Hi

I've just been asked to sort out a computer for a Digital Imaging lab at my workplace. It would mainly be used for using Photoshop CS3, but there is also a possibility of a bit of video editing being thrown in for good measure.

I was thinking something along the lines of:

Intel Core2 Duo
4GB of DDR2
500GB x2 HDD
22" Flat screen monitor

I'm fairly sure I should be making sure that the PC has plenty of memory and hdd space so that it can deal with large image sizes in RAW format, but am not convinced as to whether a powerful CPU is all that necessary. Also would I be better off with CRT or LCD? Does CRT still give better colour fidelity?

Most of all though - I work for a charity - so the cheaper the better!!

Any suggestions?

many people still say CRT has better colors compared to LCD - but I don't know how valid that statement is, because there's quite a few color-calibration hardware available which should make your 'color-correctness' as good as it gets on that particular display - don't pin me on this though, I'm not all that familiar with that...

I think processing power isn't something that should be regarded lightly considering the large filesizes of large images and them being edited. However, as you state you're working for a charity, I suppose the best you could do is find a good balance between disk size and processing power.

I think 500GB should be quite enough at first, and the money you save on that can be used towards a better CPU, which will probably give you better results.

@Keito : that is true if u buy a mid - high range crt but top end LCD's beat CRT any day

Seeing he is trying to keep the budgetas low as possible due to the charity nature I think CRT might be a better option financially speaking?

Thanks for clarifying that for me tho

http://www.hotukdeals.com/?tag=d08921a

might be worth a look.

1. Just get a mid-range Core 2 Duo.
2. 4GB of RAM is way overkill for photos. 2GB is plenty.
3. 1TB of space is probably overkill but it's cheap now. What's your backup strategy though? You'll want an external fileserver running a RAID-array (1, 5, 6, 10, etc.) which will duplicate the data on this PC.
4. The monitor is the most important piece of the puzzle. Get an Apple Cinema Display, Lacie, Eizo, etc. LCD is the way to go, but you must stick with a good brand like the ones I listed.
5. CALIBRATE the monitor with a hardware calibrator. Something like a Spyder.
6. Video card is completely useless so just get a bottom of the line card.

-Highest RAM and CPU you can get for the money
-500 GB storage should be enough for now. In the future you can purchase additional storage for all the files you need to backup.
-Dont get APPLE display unless its an apple computer....the displays dont get along with PCs too well. Other high-end LCDs work very well nowadays; and get widescreen.
-Don't worry about video card too much.

1. Not necessary.
2. True.
3. False. I use an ACD with my PC. You just need a video card which has dual DVI ports not one with a DVI and a VGA port.
4. True.

1. Absolutely necessary. When you're handling tons of 16 megapixel raw files, not to mention videos, the difference can add up to be hours and hours.

3. You're right. But to the original poster, just be careful, because massive numbers of people who try Apple displays with PCs report lots of problems. You might be able to run it smoothly like teriba, but just keep in mind that even though the apple displays are of exceptional quality, they were simply not designed with PC compatibility as a priority.

Sure if you don't mind paying the price but decent CRTs are quite cheap nowadays. (since they're all discontinued ) Can't beat the color definition, black levels, and viewing angles on CRTs just quite yet.

what 22'' screen brand u gonna buy?
I can say that I love my 20.1'' LG widescreen. This is so nice for picture editing!

I fully disagree there. A high-end LCD beats a CRT in every single way.

Sure if you don't mind paying the price

An Eizo isn't exactly the cheapest piece of kit.

I would definately grab a high end CRT (should be cheap as chips these days) for anything to do with professional graphics work. That's one field the current generation of LCDs hasn't taken over yet

machine should be good enough for what you plan on doing, but go widescreen lcd for the display. it just makes it a whole lot easier to edit and if you plan on potentially doing video editing then widescreen is a must have. imagine working on a 16:9 video on a 4:3 monitor... f that noise.

hmm no, personally I'd keep LCD over CRT. Just calibrate it with a spyder or any other brand hardware

I don't know a single photographer using a CRT now.