Desktop Computer for Photography?

Question

My wife is currently searching for the best factory built computer for her photography business. She uses Windows so the Mac is out. We have been looking at getting another XPS 400 system from Dell because we have one of them all ready, so any info will help. Also, what would be a great graphics card to get when looking to purchase a computer!

Answer 1

I would recommend 2GB RAM and the largest hard drive that you can get. Any Pentium 4 Dell would suffice. All video cards are going to be pretty much the same. Video cards differ in gaming performance, but not in business usage.

If you are into photography, you want to use a CRT monitor rather than a LCD monitor. LCD provides poor color reproduction. All professional graphic designers go with the 22" or larger monitors. Mitsubishi is a popular brand.

Answer 2

Despite what you said, I'd actually recommend a Mac, unless there's some particular piece of Windows software she needs. She'll still be able to share files with Windows computers, if that's an issue, but Mac OS generally works better and is easier to maintain.

And even if there is some particular piece of Windows software that your wife needs, you can run Windows on the current generation of Macs with Intel chips. (But it's such a poorly designed OS that the less you use it, the better.)

If you can explain more fully what you mean by "she uses Windows so the Mac is out", I'll try to give more specific information, but for the moment, it sounds like you may be dismissing Mac OS prematurely.

Answer 3

When you are ready to buy a new system, go to www.stupidcheapcomputers.net. I buy all of my stuff from them, and everything is Vista ready.

Microsoft is about to release its latest operating system, Vista, in January. It’s going to make all of these “bargain” computers nothing but JUNK as soon as it’s released. The reason that you are seeing so many cheap systems on the market right now is because a lot of them CAN’T RUN Vista and the merchants are trying to dump them as hard and fast as they can before Vista shows up and everyone learns what a piece of crap they were sold for $500 (or whatever).

Anyway, I bought a complete, new system from stupidcheapcomputers.net with a warranty for LESS than it would cost me to build it myself or order a custom one from the manufacturer. You can use my frequent buyer code: ATX926. That will get an additional 10% discount at checkout.

I have NEVER had any problems with anything that they have sold me and their customer service is outstanding. Those guys blow my mind.

Good luck!