John Edwin Mason wrote:
> Keeping in mind cost and the fact that I can upgrade
> later, what should I be thinking about in terms of RAM
> and hard drive capacity? Will 933MHz processing speed
> be enough? Do I really need a .25 pitch, flat screen,
> 17 inch monitor?
RAM is far more important than processor speed. Over here I have a Mac
G3 400 with 512 megs of RAM and a Mac iBook 300 with 160 megs of RAM.
(When running Photoshop, Mac MHz translate to a little under double what
you get out of a PC...I'd put my G3 400 up around par with a 700-ish MHz
PC with the same RAM.) The iBook is more than enough to work with
images up to 16x20 at 360dpi. So, if you don't intend to go bigger than
11x14-ish, I'd get a 500MHz PC with as much RAM as it'll support (I
think Win98 tops out at 500mb regardless of physical capacity, but
someone more Wintel oriented can correct me on that), or, if you can
afford it, a Mac or iMac. Older G3 towers like mine can often be had
for a (relative) song if you look around (ads in the back of MacAddict
this month list a G3 450 tower for $1,100 US with 128 megs of RAM), and
the discounts get good right around MacWorld expo time because Apple are
always clearing inventory just before announcing newer machines. My
girlfriend's father just got a graphite iBook 366 for $1499 CDN (that's
just over $1000 US, isn't it?) from MacWarehouse. Colour calibration on
the Mac is an absolute joy.
As to monitors, if you intend to use the machine a lot, get the best
that you can afford. :) Your eyes will thank you. A friend of mine
just bought a 19" Sceptre for $400 CDN, and it is just great. I have no
idea about its longevity, but the image it produces is fabulous.
-Aaron
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