Computer for Website Design

stphnstevey

Hi

After having the same computer for 10yrs, I think it might be time for an upgrade!

I want to get into website design, but my Dell Inspiron, 128mb RAM Pentium 4 running Windows Me is not really upto the job! It can only be upgraded to 512mb max.

But what should I be looking for?

A laptop or desktop?
I have heard it's harder to upgrade a laptop, but then everything is becoming peripheral, so is this so bad? Laptops and desktops similiar specs seem to be more or less the same price now?

What RAM?
I would be using it mainly for the web, running Dreamweaver. No games, some downloading, but not much else.
Would 1gb be enough? What about Windows Vista - does it need 2GB? Would anything more not be utilised by Windows?
How much would it cost, say to upgrade by 1gb of RAM on a desktop or laptop?

Processor?
I guess dual core now a days? Whats the difference between dual core and core 2 duo?
Whats the speed thing in Mhz?

I have a external hardrive, monitor, DVD rewriter.

Thanks for your help!

damo24

If you're looking for a system to run Dreamweaver only and possibly the Adobe suite, you should consider a Mac.

M4RKM

I do web design, and run the adobe suite, and yes, i use a mac.. i've just upgraded this to 4gb ram, because the more you have the better it is..

though, you have ran a very old system, anything is going to be better.... check out the mac options, the apple refurb store have some bargains on there. You already have a monitor, so could just get a mac mini, a keyboard and mouse, and use your existing monitor...

stphnstevey

Why a Mac for Dreamweaver?

Can anyone explain processors (or point me to a link) - there seems to be dual core, core duo, core 2 duo, quad :eek:

M4RKM

you could confuse yourself by looking at this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_microprocessors#64-bit_processors:_Intel_64_-_Core_microarchitecture


briefly, Core 2 Duo is the processor you're looking for, however, PC Manufacturers have different variations of these, so you'll have things like T9400 as the chip itself, which just confuses people even more...

Why a mac?! why not! Fast, Stable, and dare I say industry standard.. well, I walk into anywhere that uses design software, and i see macs. I use macs because they do exactly what I wanted with a minimum of fuss..

superscaper

markymoo wrote: »

Why a mac?! why not! Fast, Stable, and dare I say industry standard.. well, I walk into anywhere that uses design software, and i see macs. I use macs because they do exactly what I wanted with a minimum of fuss..

Depends on personal experience and industry you're in. Can't even remember last time I saw design done on a mac in a company and pretty much half the workers I see are graphics designers, 3d designers, web designers etc.

I think the OP needs to set out a clear budget in mind and then if possible go out and give macs and pcs a go and go with the one they feel most comfortable/productive with and also comes out best in their budget.

stphnstevey

Do I need 4gb RAM? What would be the minimum needed - 1gb?

superscaper

stphnstevey wrote: »

Do I need 4gb RAM? What would be the minimum needed - 1gb?

I'd definitely say 3 or 4 GiB of RAM (whether pc, mac), 1 is really stretching minimum.

stphnstevey

Thanks

What about a laptop or desktop?
You seem to pay more for a laptop and I don't think I really need the portability. I also have a laptop from work. Aren't laptops more expensive to upgrade the RAM?

superscaper

stphnstevey wrote: »

Thanks

What about a laptop or desktop?
You seem to pay more for a laptop and I don't think I really need the portability. I also have a laptop from work. Aren't laptops more expensive to upgrade the RAM?

Only get a laptop if you really need the advantage of a laptop. As indeed you are paying a premium for that portability. I am in fact typing this on a laptop but don't pay attention to my hypocriticism.

If you really don't need portability then definitely get a desktop. Like I said, if you can have a go at playing around with a Mac in a shop first, see if you like it. And also a Vista PC if you've never tried vista before. It's a lot of money to spend on something you may not get along with. I suspect with using ME that the change to either Vista or Mac OS X will almost be equally different and require getting used to so you may be in an ideal position to make a change to a Mac since Vista (and then Windows 7) would be as big a change for you anyway.

jweb2k

To be honest, you're working with pretty low level programs - Dreamweaver would need 1GB of RAM but future proof yourself by getting 4GB. You won't need anything like a top of the range graphics card, and really, unless you're going to be working with large photographs, you could do with a Tesco bundle!!