Dream computer: what would you get? (gEeKs pLeEz)

[Marko]

Hey Kurt, congrats on the biz decision. "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro," courtesy of the late, sometimes great, and perpetually weird Hunter Thompson.

I honestly prefer Macintosh computers for this purpose, and PCs solely for web, general biz/word processing, and yes, gaming (I'm a bit of a geek in that manner). One Mac laptop, one Mac desktop.

Now, If you're shooting digitally, you really might consider a ultra-portable laptop for card dumping and immediate client viewing as the case might dictate. But I assume you're looking solely at an image processing work station. I dont use PCs for this purpose and so I wouldn't know the BEST answers for the best price of your question, but I would state first of all that whatever you've got, make sure you've got at least 1GB of fast RAM to start with. That is one thing you really can never have enough of, especially when it comes to image processing. Make sure you've got Firewire (IEEE 1394) ports built-in to begin with as well. Get yourself a Firewire card reader, they're less than $50. You might want to have a nice large capacity external hard drive. They're quite a bargain these days. And a tape drive for archiving long-term might be a good idea as well (with tapes stored ideally in a fire-proof safe off-location). This is all assuming that your primary shooting medium is digital. If film then I've got a slightly different set of recommendations, starting with an "A1" film scanner and top quality scanning software (VERY important).

In any case, start with Photoshop CS as that is really the version that "came of age" as far as photographic purposes go. Unfortunately I know of no really good color-correction plug-ins for CS and I knew of a great one for PS 6, but perhaps someone else knows one. The RAW converter that comes with CS is strong, and you're not going to find better unless you spend some considerably extra cash (around $500) for PhaseOne DSLR software, which I have not myself used, but everybody I know that uses it praises it to the teeth.

Also, you've picked up on something that many overlook, and I'll back up. Image browsing software is a highly overlooked and very important part of your work flow. Let's face it. Going professional, no matter what your specialty is, the chances are you are going to be spending a lot of time going over and choosing selects from a large number of images on a very frequent basis. Making that as quick and painless as possible really shouldn't be undervalued. However, every piece of software that I've used (and I've never gone very high-end with this as digital is still more of a sideline than main-event thing for me) leaves me extremely disappointed. So much easier to browse your chromes on a lightbox or contact sheet I'm afraid.

[Marko]

MONITORS!!!

Cannot be underestimated. Your latest top of the line wah-hoo 64 bit processor in the absense of a good monitor (or monitorS as in plural) is useless.

First question is what is your output and image useage? Your workflow? If you're giving clients color-corrected, ready-to-print images (or making prints yourself) I highly suggest going with a higher end, color-calibratable CRT monitor. They're just much more color-reliable than an LCD monitor. Nearly every service bureau and digital pre-press outfit uses them for color/contrast critical issues. And on top of that, make sure you've got monitor calibration hardware/software. And the one nice surprise you get with that is that they're cheaper for the money.

A second monitor, probably an LCD, is not a bad idea to house your tool bars and palettes and so forth, if you've got a dual-monitor capable graphics card.

In any case, CRT or LCD, I suggest the largest monitor you can comfortably afford (large larger largest, easier to work with, saves your eyes), and color calibration hardware/software is ESSENTIAL.

[StMarc]

I'd buy a dual-processor G5, but you are a Windows guy. Other than saying, max out the RAM, get an Intel Pentium and not a cut-rate CPU, and get a good video card, I won't offer any other opinions on the box itself.

However, do the following:

1) Get a motherboard with USB 2.0 and/or FireWire800, or buy a card with one or both.

2) Buy two external hard drives, big as you can, same capacity (preferably exact same model.)

3) Set up a RAID Level 1 (Mirror) array. Back up all your stuff to the RAID.

I just set up a system like this on our video editing workstation with two 300GB FireWire drives. What a RAID 1 array does is take two drives and make them look like one drive of the capacity of a single drive in the array. This cuts your storage space in half (with two 300GB drives, you have one virtual drive with 300GB of space.) But the advantage is that *both drives have all your stuff on them.* If one fails, the other will automatically switch to solo mode. And if one fails, you can just plug in a new one and it will automagically replicate your data again. Absent a disaster of truly mind-boggling proportions this is as close to bulletproof storage as you can get.

If budget and/or space don't allow, I would advise looking into making your internal HD system a RAID, which you can do with two internal drives and the proper controller. Many high-end motherboards have SATA RAID controllers built in.

M

[JonScott]

In another two or three years when my now-five-year-old Mac is no longer current and needs to be replaced, I'll get another shiny new Mac.

[vsrdan]

I build computers once in a while for friends (therefore, kind of up-to-date with my knowledge on hardware). Here are my chioces:

Motherboard brand = Asus P5GD2 Deluxe (I use Asus whenever possible)
Type of and amount of RAM = 2GB DDR2 533 (use two 1GB modules, you CANNOT use one 2GB module with the above mb)
CPU = Intel LGA775 640 3.2GHz (get the retail pack with heatsink/fan, don't waste money on any faster ones. Processor is not the critical fator deciding overall system speed)
Amount of HD, type of disks, etc = Two SATA HDD's (one 80GB or so as boot drive and one 160GB or so for storage. DO NOT use just one drive for everything if your pictures are for clients). I use Samsung or Seagate. Maxtors are noisy.
DVD burner brands = One dual layer DVD +/- RW (Brand NEC)
What type/brand of monitor = Samsung LCD flat panel (17 inch or higher). This brand is exceptional compared to others.
Video card = PCI Express x16 (ATI X600 PRO or similar with at least 128MB memory) I like Sapphire brand

Other things I would suggest:

Another DVD ROM drive
A floppy drive
Very good case with one firewire and few USB ports in front (something like Cooler Master Cavelier)
At least 400W silent power supply. I like Coolmax brand.

What software?
XP pro = YES
Other things on software = I am not an expert... so, I wouldn't comment.

Good luck with your new computer?

If you need more professional advise - visit the following link. Guys there will offer you free advise.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PC_BUILDER/

-Dan (2)

[vsrdan]

Personally I like AMD processors. However, whenever I build a system for somebody else, I always try to use an Intel. Sometimes there are those 'minor issues' with AMD's which can be fixed 'very easily'. Also, I have noticed that some software (not all of them) work faster with Intels becasue they are optimized for Intel. Having said that, I have also noticed that Adobe Photoshop works faster with AMD's than their comparable Intel counterparts. If you are going to go with an AMD, pick a 'high-end' one (such as Athlon FX).

-Dan(2)