kris10 Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Hello. I found this forum when browsing for a helpful place with computer support. I've used computers long enough to be dangerous and have had the luck of learning a fair amount by screwing them up. I know some of the terminology and what it means but then some of it...I "think" I know what it means but a lot of times find myself surprised when I find what it really means. :P As irritated as I can get with computers, I LOVE them. I hope to one day soon build my first one. I'm an amateur photographer who wants a killer computer with killer graphics and one that will run great for digital imaging, web design and photographic movie making. I hope to build something that will last me a lot longer than the one's I've purchased over the years. Custom builts from companies who offer that service are okay but I think that being able to seriously customized based on what I want to do for the upcoming years would be even better. You can "tell" someone what you want but the last two computers I've had via that means have ultimately left me desiring more. I've always had to end up spending money to upgrade upgrade upgrade and I would rather just have it way up there in the beginning so I don't have to do that two years down the road while the computer world leaves me in the dust. I hope to be able to get some help on things that might arise (one in which I'll be posting my question to soon... ;)) in the future and maybe I'll end up being able to help someone else too. I look forward to meeting some fellow computer lovers and am glad I clicked on this link in my search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belatucadrus Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 so I don't have to do that two years down the road while the computer world leaves me in the dustThat's wishful thinking in a big way, with the advent of true 64 bit computing and multi core chips, two years is going to be a PC lifetime. I started out trying to future proof by getting a top spec computer, pretty soon progress left me in the dust and I realised that it was a complete waste of effort. My procedure now is check the system requirements of all the software packages I'm likely to use, total the lot to give me a ball park as to what's needed, add a percentage to allow for expansion and buy a machine that'll do the job. If you're worried about upgrades or additions get a full sized MOBO in a roomy case, then enjoy what you've got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 In all honesty I can't understand this constant urge to have the very latest. I have had my computer now for three and a half years. It does everything that I want at a decent speed. I cannot see what the latest this and the latest that would give me that would be worth all the extra cost. YES, I know that things have moved on, but the improvements since I had this machine are definitely NOT worth hundreds of pounds more. I think that progress and increases in performance moved along at a real pace for several years, with real progress being shown with the improvements offered by XP, but feel that the rate of progress has now slowed, and in many cases we are seeing progress for the sake of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan2273 Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 Their is no way to future proof, you can only try to get the best at the time and upgrade from there.I build a computer that has a dual core processor and dual graphics cards about six months ago, since then AMD have released the AM2 core which requires a different motherboard as they have added another pin to the processor, and Intel have launched the Conroe.The graphics cards have also moved on. So as Belatucadrus says build the best you can , leave room to upgrade and enjoy what you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artist Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 In all honesty I can't understand this constant urge to have the very latest. Me either. But that's the throw away society we live in these days. My pc is almost 5 now and I don't want to get another for a couple of years. Mind you, the laptop isn't a year old yet......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rong Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 In this case photography, you need a quite high speck machine, my PC now takes some time to render a photograph, with my last camera it was not any where near as long, I only take a few so not a big problem. My brother has a cannon SLR digital and takes all his photos in RAW, and changes them all, these are around 5-6 meg each. my PC would sit for ages if I played with these. The point being unless you are prepared to sit and wait for ages for something to happen or go for a lesser quality then you need a fairly high speck machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris10 Posted July 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 Yes, I understand the computer world will always get bigger and better components and "stuff" that is going to be better than what I might initially create. I guess more than anything, I want to know that for what I want in a computer, that I can build something that will serve my purpose for a little longer than the one's I've had in the past. The "wishful thinking" thing is probably most definitely true. I'm thinking that the best way to get where I want with a computer is to build it "my way" instead of having someone do what I tell them I want a computer to do. I'm thinking that building my own after having the one's I've had built for me will give a little more "wiggle room" when it comes to upgrading. In all honesty I can't understand this constant urge to have the very latest.I never understood that either until I started working with larger file sizes with programs I use in my job such as SketchUp and ArchiCad and also programs I use for personal use such as Macromedia Studio and Photoshop. The rendering engines in these programs require fast video and lots of room to store the models and photo's as they are such large files.In this case photography, you need a quite high speck machine, my PC now takes some time to render a photograph, with my last camera it was not any where near as long, I only take a few so not a big problem. My brother has a cannon SLR digital and takes all his photos in RAW, and changes them all, these are around 5-6 meg each.This is so true and also one of the things I have recently learned as I just went digital six months ago. I shoot with the Nikon D200 (10.3 megapixel DSLR) and though I tend to do a lot of my personal photography in high res JPEG, I shoot my work for other people in RAW and they are HUGE file sizes. I just recently recovered from a crash and if it wasn't for my bosses external hard drive, I would have lost almost 10 gigs of photo's. I only see the world of software such as the one's I use continuing to get bigger and better. I believe the advice on how to build based on the software I will be using is a good idea and I appreciate all of your comments and ideas. Thanks everyone. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 Luckily I don't indulge in that pastime called work. My computer handles my photos almost instantly for what I want to do with them. It should suit me fine for the foreseeable future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nellie2 Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 I built this computer that I'm using now just the other week and I'm very happy with it... I put together a few pictures etc herehttp://www.nellie2.co.uk/build/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris10 Posted July 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 That's so cool nellie. I'll have to mark this under my fav's and come back to look at it when I get all of my components. My biggest fear is buying something that's not compatible with whatever I start with. I'm going to continue to read up on the different components out there and see what I think I might use and then probably talk to a guy up at the computer store I go to about it before I purchase it. I want to start from scratch. He recommended a 939 Socket motherboard and compatible processor for me so that gives me a starting point. I see you've got the same type of motherboard he recommended for me for photo processing. The video card I just put in the custom built I'm using right now is the GeForce 7600 GS AGP 256MB. I didn't know there was a 7900 until my husband came home and told me. I have to say that I never knew what we were missing when we were running a 64MB Geforce card. I was told they don't even make a 64MB card anymore. Good thing as far as I'm concerned too. :P The graphics on my screen are soooo much better I can't believe I'm all into computers like this. I'm excited at just the thought of building my own. Good luck with that thing and when I ever get my opportunity, I may just have to "photograph" my experience to share too. Thanks for sharing those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 I didn't know that fairies were so clever. :D Well done Nellie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thos Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 That was really interesting, Nellie. Well done.When I started looking at your pictures and reading your narrative, I thought "Gee, I could do this"By the end, I thought "Not in a million years would I attempt that"I am in awe of you technicians and you who would be technicians.Thos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nellie2 Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 Thank you... The difficult bit was knowing what to get.... Boris did my shopping for me :D see here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 Thank you... The difficult bit was knowing what to get.... Boris did my shopping for me :D see hereI do so like spending money on buying new PC bits :D other people's money that is ! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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