 Deborah Liperote |
I need an opinion on my computer I have a laptop and decided that I really want to have a desktop so I can calibrate the monitor. My husband found out I was looking for a desktop and came across a deal from staples... Compaq Presario SR2150NX Desktop PC Intel ® Celeron ® D Processor 356 (3.33GHz) 512MB PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM memory 2 DIMM (240-pin, DDR2) (1 available) 120GB 7200RPM SATA 3GB hard drive $559.96 Combined Reg. Price - $38 Instant Savings (PC & Monitor) - $50 mail-in-rebate (PC) - $50 mail-in-rebate (monitor) - $92 coupon savings (PC) = $329.96 Combined FINAL PRICE Soooooo is that worth it? I do weddings for a studio in town and edit them but I don't need to keep them on my computer. They go into the studio. It has windows vista but does not come with a monitor. I was looking at the viewsonic monitors but not sure yet. Can someone give their opinion.
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John P. Sandstedt |
Hi Deb. First off, a Celeron processor is NOT a Intel Pentium or a performance AMD processor. So, I'd be wary. but, you didn't tell us anything about your laptop. That's important becaus, if it's fast enough you shpould consider a docking station. This is a device you plug your laptop into and it works with a full size keyboard, mouse and full size monitor [size of your choice.] I'm not sure of the cost because I don't know what kind of laptop you have. I searchd the Dell site; there are several available in the $100-150. range. I used one for years in the office. It allows all of the advantages of a desktop and all of the advantages of a laptop at the same time. But, I still had a desktop for family use. You also didn't mention software. Presumably you have Windows XP on your laptop, along with one of the Photoshop versions. If you own later versions of either, you face the potential problem of a finite number of times you can load said program[s] onto a computer. So, you could have unnecessary software costs. I just bought a wireless optical mouse, for a laptop I borrowed from my son, for $32.00. You can buy a keyboard for as little as $25-30.00, though you might want to spend a little more. I also recently a new 19-inch LCD monitor for $220. I'm not sure what the actual replicator costs, but it's not too much.
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Deborah Liperote |
Hey John- you're always so nice to respond to my questions. My laptop is a Toshiba Satellite with windows xp 2.79 GHz,512 mg of ram Pentium (R)4 CPU 2.80 GHz I do indeed have Photoshop CS2 and have one more download available. I only have it on my laptop. The studio I work for has their own. So if you think my laptop is okie dokie than you suggest just operating a monitor from it. That's so cool... I saw you suggested that to someone else a couple of months ago. I didn't know you could do that. My computer now has a 17 inch lcd screen and is really nice. But I still can't calibrate it and my images do come back from lab a little off. and my coputer is have a hard time running photoshop with others programs open so I thought it might be time for a faster processor. I got this computer 3.5 years ago... I still will use it greatly! Thanks John for any advice you have
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W. |
If you get an Apple, you can run Apple's OSX, Windows, and Linux. And all associated software. And simultaneously (side-by-side) in real-time. Try THAT on a Wintel box . . . ! http://www.apple.com/hardware/
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John Rhodes |
Deborah, I just want to address the portion of your question where you said," have a laptop and decided that I really want to have a desktop so I can calibrate the monitor." I use both a notebook and desktop and I am able to calibrate both using the Colorvision Spyder 2 system. John
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Deborah Liperote |
How are you doing it John? I have tried and when I use the Spyder it sets my monitor colors off the charts. So I just let adobe gamma run. Maybe there is something I'm not doing right when I ran the set up. but I did it a couple of times and it wouldn't work.
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John P. Sandstedt |
Deb - I went to the Dell site again. The speed of some of their most expensive desktops is not really much faster than what you have, but you might want to beef up your RAM to 1 GIG. This will help computer speed a lot. Remember, it's possible that the update status of your Windows XP may be such that it can't use more than 1.4 GIG of RAM, so be carefull about upgrading too much. I just bought a Huey for continual calibration of my monitor. It works great. Lots of folks like W.S. advocate MACs; my son who's an advertising professional does too. But, for most of us [in the real world,] Windows-based PC's make the most sense. There's the almost universal compatibility with everyone else and, then, there's the fact that most of our existing software can be reloaded if we choose to buy a new computers. There's lots of misinformation out there [I'm not saying W.S is wrong.] But, it's the Canon vs. Nikon debate, the 6.0 MP vs. 8 MP vs. 10 MP vs. 17 MP sensor discussion, or answering, "Which came first - the chicken or the egg." Regards,
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Christopher A. Vedros |
Deborah, You should also look into whether or not you can add more memory to your laptop. You would be surprised at how much performance gain you can get from increasing 512MB up to 1GB of RAM. Chris A. Vedros
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John P. Sandstedt |
Deb - There's a lot of information out there indicating that Adobe Gamma doesn't do well with an LCD. I had all kinds of problems when I used it with the my old LCD; fortunately, when it failed and was replaced I waited to get a Huey. No more problems for only $75.00. John
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Jon Canfield |
Deb - On the calibration issue, be sure that you don't have the Spyder AND Adobe Gamma both trying to profile your display, this can lead to "interesting" results. You'll want to delete Adobe Gamma from the Windows Start menu and reboot your computer. Jon
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Christopher A. Vedros |
Deborah, I bought the Compaq Presario that you mentioned above over the weekend, so I can give you a first-hand evaluation of it. I bought it to replace the PC in my kids' playroom (the motherboard in their PC died). They have always gotten my hand-me-downs, and this is the first new PC I've bought for them. I bought it for the price, and I know it will be fine for their uses. They're not into high-end games, and the most demanding program they use is probably PowerPoint. But I wouldn't recommend it for doing lots of photo editing and business-critical work. The combination of the Celeron processor and the video chip integrated on the Motherboard make it "feel slow" to me. This is just from my initial observations while copying files, installing programs, waiting for things to load, etc. My own PC has a Pentium 4, 2.66GHz, 2GB RAM and a good graphics card with 128MB of Video RAM, and it just "feels faster" to me. Chris A. Vedros
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Irene Troy |
I’m so glad that this topic was brought up! I am also trying to make an intelligent decision about computers; although in my case it is about a laptop. Last year I purchased a Dell XPS system with 4GBs of RAM. This system has all the bells and whistles and should be faster than lightening. I say “should be” because I have been disappointed in the actual working speed that the system delivers. Frankly, it is not much faster than my older system that had less than a gig of RAM. I am unsure as to why this is true, but it is and to date I have not been able to resolve the speed issue. Any ideas, you techie folks? Based on my own mistakes, I advise doing as much pre-purchase research as possible. Had I done more research I would not have configured a system with as much RAM as I now have. It is wasted since XP cannot actually access this much RAM. Anyway, to your points: if you like your laptop except for the fact that you have been unable to calibrate the monitor to your specs, a docking station may be your best solution since this will enable you to use a larger monitor that can be easily calibrated. I do calibrate my current laptop about once a month, but for some reason it never seems as accurate as my desktop. I use the Spyder Pro on both and disabled Adobe Gamma. John, did you choose the Huey for price, or do you find it as accurate as the Spyder? I’ve been curious about this cheaper alternative. As John S. pointed out, you do not want a Celeron chip; particularly not on a system that will run MS VISTA since this is a real RAM hog and needs lots of power to run well (at least this is what my friend at MS told me). Based ONLY on my personal experience I would not recommend a Compaq – I have had really horrible experiences with that company and do not like their systems. I am not a wild fan of Dell; however, both my new desktop and my older laptop are Dells and they do build them tough – a plus for someone who travels as much as I do and who needs a laptop that holds up. Also, although their tech support is not as good as it once was (by a very long shot) it still beats the competition – at least that has been my experience. Whatever your ultimate decision, I advise visiting a couple of “box” stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.) not necessarily to buy, but to look at monitors and decide what type you are most comfortable with. Good luck! Irene
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John P. Sandstedt |
Hi Irene - If you're new desktop has Windows XP, you may be experiencing the issue I described above. When I had my computer built, the Tech told me that XP didn't handle much more than 1.4 GIG of RAM, so additional RAM would be wasted. I would think that Windows XP Media or Windows Vista could utilize more RAM. But, I'm no Computer Guru. AS to my Huey - a friend and I went to PhotoExpo in New York City; I saw both the Huey and Spyder at the show. But, actually, it Jon Canfield who sold me on the unit in an e-mail he wrote. And it's much cheaper. The Huey is "on" all the time and reacts to changes in light in my office [dry darkroom,] whether during the day or at night. The software also calls for a re-calibration about every two weeks, so there's no need to "mark my Calendar."
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Christopher A. Vedros |
You'll find computer techs that will say almost anything. Sometimes I think they are trained to give any answer, even if it's wrong, instead of saying "I don't know." As if a wrong answer is better than no answer at all. ;-) Anyway, one thing that I do trust is that Microsoft won't publish something in their Knowledge Base unless it's true. There are no opinions or guesses, only facts about how their programs are designed to work. Here is an excerpt of MS KB article 555223. "Here's a list of how much RAM the various Windows versions and editions support (as of Nov 2004): To summarize the rest of the article, 32-bit versions of Windows will use up to 4GB of virtual memory address space. Up to 2GB will be used for a process (program) and up to 2GB will be shared by the system and other processes. The virtual addresses will translate to physical RAM, then to the pagefile on the Hard Drive as needed. So theoretically, it can use 4GB of physical RAM. It is widely reported that many systems will run out of system resources before 4GB of physical RAM can be used, but this is more a function of what other processes are running on your computer, and not a design limitation of Windows. So, in short, Windows XP (Home & Pro) will theoretically benefit from having more RAM installed, up to 4GB. It might not use it all, but it can't hurt to have it just in case. Chris A. Vedros
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Christopher A. Vedros |
In case you're wondering, with Windows Vista on a 64-bit system, that theoretical RAM limit increases to 128GB. Irene - give me some of the other specs on your computer and I'll see if I can think of any suggestions. What do you use for virus/adware protection? What programs are being loaded when Windows starts up? You can find the answer to the last question by clicking on Help>About Internet Explorer, then clicking on System Info. Click the + next to "Software Environment", then click "Startup Programs". Chris A. Vedros
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John P. Sandstedt |
Chris - Not saying you're wrong about your praise of Microsoft but, of course, XP has been the target of all kinds of hackers and viruses. As to the guy who gave me the info, why would you think he would want me to buy more RAM? It's his business [he's a one-man shop working out of his home and dependent of recommendations] to keep me, the customer, satisfied.
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Christopher A. Vedros |
The operating system and browser that is in use on the overwhelming majority of computers will always be the primary target of hackers. If only 1% of internet surfers are using Firefox on a Linux machine, why would hackers waste time trying to target them? My comment about computer techs was a light-hearted, but unfair generalization. Kinda like saying all Mac users are liberals. ;-) The guy that gave you that info was probably sincerely telling you what he had found to be true in his own experience. He probably gets more repeat business by showing his customers that he's not trying to get you to spend more than you need to spend. This doesn't change the fact that you might see some performance increase if you add more RAM to your system. Whether or not the cost is worth it to you is your decision. Sorry if I've been a little confrontational lately - I'm trying to cut back on caffiene and it doesn't suit me well. ;-) Chris A. Vedros
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Irene Troy |
Hi Chris – confrontational…you? Hardly as bad as some here! Anyway, I can appreciate both what you and John are stating. I have had almost endless headaches with my new system – some hardware, many software – and have dealt with everyone from Dell techs (some are great, far too many are horrible) to a friend who is among the elite at Microsoft and a couple of local techs. Everyone gives me different advice, some of which contradicts what the prior tech told me. This issue about just how much RAM XP pro can utilize seems to be a major sticking point among techs, even among techs at Microsoft. One told me that 4GBs is too much; another told me that while XP cannot actually use that much RAM, it does allocate the additional RAM to other programs. For me this is a meaningless argument, since it does nothing to resolve the ongoing problems I have with poor performance. Specs on my system: Pentium D – 3.2ghz; 4GB RAM; 500GB hard drive I think that it is really tough for the non-tech savvy to get good reliable info on computer systems. There is so much conflicting info going around and too often the people who are offering this advice don’t know what they are saying. I find this to be true regardless of the source – I had a number of Dell techs tell me things that I knew to be completely wrong and I have had folks at MS tell me things that are equally wrong. Just like in photography, one could spend a lifetime trying to learn all the things you need to know and still be stymied from time to time! I suspect that most people, like me, manage to muddle through most of the time and other times we find ourselves hopelessly challenged. Irene
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Oliver Anderson |
I'm actually buying a computer today or Wed morning. Here are the specs, this is supposed to be an INSANE machine. XPS M1710 (Metallic Black) Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7600G (4MB Cache/2.33GHz/667MHz FSB) (NEW T7600G - For the first time, the manufacturer is enabling enthusiasts to tune, or overclock, the system’s new Intel Core 2 Duo T7600G mobile processor to operate at faster speeds for better performance.) Operating System Genuine Windows XP Professional w/ Media LCD Panel 17 inch UltraSharp Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife Memory 2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHZ, 2 DIMM Video Card 512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX Hard Drive 100GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card and Modem Windows Vista Included express upgrade to Windows Vista Business, just pay $10 S & H fee at time of redemption by going to www.dellvistaupgrade.com by 3/31/07 Optical Drive 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability if this isn't a great machine then let me know...??? Otherwise I'm blowing my $4K.
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Courtney Lawyer |
I know this is kindof an old thread and I don't know if anyone is still watching this thread, but I was wondering if anyone suggested to those of you that are having problems that it may be an issue with the size of the video/graphics card?
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Richard Lynch |
Courtney, Old, but somewhat timeless thread (that is until the specs are laughable). If by size you mean the card can't handle a display, that is possible, but the behavior you would see should be that you simply have to run at a lower resolution...Mismanagement of color options -- like Jon is/was suggesting -- can lead to unusual behavior. Back to the original question, the computer looks like a nice deal, and often to gain performance you have to spend exponentially more. Oliver did, and at the time that was a great system (Apple Mac Pro). I just spent about the same on an intel Mac, dual core, 9GB RAM 667mhz, 30" LCD monitor, 1 TB harddrive space (4 x 250GB 7200 rpm SATA), and can boot to Mac or PC...very convenient for what I do. It will be old hat in a year. If you look at what the original poster was considering, it is a decent system considering it is 1/10th the price...Like I say, you have to consider that when buying Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements as a similar price difference is involved. You have to consider what you'd do with the additional money, and if it is better spent on an upgrade elsewhere (new lens, new camera). I wouldn't skimp on the monitor just to get in a deal, though. I posted a blog on the ultimate system...Building the Ultimate Image Editing Computer...That may say some things about what you want to consider. The rest of the thread looks reasonably helpful. Richard Lynch
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Oliver Anderson |
One of the issue's she was having was her not being able to calibrate a monitor...this is INCREDIBLY important if you like your photos coming back from the printer the way they look on your monitor. The original Spyder didn't work on LCD laptops but the Spyder2 and Spyder2Pro work on CRT, LCD Laptops and printers. Huey's and GretagMacbeth also have versions that will work on your laptops monitor.
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