Computer part help

Maybe it's different with a p.c.?

I had heard Vista runs a lot of ram, but that's cool you can turn off some of the unneccesarry stuff. 

I am concerned if it doesn't run older programs. 

Partitioning isn't a problem, it just isn't very beneficial when you're talking about performance.  It is handy for filing and organizing, but that's about it.  I think that's Bob and Ryan's point about not partitioning for your scratch disk.  You will get better performance having your scratch on a second, internal hard drive.  I haven't run Vista, but all the writers in PC Magazine hate it and have all gone back to XP.  They know more than I do, I'll take their word for it.  I have absolutely no plans to buy it, and I would recommend against it based on what I've heard.  Bob has only validated my thoughts and feelings on that point.

Get the fastest front side bus speed that you can afford.  I could be wrong because I'm not really a computer geek, but I know the software I use at work seems to perform very similar to Photoshop.  They both use some graphics (not a lot of 3D), but they both have to calculate complex mathematical algorithms on the fly.  All this information needs to be able to move quickly to keep your computer from having to stop and think about the calculations.  Colors are all numbers, these numbers are going through dramatic calculations with every change.  Pixels are square and also need to be calculated for every rotation and transformation.  I say: Front Side Bus (FSB), Processor, RAM.  I am told however, that XP won't utilize anything over 3GB RAM, so there may be no need to go beyond that.  Again, I'm no expert, so I'll gladly let them chime in and correct me on anything I've said that is inaccurate.

Travis

Moore's Law says that the fastest computer available today will be obsolete in 18 months.  So if you buy one that's 6 months "old" it's only got 12 months.  Of course it's not like the computer will just stop working.

The other side of that coin is that if you buy one generation behind the latest and greatest you can save a lot of money and get a majority of the functionality.  That's what I usually do. 

That would be correct.  A partitioned disk still only has one cable to push data through and can only read one bit of data at a time. 

One benefit I could see though is the ability to easily wipe the scratch partition regularly without affecting your data or applications.  But if you're that concerned about scratch disk speed hard drives are cheap enough it's worth getting one dedicated to the task. 

On XP I would also suggest making it XP Pro. But don't wait too long, Microsoft won't be making it much longer.

Dual screens are much nicer for editing. I keep all the tool pallets and bridge up on one screen and the image on the main screen. I have a 20" for a main and a cheap little 17" Samsung for a second screen. I don't bother to calibrate it.

I'd also suggest a second, fast, internal drive for a scratch disk and storage. Learned my lesson when I had a hard drive lock up a few years ago with everything on it. Don't keep all your eggs in one basket.

Look into a local computer store. Not a chain store. Let them know what all you want to do and expect it to do. That way you don't buy a bunch of junk software and limit your internal hardware choices buying through a chain. A lot of the local guys will give you some sort of warrenty too. If you have a problem you call up George who built and sold you your computer; not Sanjay ten time zones away reading off a troubleshooting card. I've had one custom built computer my cousin did for me. It worked like a dream, it just got too old to keep up with the software. Bought a new Dell last year because I coud get such a good deal through work and it's been so-so. Still have intermittant problems with the graphics driver tht neither Dell or Microsoft has a patch for that locks up the system about once a week. Had to call up customer service out of the box to switch a jumper on the board to get things to work at all.

I figure this fall I'll take it in to my cousin for an overhaul. New graphics card, second DVD burner, etc.

[grin]

geeks with cameras... scary..

Geeks with cameras rock

Hey, nothing wrong with geeks, I know lots of geeky stuff for a girl, I like playing Magic the Gathering, and I have read Harry Potter a BILLION TIMES.

Anyway, Bob, so how do you guys know how old stuff is?  If I want to buy something that was new 18 months ago, how do I know what was new then?

sooooo, buy the step or two down of what the most expensive is for everything...?

Of course most of this just really depends on what I can afford.