Help! I need to replace my dinosaur...
It seems like these past few days or even weeks have been a blur. I've been running in overdrive, and somehow managing to just barely keep up! Between church, the gym, my office job, and photography, my days are completely full.
I've been shooting more than ever (portrait sessions) and love it. But I'm being bogged down by my dinosaur (also known as my 4 year old laptop computer). Its had a good run, but despite upgrades (added memory) and TLC (deleting old files, etc) it just can't keep up. I'm ready for a new computer.
So I'm stuck in this dilema. Its nothing new... I've been here for a year or two. I really need a new computer. It was slow two years ago, and so it seems even slower now. But I can not make up my mind! I'm indecisive when it comes to green tea... [I know it shouldn't take me 10 minutes to decide which brand to buy.. but it does!] ...and so its no surprize that I'm indecisive on a computer. So since I've finally reached my limit with my dinosaur, I'm asking for all my lovely reader and friend's help in giving me their input (and helping me make up my mine already and get a new computer!)
Here are my options:
(1) Build an epic-fast tower computer w/ Windows 7
Pros:
- Completely customized. My dad is a software engineer so he'd build it for me, all I'd have to do is spec out the parts with him based on what I want, and purchase the parts.
- Way cheaper than the other options (maybe even half as expensive)... (translation: more money left over for lenses!)
- Easy to upgrade in the future
Cons:
- Tower takes up space
- Have to find/buy a really nice monitor
- Not portable
(2) iMac
Pros:
- Amazing screen resolution, big screen
- Great reputation with other photogs/media ppl
- Space saver
Cons:
- Not portable (not completely.. I can move from office to kitchen/living room, but can't really take it with me to Starbucks...)
- Have to get the Mac version of software
- Costs more (translation: less $ for lenses, software)
(3) MacBook Pro
Pros:
- Portable (yay starbucks!)
- Great screen resolution
Cons:
- Small screen,
- Most expensive option (translation: no lens money or software money)
- Not easily upgradable
- Have to get the Mac version of software
Other background info: My dinosaur was a gift from my parents when I graduated High School. It served its purpose in college, but could never keep up with my photography demands. Now that I'm not in college I have no access to the sweet MacPros, and am stuck doing all my editing on the dinosaur.
So what do you think? I've changed my mind many times between the three and so can't settle at the moment. Post your comment and let me know your thoughts!
2 comments:
I made the switch 5 years ago and I LOVE my mac. IT's just so much more streamlined with what photographers need. I got along find with PC's but I totally understood why Mac has the reputation after I switched. When I upgraded from my old powerbook to my 24" iMac, I never looked back either! I kept my laptop to travel with which I'll upgrade to a Macbook soon), but all my editing and office work is done on the iMac. I didn't like the idea of imobility (is that a word?) at first, but now I get way more done b/c I'm not hanging in every room of the house with a ton of distractions while I'm on the computer. There will always be something on the list to buy... just dive in:)
I had the exact same problem, only I needed to upgrade because my old laptop from 2006 couldn't run CS4, which I needed for school [graphic arts crap]. I needed to be able to run Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, and After Effects -- which is a total RAM hog. My old laptop had 1 GB of RAM and only 50GB of internal hard drive. It couldn't handle having bridge and photoshop open at the same time and could barely run Illustrator, even with all of the defrags and the fact that I kept all of my used files on an external hard drive to leave the interior open for processing.
This past spring I was taking 6 classes including Photoshop, web design, digital video and my portfolio class. The tech center wasn't open enough hours for me to get my work done between work and school so I HAD to upgrade so I could actually do my homework at home.
In the end I got an iMac and I love it. The 1TB of disc space means I don't have to worry so much about when I'm going to run out of space. It also has Time Machine so I purchased an external 1TB hard drive and it automatically backs up all of my photography, music, design work, everything. I love the interface, the screen is absolutely BEAUTIFUL and Spaces helps me keep everything a little more organized when I'm multi-tasking. As for portability... I kept the box mine came in, with all of the foam, and I take it places all the time. Because it's only one screen, and no tower, I just shut it down, unplug the power source, put it in the box with my mouse and keyboard and I'm good to go. It's not very heavy, either.
I'm sure if you went to a Mac, whichever one, you could find whatever version of Adobe you're using and install it for Mac, then use the serial code you already have to verify it. Serial codes are all platform compatible, meaning there aren't Mac codes and PC codes, just the software.
Hope you get this figured out!!
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