other post on the cost of a 15" MacBook pro yes they are indeed £1499 which depending on Gina's budget the 27" iMac at £1399 looks a good option. High spec, excellent large monitor and good second hand value when changing the machine.
Patrick
Patrick
04-01-11, 11:59 AM
Personally firmly in the Windows 7 camp. I have an i7 machine and and a 27" monitor. Younger son has a Mac and I have still had to go and do things for him like getting his wireless printer to work for example(not sure if that is down to him or the Mac though :-)). I have had this machine for over a year now and it has never crashed and never had any downtime for repairs either. Nor have I had any viruses. I am guessing by the demographics on here that there are not a lot of gamers? I am one of these numpties that love Call of Duty etc as well. Don't get them for Mac. I know I can dual boot etc, just seems a waste of time. There is without a doubt a better range of hard and software available for Windows. I guess at the end of the day it is finding a machine that does what you want for the price you want. Up to this machine I have always built my own from scratch ( I was in too much of a hurry for this one), Can't do that with a Mac. Future proofing is impossible but at least with the PC you can upgrade various components as you like. Not sure you can do that with a Mac. As for PC World!!!!! Just don't go there!!!!! Sad, clueless individuals thrown into a job most do not understand except sell sell sell.
Its true Macs are not gamers machines, although a number of the top selling games are now offered for Mac.As fare as I know Gina is not looking at gaming. Anyone wanting the latest games would inevitably be disappointed.
I disagree at your statement on the software (gaming excluded) that is an old notion it may have been true a few years ago but no longer, All the main manufacturers support Mac such as Adobe, Nike and many more including Microsoft's office, all my photo software except two had the Mac option. Its the shareware & freeware companies that tend to be platform specific, and there are tons of shareware & freeware for Mac only.
Sorry I forgot Sage my accounts package I use that on my Windows partition, if I had been starting from scratch I would be using a Mac based accounts package.
My iMac was so easy to set up, for example to set up my email account I simply typed in my address and the machine set it up perfectly. With Windows I always had to set it up myself.
With Windows the Blue-tooth was always a bit flaky, working when it felt like it (I had a blue-tooth mouse) On the Mac the blue-tooth keyboard and mouse never miss a beat.
Patrick
TheBull1875
04-01-11, 12:31 PM
Its true Macs are not gamers machines, although a number of the top selling games are now offered for Mac.As fare as I know Gina is not looking at gaming. Anyone wanting the latest games would inevitably be disappointed.
I disagree at your statement on the software (gaming excluded) that is an old notion it may have been true a few years ago but no longer, All the main manufacturers support Mac such as Adobe, Nike and many more including Microsoft's office, all my photo software except two had the Mac option. Its the shareware & freeware companies that tend to be platform specific, and there are tons of shareware & freeware for Mac only.
Sorry I forgot Sage my accounts package I use that on my Windows partition, if I had been starting from scratch I would be using a Mac based accounts package.
My iMac was so easy to set up, for example to set up my email account I simply typed in my address and the machine set it up perfectly. With Windows I always had to set it up myself.
With Windows the Blue-tooth was always a bit flaky, working when it felt like it (I had a blue-tooth mouse) On the Mac the blue-tooth keyboard and mouse never miss a beat.
Patrick
I will bow to your superior knowledge on the software side Patrick. Not having used Macs personally (apart from as I say above) I am only going on what I see around. Never seem to see much mac software in the computer shops.
As good as iilyama are they are not as good as Eizo or Lacie.
Indeed it is possible to have Firewire fitted to Windows PC, I only mentioned it as an alternative to USB3, if Gina buys a Win PC with USB3, its doubtful if Firewire 800 would be required, although its said to be better for video.
To refer to your other post on the cost of a 15" MacBook pro yes they are indeed £1499 which depending on Gina's budget the 27" iMac at £1399 looks a good option. High spec, excellent large monitor and good second hand value when changing the machine.
Patrick
It depends on what you specifiy for iiyama - they have inexpensive and premium products, but they are almost always good value. Lacie is much the same as iiyama's premium range. Eizo and NEC can be hugely expensive as they produce very specialised displays. I would argue that most of us here would be more than happy with a S-IPS panel from display brands such as Dell and iiyama, among others.
Ian
Patrick
04-01-11, 02:56 PM
I would argue that most of us here would be more than happy with a S-IPS panel from display brands such as Dell and iiyama, among others.
Ian
I agree I was very happy with a iiyama for years, and then a Dell up to buying the Mac, and then WOW!!!
Patrick
I agree I was very happy with a iiyama for years, and then a Dell up to buying the Mac, and then WOW!!!
Patrick
It's very unlikely that your previous monitors used IPS panels as they used to be prohibitively expensive. I have a 24 inch 'cheap' brand monitor that is about three years old and it cost £200 back then, when an IPS version would have cost over £500, even from a less well known brand.
Today the quality of 24 inch monitor from the budget ranks is now around £125. An IPS monitor is double the price, still. It's most likely that you were impressed by your Mac monitor because it was the first IPS monitor you came across :) rather than because it was an Apple product.
Ian
Patrick
04-01-11, 09:44 PM
I will bow to your superior knowledge on the software side Patrick. Not having used Macs personally (apart from as I say above) I am only going on what I see around. Never seem to see much mac software in the computer shops.
Its true you don't see much software in the computer shops, nor for that matter in Apple resellers or Apples own stores, very limited selection. Its mostly bought on line. I converted all my licenses I wanted from Win To Mac and bought Microsoft Office for Mac, didn't like Keynote, (desktop publisher) numbers (spread sheet) or Pages (word processor) runs very slow compared to Office for Mac. But I run them on the iMac and Office on the MacBook.
No they don't get everything right and I'm not blind to their deficiencies either, there is just less of them. Nor am I a gamer, of no interest at all.
Photoshop, Lightroom, Photomatix, PTGui all run a dream.
Patrick
Patrick
04-01-11, 09:55 PM
It's very unlikely that your previous monitors used IPS panels as they used to be prohibitively expensive. I have a 24 inch 'cheap' brand monitor that is about three years old and it cost £200 back then, when an IPS version would have cost over £500, even from a less well known brand.
Today the quality of 24 inch monitor from the budget ranks is now around £125. An IPS monitor is double the price, still. It's most likely that you were impressed by your Mac monitor because it was the first IPS monitor you came across :) rather than because it was an Apple product.
Ian
You are possibly correct the iilyama was years ago and the Dell was bought approx 3-4 years ago. That said I haven't seen anything better than the Mac screen when I look round, in fact it still stands out for its quality.
Its interesting the BBC use a lot of LG monitors on their computers.
Patrick.
You are possibly correct the iilyama was years ago and the Dell was bought approx 3-4 years ago. That said I haven't seen anything better than the Mac screen when I look round, in fact it still stands out for its quality.
Its interesting the BBC use a lot of LG monitors on their computers.
Patrick.
LG is not only a manufacturer of monitors, but they also manufacture panels and they have their own version of the IPS panel technology.
Ian
Patrick
05-01-11, 12:08 PM
LG is not only a manufacturer of monitors, but they also manufacture panels and they have their own version of the IPS panel technology.
Ian
I had an LG my first flat panel monitor when the iilyama gave up. I Had first bought a Samsung but it had some dead pixels so I returned it and had the LG, I was very pleased with that, then I moved on to the Dell system.
Patrick
Stephen
05-01-11, 07:40 PM
I don't think I can really add much to this thread. As a Mac user I think much in favour of them has already been said and Ian has done his best to balance the discussion in his usual pro PC fashion, ;) which lets be fair, needs to be done.
Any argument about which is best is pretty academic I feel, especially as I sense Gina would not go for a Mac and she specifically asked about a PC. At the end of the day they are more expensive and if money is an issue then that's very important.
I would however just point out that as a matter of interest, I believe there are at least 4 regular members that have converted to Macs in the past 12 months and there are several others that were already using them, so the appeal is definitely there *LOL and of course this has all become clear in this thread *zzz
Graham_of_Rainham
05-01-11, 07:49 PM
Here is an excellent 23 inch Dell monitor with an S-IPS panel for well under £300:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-U2311-Widescreen-Panel-Monitor/dp/B003R7K332/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=computers&qid=1294135655&sr=8-3
Ian
My new PC arrived today, which came with a free monitor as part of the deal. However they let you upgrade it, so I got one of these.
It is VERY good :D
My new PC arrived today, which came with a free monitor as part of the deal. However they let you upgrade it, so I got one of these.
It is VERY good :D
Graham - did you get the Dell UltraSharp U2311 that was linked to in my post?
This has been awarded a 'Recommended' rating in PC Pro Magazine (March 2011).
The overall Labs winner was another IPS panel monitor, and incredibly it's another 23 inch model but for under £200; the Viewsonic VP2365wb.
No Apple screens were tested.
Ian