Posted: 2/3/2012 3:38:49 PM EDT
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I enjoy digital photography, take lots of pics in RAW so I have fairly larger files. My pc's hard drive took a dump, so I'm in the market for a new pc.
Not sure about how much RAM I should be looking for, processor, etc. I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to computers, so if anyone would like to chime in on what I should be looking for, or a particular pc I might want to consider, I'd appreciate it. |
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What programs do you use or plan to purchase to edit with?
An i5 or i7 system with 8GB or more of RAM will be more than adequate for most photo editing needs, but you'll want to make sure you have plenty of storage and a good backup system in place (and actually use the backup system regularly). I know people still plunking along with old core2 duo/3GB RAM machines that handle lightroom and photoshop just fine, if not quite as snappy as the new systems. |
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Thanks for the response.
I use CS5 for editing. I was thinking at least 6G RAM. Intended on getting an external drive for storage, but I burn a lot of images to CD's too. I was considering a Gateway pc with the i5 processor you mentioned and 6G RAM, but a buddy wants to build a pc for me out of top of the line components. The Gateway would be a little cheaper. |
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Quoted:
What programs do you use or plan to purchase to edit with? An i5 or i7 system with 8GB or more of RAM will be more than adequate for most photo editing needs, but you'll want to make sure you have plenty of storage and a good backup system in place (and actually use the backup system regularly). I know people still plunking along with old core2 duo/3GB RAM machines that handle lightroom and photoshop just fine, if not quite as snappy as the new systems. This is on target. Really for photo editing you could get by without issue with an i3 as well. I use my core 2 duo macbook (4gb ram) with CS5 without issue, but I also use my i7 2600k (@4.4ghz), 8gb ram, GTX 560, 128gb SSD (need to upgrade this) for photo editing (built it for video editing). Backups of my photography are a bigger deal. I keep a 2TB network drive + 500GB external, along with another 1TB I keep at work. I also got a blu-ray burner, and spent a day getting every photo backed up in a less sensitive medium (compared to HD's) |
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Quoted:
Thanks for the response. I use CS5 for editing. I was thinking at least 6G RAM. Intended on getting an external drive for storage, but I burn a lot of images to CD's too. I was considering a Gateway pc with the i5 processor you mentioned and 6G RAM, but a buddy wants to build a pc for me out of top of the line components. The Gateway would be a little cheaper. I wouldn't have less than 8GB in any new computer, at least an i5 or better. I got 8gb of DDR3 in my work laptop for 35 bucks shipped (crucial brand), with along with a first gen i5 and SSD is quite peppy. Looking to upgrade my i7 desktop to 16gb after I upgrade to 6gb/s SSD |
I was looking really hard at the DATOptic Raid Controllers before HD prices went through the roof because of the flooding. I was going to build an external raid with the Datoptic harware controller and some sort of cd/dvd duplicator box. I had priced it out before the floods had the money to do it around xmas looked at the HD prices and was like  
So I am holding off till prices come down. Had to buy an HD today for my MBPro and it cost an arm and a leg. I knocked it off the ottoman it was on and the HD wasn't happy. It is working again but I am getting intermittent beachballs so I figure it doesn't have much time left. I got the OWC cradle that allows you to put a second HD where the superdrive goes. So I will clone my current drive to the new one and then use the old drive as a backup clone until it dies if it makes it that long. But figure in some sort of raid so you have at least one level of redundancy. Its not if your hard drive(s) will fail it is when. |