Help on new computer for Photoshop

(Fred) wrote in news:1a0a8598.0311290648.2f3d89b8
@posting.google.com:

Is a Celeron-based computer OK,

It will be OK. Not stellar, but faster than that PII or PIII you are used to, as long as you supply it with enough RAM.

or is it necessary to spring for the
more expensive Athlon computers?

It would be better to, yes. But comparable Athlon systems shouldn’t be more expensive. Less, if anything.

Or, any other suggestions?

http://www.pricewatch.com/

Eric Gill …

(Fred) wrote in news:1a0a8598.0311290648.2f3d89b8
@posting.google.com:

Is a Celeron-based computer OK,

It will be OK. Not stellar, but faster than that PII or PIII you are used to, as long as you supply it with enough RAM.

or is it necessary to spring for the
more expensive Athlon computers?

It would be better to, yes. But comparable Athlon systems shouldn’t be more expensive. Less, if anything.

Or, any other suggestions?

http://www.pricewatch.com/

Thanks for the evaluation and link. I saw that the lowest priced computers were all house brands. How can I evaluate which of them use quality parts, expec. the power supply, keyboard and drives?

(Fred) wrote in
news::

Eric Gill wrote in message
news:…

(Fred) wrote in news:1a0a8598.0311290648.2f3d89b8
@posting.google.com:

Is a Celeron-based computer OK,

It will be OK. Not stellar, but faster than that PII or PIII you are used to, as long as you supply it with enough RAM.

or is it necessary to spring for the
more expensive Athlon computers?

It would be better to, yes. But comparable Athlon systems shouldn’t be more expensive. Less, if anything.

Or, any other suggestions?

http://www.pricewatch.com/

Thanks for the evaluation and link. I saw that the lowest priced computers were all house brands. How can I evaluate which of them use quality parts, expec. the power supply, keyboard and drives?

About the only way to do so is to check which a particular place is using and look it up on the web. You could even call them if you like.

On budget machines, I will generally make compromises and switch parts later. Actually, even on no-compromise machines, it makes sense to do so the way the PC price wars work. Every now and again, replace a component with something better that is now cheap, rotate the replaced part to your lower-end machine or friends.

You can assume low-end machines are going to have mediocre hardware. Built-in video (always stinks), only two RAM slots, 4X AGP (or even no free AGP slots…beware), adequate but weak power supply, etc. Your choices are to pay a little more now or pay some more later.

Eric–
Thanks for your comments. It still looks to be true that you get what you pay for…if you’re lucky!

Fred

Eric Gill …

(Fred) wrote in
news::

Eric Gill wrote in message
news:…

(Fred) wrote in news:1a0a8598.0311290648.2f3d89b8
@posting.google.com:

Is a Celeron-based computer OK,

It will be OK. Not stellar, but faster than that PII or PIII you are used to, as long as you supply it with enough RAM.

or is it necessary to spring for the
more expensive Athlon computers?

It would be better to, yes. But comparable Athlon systems shouldn’t be more expensive. Less, if anything.

Or, any other suggestions?

http://www.pricewatch.com/

Thanks for the evaluation and link. I saw that the lowest priced computers were all house brands. How can I evaluate which of them use quality parts, expec. the power supply, keyboard and drives?

About the only way to do so is to check which a particular place is using and look it up on the web. You could even call them if you like.
On budget machines, I will generally make compromises and switch parts later. Actually, even on no-compromise machines, it makes sense to do so the way the PC price wars work. Every now and again, replace a component with something better that is now cheap, rotate the replaced part to your lower-end machine or friends.

You can assume low-end machines are going to have mediocre hardware. Built-in video (always stinks), only two RAM slots, 4X AGP (or even no free AGP slots…beware), adequate but weak power supply, etc. Your choices are to pay a little more now or pay some more later.

Fred wrote:

I am planning to get a new computer (replacing an IBM running at 450 MHz with an inadequate RAM max of 256MB). Costco has an emachines package that uses an Intel Celeron 2.6 GHz chip. I’ve read that this chip isn’t as good as it sounds because it has an L2 cache of only 128 KB (compared to AM Athlon-based computers with a 256 cache).

If you’re looking for a computer to use mostly with Photoshop, get a Mac. Photoshop was born on the Mac. The Mac is the best platform for doing photo manipulation in my humble opinion, esp. with Photoshop. You’ll pay a little more, but you’ll get top quality hardware, excellent tech support, an extremely reliable OS, and minimal likelihood of viruses and security threats.

wrote in message

Fred wrote:

I am planning to get a new computer (replacing an IBM running at 450 MHz with an inadequate RAM max of 256MB). Costco has an emachines package that uses an Intel Celeron 2.6 GHz chip. I’ve read that this chip isn’t as good as it sounds because it has an L2 cache of only 128 KB (compared to AM Athlon-based computers with a 256 cache).

If you’re looking for a computer to use mostly with Photoshop, get a Mac. Photoshop was born on the Mac. The Mac is the best platform for doing photo manipulation in my humble opinion, esp. with Photoshop. You’ll pay a little more, but you’ll get top quality hardware, excellent tech support, an extremely reliable OS, and minimal likelihood of viruses and security threats.

Oh Dear God no, not another platform debate.

To the OP, yes a larger L2 cache makes a difference in PS. See if that eMachines model is upgradeable to a P4.

Forget about AMD. The Athlon’s claim to fame is floating point math, which is essentially irrelevant in PS.

Forget about Apple too. They’re dying a slow painful death. The company would already have gone belly up if it hadn’t been for Microsoft’s investments.

Rick