U of S | Mailing List Archive | alt-photo-process-l | Re: off topic--advice on pc graphics card

Re: off topic--advice on pc graphics card



 Dan Burkholder wrote:
Hey Lain,

Minor quibble - there's no 'L' in 'Iain'

I have TWO systems that need better everything. The laptop has to come first since, with the old G4 Powerbook, I can't demo CS4's new features (some of them anyway) and a part of my life is teaching stuff like that. Since the video circuitry is pretty much non-upgradeable, a new laptop is called for there.

The desktop machine that does most of my personal digital heavy lifting will be upgraded in the next four months. To tell you the truth, I'd like to see Apple freshen their box so when I look at the new computer, I really feel like it's a NEW gizmo sitting on the desk. Make sense? So in the mean time, it's an easy (and as you point out, inexpensive) deal to just throw in a better video card that'll make the new CS4 bells and whistles breath with ease.

I'm not sure about the "on-board graphics system" you mention. You may mean something else but if you're talking about systems in which RAM is shared by the video sub-system, I've seen nothing good on PCs using that setup, not when it comes to Photoshop at least. I don't think any Mac tower units resort to that sort of on-board graphics, which is probably a good thing.

They are still the low end option but far better than they used to be, mainly because of the requirements of Vista and the burgeoning HCPC (home cinema PC) market which likes to cram as much as possible into a small space. I admit to not having tried one recently, but I wouldn't automatically dismiss them as I would a couple of years ago.

Thanks!

Dan


info@DanBurkholder.com
www.DanBurkholder.com

On Oct 1, 2008, at 2:10 PM, Iain wrote:

Why not go for a system with an up-to-date on-board graphics system rather than a separate card? If that should prove inadequate you can always add a budget graphics card later for ~ $50 or so.

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