Purchase Ideas???

JM
Posted By
James_M._Moon
Dec 13, 2008
Views
323
Replies
14
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Closed
My wife is a photographer using 7 on a windows machine. I am going to get her a laptop for Christmas. I need to know what would be my best bet. Mac? Windows? It looks like I will need to buy at least CS3 regardless. Is that true? Can 7 be used on Vista or Leopard 10.5? I’m a musician, so I’m leaning toward a Mac. I really don’t want to spend much more than $1200 for the machine. I’m really confused. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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B
Buko
Dec 13, 2008
I really don’t want to spend much more than $1200

Then Mac is not a good choice.

It looks like I will need to buy at least CS3

Only CS4 is for sale now.

Can 7 be used on Vista or Leopard 10.5

No on 10.5, not sure about Vista but I know its not supported it may or may not work.
NK
Neil_Keller
Dec 13, 2008
I’m a musician, so I’m leaning toward a Mac. I really don’t want to spend much more than $1200 for the machine.

If you’re leaning towards a Mac, maybe you can check out used recent vintage (Intel) Macs. Otherwise, you’ll probably find a more powerful Windows machine for the price.

It looks like I will need to buy at least CS3 regardless.

From a legitimate source, or from Adobe, pretty much only CS4 is on the shelves now. I recommend that you not don’t be tempted to buy "used" or "remainder" discontinued software from non-authorized dealers or eBay.

Neil
R
randalqueen
Dec 14, 2008
This is not to bash Apple. There are a lot of first generation MacBook Pro’s out there on craigslist, for example, and there are issues for those serious about editing photos and using this as their primary machine.

< http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/05/18/lawsuit -over-mac-book-mac-book-pro-displays>

but then again, many have pointed out that Laptops or Notebooks aren’t really up to the challenge of using to edit photos.

Now, you can do what many including myself do, and buy an Apple Cinema Display but there aren’t as many choices today as there were a few weeks ago. Gone is the 23" matte replaced by a new 24" LED LCD glossy. This will use a direct mini display port with current and new second generation Macbook Pro’s (MBP).

When I asked candidly at the Apple Store yesterday the opinions of close to a dozen workers, most were unsure why Apple is going in this direction and why the systems are becoming more multi-media (DVD and Apple TV) and not the graphics standards Apple set some time ago.

I would encourage you not to take my word for this, but to ask around those who edit photos for photography and see what they say. Then I would ask myself do I plan on learning color management and want to make sure what I post to the web is what I see or is this a notebook to post images that are acceptable and I am doing this for fun and not going to get frustrated if nothing seems as what it is, so to say…

The other option is Vista and MicroSoft. There too things may not be what they seem.

Sorry if this isn’t a perfect answer, but I guess it depends on what your expectations are. Sales people only want to do one thing… sell. So ask current users. Even reviews online are disappointing that they seem to want to help sell and not really dig into the truth. At least that has been my experience. Hopefully others will chime in with other experiences.

Take care,

Randal
R
randalqueen
Dec 14, 2008
I’m sorry, short answer – what are your expectations included within that budget?

🙂
GP
Gary_Politzer
Dec 14, 2008
Just to stay within your price range & seriously edit photos on a Mac is a challenge. Adding a laptop to the mix makes it impossible. To edit photos on a Mac for $1200, I’d get an Intel Mini & an Aluminum 20" Cinema Display with matte screen. Sales tax alone will break your budget, and you will be saddled with a paltry 1 GB RAM. Any laptop will need an external display if you are serious about having control of color for photo work.
NK
Neil_Keller
Dec 14, 2008
randal,

and buy an Apple Cinema Display but there aren’t as many choices today as there were a few weeks ago. Gone is the 23" matte replaced by a new 24" LED LCD glossy.

What are you talking about? Please see: <http://www.apple.com/displays/cinema>

Neil
NK
Neil_Keller
Dec 14, 2008
randal,

and buy an Apple Cinema Display but there aren’t as many choices today as there were a few weeks ago. Gone is the 23" matte replaced by a new 24" LED LCD glossy.

Not true. Please see: <http://www.apple.com/displays/cinema>

Note that the new 24" display is designed specifically for laptop connectivity.

Neil
R
randalqueen
Dec 14, 2008
Neil –

I mean no disrespect. I am only going by what the folks at the Apple Store told me directly. They stated that. I was just passing it along.

If it is incorrect, then my apologies. They said the 24" was taking the place of that one. And that only two sizes would remain. I thought it sounded really strange. To kill the 23" out of the market?!
L
Lundberg02
Dec 15, 2008
You can buy some flavors of g5 for 1100 to 1200, but you’ll have to add RAM. Do not buy liquid cooled.
It makes no sense not buy a wide gamut monitor now, but that’s out of your price point. I’m about to move up to the g5 or Intel generation myself. Do not buy a glossy monitor.

You can certainly get a Winbox within your range. 7 will most likely run ok in XP. I had no problems with it in that OS, but you’d better ask in the Win forum. I thought 7 was a pretty good release, although it seemed to open everything 72 dpi whether you wanted it to or not.
R
Ram
Dec 15, 2008
You can buy some flavors of g5 for 1100 to 1200, but you’ll have to add RAM.

…and, most likely, a new, possibly flashed video card.
WZ
Wade_Zimmerman
Dec 15, 2008
g5 for 1100 to 1200

G5 not a good idea if you plan to upgrade in the future eventually the developers have to drop the older Macs and I suspect that has to be now.

I would not buy legacy at this point regardless of the price unless you had a specific software you need that did not run on the Intel chip. It is a bad solution consider ing the problems lots of folk claim they have with Adobe products on the G5. Also eventually and I would say that tie is now that support for older drivers running on the older machines has to be dropped.

And if that be the case then many of the production houses, service and printers will have to drop the older machines entirely and consider this a new era and that tie is probably now.

One of the reason would be the move to 64 bit which would mean that the developers would have to write the applications to either a new and current configuration or spend
millions more writing support this to both the new and the obsolete which does of course not make any sense.

So the support for the older machines must be dead by now as Adobe I believe is bringing 64 bit to the Mac with the next release. I suggest you might all want to start saving up, of course I could be wrong?
JJ
Jim_Jordan
Dec 15, 2008
Mac? Windows?

Why not Linux? Most folks like Mac for its perceived better security, nifty interface and hardware appearance. Linux offers the first two features at no cost and your current Photoshop 7 can run just fine on it with Wine < http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&amp ;iId=1336>.

Your wife should know what system is best for her. Some folks don’t like being forced into a particular system, even if it is a gift.
O
Ozzwoman9
Dec 15, 2008
At home I run 7 on my Vista 32 bit Home Basic and it runs just fine, actually much faster and better then it did when I used XP.
PM
Paul M Norman
Dec 15, 2008
I always buy refurbished Macs 1 step behind the latest model. I think refurbished is better because someone actually tested the thing and replaced anything faulty. My refurbished first generation Intel tower came in a spiffy Apple box looking brand new.

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