Expert: LizaL - 4/24/2005

Question
Hi LizaL,

My daughter is seriously looking for a career as a graphic artist. She had been to several Photoshop workshops, and has the Photoshop creative suites program.
   We would like to get her a new computer for her high school graduation as a surprise gift.

Can you tell us what the best "numbers" we should look for to give her the best speed and use of her Photoshop program while in college.

We know she wants a desktop with pentium 4 but the other numbers listed on computers confuse me..  Can you help us?

Kind of like if you were buying a new computer, what would you look for?

I to am a "all Experts" volunter and truely appreciate your time.

Thanks Rick Dudasik

Answer
Hi Rick,

Hey, that's great about your daughter! That's also a very thoughtful and useful gift you want to give her. I'm sure she'll really love a new computer.

Here's what I think: If she wants to get into graphic art, and she's already working in Photoshop, two of her main concerns should be RAM and processor speed.

RAM (random access memory) is a computer's expandable memory. To put it very simply, RAM aids greatly in how files are processed, and the more RAM you have, the faster files can be read and written -- so your machine will function faster, overall.

Processor speed is measured in gigahertz, and that's the GHz number you'll see in computer specs.

Most PCs have Pentium 4 processors now. And a typical processor speed nowadays is right around 2GHz or better. This is good!

Dell makes some excellent desktops (and laptops), and the prices are also excellent. Take a look at this link:
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/desktops?c=us&cs=19&l=en&...


Now take a look at the specs for the Dimension 3000, and I'll explain the numbers.

-- IntelŪ PentiumŪ 4 Processor (2.80GHz, 533 FSB):
2.80GHz (gigahertz) is the processor speed, and the 533 FSB refers to the front side bus, which is how the main processor connects to the rest of the computer. Again, higher speeds are better here, and 533 is a good number!

-- 512MB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz:
The 512MB refers to how much RAM is in the machine -- and in this case, there's 512 megabytes, which is a good start. But remember, the more RAM, the better, and especially for using Photoshop.

The Dual Channel DDR SDRAM stuff refers to how the RAM is constructed (Double Data Rate, Synchronous Dynamic RAM, to be exact!). And the 400MHz part refers to how fast the RAM performs (it's measured in megahertz).

-- 80GB Ultra ATA/100 7200RPM Hard Drive:
This means the PC has a hard drive with 80 gigabytes of space. Ultra ATA/100 is a standard hard drive specification, where ATA/100 stands for "Advanced Technology Attachment," and the 100 part represents the speed of data transfer when using the hard drive. The 7200 rpm is how fast the hard drive spins when accessed, and 7200 is good!


Now, all that said, remember the rule of thumb for graphic art and Photoshop: Get the most RAM you can afford and that your machine can handle, and go for speed. Be sure to check out the online specifications for any machine you're interested in, and see how much RAM it will hold.

A large hard drive is also another consideration, but if you buy a machine with a smaller hard drive, you can always add another internal hard drive (which are inexpensive), or buy her an external hard drive (more expensive, but convenient).


If it were me, I'd buy a Dell, and I'd probably buy a desktop from the Dimension desktop line. Hey, what am I saying? I already have one of those, LOL! (I use a Mac and a PC, BTW.)

Seriously, Dells are good machines. Plus, you can configure your Dell the way you want it before it leaves the factory, and their tech support is also very good.


Hope this helps! And good luck to your daughter.

Lisa


P.S. What subject do you volunteer in?