Desktop/Laptop - Spec etc.

Ben:

Ben:

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Ben
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Hey.
I currently have a Dell Studio 15 laptop which I upload my photos to and edit using cs3.

I also have (don't use as I lent it to a friend) a Dell Inspiron desktop with 19" monitor. Can't remember the spec, but it was pretty high at the time as I wanted it for amateur video editing (3/4 years ago)

I was thinking about selling one of them to fund a new lens and just using the other one. However the price of desktops/laptop have come down so much in the past couple of years I'd probably get nothing for them.

Just wondering which is best/preferable to view, editing, present photos on.
Would I be better off getting my desktop back, calibrating the 19" monitor and using that?

A lot of boring and unnecessary info there.... just bored:\
 
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I wouldnt contemplate editing photos on a Laptop unless it has a dedicate Video card and high spec, otherwise its PC all the way it will be much quicker at editing.

In all fairness i couldnt do without having both, but laptop will earn you more money selling second hand but imo is more useful to own!
 
depends on the spec of the laptop a dedicated graphics card wont give you any performance gain persay, it will free up some memory that it will take from the RAM but only the newer versions of photoshop (not cs3) support negligable amounts of graphics acceleration.

main point for concideration if youre happy with the speed of your existing computer is a decent monitor (preferably an IPS panel) and a calibration device.

p.s - probably better for this thread to be in the computers section ;)
 
You're right about your old PC. You probably won't get much for it.
One big advantage of the desktop over a laptop is real estate. You'll have more space for the image and PS panels than on a laptop. If colour reproduction is important to you, then try for a decent monitor. As Neil_g suggested an IPS panel or even a VA panel such as Eizo make are worth the extra. I couldn't believe the difference when I got my Eizo screen. I was very glad that I had saved PSD's for most of my edited images as the colour was way off when compared to my older TN screens from Dell.
Go for 4Gb RAM and at least 128Mb graphics card. Make sure you have plenty of storage space, especially allow for backup via external USB/Firewire or even an extra internal drive.
 
Thanks for that info Trevor :) I think the desktop has 2gb RAM, always upgradable. And either 125 or 250mb graphic card, 500gb built in harddrive, not sure about the 19" moniter, probably just a normal digital Dell one. I think I would prefer a desktop for editing, but I can't see what use I'd have for a laptop aswell :\
 
Don't worry about a dedicated video card.....it's not required for 2D graphics work. Maybe if you're driving multiple very high res displays....but certainly it'll never be an issue on a laptop.

You'll get virtually nothing for 3-4 year old kit, it's rarely worth selling.
 
Using the laptop and an external monitor / keyboard / mouse may be an option; I went that way for a while and it was adequate.
 
Overall it's more effective to upgrade/update my desktop for editing, more RAM, hard disk space etc yes? And maybe keep my laptop for something else, maybe try and sell it.
 
Its probably worthwhile costing out how much upgrading would cost you and comparing it with the cost of a new PC.
Even allowing for the fact that your old PC was, at the time, highly specified, 3/4 years is an awfully long time in terms of PC development.
 
happy haggis said:
Its probably worthwhile costing out how much upgrading would cost you and comparing it with the cost of a new PC.
Even allowing for the fact that your old PC was, at the time, highly specified, 3/4 years is an awfully long time in terms of PC development.
Click to expand...

Hmm that's a very good point, could end up spending a lot to upgrade it when a new pc would have been just a bit more.
Thanks.
 
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