Photolady2014 Loc: Southwest Colorado

I think that is it... The Topaz people said I could not get the impressions due to no graphic card. My computer guy could not get the graphic card to work. My husbands 6 year older computer works better than this one. Even when I scroll down on UHH looking a peoples photos it stutters, stops etc. Lightroom, sometimes after making several changes & I readjust the crop I have to wait 30 seconds or more for it to apply. I move a slider & there is quite a delay in seeing anything happen. A graphic card will not help with that?

jethro779 Loc: Tucson, AZ

Traffic Jam??? I think that would be better classified as a photo op.

bearcat

Elk Crossing???

Reminds me of this funny radio call in program...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI8UPHMzZm8

Here's the end of the story...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB1yEcdomt0

BC

Kuzano

Ambivalent about MAC's. Don't dislike them. Hard on this site to sift through "love" being tossed out by all the MAColytes. Highly over-rated on UHH. Difficult to justify in the productivity (corporate) business market place.

Good home computers, and have earned their place as considered superior in graphics. Is it true today? I don't know.

The over-rating comes from an OLD excellence in the graphics market and a perceived presumption of "ease of use"

OK, I'm done trashing MAC as I seem to be the only defense for Windows and the PC. No problem for me.... it's how I make my living... not so much teching hardware as configuring for specific purpose.

Re: Windows 10.... looks like Summer right now. There was a thought about Fall, but Microsoft is really being pushed on this.

I don't (or didn't know) a laptop was in the running.

we talked about the MAC tax, and even the MAColytes know it exists.

Well, fact is, there is also a Laptop Tax... again a percentage of the price is the tax for mobility.

Personally, I think it revolves around your desire to have a TRUE graphics computer. I do not think any laptop, dollar for dollar will come close to matching screen output and calibration needs that can be acquired by making a good choice of high powered graphics chip and a good monitor. I will admit that in that case, it seems the MAC may appear superior. That is not true, however, if you really pay attention the the monitor you pair to a good graphics capable desktop.... MAC or PC.

I wish you good luck in this Quest.

Bottom line for me is the consideration for the money you spend on the system overall. If you are building this system for graphics before any other consideration, I would recommend:

Best desktop
Most RAM affordable the machine is capable of.
If not most RAM now due to cost factor, RAM is the only item that can easily be added when money allows.
Intel i7 or comparable
If you have a computer built...Buy an SSD drive big enough to hold the Operating System/applications and some data, and a second drive "in the box" at one Terrabyte. Since SSD drives are expensive as you go bigger, get the fastest drive to run the OS and programs, and the big hard drive for storage.
Good Graphics monitor

If you want to pay the Laptop tax....???
If you want to pay the MAC tax.....???

MAC or PC...??? Sorry, but you are getting a lot of opinions on that.

Otherwise, the posts you are getting are more based on "This is what I use, so it should work for you as well"

Also, don't overlook the fact that the current box may be configurable to work for you for a bit longer.

The last thing I will mention is to totally blow off the comment that MAC's always stay fast, and PC's slow down and you have to buy a new one every couple of years.

That is the biggest claim of Bull Shit I have ever seen on this web site. They both run the same hardware, in spite of the "close" denials on this thread.

I know this, because I teach Windows and other classes at the local community college. I have a 6 hour class that we run twice a quarter. I teach students how to clean up the Windows Operating system to bring the machine back to full speed as it came out of the box. It's setting proper switches in the Software of the O/S and cleaning out the clutter from programs and the internet. It does not involve reformatting and reloading the hard drive, although that too will bring speed back to original.

MAC's when run on the internet are also susceptible to the clutter, but perhaps deal with it better. My class gives students a set of chores performed once a month that keeps the speed up. It takes fifteen to twenty minutes to do the chores. Furthermore, there is now a simple piece of software that does the chores for you.

Look, I don't begrudge the MAColytes their defense of the system they chose. Certainly they must have some argument for why they paid the MACtax.

Good luck. I won't feel bad if you go MAC. You'll get your work done faster in either event.

Fast CPU
Lots of RAM
Fast Hard Drive
Good monitor

Focus on those points....(ooops pun)

Photolady2014 Loc: Southwest Colorado

Kuzano, thanks for all the info. I now have to sift through what to do.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

A video card will help render photos faster when working on the computer, off line. I have never heard of a computer with slots that won't work with a video card. That computer should handle LR and just about everything else in acceptable fashion.
Your problem with on line, like UHH could be your connection. You said service is slow, but, are you also on wifi? It could be your wifi. When I moved my computer to the family room I had to disconnect my hardwire internet and the low end usb wifi that came "free" with the computer was slow, jerky, froze, took forever to download pictures. I invested $39.95 at Walmart. I now get smooth downloads again, right now my speed is down, busy time of day, 51MBps download, 11MBps upload. I get up to 70MBps when things are good. Hard wired it ranges from high 70s to over 100. I have cable internet and pay $10 extra a month for turbo boost on the internet.

As several mentioned, if you decide to go Mac, you will have to replace a lot of your software also. If you are lucky your original disks will have both PC and Mac versions on them. A lot of stuff does today, at least if you bought disk and not download version. If you bought download contact the company and tell them you may be going over to Mac and would they let you download again.

blackest Loc: Ireland

Nobody mentioned Bootcamp or parallels basically bootcamp lets you boot osx or windows. parallels lets you run windows in a virtual machine at the same time as OSX. Of course that means buying a copy of windows but if you do have a lot of money tied up in windows software it is an option.

Seems odd your pc fella can't install a graphics card but...

I have to use windows, but I like osx it is less stress.
The build quality on macs is pretty good they have no competitors so the focus is on quality and service.

In the PC market its cut throat, Samsung recently stopped selling laptops in Europe. IBM sold its laptop business years back. With the thin margins I think quality suffers.

If you can afford a Mac you should find it enjoyable.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

No one said you had to use it as a laptop...just sayin'

I use mine more like a desktop with my 34" ultra wide screen display connected to it.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-295305-1.html#4978284

hpucker99 Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

I'm not sure if you are looking for an Apple laptop or iMAC? If you go the laptop route, look for a 13 or 15 inch retina display MacBook Pro that has a minimum i5 processor and 8 GB RAM. On some or most of the MacBook Pros you can upgrade the memory yourself or have someone else do it. On some models, the RAM may be soldered in. The other option is to get the all-in-one desktop iMAC, either the 21-1/2" or 27" model. I bought my first 27" iMAC in late 2009 and found it to very easy on the eyes and easy to work with Lightroom/Photoshop. In late 2013, I bought another 27" iMAC and gave the older model to my wife. I don't think the 21-1/2" model can be upgraded, you have to build to order to get more ram. The 27" can be user upgraded.

sloscheider Loc: Minnesota

All current mb pro models are soldered in RAM and cannot be upgraded

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

I do appreciate your right to privacy... and applaud all the "nice people" who answered you.... BUT the first question should have been... What computer do you have, what is the profile - low small case? Is it a lap top.... Are these details US government classified secretes? Do you tell your Dr details or just sit mute in the office???? Details Details Details?????

If you want to have a fast graphics computer... then PC is good because you can grow with the times and utilize part of the components. Do not worry about virus and adware... Avast (great for preboot scans) Free for Virus, Malwarebytes for adware and/or Spybot... all free and Microsoft also has a freeware running in the background.

I just built up a Kick-ass computer which would be low end gaming... 16 gig Hi speed RAM, 2 gig GDDR5 graphics, Very good MoBo, 8 core CPU... (yes Jerry AMD is very competitive price/performance) did a lot of research before buying each part... at a reasonable cost. Bang for the buck. Phillips screwdriver required... ability to read not required - things only fit one place because sockets are colored and/or shaped individually. 7 year old child can do it.

If you make that decision, I will give you my list of parts... but will not go to that trouble if you do not make the decision... too much work to look up and transcribe. Most UHH people are really not interested in detailed tech answers and are not willing to do any tech reading... if that is the case OK.
========================
YES, Cdouthitt, you convinced me to use my HDTV as a monitor... I checked out you computer "auditorium" that screen is a wow!!! I always do a final screening on the TV before submitting to the CClub monthly competition.

bcmink Loc: Monona, WI

So, the Lenovo M90 series has an integrated graphics chip on the motherboard. That is why your "IT guy" did not find a graphics card in one of the PCI express slots. The first thing I would have done would have been to check the BIOS settings to make sure that the onboard graphics adapter was enabled in the BIOS. Sometimes with refurbished computers this setting gets reset. Furthermore if one does install a second graphics adapter using a PCI express slot then you absolutely have to disable the onboard graphics adapter in the BIOS. I suspect your new refurbished M90 just has a simple BIOS setting issue. Find another "IT guy". The general specs for the M90 series Lenovo are OK for your purposes. Worst cases scenario is you return the computer for a refund or another Lenovo refurb. that has been bench tested before it ships. If you walk away from this particular PC, you're just wasting money versus trying to get satisfaction for a purchase you have already made.

authorizeduser Loc: Monroe, Michigan

When installing video card be sure to disable the onboard card first, although the computer tech who tried to install the video card should know this. Why do you want a video card? The onboard card is more than enough for photo work but maybe not enough for high end games.

geezer7 Loc: Michigan

I wonder if your computer came loaded with bloat ware which vendors install to make a little extra money? Have you run Windows Task Manager? It will tell you what applications are running and how much cpu and memory they are using. It can be started by pressing cntrl-alt-delete or by right clicking in the task bar at the bottom of the screen.
Another website specifically dedicated to computers is Tomshardware.com

richosob Loc: Lambertville, MI

I am no expert when it comes to computers but after reading a number of responses from the "geeks" many feel that buying a refurbished Apple computer can save you a lot of money. If you decide to buy an Apple you should get it from an Apple store, they will even give you a warranty. I'm sure that if this hasn't been mentioned yet it will be soon.

Rich