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how big of a computer do I need???

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Slack11

New Member
Need a little help here, I've got an older dell computer that I use to run a mutoh Falcon Outdoor Jr., Q-100 (graphtec) plotter, and run signlab and corel. I think I have a computer problem, it will lock up while printing on the falcon outdoor jr., and I'll reboot and it'll seem to fix the problem. Also it'll throw errors on the printer that I also think are a product of sending the print to the printer.

If (when) I upgrade here to a newer computer, how big of a machine should I be looking at? What kind of Ram, processor speed etc. I am currently running a 2.5 GHz dell with 2GB ram. I'm not a very big sign company, and don't need a full blown "design" computer, just something to get things done and done right.

Thanks for any help here, I would like to spend wisely the first time.

Thanks.
 
choucove

choucove

New Member
At our office we had similar issues it sounds like with an older computer they were using to print to a Mimaki JV3, and the problem ended up being that the print jobs were too big for the computer to handle and would time out, freezing up the computer and everything.

If you are looking a system that you will use as both a RIP and a design system, you will need it to have a little more horsepower for multitasking than if it were just meant for one or the other. A minimum of a dual-core processor, though quad-core processors are so cost effective anymore that that would have to be highly suggested in a situation with such multitasking work. When it comes to the amount of RAM you want, that can depend on a couple of factors. If you will be running a 64-bit compatible operating system, then you can put as much ram as you want in there, the more the merrier, though usually 4 GB to 6 GB is more than enough for most work. If you will only be using 32-bit operating system then the computer will not recognize more than 4 GB of memory.

You shouldn't have to worry about a lot of graphics horsepower with this kind of design work. A more basic card will save you money for your processor or RAM. I often suggest the nVidia Quadro series of cards as they are professional cards built specifically for design work.

And if you are working with designing and RIP all in one system, have plenty of hard drive space for temp files. A lot of people prefer to use faster hard drives as well to cut down on loading, saving, and rip time. Western Digital VelociRaptors are faster than standard desktop SATA hard drives, but they are more expensive and lower capacity so of course it is a trade-off.
 
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Slack11

New Member
How about the operating system. Most of the computers that I am looking at come with vista. Is this decent to run rip and design programs? Or should I be looking for windows xp. Again, thanks for any help
 
MachServTech

MachServTech

New Member
choucove said:
At our office we had similar issues it sounds like with an older computer they were using to print to a Mimaki JV3, and the problem ended up being that the print jobs were too big for the computer to handle and would time out, freezing up the computer and everything.

If you are looking a system that you will use as both a RIP and a design system, you will need it to have a little more horsepower for multitasking than if it were just meant for one or the other. A minimum of a dual-core processor, though quad-core processors are so cost effective anymore that that would have to be highly suggested in a situation with such multitasking work. When it comes to the amount of RAM you want, that can depend on a couple of factors. If you will be running a 64-bit compatible operating system, then you can put as much ram as you want in there, the more the merrier, though usually 4 GB to 6 GB is more than enough for most work. If you will only be using 32-bit operating system then the computer will not recognize more than 4 GB of memory.

You shouldn't have to worry about a lot of graphics horsepower with this kind of design work. A more basic card will save you money for your processor or RAM. I often suggest the nVidia Quadro series of cards as they are professional cards built specifically for design work.

And if you are working with designing and RIP all in one system, have plenty of hard drive space for temp files. A lot of people prefer to use faster hard drives as well to cut down on loading, saving, and rip time. Western Digital VelociRaptors are faster than standard desktop SATA hard drives, but they are more expensive and lower capacity so of course it is a trade-off.
Click to expand...

with this guidance I have seen several machines recently below $1000
 
choucove

choucove

New Member
The operating system is something that's also a bit more complicated. Very few places are still selling XP machines, but if it is what you are using everywhere else than it may be better to make sure all your software (and hardware peripherals like printers) are compatible still. If you already have other computers with Vista, then it shouldn't be a problem for you to go ahead with purchasing Vista. It's really a matter of user preference.

With the imminent release of Windows 7 just a couple months away, I would almost suggest skipping completely over Vista and go straight into 7 if possible. Now, that being said, it's also not the best idea to just jump into a brand new operating system the first few months it's been released, but wait for it to mature a little while. I don't foresee it will take even a fraction of the time for Win 7 to catch on and be ironed out as it did for Windows Vista, as code-wise Win 7 is just an upgrade of Vista.

And then you get into the issue of 32-bit versus 64-bit operating system. If you want to put 4 GB or more of RAM in your system you will need a 64-bit OS to recognize it. However, you may run into a compatibility issue with older hardware or software using a 64-bit OS. I have yet to have any issues, but it can happen. For future expandability the 64-bit route is the way to go, but for compatibility with old software you may have to stay with 32-bit.

The best thing to do in this case is find out what software you use, and contact the company to find out if their software is compatible with a 64-bit OS.
 
heyskull

heyskull

New Member
My advice is the biggest you can afford...... then a bit more!!!!
You and I can't keep up with technology anymore so if when buying a new computer you over spec it. You will be able to keep up later on.
I have used this advise everytime I upgraded and I guess it gives you 2 years longer before upgrading.

SC
 
trakers

trakers

New Member
You will be able to buy a decent box for less than a grand. Build it yourself and save several hundreds off that.

Dual or quad core, 4Gb of RAM and a couple hard drives and you should be good to go.

I have and would never, ever recommend the trainwreck they call Vista,,,,, except now. There is only 50ish days before Win7 is released and you will be able to upgrade from Vista for free so,, (and I can't hardly believe I'm saying this) I'd get Vista and suffer through that short time frame. Ideally, wait until Oct 22 and just get a machine that ships with Win7.

I would normally agree to wait on a new OS release, but in the case of Win7 it has been hammered on by a ton of Beta testers and has been found to be surprisingly stable, much more so than any other MS OS, ever.

Good luck on your new machine.
 
Dice

Dice

New Member
Building your own computer is pure hell. Only worth it if your a glutton for punishment and just have a ton of time on your hands.

After your build it decides to randomly reboot, what do you do? which component is it? Could be Power supply, motherboard, CPU, Ram or Video card. Do you return all of them? Hopefully you purchased everything from the same place.

I gave up trying to build my own after two machines i built had issues and it's just a nightmare of time to figure out whats going on and I just don't have that much time anymore. Don't get me started on the aftermarket cooling solutions. If you love a jet plane sitting next to you, by all means.

Do what I do, wait until Dell has a good sale (Nothing right now) Avoid the high margin upgrades. Order the extras yourself, ram and video card and you'll have a great solid top of the line machine at low cost.

I need to buy two new computers and i'm waiting for Dell to come out with a good deal. Right now they just want to sell laptops and netbooks.
 
J

Jace161

New Member
What Dice said, building your own CAN be pure hell. My custom built machine has had 3 random blue screen errors and I wasn't doing a dang thing each time and 2 lock ups in the past 5 months. However I have 16GB RAM, i7 Core, (2) 300GB WD HDD's, 2GB graphics card, and a blue ray burner for a much cheaper price than you would get anywhere else :D (sorry I like bragging haha).

I would go to Dell for your computer only because their customer service has been way above par everytime I've had a problem. For instance, lighting struck twice and I had no surge protector on the Dell, well they replaced every part that went each time, no questions asked.

DO NOT. DO NOT! Buy a Lenovo, pure hell, customer service was horrific. Kinda exspensive stuff.
 
OldPaint

OldPaint

New Member
cptcorn said:
Mine is about 18"x18"x7" and it's plenty!
Click to expand...
iam with him hahahahahaha and i gota add..........
how much space you got to put it in?????hahahahahahahha
side note:
1972, i was in the AIR FORCE, we hada BIG BIG COMPUTER.........IBM 1050-2, it resided in a 20 ft x 20 ft ROOM,
and the storage media, had to be changed with a CRANE!!!!!!!!
 
D

Dot Matrixa

New Member
I'm not too friendly with desktops. Laptops are my thing. I have a workhorse Dell C400 PIII with 512MB of ram, external c-drive and the only usb port is busted. The thing just won't die.

I researched for a week straight because I didn't need a new laptop for 4 years. I learned the order of importance for me, which may be different for you. Here's my new laptop specs:

1. Core 2 Duo Processor- Intel is the most reliable, Dual are 2 lane freeways. Quad have 4 lanes but will make more heat

2. 4 GB Ram, expandable up to 8GB- Is like a temporary storage unit. The computer functions faster with higher RAM because it has enough storage to retrieve temp data later, rather than sooner, hence a faster computer

3. 500GB Hard drive- Permanent or temp storage. 500GB is Max space for laptop hard drive I think. Remember when 1MB was alot? Next year a terabyte will be standard.

A graphics card was unimportant to me because I don't do any heavy video edition or 3d rendering. But if you youtube Windows 7 + NVIDIA graphics card like I did before the fact, I would have given into a larger, dedicated card.

Apparently Dell still sells computers with XP installed and includes a 64-bit Vista upgrade CD. I got mine with XP. Yes windows 7 is coming but with everything else, it will take it a while to work out all the beta kinks.


There was a point when I would crash my computer everyday lol because I'm a serial multitasker. I always open in a new tab. By the end of the day I may have 20 tabs open in firefox.

I'm surprised that photoshop worked like a champ. I did have to uninstall iTunes because it was too data intensive. I didn't even want to think about installing signlab. But with my new laptop I can launch Firefox, Signlab, Versaworks, and iTunes simultaneously and the fan won't come on

So of course I will dude, you gotta get a Dell. But, you want to somewhat be able to customize what ever you get because next year with be full of technological advances like e-SATA storage which will be 30x faster that USB 2.0 so best wishes.

PS...don't skimp on the warranty.
 
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Dot Matrixa

New Member
I should mention that there are different flavors of Core 2 Duo. Find which fits your needs. Also, you want a hard drive with the highest revolutions per minute, 7200rpm minimum.
 
choucove

choucove

New Member
While this is definitely not an issue with all model of Dell laptops, I wanted to throw it out there as a kind of caution to those who may be looking at some of their cheaper lines for purchase:

In the past month I have worked on four Dell laptops, all of about the same model (Inspiron 15xx) that have had hardware components go dead. All four of them had a motherboard issue, two of them being the network controllers (ethernet and wireless fail to be recognized and will not connect on any network even after restoration to factory default image) while another had issues with the power connection not being recognized properly and thus failed to power on.

It is a well known issue by Dell, they have several similar cases listed in their support forums. In only one case would Dell honor the warranty and cover the replacement costs without cost from the owner. The other three cases they stated that it was due to software issue (drivers) and thus would have to be paid for by the customer to have the laptop shipped in, diagnosed, and parts repaired (though I confirmed it was not the customer's or driver's fault as even with a restore to factory default settings the hardware still would not function.)

Just be careful if you are looking to get a Dell laptop along these lines for business use right now. I'm not sure what is going on, but I am seeing several of these popping up with the same or similar issue and Dell is definitely not handling it well either.
 
D

Dot Matrixa

New Member
That's good info to know. Do you know what type of warranty level they were giving a hard time? If a company knows your warranty is about to expire they'll give you a hard time. But I have 3 years left on a business warranty. If memory serves me correct, Gold business warranty is next business day service where you take it to an authorized service tech or they dispatch one out to your home.

I've read around that the laptop bezels on the Studio 15's are made in china cheap, bend and creak like plastic and the paint rubs off the bezels when it hits the wrist area when closed. Imagine what's happening when it's bouncing around in a laptop bag.

BTW, ASUS produces most motherboards for dell, hp, etc which is more than likely why all your motherboards were no good.

Lenova rivals Dell and should be an option.

Studio 15's are great for a tweener to do homework but are definitely not for business from what I've seen online.

I've got a p8600 e6400 with a webcam. No backlit keyboard though.
 
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