Upgrading computer

[J A Mortram]

Nick... thanks very much for that.

Could you tell me... what's the advantage or IS there an advantage of having quad core?... I used too and it was great... (Before the HDD failed and board melted!) of those two machines... what would be best?

[nick_gray]

A quad core processor, as the name suggests has 4 processors on the main cpu, which allows 4 levels of cache so 4 processes can be run at the same time. However the 4 processors are only used if the operating system and applications are 'multi-threaded', typically these are CAD, database and video editing applications. Windows 7 is multi-threaded, I think Windows XP 64 bit is, but the 32 bit version isn't.

So if you are only going to be using spreadsheet and word processing, then a quad core is probably overkill, as it's likely that not all the processors will be used, but if you are going to be running 64bit Photoshop, have lots of application open at once or doing any video editing/music production, you'll probably need a quad core.

Having said that I don't know if you can get single processors on anything other than phones now, the Playstation 3 has 8 processors, but the operating system only uses 6 of them!

I hope this helps.

Regards

Nick

[J A Mortram]

Yeah, it does Nick... I do a hell of a lot of RAW photo editing, music production and some minimal video editing... so a Quad, as it proved in the past for me, seems to to be essential!

I really hate buying a PC... so much money to spend and always scared it's going to do all you want...! Thanks for the advice though... much appreciated indeed! : )

[nick_gray]

Originally Posted by J A Mortram

I really hate buying a PC... so much money to spend and always scared it's going to do all you want...!

I know what you mean. There never seems to be a right time to buy any technology, it always moves on so quickly. I think as long as you've got the ability to expand the PC with extra memory/hard disk drives/video cards etc, then you can't go far wrong, something which is a lot harder to do with a laptop.

I wouldn't bother putting Norton or AVG onto your new PC, I found that they both slowed down my machine, I use Microsoft security essentials for anti virus, it's free and seems to be very good.

When you purchase a new PC, you have the option of buying the OEM version of MS Office, which is heavily discounted. I don't know if you are a lover/user of MS products, but it's something to consider when purchasing. If you are a casual user of office products, I'd suggest http://www.openoffice.org/ or Google docs, both of which are free.

As for Adobe products, they have just announced a monthly subscription plan for Photoshop, rather than an outright purchase, which might be of interest. If you are going to buy, you'll have to pick your timing. I bought Adobe CS5 Web Premium in January, for £1,700 and I'll have to pay another £300 if I want to upgrade to CS5.5 which they announced in April!!

Good luck

Nick

[J A Mortram]

Thanks for the thoughts and comment Nick, much appreciated!

The safe way to go, I think, is Quad core, over 3ghz, 4gb RAM plus, a good fan to cool, a half decent graphics card, Widows 7... and pick choose the rest as needs call for... all of that you can get online with a year warranty for about 350 pounds which, to me, is a HELL of a lot of money... a ridiculous amount but in the realm of what PC's can cost, not a vast amount... sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. Given that the old machine was on pretty much 24/7 for 5 years, it did well!...

[J A Mortram]

...will have to look for a new monitor as well though... grr... appears that has packed up too! Who'd have believed it!... and I really wanted to start saving for a new camera! : /

[KeithT]

I recently had a new 32bit machine built for me with an Intel Core i3 540 dual core desktop. It works fine for me and copes easily with my 21mp raw files from the 5d MKII. I had all the stuff fitted into an Antec Three Hundred case which has a 120mm side and top fan for keeping everything nice and cool and plenty of air circulation with a washable air filter. I think the secret is to get what you need and not what you think you will need, as you can spend unnecessarily on these things.

[J A Mortram]

Thanks a lot Keith! Sound advice! We do use the PC for for a lot of multi tasking too, music production, video editing... Adobe Illustrator... so many things to take into consideration!... Ultimately our budgets gonna have the last say I think ; )

[J A Mortram]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX_nXwX_EzU

I guess this is the case... very interesting! Thanks for the tip off Keith : )

[OldBoy]

Originally Posted by J A Mortram

The safe way to go, I think, is Quad core, over 3ghz, 4gb RAM plus, a good fan to cool, a half decent graphics card, Widows 7... and pick choose the rest as needs call for... all of that you can get online with a year warranty for about 350 pounds which, to me, is a HELL of a lot of money... a ridiculous amount but in the realm of what PC's can cost, not a vast amount... sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. Given that the old machine was on pretty much 24/7 for 5 years, it did well!...

My first PC cost £1,200, had a 14" CRT monitor, 85mb harddrive, 4mb ram and was a 25SX as I couldn't get the DX which had a maths co-processor, as it was a six months waiting list at least.