Suggestions for PC Sought

[ktmrider]

I admit to being lazy. I could research this topic by reading these thread and probably will sometime in the near future but I am looking for suggestions for a PC.

I am heading for Nepal to teach for 4 months as a volunteer in early January. I have recently moved toward digital (X100/DLux5) and would like to purchase a laptop with enough power to run Lightroom. I will be taking it along and learning digital processing in my spare time in Kathmandu. So any suggestions as to make and model would be welcome. I figure on spending $600-1000.

Presently I have an Apple which is literally 10 years old but it does what we ask of it (web surfing and email) and I just bought a netbook for travel and powerpoint but it lacks the RAM for digital processing so I am open to suggestions.

Thanks.

 

[MikeAUS]

Don't get another Apple. They are over-priced. I would recommend Dell. Around $899 should get you something pretty decent.

 

[BikoBikoBiko]

Do get another Apple. They are pricy but they're very solid - something you may appreciate when travelling. The trackpad on macs are excellent for photoshop work and the screen is higher quality than many PC laptops.

 

[MikeAUS]

Do get another Apple. They are pricy but they're very solid - something you may appreciate when travelling. The trackpad on macs are excellent for photoshop work and the screen is higher quality than many PC laptops.

The basic 13" inch Apple Pro starts at $1200 - overpriced like I said. Your description of Apple of being 'very solid' with a better trackpad vs a Dell is well - laughable.

 

[Lflex]

If you are used to Apple you will want a Apple even if it will be very different from your old computer.
It doesnt make sense to compare specs one to one. Compare Apple to similar Lenovo thinkpad spec'd laptops (Dell is fine as anything else but nowhere near the same league as apple or thinkpad).

 

[lem0n]

I don't want to start a war or sound mean, but I wonder how many of the Apple-bashers are people who've switched to a PC from a Mac? I mean, people who have real experience using a mac?

Sure the initial cost of buying a mac is higher than with a PC. But according to my experience it is a lot cheaper in the long run.

There's a saying that goes something like "A poor man can't afford to buy cheap stuff". You know what that means

 

[Lflex]

I don't want to start a war or sound mean, but I wonder how many of the Apple-bashers are people who've switched to a PC from a Mac? I mean, people who have real experience using a mac?

Sure the initial cost of buying a mac is higher than with a PC. But according to my experience it is a lot cheaper in the long run.

There's a saying that goes something like "A poor man can't afford to buy cheap stuff". You know what that means

Agree. Compare apples to apples

 

[kuzano]

Any Toshiba I5 CPU w/8 GB RAM and 600 Plus HD

Any Toshiba I5 CPU w/8 GB RAM and 600 Plus HD

I just assisted an engineering student in acquiring a laptop for as long as it will suffice in 4 years of engineering school.

The specs I mentioned above, with all other standard features set him back $699. I saw minor differences between his needs either with the I5, or the I7 CPU, at an addition of about $150 for the I7.

Remember this about software. Most software is optimized about two years back from the performance of the highest level processors (true of both Operating Systems, Applications and APPLE products as well)

The extra money is better spent on Hard Drive speed and RAM.

I've been teching and consulting on PC's for well over twenty years. I am NOT a fan of Apple, more by my own lack of experience with them than any other reason. So, I will not discuss pros and cons. Apple people on the other hand tend to dress a bit odd, drive NON mainstream cars which many shops do not work on, and espouse philosophies much different from my own. I can get along with them, given short periods of exposure.

On the topic however, the bulk of my clients over the last decade of increased use of laptops, buy and use Toshiba laptops. Pick up any April issue of Consumer Reports and ratings will support me on this.

But the best reason I promote Toshiba is happy customers and the ability to say, "Hey, I told you so....." when they waver from my recommendations. (which is rare after we've been together for a couple of years)

 

[gavinlg]

I just assisted an engineering student in acquiring a laptop for as long as it will suffice in 4 years of engineering school.

The specs I mentioned above, with all other standard features set him back $699. I saw minor differences between his needs either with the I5, or the I7 CPU, at an addition of about $150 for the I7.

Remember this about software. Most software is optimized about two years back from the performance of the highest level processors (true of both Operating Systems, Applications and APPLE products as well)

The extra money is better spent on Hard Drive speed and RAM.

I've been teching and consulting on PC's for well over twenty years. I am NOT a fan of Apple, more by my own lack of experience with them than any other reason. So, I will not discuss pros and cons. Apple people on the other hand tend to dress a bit odd, drive NON mainstream cars which many shops do not work on, and espouse philosophies much different from my own. I can get along with them, given short periods of exposure.

On the topic however, the bulk of my clients over the last decade of increased use of laptops, buy and use Toshiba laptops. Pick up any April issue of Consumer Reports and ratings will support me on this.

But the best reason I promote Toshiba is happy customers and the ability to say, "Hey, I told you so....." when they waver from my recommendations. (which is rare after we've been together for a couple of years)

http://www.theacsi.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=262ress-release-september-2011&catid=14&Itemid=287

Apple has lead customer satisfaction rankings in the US for the last 10 years by quite a big margin.

IMO if your want a quality machine with no fuss get another apple. I used toshiba/dell machines for years before I switched to apple, and as long as they keep making the same sort of quality computers in the future, I'll never buy another windows machine again.

 

[ktmrider]

Thanks

Thanks

Thanks for all the input. Guess I have more research to do. I can afford more for a computer but don't really know if I need to as photography (especially digital stuff) is still a hobby. Lightroom because I got it with the Leica DLux 5.

Will probably leave the DLux 5 in the US if I head toward Nepal and just carry the X100. Am on the 4th week of an Asian trip and really enjoying the X100.

 

[Rogier]

Get a Macbook Air with the max amount of RAM and be happy.

I admit to being lazy. I could research this topic by reading these thread and probably will sometime in the near future but I am looking for suggestions for a PC.

I am heading for Nepal to teach for 4 months as a volunteer in early January. I have recently moved toward digital (X100/DLux5) and would like to purchase a laptop with enough power to run Lightroom. I will be taking it along and learning digital processing in my spare time in Kathmandu. So any suggestions as to make and model would be welcome. I figure on spending $600-1000.

Presently I have an Apple which is literally 10 years old but it does what we ask of it (web surfing and email) and I just bought a netbook for travel and powerpoint but it lacks the RAM for digital processing so I am open to suggestions.

Thanks.

 

[Roger Hicks]

When I first encountered Apples, my immediate reaction was that the OS was designed for people who couldn't read. Windows appropriated the same idea, with culturally specific 'icons' -- it took me years to realize that a dog kennel was supposed to be a mailbox, because it's a US-specific image.

Having started with mainframes, and gone on to CP/M, and tried Apples and Windows, I really can't see that Apples have that much to commend them, except a near-fanatical user base, often descended (intellectually and culturally, if not biologically) from those new users 20 or 30 years ago who couldn't read. And I certainly can't see that Apple is really all that different from Windows, except that Windows only works on alternate versions.

On the other hand, it's probably easiest to stick with the OS with which you are familiar, unless you like learning new (and pointless) ways to do the same old things.

Cheers,

R.

 

[RObert Budding]

I don't want to start a war or sound mean, but I wonder how many of the Apple-bashers are people who've switched to a PC from a Mac? I mean, people who have real experience using a mac?

Sure the initial cost of buying a mac is higher than with a PC. But according to my experience it is a lot cheaper in the long run.

There's a saying that goes something like "A poor man can't afford to buy cheap stuff". You know what that means

I am a former Apple user who has switched to PCs. From my perspective there really isn't all that much a difference - particularly from a hardware perspective since both run on Intel platforms. Both are stable, and both the current Mac OS and Win 7 64 have good GUIs. And all of the software that I need is available on either platform. So choose whichever you're comfortable using.

As for the cost of the Apple being cheaper in the long run - that just seems absurd.

One important piece of advice for the OP - make sure that you back up your files!

 

[RObert Budding]

http://www.theacsi.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=262ress-release-september-2011&catid=14&Itemid=287

Apple has lead customer satisfaction rankings in the US for the last 10 years by quite a big margin.

IMO if your want a quality machine with no fuss get another apple. I used toshiba/dell machines for years before I switched to apple, and as long as they keep making the same sort of quality computers in the future, I'll never buy another windows machine again.

Apple also leads in profit margin, so you do pay for the support. And, yes, Apple does a good job providing support. But so does my local PC clone maker, but at a much lower price.

 

[thegman]

If you're happy with a Mac, stick with it, you can always run Windows on the same hardware if you want to.

Only thing is that $1000 worth of Mac does not buy you *that* much horsepower. You could look for used models of course too.

I use both Windows and Mac, both have their advantages and failings, and I'd try to ignore generalizations about either.

 

[f16sunshine]

I don't do holy wars but will give you my experience.

I travel with the latest Mac book Air i7 (1.8ghz) 11" 4G Ram and 128GB SSD. I chose to purchase a pair of 1T externals instead of spending +$300 on the 256GB SSD. 128GB onboard is plenty when carrying a slim external and redundancy is safer anyway).
The machine for general use is a rocket. For editing it has been great running Aperture 3 for M8, RD1, and now X100 RaW files. It does get a bit sluggish with a lot of edit strokes when I work on Eos 5Dii RAW files. You end up needing to save a version and continue if you have a lot of editing to do. Basic global adjustments no problem.
The small slim package with great screen is a boon. I did 2 months out of a backpack in Europe and was absolutely thrilled to have such a tidy package. Never once did I miss having an optical drive or larger HD onboard. Well worth the $1300 plus tax.
In your case I would think seriously about a similar set-up. If you were using a Full Frame DSLR or M9 maybe more RAM would become critical. With the X100 I think you will be fine as I am experiencing.

Last night I finally used the thunderbolt port for the first time. Viewed a slideshow I did for a friend on her 27" Monitor from my 11" MBA. It was pretty sweet to simply plug and play with a few clicks. Lion and the MBA are a really sweet set-up for people who need computers but, would rather not bother with understanding them beyond their individual need.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

I have used both platforms - DOS/Windows for work and Apple for personal use - over a 25 year period.
It's really a personal preference thing and my preference is to pay the extra for a Mac. I like the interface, the software applications I use run sweetly, it integrates with my iPod and iPhone and Contacts and Calendar quite seamlessly and it's much easier to find and fix screw-ups than on a Windows computer. There are two Toshiba laptops in the house and they never get used. There is one iBook and one iMac in constant use and that covers me for home use and travel.
Windows is much better than it used to be but I still prefer the Mac. My choice.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I routinely used to drop a lot of money on new computers. $3000 for a Leading edge Model M with 20MByte disk and 640K, $3500 or a 6Mhz 80286 and 40MByte drive with EGA.

Not any more. The HP G74 with Twin Pentium I3 is plenty for running Lightroom on Leica M9 files, cost about the same as a Floppy drive for my first CP/M computer, ~$500.

New machines are amazingly fast and have a lot of power. They also get replaced more quickly than ever. So if it just a hobby, and you do not want to spend much on a computer- why should you? The things are cheap and there is very little practical difference between them.

If you want something more expensive, you always have the choice to spend more money. I'd buy a couple of external disks and back-up regularly. In this house, we have a 17" laptop each and I tend to keep files on all three.

 

[hteasley]

For traveling and photo viewing/editing, it really is hard to beat a 13" Macbook Air with 4GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. Pleasantly fast, great screen, no fragile moving parts like HD or DVD drive, super lightweight, really lovely to use.

I use my MBA every day, and my Alienware laptop far less often. It's surprising what will get to me, when it comes to using a laptop, but one of the major things is the trackpad. Apple has made an incredible trackpad that is a pleasure to use, while every PC laptop I've ever owned has used trackpads by Synaptics that never work nearly as well. They're stuttery and not as sensitive as Apple's, and Apple's multitouch gesture system works far better.

It's weird, but that alone would send me back to Apple for laptops, even if everything else were equal. There's a lot of interaction with the trackpad on a laptop, and when that interaction is punctuated by dozens of minuscule aggravations every day, it really adds up, and makes the overall experience less pleasant. I won't use my Alienware without attaching a mouse, but I can do everything with the trackpad on the MBA that I can do with a mouse, which I would have never thought possible before.

Anyway, my $0.02. The fully-loaded MBA is a great deal.

 

[gavinlg]

For traveling and photo viewing/editing, it really is hard to beat a 13" Macbook Air with 4GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. Pleasantly fast, great screen, no fragile moving parts like HD or DVD drive, super lightweight, really lovely to use.

I use my MBA every day, and my Alienware laptop far less often. It's surprising what will get to me, when it comes to using a laptop, but one of the major things is the trackpad. Apple has made an incredible trackpad that is a pleasure to use, while every PC laptop I've ever owned has used trackpads by Synaptics that never work nearly as well. They're stuttery and not as sensitive as Apple's, and Apple's multitouch gesture system works far better.

It's weird, but that alone would send me back to Apple for laptops, even if everything else were equal. There's a lot of interaction with the trackpad on a laptop, and when that interaction is punctuated by dozens of minuscule aggravations every day, it really adds up, and makes the overall experience less pleasant. I won't use my Alienware without attaching a mouse, but I can do everything with the trackpad on the MBA that I can do with a mouse, which I would have never thought possible before.

Anyway, my $0.02. The fully-loaded MBA is a great deal.

But... but... the specs! You can get a cardboard box the same specs as a macbook air for $30!!!

This is what makes apple good - things like the trackpad, the overall build, the ingenuity of the charger and adapter and a million other little details that sets them apart. I was using a new toshiba satellite the other day and the trackpad was like 2 inches wide, and grainy in texture, and I found it actually quite difficult to navigate around one - like I was fighting the texture of the surface!