Technical Shopping for a Graphics Machine June 23, 2009

Looking to buy a new PC this month. Been online browsing prepackage deals. Finding decent prices, as it has been years since I bought a new machine. However I am also finding conflicting information. This process has already led me to many tech sites where they test the speed of processors, the RAM, and motherboards. I'm really only interested to the degree that I can buy a machine that will allow me to create 2D graphics and do small video projects for the next 4 years.

My current machine is has an AMD processor. With a Geforce Graphics card. It has served its’ purpose well but, the new CS needs at least a dual processor. I’m looking at some extreme AMD packages and noticing that they are being sold with the Phenoms, maxed at 4GB RAM and have Windows XP for the OS. WTF? Isn’t 3GB RAM the most that XP SP3 will recognize? Is anybody successfully using Vista for graphics? Can anyone say anything good about that OS yet. I’ve run XP for over five years and it just made Service Pack 3. Vista hasn’t been out for two years yet and I heard it was already at SP3. That tells me Microsoft operates more like a graphics house than a code jamming joint. So has, it really made the bar yet? As campy as it looks, I’ll consider Vista. Can I get the hottest AMD set up and expect Vista to keep up?

Apparently, an old favorite of mine; TigerDirect.com sells many desktop bundles that now have discontinued CPUs. I don't suppose that's a big deal as lines are probably shut down frequently for upgraded part production. This may also be how they are selling so cheap. Good for them. Seems like a formula that works. I, however, prefer to find something that has been tried and kept around because of its’ dependability. I don't want something that has already been replaced. I also don't want to be the first to try something, like in the case of DDR3. The tech tests show that DDR3, the next gen of RAM, seems to be faster on nearly every account. The problem for me is that the market has not yet defined it as the new wave in their pricing.

First of all, one must have an Intel, not AMD to run this new RAM. Second, it has to be the Intel Core i7 920 or better to do it. So far, the cheapest desktop package I can find with these specs will run me $1K. I forgot to mention I am also looking to upgrade the whole home office right now. New monitors, new desk, and some new shelving. $1k for the machine alone is over budget. That is one of the reasons I don't mess with Macs anymore. Too much $-not enough Bang. My lingering thought is this; will I soon regret not buying a machine that supports DDR3? Will the next release of Adobe CS have so much candy that DDR2 RAM just can't cut it anymore? Will this happen within one year, or two?