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Which non-Apple desktop would you buy?

R

rawdawg

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 7, 2009
550
111
Brooklyn
Hilarious it may come to this, but with the past sensabilities of Apple that at one time I valued I would like to ask this question here.

I'm sick of waiting for Apple and imagine a PC would be cheaper anyhow. Being a loyal Mac user I've never owned a PC but Adobe's Creative Suite can do everything I need.

Does anyone have an opinion of which desktop they would purchase strictly for video and photography work?

Edit: I am not interested in building my own computer. Aside from hard drives additions I would like to deal with as little hardware maintenance as possible.
 
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The last 2 non-Apple PCs I had were from HP and Dell. The Dell was bought used and was a lease turn-in machine. I found it to be more solid than what I could get retail and it was a fraction of the cost.

It's really been a long time since I built my own PC. I grew sick of dealing with drivers and which AGP version was which and so forth so I started buying built up machines. I found my time to be more valuable than the money I saved by dealing with all of that especially when I counted time wasted answering so many questions during those stupid Windows installs. Until I got a Mac, it had never occurred to me that installing an OS could be largely unattended and I never had to worry about coming back to find there had been no measurable progress because I wasn't there to answer some question that popped up a mere 10 seconds after I walked away. To me it's all about the OS so I'd make sure whatever hardware build you pick is listed as compatible on a certain web site... cough cough insanely mac... cough cough.
 
Thanks for the replies. I should have mentioned I am not interested in building a computer since I absolutely hate dealing with maintenance issues. I've updated my original post.

On a side note. If I go this route I will seriously regret spending all that time transcoding Flac to Apple Lossless and mkv to m4v..... Just another sad Tuesday realizing how much Apple disappoints me these days.
 
Just don't buy a consumer system. Buy a business computer, particularly one billed as a workstation (HP Z series workstation or Dell Precision Workstations are good choices). Typically better construction and parts, better warranty, better support, and (at least the last time I was doing it) no crapware.
 
I would go to a computer store where they build a white box to spec for you. It will be better priced and you can gear it specific for what you need
 
From a mass manufacturer, I would suggest taking a look at Lenovo K series or Dell XPS. Beware of buying down, especially with Dell. Among the boutique builders, Origin might be a viable prospect. Good luck!
 
r0k said:
The last 2 non-Apple PCs I had were from HP and Dell. The Dell was bought used and was a lease turn-in machine. I found it to be more solid than what I could get retail and it was a fraction of the cost.

It's really been a long time since I built my own PC. I grew sick of dealing with drivers and which AGP version was which and so forth so I started buying built up machines. I found my time to be more valuable than the money I saved by dealing with all of that especially when I counted time wasted answering so many questions during those stupid Windows installs. Until I got a Mac, it had never occurred to me that installing an OS could be largely unattended and I never had to worry about coming back to find there had been no measurable progress because I wasn't there to answer some question that popped up a mere 10 seconds after I walked away. To me it's all about the OS so I'd make sure whatever hardware build you pick is listed as compatible on a certain web site... cough cough insanely mac... cough cough.
Click to expand...

You have to answer more questions setting up an OEM PC nowadays than a vanilla Windows 7 install. Plus all the time saved not building the computer is lost uninstalling all the bloatware. I'd say it takes me less time to assemble a computer and get Win 7 installed than it does to get an OEM started and cleaned out.

rawdawg said:
Thanks for the replies. I should have mentioned I am not interested in building a computer since I absolutely hate dealing with maintenance issues. I've updated my original post.

On a side note. If I go this route I will seriously regret spending all that time transcoding Flac to Apple Lossless and mkv to m4v..... Just another sad Tuesday realizing how much Apple disappoints me these days.
Click to expand...

You can still use iTunes in Windows so all that Apple Lossless is still fine. As far as maintenance issues go a custom built PC with good quality parts will likely have far fewer than an OEM.

talmy said:
Just don't buy a consumer system. Buy a business computer, particularly one billed as a workstation (HP Z series workstation or Dell Precision Workstations are good choices). Typically better construction and parts, better warranty, better support, and (at least the last time I was doing it) no crapware.
Click to expand...

This is definitely the way to go. Also stay away from Dell. Not that other brands are built any better. It's just since Dell often uses proprietary motherboard form factors. So if a it is out of warranty and being repaired you can't get a standard ATX board in there.

If you buy a consumer model steer clear of Toshiba. They really load up your computer with crapware.
 
BTO PC's

velocityg4 said:
You have to answer more questions setting up an OEM PC nowadays than a vanilla Windows 7 install. Plus all the time saved not building the computer is lost uninstalling all the bloatware. I'd say it takes me less time to assemble a computer and get Win 7 installed than it does to get an OEM started and cleaned out.



You can still use iTunes in Windows so all that Apple Lossless is still fine. As far as maintenance issues go a custom built PC with good quality parts will likely have far fewer than an OEM.



This is definitely the way to go. Also stay away from Dell. Not that other brands are built any better. It's just since Dell often uses proprietary motherboard form factors. So if a it is out of warranty and being repaired you can't get a standard ATX board in there.

If you buy a consumer model steer clear of Toshiba. They really load up your computer with crapware.
Click to expand...

There are a couple of companies out there that will build custom PCs (with or without OS installed) e.g. Cyberpower. You can also power build a Dell.
Bottom line though...
A 27" wide gamut IPS display is going to set you back $1K add a i7 desktop processor, 16 gb ram and a SSD with a strip set for speed and a good high level graphics card AND add a 3 year warranty from any Vendor (~$200-300) and you could have just bought an iMac AND have a magic pad and magic mouse. I have sold over $8m of Dell hardware in the last year. We sell Dell to the enterprise but we all use MAC's. The best of all worlds with VMWare Fusion installed and Win7/Lion/Linux and a sigle box replaces three others. The MACs are not really more expensive. A Ultrabook equipped like and Air is within $150.
Go to Cyberpower and build a PC that matches a well done BTO iMac27 and the gap wont be huge. If you are doing photography what you need to be most concerned with is the visible color gamut your primary display uses and how well you are able to match it to your your print profile.


iMac equal
Item Category
Asus P9X79 Deluxe
Motherboard
Intel Core i7 3820 3.6GHz Quad Core 10MB 130W
CPU
4 x Kingston DDR3-1333 4GB
Ram
MSI Radeon HD 7770 1GB
Video Card
Onboard Sound
Sound Card
Intel 520 240GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5inch SSD
Hard Drive

Additional Information: Primary drive.
Western Digital Caviar Black 1.0TB SATA 6Gb/s
Hard Drive

Additional Information: Secondary drive.
Asus 24x DVD-RW SATA (black)
CD / DVD Rom
Antec P183 V3 (Gunmetal Finish)
Case
Antec CP-850 850W Power Supply
Power Supply
Puget Hydro CL3 Liquid Cooling System
CPU Cooling
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM SP1
Operating System
Asus PA246Q 24.1 inch P-IPS LCD w/ 98% Adobe RGB
Monitor
Logitech Cordless Desktop MK320
Keyboard
Warranty: Lifetime Labor and Tech Support, 3 Year Parts
Services
Microsoft Security Essentials (Antivirus)
Software: Courtesy Install


Due to the custom nature of every order, payment or an approved purchase order is required upon placement of your order. Please pay from this invoice. A receipt of your payment will be included with your delivery.

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Subtotal: $3527.49
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27-inch iMac $3399.00
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Configuration
3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive
AMD Radeon HD 6970M 1GB GDDR5
 
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