[Tim Dowse]

Yes, one of the key things leaning me towards PC at the moment is the notion of being able to tune up my computer by upgrading ram, HDD, whatever without having to just shell out for a new computer, or pay some expensive reseller to do it for me. “Erector Set” is a big big plus.

[Tim Dowse]

I do agree with you Joseph. But, to continue your outrageously sexist analogy (can you feel my moral outrage!?), if you’re faced with two equally good cooks, you might as well go for the nicer looking one.

I prefer to compare prices for new models as a comparison. Of course, I could also look for a second hand mac, or whatever (my last machine was second hand) and get a great deal. But price as new is the only fair way to compare specs. Then once I know what I want, I can go and find the best deal.

Anyway, this thread has certainly placed lenovo very squarely in the middle of my thoughts, and I wouldn’t have considered it before.

[Tim Dowse]

That’s true, but you wrote that it’s $2500, and I’m still aiming for $2k if I can. I appreciate your input though. I don’t think I would have looked at the Lenovo’s before posting here.

[Tim Dowse]

Mmmm… I should probably have thought of that, right? Thanks for the suggestion!

I just installed the most recent driver for my OS, so we’ll see if that helps!

I’ll be back otherwise 🙂

[Tim Dowse]

I agree with you, it’s a tool first and foremost. But I’m already contemplating a painful separation from the heretofore beloved mac… does it have to be even harder by moving to a think pad, which looks the same as it did 20 years ago?!?! 😀

If it was light years ahead of the competition in terms of computing power, there’d be no argument. But it seems like things are more evenly matched, so looks can become a factor. Not worth an extra 15% or more, but maybe worth an extra something. After all, we try to make our work spaces look as nice as we can don’t we – just makes working more pleasurable. So why not extend that to something that you spend most of the day looking directly at.

I’ve always been in two minds about visual design for computers – you can argue that it’s just fluff to suck in the suckers, who cares about anything other than the components. Or you can argue that it shows attention to detail in every aspect of building something. And as the macs seem to have the “it just works” thing still going for them, maybe there’s something in that. I honestly don’t know.

My primary concern is still getting bang for the buck. I mention Origin not for the looks, but because I’d heard other editors mention them. They are highly customizable, and when compared to a similarly priced mac, seem to beat them on every measure. I really like the option with the Origin to have a 120 GB SSD for the system and a 750 GB HDD for media, when I have to edit on the move. Doesn’t seem like Lenovo has that option?

[Tim Dowse]

The Lenovo does look like good value. But to my mind it’s certainly got a face for radio. I am prepared to step away from the Mac, but I’d prefer not to have to go home with the ugly stepsister.

What about Origin Laptop workstations? I’ve come them mentioned in a few threads. They seem to me to be a good balance of value and customization. Anyone have experience with those?

For a comparison, $2050 with apple gets me
15 inch screen
2.3GHz Quad Core i7
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 512MB
8GB 1600 MHz RAM
750 GB HDD @ 7200rpm

Whereas $2050 with Origin gets me
15 inch screen
2.7GHz Quad Core i7
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670MX with 3GB
16GB 1600 MHz RAM
120 GB SSD
750 GB HDD @ 7200rpm
DVD optical drive

[Tim Dowse]

Ugh, this is a tough one.

I don’t mind a bit of a learning curve for the OS. And I am keen on a machine that’s upgradable. I would be happy spending less now on a machine that will be “good enough”, but then upgrade it over time (add RAM, maybe better GPU). That doesn’t seem possible with macs at all.

From what I can tell from the apple website, there seem to be very few configurations available with the current crop of macbook pros. And i can’t find anywhere that says their graphics cards work with cs6 gpu acceleration. Am I missing something?

So I guess the next question is, how important is the GPU acceleration vs RAM. Is it more important to max out on RAM, and then just add whatever card you can afford? What’s the difference between a high end GPU vs a low end GPU vs a non-compatible GPU?

Also, connectivity options seem way better on PCs. And they come with an optical drive (I still find myself authoring DVDs).

But it’s precisely the kind of “ugh, I wish I was using a mac” feeling that I don’t want to be feeling on a regular basis.

Argh!

[Tim Dowse]

Sorry, I did want to add that whether or not I appreciated your advice, I DO VERY MUCH appreciate you taking the time out of your day to give it to me. Honestly, to all people who spend any amount of time answering my idiot questions on this forum, thank you very much.

[Tim Dowse]

The problem with your approach in this case Ty, was that it wasn’t advice at all. Your option C – “grow your crew” – wasn’t an option on the table. I was given a budget for purchasing equipment from my employers. I decided, given the capability that we already had in the shop, that audio equipment was worth investing in. I had $1000, and it needed to be spent, or would be lost..

That amount of money wouldn’t cover additional audio crew for more than two days. An investment in equipment, however, has allowed me to improve our audio on a large number of shoots.

I would have loved to have been given an option C that was actually actionable for me, for example: “neither A or B are good, but this equipment option C would be good for your needs.” Instead I got something like: “you’re trying to choose between Toyota and Honda, but what you really need is a chauffeur, because clearly your driving is so laughable that if you can’t afford a chauffeur, you’d better not drive at all.”

And finally, yet again, just for clarity. I do NOT leave audio unattended.

[Tim Dowse]

Hi Ty,

Sexual relationships involving people with developmental disabilities.

Tim