How would you build this?

Ed_ wrote:
 >
 > The customer would like a new computer. She is a professional graphics person
 > who specializes in Photoshop for various photographers. She does not play games
 > and doesn't do much video work. Her main concern is her Photoshop and graphics
 > work and occasional Internet use.
 >
 > How would you build it? What components would you concentrate on? Which video
 > card? Is a high end monitor as important as I think it is and, if so, what
 > would you recommend. CRT or LCD?
 >
 > I do some limited photo work myself but nothing to this degree so I'm a little
 > bit apprehensive about going with my instincts on this.
 >
 > TIA, Ed



For professional photo editing, I'd use a BIG CRT monitor (21"). Maybe
dual, but definitely CRT. She'll also want (and should know about) some
of the tool avaialable to calibrate the monitor via Photoshop...

Lotsa memory...up to the max the MB will accomodate. Lotsa storage
space (internal RAID and external). DVD writer for offsite archiving of
her professional output. Mid-range processor is fine. Mid range
graphics card).

My opinion..others may have some other strategies...<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: How would you build this? 

"Ed_" <eddie4664deletethis.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> ¦b¶l¥ó
news:co2m540ior@drn.newsguy.com ¤¤¼¶¼g...
 > The customer would like a new computer. She is a professional graphics
person
 > who specializes in Photoshop for various photographers. She does not play
games
 > and doesn't do much video work. Her main concern is her Photoshop and
graphics
 > work and occasional Internet use.
 >
 > How would you build it? What components would you concentrate on? Which
video
 > card? Is a high end monitor as important as I think it is and, if so,
what
 > would you recommend. CRT or LCD?
 >
 > I do some limited photo work myself but nothing to this degree so I'm a
little
 > bit apprehensive about going with my instincts on this.
 >
 > TIA, Ed
 >

Ed,

Suggesting her to get a mac might lose your business but anyway, if she's a
cool customer, I find it always good to suggest the sensible to customers
eventhough I might lose her business. Word of mouth advertising would get
her friends to my store.

The reason why I said that was whether you know she's strictly on photoshop
and photo editing. If she also does 4-color printing on the side, I would
suggest a mac because it's just more accurate in terms on color separation.
If not and she's only interested in the RGB space, take the advice before
me.

Mid-range video cards should be defined as ~$150 - $200 US. 128MB
Preferrably dual-headed. Brands don't matter (unless drivers matter), she
should already know about monitor calibration and such. And most cards can
do pretty high refresh rates at high res.
Take the advice of getting a CRT for the sake of dpi, and concentrate on the
dpi. The lower the better. You can even suggest brands such as EIZO; for a
little less, Hitachi or ones with Diamondtrons.
At least 2GB of ram.
See if she's carrying over her tablet from the old box. If not, the wacom
intuos'd be cool:
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.wacom.com/productinfo/intuos.cfm" target="_blank">http://www.wacom.com/productinfo/intuos.cfm</a>
I would take a dvd writer instead of an external hdd.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: How would you build this? 

In article <co3gof$orm4@imsp212.netvigator.com>, Bronney Hui says...
 >
 >"Ed_" <eddie4664deletethis RemoveThis @hotmail.com> ¦b¶l¥ó
 >news:co2m540ior@drn.newsguy.com ¤¤¼¶¼g...
  >> The customer would like a new computer. She is a professional graphics
 >person
  >> who specializes in Photoshop for various photographers. She does not play
 >games
  >> and doesn't do much video work. Her main concern is her Photoshop and
 >graphics
  >> work and occasional Internet use.
  >>
  >> How would you build it? What components would you concentrate on? Which
 >video
  >> card? Is a high end monitor as important as I think it is and, if so,
 >what
  >> would you recommend. CRT or LCD?
  >>
  >> I do some limited photo work myself but nothing to this degree so I'm a
 >little
  >> bit apprehensive about going with my instincts on this.
  >>
  >> TIA, Ed
  >>
 >
 >Ed,
 >
 >Suggesting her to get a mac might lose your business but anyway, if she's a
 >cool customer, I find it always good to suggest the sensible to customers
 >eventhough I might lose her business. Word of mouth advertising would get
 >her friends to my store.
 >
 >The reason why I said that was whether you know she's strictly on photoshop
 >and photo editing. If she also does 4-color printing on the side, I would
 >suggest a mac because it's just more accurate in terms on color separation.
 >If not and she's only interested in the RGB space, take the advice before
 >me.
 >
 >Mid-range video cards should be defined as ~$150 - $200 US. 128MB
 >Preferrably dual-headed. Brands don't matter (unless drivers matter), she
 >should already know about monitor calibration and such. And most cards can
 >do pretty high refresh rates at high res.
 >Take the advice of getting a CRT for the sake of dpi, and concentrate on the
 >dpi. The lower the better. You can even suggest brands such as EIZO; for a
 >little less, Hitachi or ones with Diamondtrons.
 >At least 2GB of ram.
 >See if she's carrying over her tablet from the old box. If not, the wacom
 >intuos'd be cool:
 >http://www.wacom.com/productinfo/intuos.cfm
 >I would take a dvd writer instead of an external hdd.
 >
 >
Thanks for the good advice and the link. I passed it along to my friend, even
the part about the MAC...lol.

She doesn't use dual monitors at the present but the suggestion did intrigue
her. I'll look into the Hitachi and the Diamontron. The SyncMaster 1100DF
seems to be a popular choice for some of the digital photo enthusiasts that I
have talked to.

Ed<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: How would you build this? 

 > Thanks for your input. Since I usually steer folks in the direction of the
 > LCD
 > monitors, I'm not that familiar with the high-end CRT's. I will have to
 > do some
 > research since it seems the large CRT's are preferable for this type of
 > work.
 >
 > Ed
 >

No research needed. Just remember the word "Viewsonic". Research DONE!
-Dave<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: How would you build this? 

 > Thanks for the good advice and the link. I passed it along to my friend, even
 > the part about the MAC...lol.
 >
 > She doesn't use dual monitors at the present but the suggestion did intrigue
 > her. I'll look into the Hitachi and the Diamontron. The SyncMaster 1100DF
 > seems to be a popular choice for some of the digital photo enthusiasts that I
 > have talked to.
 >
 > Ed

Glad to have helped a little <!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: How would you build this? 

Ed_ wrote:

   >>> The customer would like a new computer. She is a professional graphics
  >>person
   >>> who specializes in Photoshop for various photographers. She does not
   >>> play
  >>games
   >>> and doesn't do much video work. Her main concern is her Photoshop and
  >>graphics
   >>> work and occasional Internet use.
   >>>
   >>> How would you build it? What components would you concentrate on?
   >>> Which
  >>video
   >>> card? Is a high end monitor as important as I think it is and, if so,
  >>what
   >>> would you recommend. CRT or LCD?
   >>>
   >>> I do some limited photo work myself but nothing to this degree so I'm a
  >>little
   >>> bit apprehensive about going with my instincts on this.

  >>Suggesting her to get a mac might lose your business but anyway, if she's
  >>a cool customer, I find it always good to suggest the sensible to
  >>customers
  >>eventhough I might lose her business. Word of mouth advertising would get
  >>her friends to my store.
  >>
  >>The reason why I said that was whether you know she's strictly on
  >>photoshop
  >>and photo editing. If she also does 4-color printing on the side, I would
  >>suggest a mac because it's just more accurate in terms on color
  >>separation. If not and she's only interested in the RGB space, take the
  >>advice before me.

I second the Mac. They just released a G5 iMac, and it would probably work
if she's on a budget. If not, a full G5 system is in order. You pay a
premium for a Mac, but for what she wants to use if for, it's perfect.
She'd need to realize how big the files are she'll be editing, and decide
on the amount of memory she'll need. She'll want at least 1 GB, but maybe
more if she uses large and/or high resolution files.

If a Mac is outside her budget, then I recommend using a fairly mid-level
graphics card, since 2D performance isn't an issue with any modern graphics
card and the higher end ones are just better at 3D rendering. However, you
don't want something so cheap as to render colors very badly. Something
along the ATi 9800 Pro or the nVidia 6600 GT level is more than enough. As
far as monitors are concerned, a high-end CRT provides the most accurate
colors, but must be adjusted for geometry. However, an LCD provides very
accurate geometry, but colors aren't so accurate. Also, LCD's are very
expensive, particularly professional level ones. That's something to
consider, since I'd rather invest my money in processing power and memory
if money was an object. Here's a few examples of a high-end CRTs, and any
should fit the bill:

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=451484" target="_blank">http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=451484</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=24-002-012&depa=0" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=24-002-012&depa=0</a>

If she's really serious about color accuracy, then calibration hardware is a
must.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: How would you build this? 

Dave C. wrote:

 > No research needed. Just remember the word "Viewsonic". Research DONE!

I've had professional level Viewsonic monitors in the past, and was less
than enthusiastic about them. I thought my old Applvision monitor was much,
much better, though I paid more for the Applevision.

Honestly, the NEC/Mitsubishi Diamondtron high-end stuff is probably the
best. LaCie has been selling their monitors for graphics professionals
based on the Diamondtron for years, and I'd trust them for professional
graphics work, but you'll pay for it.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: How would you build this? 

Ed_ wrote:

 > "(MHO , non VIA board)".........lol. Yeh, I figured at least 1G of ram
 > but I
 > guess more wouldn't hurt. I was thinking along the lines of the AMD 64
 > 3200. Any thoughts?

Why not a 3800+? Processing power goes a long way in Photoshop. Also,
Photoshop can do SMP, so a dual Opteron system would work even better, if
money is not an obstacle.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: How would you build this?