[miro]

1. CPU + RAM – depends on

a. What type of camera do you have – Mpixels and RAW format

b. What type of workflow do you use.

2. monitor – most apple monitors are good. Some of them are very good, and few play in “the best” league /non-TN screens/.



I gonna buy my new PC soon.

My minimum requirements are.

1. Intel I5-750

2. 8GB RAM upgrade lately to 16GB

3. I have HP 2475 monitor. I don’t need new one.

4. Windows 7 -64bit home premium OEM.



Keep in mind that your next camera will be with more MPixels. You should expects that you Photoshop knowledge will bigger after 2 years.



As already mentioned from other people - for simple image corrections you don’t need powerful CPU, huge RAM and expensive postprocessing software. Good monitors is the only one requirement.





Greetings,

Miro

[joachim]

Hi,



Thanks guys. Much appreciated, I learned a few things here, which I thought of knew but didn't have fully sorted in my mind. I wasn't fully aware, that the mini-mac is laptop without build in keyboard and screen. I saw one in the shop at lunch today. To my eye the design didn't make up for the technical short comings. So I think I will skip that.



So it seems now that I have to make up my mind between an iMac, a Macbook or some Windoof kit. That is progress (no irony).



Thanks again

Joachim

[sth]

The 27" iMac is probably Apples most-bang-for-the-buck computer at the moment, by a large margin.

It has desktop-class components (cpu, hdd, graphics) and a great screen (IPS panel). Upgrading RAM later is not a problem but upgrading the hard-drive is. The other thing is the glossy screen of course.



I'd say iMac or MacBook Pro. If you don't need a mobile workstation, the iMac is the much better option, though.



The current Mini is massively overpriced, sadly.

If you're considering a small notebook, I'd suggest going for the 13" MacBook Pro (the base model should do fine) over the white MacBook because of the better screen and overall higher quality.

[wojtt]

Despite the over-pricing I opted for the Mini server edition (in fact there was a nice price on it <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

..and although I still have the PC I use almost only the Mac now, i just like it more ! ..no hang-ups or BSD anymore and whatever I need runs smoothly on the OSX. An important issue for me was that I didn't need another laptop and my monitor is more then fine enough and I do prefer non-reflective displays by far. On the performance for price issue it is true though, that the iCore 5 / 7 iMacs are the clear winners here. I just wish Apple would make a Mac Pro with the iMac hardware for a decent price <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[sth]

[quote name='wojtt' timestamp='1284561456' post='2802']

I just wish Apple would make a Mac Pro with the iMac hardware for a decent price <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />[/quote]

That's the one Mac people have wanted for years but which will probably never happen. <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[Guest]

Apart from the excellent time machine backup software and the beautiful design, i see little advantage in MAc. With a windows pc you can easily upgrade. Especially the harddisk might need more upgrades than you think. My 640GB drive was full after one year. You can also easily add backup drives. In addition you get far more capable hardware for the same or a lower price when you buy a PC, which is a big argument if you develop from raw, run Lightroom and Photoshop simultanously or want to create panorama or HDR images. In addition you can choose and exchange your own monintor (I use Eizo s2231w). Viruses are hardly a problem with windows, if you keep your software and operatig system alwys current and use a good anti virsus software. I nevver had any virus related problems with my PC. Finally windows 7 is really excellent.

[mst]

On the other hand, a Mac has a higher resale value, you can just sell it completely and buy a new one. In the long run it's not that much more expensive than buying and regularly upgrading a similar PC.



Upgrading disks is an issue with the iMac and the Mac Mini, yes, but not with any current MacBook and of course not with the Mac Pro. In addition, FW800 is usually fast enough for most applications, so you could easily add additional disk space that way, too. Bonus: you don't run into any Terabyte limitations.



Also, viruses are (at least for now) no issue with the Mac. You don't need to run any Antivirus software at all and that alone gives you a much speedier machine (I was really surprised to see and feel the difference when I disabled antivirus on my last PC ... not connected to any network, of course).



Finally, there is some software that is available for Windows only. On the Mac, you'll either have to run Boot Camp or something like VMWare if you require any such software. On the other hand, there are also some well crafted tools that are Mac only.



Lots of important software is available for both platforms, though.



Let me add that just like Lars I try to be neutral here (it's harder for me than with camera brands, though <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> ). Sharing my experiences from the recent years here, but since I'm a happy camper for a few years now I'm obviously biased.



I have to agree, though, from all I have seen and experienced myself so far that Windows 7 is excellent, yes. Finally. <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



-- Markus

[Guest]

Just a thought: I think with mac RAID is only available in the macpro line, not sure however. With windows you can get it in a fairly cost effctive pc. But then tinme machine on mac may be sufficient for you.

[Brightcolours]

[quote name='jenbenn' timestamp='1284804357' post='2888']

Apart from the excellent time machine backup software and the beautiful design, i see little advantage in MAc. With a windows pc you can easily upgrade. Especially the harddisk might need more upgrades than you think. My 640GB drive was full after one year. You can also easily add backup drives. In addition you get far more capable hardware for the same or a lower price when you buy a PC, which is a big argument if you develop from raw, run Lightroom and Photoshop simultanously or want to create panorama or HDR images. In addition you can choose and exchange your own monintor (I use Eizo s2231w). Viruses are hardly a problem with windows, if you keep your software and operatig system alwys current and use a good anti virsus software. I nevver had any virus related problems with my PC. Finally windows 7 is really excellent.

[/quote]

Macs are easier to colour manage. They do not have the strange "I need to reinstall my computer" ailment. You do not need to run any antivirus and anti malware and strange firewall products on it.

Macs just work. Never searching for drivers. You can add as many harddrives as you like, external harddrives are cheaper than the internal ones, strangely enough.

I still run a 2004 Mac Mini, it never lost any file and it just keeps on running... day and night. Silly little thing!



You do NOT need the fastest gaming hardware to develop RAW quickly, not to run 10 programs simultaneously. You just need enough RAM (4GB is recommended and enough). Saying a Mac Mini, or even an iMac, might not be fast enough... is just silly.



There are many advantages to Mac OS X. Also compared to Windows 7. Obviously, one could find one or two advantages to Windows 7 too, especially when one is used to Windows. Because of a change in how things work.

[Guest]

I think its established that brightcolours is a brand believer <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> Anyway, my windows PC doesnt need strange firewalls, its got one build into windows, which I never need to touch. Anti virus sofware was installed once, and keeps itself up to date. I also have not reinstalled a pc yet. The trouble with pc is that many people install tons of idiotic free or cheap software on their machines which isnt even available for mac. At some point your system is messed up. MY pc has been running everyday for the last three years without any loss in speed or virus problems. IF you keep your system clean and install only quality software, you hardly need to reinstall your system ( at least not if you run vista or windows 7) As far as dirvers are conncerned: well if you never upgrade your hardware, as one would do with a mac, one hardly ever needs to search for drivers on a pc, too.

In the end its a question of money and design. Comparable macs are just far more expensive. I'D also watch out for conncetion options with mac. At least the macbooks suck in this regard. you get just two usb ports of which you can only use one because its build so closely to the other, that any normal memory stick will block the nighbouring port.