New Computer!

[Photo-John]

I finally got a new computer! I didn't want to do it. But my dedicated imaging desktop (only runs Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere, etc.) was getting pretty slow with the current huge RAW files. The worst thing was video processing. When I built my current machine I had no intention of ever doing any video. That sure has changed. Video is very, very important for site content now and I've actually started to get interested and excited about becoming better at it. So I needed a machine that didn't get in the way.

I bought the new computer from a local builder. It's an Intel i5 machine running Windows 7. It's got two 500 GB drives NVidea GeForce GTS250 512MB video card, 4GB of RAM, a 450 watt power supply, and a built-in card reader.

So far, all I've had a chance to do is take this picture. Setting up a new machine is a pain in the ass and I'm going to have to schedule a day of downtime with my current machine to get the new one up and running. I'm really looking forward to being up-to-date, though. It's been a long time coming.

[Wolfy]

That thing looks like it can really shred the gnar!

[Photo-John]

That thing looks like it can really shred the gnar!

The blue lights make it go to 11.

[SmartWombat]

How quiet are the 3 huge fans?

[hollis]

Do the lights in the house dim just a bit when you boot up?

[daq7]

Nice looking machine. I always build my own. Not sure why.

[Photo-John]

How quiet are the 3 huge fans?

That's a good question, Paul. I'll let you know when I actually get this thing set up and I'm not just taking pictures of it.

[daq7]

Big fans tend to be quieter than small ones, since you can move more air at lower rpms.

[Photo-John]

Nice looking machine. I always build my own. Not sure why.

I built my last computer. But I found dealing with the drivers and bios to be an overall pain in the ass and not really worth the money I saved. This time I paid more for service and security. I just wanted to be up and running and have someone else be the computer expert. Hopefully it works out as promised.

[daq7]

If you keep your computer for more than a few months, you will have driver and other issues anyway. I would rather deal with them myself than spend hours on the phone to bombay. Of course I am making the processors that go into them as well, so...

[Greg McCary]

It takes me weeks to get a computer the way I like it so I feel for you. I was shooting for two computers. One for being online and one just to process images with. Are you 64bit?

[Old Timer]

Color me jealous!!

[jorgemonkey]

Sweet!

I'm actually just about to install Win 7 Pro on my old desktop & use it as an image server. Right now my laptop is my main machine and it handles everything fine.

[Photo-John]

If you keep your computer for more than a few months, you will have driver and other issues anyway. I would rather deal with them myself than spend hours on the phone to bombay. Of course I am making the processors that go into them as well, so...

Oh yeah, I know. It's the initial setup and more subtle issues that I don't want to deal with. As for Bombay - part of what I paid for is that this is a local company, right around the corner. I don't need to call Bombay and ask for a technician. I can just unplug the machine and drive five minutes and have them figure it out.

[Photo-John]

It takes me weeks to get a computer the way I like it so I feel for you. I was shooting for two computers. One for being online and one just to process images with. Are you 64bit?

I have three machines, Greg - a laptop, a desktop that's just for work (i.e., PhotographyREVIEW.com), and my imaging machine. This computer is my new imaging machine. It will be dedicated to Adobe software and other imaging-related stuff. And yeah, it's 64-bit. That's in preparation for Photoshop CS5.

[cameron665]

It looks like a nice machine. What sort of monitor did you go for? I'll soon be in the market for one myself.

[dmm96452]

I just finished building a new computer myself. It was more about building my "Dream Machine" than anything else. I do enjoy building my own and the process of working the BIOS and driver issues out. By the time I was done with this I realized I could have paid my truck off. :mad2:

I am joining Overbuilders Anonyms!

[Photo-John]

It looks like a nice machine. What sort of monitor did you go for? I'll soon be in the market for one myself.

The monitor is an Asus LCD. I've never had an LCD monitor and I'm still suspicious of them. CRT's are so cheap now and they calibrate so well. However, the LCD only cost me $100 with the computer and I figured it was about time I at least experienced one so that I could talk about it. If I don't like it, I've got a huge, ancient Sony CRT that cost over $1000 when it was new and is still going strong