Expert: Bobbert - 9/6/2010

Question
i was wondering what i should upgrade to
currentally running:-

LG 17inch LCG monitor
Mini Tower with 400watt PSU
Jetway motherboard with onboard video and sound
Intel Celeron 2.4 GHz
2xDDR2 1GB sticks
160GB 5400rpm HDD
Samsung 52X CDROM
PS2 Logitech cord keyboard and mouse
180watt gigabyte speakers
faster and  can handle much needed graphics for the new adobe CS4 master suite collection. i need more storage on the hard drive.
what system will be best for me to upgrade to?  

Answer
If you're purchasing a new system, the best choice would be towards something with a dual or quad core processor (or a pair of such processors), as that will handle the heavier compute loads levied by modern DCC applications - without knowing more about your workflow or actual usage it's hard to make a more directed suggestion (are you working with video, audio, print, etc).

You'll also probably be better served by more memory, however I wouldn't consider this a "top priority" - most modern OEM boxes are offering at least 6GB of memory, which should be more than enough for normal usage (however, again, without having a better idea of what your workflow looks like, I can't say this any certainty - if you're doing HDV or pre-press your requirements are going to be different). Along the line of your working scenario, a larger and more color accurate display would also rate up towards the top - the easy picks are Dell UltraSharp, Apple Cinema, Eizo Nanao, and Samsung displays - you'll probably want to budget ~$500 for a quality display, add a few hundred for a calibration system if you need to be more certain on color standards.

Generally speaking, I'd probably be looking at Dell's Precision or HP's Z series workstations - your original question lists Australia as your country of origin, so Fujitsu's Celsius workstations may also be a consideration - if you need more specialization for HDV or multi-track audio (and in both cases I'd probably urge you to move away from Adobe's platform if possible) I would either add the upgrade hardware on-site (and I would suggest looking at upgrades from Matrox, Canopus, Avid, RME, and perhaps E-MU (in no particular order)), or would look at more specialized machines from the factory (i.e: Boxx Systems).

So in short, I'd need to know more about your workflow and DCC needs before I can make a more directed suggestion.

-bob