hello people! i was hoping someone with more computer knowledge than I have ( which is near none ) could maybe recommend a new computer?
I am starting to research and i really can't undertsand any of the "specs" or whatever.

I currently own a dell that my pops helped to customize and i always have problems with it. viruses and whatnot.

it will be MY computer. there will be no children playing on disney.com which is what my current pc is used for a lot of the time.
it will be my business computer used mostly for editing.

i am an extremely low volume home based photog.

if anyone could throw in a few words of wisdom i would be super appreciative.
also i really want a mac. sad thing is i have no real reasoning for it except it seems like all the cool kids use them.
im a dork. i know.

thanks!

also i am a big believer in paying for what you get but i woul dlike to spend no more than $2500.

You should look into the iMacs. I have a 24" iMac and I love it. You can pick one up at apple that has been refurbished and save some money that way. I think they are around $1500 dollars.

If you are going for a Mac, then the 20 or 24 inch iMac would be great for you. I would spend the extra cash for the 24...you'll thank yourself later. It is a great computer to work on at a great price point even if you've never used a mac before. It's that user friendly. Don't forget to upgrade your memory to at least 2GB...it will help when working with your photos.

thanks guys for the help!
i have read a little about glossy monitors not being so great.
have you had any problems with this?

and also i don't have an apple store anywhere near me. i had planned on buying online but do you think i would have problems with repairs?

Apple is very good about repairs. My friend had a problem with his old powerbook and apple sent him a DHL box to put it in, and it was back to him within about 10 days total. As long as you buy apple care with your computer you're set.

buying online from apple is great. it's a fantastic online store!

honestly, if you're getting a new computer and you're a photographer... get a mac. you won't regret it!

My 24'' iMac is coming in on Thursday. I am so excited! I went to the Apple Store to check out the new monitors and I loved them. Even if you don't have an Apple Store, a lot of Best Buy's carry Apple stuff now, so at least you could see them in person.

I think you just answered your own question
Come and play with the cool kids, you won't be disappointed.

ok ok ok you tall talked me into it.
like that was hard but.......
should i just buy a basic 24" as is and then just add memory after?
or is there some special something i should add when buying online?

Put the memory in yourself, you will save a ton and its really easy to do. If you don't like the glossy screen(i know I don't) you could order last years 24" imac from the apple store. Just go to refurbished macs, the imac in there is last years. Its not as cool looking but it works really well for me and you'll save quite a bit of money.

imac 24. Get the white one as they are going down in proce due to the new aluminum one. I would suggest around 3 to 4gigs of memory and a nice external 500 gig. That should be nice and probably within your budget.

I want to chime in here as well. I have a new PC with 2 gig of ram duo core etc. and the thing is slow with CS2. I think Vista is a resource hog. Not to mention how many times windows decides to crash. So Im looking again - at apples this time but how much RAM is really needed? 4 gig sounds great but I dont want to have to trade in my car to buy a computer but I want a computer that will perform this time. Thoughts?

Right now RAM is failry cheap. Adding a few Gigs should run you between $100 & $150. I think the Mac Pros run more because they use buffered RAM and require special heat sinks that everyone is enjoying ripping off Mac users for. I'll chime in with my lone voice as a PC user. Be sure to consider the cost of replacing any hardware & software you have that will no longer be compatible. Personally I don't think 10 days is reasonable turnaround for my business PC being down. Most of the PC makers offer on site support so if you have a hardware probelm they send a part/tech to your home the next day. You should be able to find a complete system for around $1200-1300, maybe $200 or so more if you upgrade to the 3 year next day on site warranty. XP is plenty stable, reliable and still available if you are worried about Vista. Photosho and Lightroom are pretty much the same and I prefer the flexibility of support that you get with a PC. Mac Os is nice, but that is it. Mac fans can flame away, but I have no complaints about running Windows and don't see value in making the conversion.

PC users seem to keep forgetting that since they started using Intel chips, you can run Windows on your Mac... preferably XP! You can dual boot into either, or there are ways to run them both at the same time parallel. You should also be able to get your PS license converted to a Mac one for a small fee.

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I've used both PCs and Macs for a long, long time. There are reasons Mac fans are so adamant about going Mac. They just work.

The older white iMacs can only address 3gigs of ram. You can put in 4 but it will be a total waste of money cause the processor will only see 3gigs.

No, I just really don't see the point in paying the price premium for the Mac hardware to run Windows. If you don't rely on PC based software and can do the Adobe transfer then buy whatever you want. I just think many people slam the PC and don't have the data to back up their claims. Like I said Mac OS is fine. But in my opinion so is Windows and I can get better price/performance buying a PC from Dell. I know that if you compare pricing on the ultra high end quad core boxes there is a lesser price differential, but at the midrange price points around $1000-1500 you get more for your $$ with PCs. And Apple's approach to support is just lacking. Carry in service or a week long turnaround is just too much for someone that must rely on their computer. I've worked supporting a professional Mac based graphic design workflow for (9 Magazines) and large PC enviroments and can honestly say that the Macs have just as many issues as PCs.

I hate adding to these fires... but what the hell.. i don't want to see someone else make the same mistake we've seen all too much.

I've been working as an IT professional for 9 years. I am a Dell certified technician, and an Apple one. I would call myself a PC person, but for someone without the knowledge or time to constantly fix them I would say:

BUY THE MAC!

I recomend Mac's for selfish reasons to all my family and friends.... I don't want to have to come fix their pc.

I know that is what all the Mac users say, but look through the rest of this subforum. Almost every post is either "Should I switch to Mac" or "I'm having a Mac probelm" Maybe Mac users are disproporitanetly represented here, but if Macs just work why all the probelms? Any computer can & will have issues. I'm not trying to be a Windows fanboy. Just simply pointing out that the perception and reality are not always the same. Mac Os is very nice, but to me it just does not offer anything over Windows. To me the additional cost and poor business class support of the mac platform tip the scales the other direction. I want to make a call and have a replacement part there the next day if I have a hardware failure. Apple does not offer that level of service. I run Photoshop, Indesign, Lightroom, Office all day long on my XP PC and it just cranks stuff out with no issues. I have much greater upgrade flexibility in my Dell desktop than anything I could buy from Apple for even $1000 more, you have to get in to the Mac Pros before you have real flexibility to add internal drives . I'll not argue that Vista is ready for prime time, but XP is certainly a fine choice.

I've been using PCs since DOS 1.0. I just built a new PC - dual core (which I can upgrade to a quad), dual 320G hard drives), gaming case with lots of extra cooling, eSata, firewire, Windows XP (because there are no advantages to Vista).

It was cheaper than a Mac, but I'd go back to a Mac in a heartbeat if I could afford to. (I used Macs from when Pagemaker 2 came out until Windows 95.)

For the home business, I think Macs are a lot better from an operating system standpoint - and that's what you use every day (and what you have to worry about when you upgrade).

And realistically - for any business - you need a backup computer no matter what you're using.

believe it or not.. I'm a Vista user and I really like it.

This Mac problem though I beg to differ.. if you look at all the Mac problems on this forum they tend to be "user error" not hardware issues. I'm not saying it's someone's fault either.. it's just now that Macs are pretty kick ass, a lot of people are switching and they are very different from windows machines. There's a huge learning curve on the technical side. Not to say switching it's hard.. it isn't. I'm just saying that an advanced windows user isn't going to be an Apple expert overnight. An analogy people here would understand is putting a Nikon in a Canon user's hands.. sure they can take a picture.. but to get technical is gonna take time.

Why do I think this... well that's one of the reasons I ask people to switch. In a windows enviroment you have to learn to use virus scanners, spam filters, pop up blockers, adware removers, registry edits, system restore, windows update, and other tools which you need to just keep a windows machine going at a decent speed. And if you need technical help.. who can you call??? Geek patrol.. lol! Microsoft won't even take my collegues calls and we have a volume license worth over 50k with them.

On a Mac you can call Apple for just about any problem and they at least try to help. If you get Applecare they will send you parts or ship your Mac back to them as soon as the boxes can arrive.

So really my whole point... for a person who doesn't have time to become an expert computer user and just wants it to work, I recomend a Mac. PCs are great machines and I will never be able to live without one. Because I owned a PC back in the day.. I learned my career path in IT..