New Desktop PC/Mac
- Started
- Last post
- 10 Responses
- vitamins
Hello,
I'm looking for a new desktop, and asking for some recommendations. I had a HP Pavilion for less than a year, and it's having issues turning on now.
I'm looking for the most bang for the buck, so i'm leaning towards a pc. I had a mac before which was really slow, but i'm not sure how much faster it is now with a pc processor. I'm not looking for a laptop, but looking for either a pc desktop (dell?) or a imac? How much ram would you recommend to work with adobe cs4 for a mac or pc?
PaYcE!!!!
- brandelec0
Mac Pro 8-Core (6GB)
- zarkonite0
wouldn't your HP still be under warranty?
A 9100 series pavilion looks all right... whatever you do, wait till oct 22nd at least to get a Win7 machine.
- dropdown0
moth swears by macs.
- bulletfactory0
i swear by and often swear at macs. - 4+GB
- kgvs720
Dell or Macs +1
- vitamins0
Yeah, I remember having a dell before and it lasted over 3 years.
- designbot0
-Core i7 Processor
-6GB of triple channel RAM (Brand name! Crucial, OCZ, Corsair, Mushkin)
-Nvidia GTX series video card 260 - 295 (anything in this range is top notch)
-Asus motherboard (recently shown to be more stable than even Macs)I realize that's probably alot of detail that might not care about. You don't have to know much about the details, just look for a machine with these specs. A good custom shop will be able to give you all the details about the computer you buy. If you go through someone like Dell or another big name it may be more difficult to find out these details though.
Something in this range will be faster than an 8-core Mac and be a hell of alot less. These new core i7 processors are smoking fast. ( I just built a core i7 machine) They are have true multi-threading which in layman's terms just means you can do more shit at one time and it won't slow down. If you are stuck on going with a mainstream brand like Dell, go with their high-end "XPS" computers...otherwise go with a Mac. Lots of the big computer names use shitty parts.
Be sure and get Windows 7 and not Vista. CS4 runs flawless.
- I tried to tone that down and I still sound like a total nerd! ah well at least I'm not in denial:)designbot
- the 8-core processor in a mac pro is a nehalem = core i7acescence
- There is an 8-core? I don't think so but I could be wrong. At work I am running a dual quad core Mac (8 cores total)designbot
- ...My Mac is running Intel Xeon's though.designbot
- very helpful, thanksvitamins
- a xeon 5500 is an i7, same technology but xeons are typically used in serversacescence
- glad to hear....and no prob vitamins.designbot
- 4 cores, hyperthreaded = 8 cores visible to the OS.detritus
- akrokdesign0
does it really matter if you get a pc or mac, isn't cs4 as bad on both. :-)
- fyoucher10
I've got both a Dell Workstation and a new MacBookPro to compare with...
Honestly, if I were you I'd go Mac. No matter how great a PC you get, Windows OS still is crap. It's the reason why I switched. Loving every second using this Mac. Things just 'work' and everything is easier. I'd suggest getting a laptop and an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. The option of portability is great. Desktops are old news and unless you're harnessing the full power of say...a MacPro for really complicated shit for NASA or Pixar (not Photoshop), then get something not as crazy or expensive.
The Dell worked okay when I had XP installed but then Vista came out and all the expensive (extremely expensive) hardware that I bought works like poop on the new OS. It 'works' but lets just say this system costs twice as much as the MBP and the MBP works twice as fast. Plus, Windows has so many bugs with it and so many other issues you have to deal with. On top of that, Dell service is shit now, even with the small business plan.
(Also, supposedly a new or updated iMac is coming out really soon, so you may want to hold off for a bit if you wanted to go that route)
- You might be surprised with WIndows 7, it is quite good. I think it gives OSX some good competition.designbot
- OSX is really solid but has it's nuances too. Guess it boils down to preference.designbot
- I think my last straw with MS was Vista. XP was never great either, it just sorta worked after SP2.fyoucher1
- Where did u hear the new imac's were being released soon? Was thinking of getting one but might wait if they come out in the next month or so.fryday
- detritus0
Now' a great time to buy a PC - you can go high end with i7s or low high end with the new, slightly cheaper, i5s. Memory, especially fast DDR3 (i7-specific) is stupidly cheap, graphics cards have gone apeshit and there's a really wide selection of high quality components otherwise. If I were you, I'd dig out a geeky friend, ask their advice, then offer them a little money to build you a machine - you can save a large percentage over a pre-built machine, and come out with a higher spec.