I am just gettting started in the photo editing world. I am in the market to purchase a new computer and I am pretty confused on what to buy. I have asked people at stores and get all sorts of diferent answers. I want to run a program like adobe or correll. I am looking to spend anywhere from 350 to 550 and for now I would like to get a laptop. I know I need 4 gb of ram, but im confused on processor speed. I know I need atleast Dual Core, but I was told not to get a I3 or not to get a dual core at all. What should I look into getting for this price range and will those programs run fine if I stay in this price range?
Photo Editing
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Doubler
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IMO if you plan on using the computer primarily for photo editing/movies get an Apple. If you plan that as a secondary purpose get a PC.
For an Apple get Aperture 3 or Lightroom, Photoshop Elements and Topaz Filters.
for a PC get Lightroom, Photoshop Elements and Topaz Filters. You don't have to get them all at once so Start with either Aperture or Lightroom. You can do the majority of processing with either.
There are plenty of other programs out there, I recommend these because they are easy to use and you get great results.
4 gig of Ram is great and get the biggest Hard drive you can as photos and movies eat a lot of space, 500 gig minimum. Can't talk to the processor.
For an Apple get Aperture 3 or Lightroom, Photoshop Elements and Topaz Filters.
for a PC get Lightroom, Photoshop Elements and Topaz Filters. You don't have to get them all at once so Start with either Aperture or Lightroom. You can do the majority of processing with either.
There are plenty of other programs out there, I recommend these because they are easy to use and you get great results.
4 gig of Ram is great and get the biggest Hard drive you can as photos and movies eat a lot of space, 500 gig minimum. Can't talk to the processor.
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All the graphics and photo artists seem to prefer Apple. They cost twice as much as PCs, but they do have an easier to learn user interface. But not by much, the PC has so much more volume that people develop great software for it too. It becomes a religious debate -- either one does the job well these days. If you want to save money, buy a PC. If you really like the Apple user interface, spend more and get one.
Software: For the Apple, use Aperture. For the PC, use Lightroom. Both are top line photo software.
There are so many PC Laptops out there that I could not recommend one. I bought one about 3 years ago just for dive trips, I think it has 4GB, 500GB, and Windows 7 (updated from Vista). I use Lightroom on it and it gets the photos stored, sorted, edited, and emailed or posted while I am traveling. You can find Laptops on ebay for about half price, just last year's model. So what, they are perfectly fine for the job.
For home, I have a full sized machine with a better keyboard, display and faster everything. I'm spoiled by it, it runs circles around the laptop. I don't think I could use the laptop as a primary, but it's invaluable for travel.
Software: For the Apple, use Aperture. For the PC, use Lightroom. Both are top line photo software.
There are so many PC Laptops out there that I could not recommend one. I bought one about 3 years ago just for dive trips, I think it has 4GB, 500GB, and Windows 7 (updated from Vista). I use Lightroom on it and it gets the photos stored, sorted, edited, and emailed or posted while I am traveling. You can find Laptops on ebay for about half price, just last year's model. So what, they are perfectly fine for the job.
For home, I have a full sized machine with a better keyboard, display and faster everything. I'm spoiled by it, it runs circles around the laptop. I don't think I could use the laptop as a primary, but it's invaluable for travel.
DevonDiver
N/A
I have two laptops. I nice Dell with a 17" screen that is primarily for photo-editing and also a small HP Mini for when I travel light.
The HP Mini has an Intel Atom 1.6ghz chip, which is sufficient to run Adobe Photoshop (I have CS on this computer) for underwater photoprocessing.
I'd say that any modern laptop with a decent screen size is more than powerful enough to run a good photo editor.
As an aside: there are several current threads about photo processing techniques using Photoshop that you might find interesting. You can access these with a quick search.
The HP Mini has an Intel Atom 1.6ghz chip, which is sufficient to run Adobe Photoshop (I have CS on this computer) for underwater photoprocessing.
I'd say that any modern laptop with a decent screen size is more than powerful enough to run a good photo editor.
As an aside: there are several current threads about photo processing techniques using Photoshop that you might find interesting. You can access these with a quick search.
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Warmwater Wank
Contributor
Bflem--You didn't mention what camera you are shooting. Whether you shoot RAW files (and if your camera offers this you should use it!), if you prefer a laptop or desktop, some possible uses you want to make of your edited images etc. If you aren't sure of some of these things let me suggest you skip asking stores what they want to sell you. Instead, take a look at CNET.com for some unbiased information, test reports, reviews etc. That could help a lot in narrowing down your choices. This link will start you off w/ desktop input: Desktop reviews: Desktop computers and computer systems - CNET Reviews You can move on to laptops from there.
I edit large photo files (40-50mb is not unusual) on a Gateway DX4831 that uses an i3 CPU. No problems. The processor is rated at 2.93 Ghz but it's the 6GB of RAM that keeps it sailing along very nicely. The 1TB hardrive is pretty roomy for storage (though I did add another 1TB external drive later for backup). I paid around $540. for it last March. I'm not saying to buy it (it's probably been replaced by now anyway...), just saying you should be able to easily stay w/in your budget. Macs are great, wish I could afford one but PCs will do what you want. If you live near a community college or university look into community ed classes (non-credit) if you want more computer or Photoshop etc. help. They can be a great resource and keep you from getting too frustrated. Good luck--and have fun! // ww
I edit large photo files (40-50mb is not unusual) on a Gateway DX4831 that uses an i3 CPU. No problems. The processor is rated at 2.93 Ghz but it's the 6GB of RAM that keeps it sailing along very nicely. The 1TB hardrive is pretty roomy for storage (though I did add another 1TB external drive later for backup). I paid around $540. for it last March. I'm not saying to buy it (it's probably been replaced by now anyway...), just saying you should be able to easily stay w/in your budget. Macs are great, wish I could afford one but PCs will do what you want. If you live near a community college or university look into community ed classes (non-credit) if you want more computer or Photoshop etc. help. They can be a great resource and keep you from getting too frustrated. Good luck--and have fun! // ww
Once you go Mac you won't go back!
The big problem is your price range. $350 to $550 will not get you much horsepower, especially in a laptop. You can't touch a Mac anywhere near those prices. I switched to Macs a couple of years ago, and would never go back. Things work, they work well, and you just don't have the headaches that go with the wonderful world of Windows. I use a combination of Aperture 3 and Photoshop CS5, and couldn't be happier. But again, it's not an option in your price range. It sounds like you're just beginning, so entry level may not be a bad idea. I have no doubt you can pick up a lower end Windows laptop in that range. As far as software, IMHO, Adobe is the only way to go. Depending on how far you want to go, Photoshop Elements (in essence a stripped down version of CS5) may be the only program you ever need.
Right now at the Apple Store;
a refurbished Mac Mini Snow Leopard Server with 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB memory, Dual 500GB Serial ATA hard disk drives, HDMI port with support for up to 1920-by-1200 resolution and NVIDIA GeForce 320M with 256MB memory is $849.
a refurbished Macbook Pro 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM, 250GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm, 8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) and NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory is $999.
a Refurbished iMac 21.5-inch 3.06GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 21.5-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 4GB memory, 500GB hard drive, 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW), ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics with 256MB memory and built-in iSight camera is $1019. $80 more for same, same with a terabit hd.
You might find a craigslist Macbook for ~$500. Then all you need is to decide on what software.
a refurbished Mac Mini Snow Leopard Server with 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB memory, Dual 500GB Serial ATA hard disk drives, HDMI port with support for up to 1920-by-1200 resolution and NVIDIA GeForce 320M with 256MB memory is $849.
a refurbished Macbook Pro 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM, 250GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm, 8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) and NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory is $999.
a Refurbished iMac 21.5-inch 3.06GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 21.5-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 4GB memory, 500GB hard drive, 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW), ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics with 256MB memory and built-in iSight camera is $1019. $80 more for same, same with a terabit hd.
You might find a craigslist Macbook for ~$500. Then all you need is to decide on what software.
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