Call All Computer Geeks

[orikes]

I’m looking to get a new computer and I need advice. It’s been about four years since I last had to do this and paid any attention to the latest and greatest. I have a vague idea of what is good, but no specifics.

What I’m looking for is to spend less than a $1000 on both a new computer and a new monitor. I’m looking specifically at New Egg because I have credit with them and I have friends who’ve had good experience with their purchases there.

Monitor – I do graphics work. I need a better monitor than I have, since I can’t get the color or the brightness correct on my current monitor (19” ViewSonic CRT something or another, bought refurb three years ago). I’d like to have color calibration capability, but I’m not sure if this is exclusive to high end, expensive monitors. I don’t care if it’s an LCD or CRT, just as long as the color and brightness look good.

Computer – Hoo boy. As I said, I do graphics. Lots of Photoshop, PageMaker and I’m trying to get stronger at Illustrator and InDesign. I also want to be able to play games. Right now my primary desire to upgrade is because I can’t play games on my current PC. It crashes at random moments and playing a graphic intense game is out of the question (I think it rebelled on me when I quit EQ for good).

I don’t care if it’s a prebuilt system or something I put together (with help). I like AMD and I want at least a 100GB HD.. more if I can swing it. Ram should be between 512mb and 1gb, and should be the good stuff. The video card is probably the most mystical thing right now. I’m very out of touch on what’s good. I want to be able to pop at least two to three fans in the case in addition to the defaults.

Whatever I get is going to have to be THE computer for the next few years. I don’t want to go too cheap, but I can’t go too expensive. As it is, I probably shouldn’t be doing this, but .. well.. I can.

Advice?

Comments

[megatonjustice.livejournal.com]

Hey look questions I can answer.... Awesome.

First of all color callobrations on any flat panel monitor in your price range will never be as tight as those of CRT screens. I've heard rumblings of some of the newer higher end flat panels doing what you want, but affordability is always a hamstring. Also larger than standard flat panels equal a disproportionate increase in price, as they are non-standard.

Of course CRT's tend to go dark after x # of hours. And then do need to be replaced, but if set right and having the screens turned off when you are awy from your machine helps considerably. One of these days I'll get a desk for a second screen. But by then I'll need to have a bigger work space as well.

I use a 19" CRT from NEC, and have had no issues with it what so ever.

On Processors I say have a good long look at AMD Athlons as they tend to clock a bit better than Pentiums, and I've have no trouble with any of the various ones I've used over the years. If you run a 64 bit processor be advised if you are a PC user, that Adobe has issues with Windows 64. I'm not a Mac user so I can't really compare there.

Video cards are deceptively expensive, go with one of the better mid range cards and you'll be fine. These things range anywhere from next to nothing to $2500. Let your conscience and purse strings guide you there. Personally I run an ATI Radeon (Iwant to say X700, but that could be way off) and only ever have the slightest glitching with Blender an opensource 3D animation program.

Ram, get as much as you can. I run a gig of ram and while it doesn't lag, or catch I'm thinking seriously of upgrading soon. But I do a lot of high dpi graphics work. Your mileage may vary. Also it's really important to have available slots on the board itself. If you can't all out on ram up front, conveniently this stuff tends to be cheap, so you could buy more to upgrade a couple months down the line after you've recovered from the intial expendatures.

New Egg is a pretty good source, with reasonable pricing. In fact if I didn't have an inside source (read family member who runs a comp repair and building business) I'd use them myself. I'll check about to see if any of my techie friends have any other advice for you.

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

Do you think I can get a CRT monitor that would serve my purposes the best for around $300? I like the idea of flat panel (takes up less space, the cats aren't tempted to sleep on it), but I do want the color calibration ability.

Right now, my monitor at home is extremely shaky with the color. It's either too bright and washed out (the pink skintones of my icons look almost white) or too dark to make out anything. It's definitely showing signs of age.

I think at this point I *want* a new computer, but *need* a new monitor.

[jengagne.livejournal.com]

As I always tell my boss at work when trying to finalize colors for webpages... everybody ELSE's monitor isn't calibrated. ;)

So that image that looks just right on her screen may look entirely too dark on other people's monitors. Those dark navy links might look black on another person's monitor. It happens. The key is to design with sufficient contrast to accommodate a wider range of settings...

Of course, if you're designing for prepress instead of the screen, then yeah -- you need to be able to calibrate your monitor/scanner/printer as closely as possible.

I dodge the issue entirely in my own digital art by always using the same six colors for everything. I don't care whether they print a little on the blue side or a little on the red side... I just care that they're all 60 degrees rotated on the color wheel. ;) But I know ignoring the issue like I do won't help someone trying to reproduce a Caucasian flesh tone!

P.S.: This computer would be perfect for you. :D

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

Hehe.

The work I do for TPK is generally PDF publishing, BUT people will be printing it out and we would like to do some POD work. I also want to do more with my photography and that requires some color calibration. It's sad when I print out a good picture and it ends up printing green tinged. It makes baby Jesus cry. and me too.

and that add rocks! The computer has PageMaker on it!

[megatonjustice.livejournal.com]

This is the monitor I've been using for the last year. It's less than $200. Properly callibrated, and I mostly do ready for print high resolution work, (no less than 400 dpi or vector). It also runs at a number of different resolutions. I've got no complaints.

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

You didn't give me a link to see what monitor you have! :)

I've been looking at This One (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824002248). It's an NEC 19" one. I like that it seems to have air vents on top AND sides. This way when my cats lay on top and I get too lazy to shoo them down, I don't have to worry *as much* about the monitor bursting into flame.

[megatonjustice.livejournal.com]

Wow the comment section ate my link damn. Oddly enough the NEC AS900 was what I was *trying* to link you to in the first place. So it almost worked. Sort of. Maybe. And yes it does have vents on top. I'm on my machine for like eleventy billion hours a year, and have had no problems thus far.