Best way to finance new computer

thebritishbloke

krisdorey wrote: »

The OP stated he is working with 600MB+ PSD files

I didn't see this post, my mistake.

Apple hardware and OSX "just works" which is why a lot of people switch to it.

I have absolutely no problem with Apple products. I myself own an iMac, MacBook Pro, iPhone, multiple iPods, iPad etc. Difference is, I didn't have to take out finance to afford these, I saved up and bought them. This is why I posted about a different computer, if you can't afford to buy the top of the line PC outright (or with saving up for it over a period of time), you shouldn't be buying it on credit.

The OP has made a decision on Apple hardware, not quite sure why people are throwing alternatives out there when the OP has already probably looked into those possibilities and discounted them.

Because he's come on to a money saving forum, saying how he wants to finance this new computer. Of course people on here are going to advise against doing that, and to buy something he can actually afford.

brendon

Of course people on here are going to advise against doing that, and to buy something he can actually afford.

But some people on here can't see the wood for the trees. He's already made it quite clear that he needs a Mac to align with his workplace environment. I personally use a Mac and do a lot of web development. I could have purchased a small notebook for £500, and it looks like I've saved £1,000. In reality, I'd lose a week while I work out how to fit it in with my existing workflow, and probably be less efficient at using it.

If he was instead a taxi driver looking to finance a new car, I'm sure people wouldn't tell him to buy a new KA instead. It just doesn't work. For some reason, when it comes to computers, people think they know more than everybody else; I'm sure many opinionated people here do not even work in the web development industry -- it's not just a case of "Mac vs PC"

Cycrow

brendon wrote: »

But some people on here can't see the wood for the trees. He's already made it quite clear that he needs a Mac to align with his workplace environment. I personally use a Mac and do a lot of web development. I could have purchased a small notebook for £500, and it looks like I've saved £1,000. In reality, I'd lose a week while I work out how to fit it in with my existing workflow, and probably be less efficient at using it.

If he was instead a taxi driver looking to finance a new car, I'm sure people wouldn't tell him to buy a new KA instead. It just doesn't work. For some reason, when it comes to computers, people think they know more than everybody else; I'm sure many opinionated people here do not even work in the web development industry -- it's not just a case of "Mac vs PC"

Yeah on here this is especially true when it comes to programming/development. You are always advised to get the cheapest pc possible because you can develop on anything.

The reality is, that its not true, and depends entirely on what you are developing. If you were developing a game, you couldn't really do that on a really budget pc using notepad like some people seem to suggest.

Im sure many would think my pc i use for development is complete overkill, but its actually required for the development work i do. (PC has 32cores, 64gb ram and 2xQuadro GPU)

Herzlos

Cycrow wrote: »

Im sure many would think my pc i use for development is complete overkill, but its actually required for the development work i do. (PC has 32cores, 64gb ram and 2xQuadro GPU)

What development work do you do? Something very graphics heavy I assume.

For my development work, I have a (goes to check), 3GHz Intel Core2 Duo, 4Gb RAM and a bog standard graphics card. I've got a a pair of 20" monitors though so I can keep 3 pdfs and current 7 vim windows open on. But then I develop for embedded systems and not gaming. In my world screen real estate is more important than processing power.

For non-graphic (text editor) stuff, you *can* develop on seemingly low spec machines, and I assume (since I haven't done web dev work properly for a decade) 99% of web development work is done in a scripting and markup editor like Eclipse, with the 1% being large graphic files or video clips.

We were told it was for web dev work, so assumed that it was for web dev work and advised the OP that they didn't need to borrow to spend £1500 on a machine for that.

moxter

Hi, I'm a private surgeon. I need to borrow £10k to finance some new scalpels to cut people open with. Any suggestions?

What's that you say? You can buy knives in Argos?

Herzlos

Well no, surgical tools have fairly specific properties and requirements. Computers less so. People often grossly overestimate what they want in a computer (and underestimate what they actually need). Trying to assess if someone needs what they are trying to borrow money for is one of the basic principles of money saving.

In an ideal world, money no object, then get the top spec one - it'll last longer. If you need to borrow 30% of the cost of it, the first thing you want to do is assess if you can cut that 30% off the cost so you don't need to borrow at all.

Like when someone says they need a £35k loan for a car to get them 2 miles a day to work, when they could get a Kia Cee'd instead of a Mercedes A Class.

Cycrow

Herzlos wrote: »

What development work do you do? Something very graphics heavy I assume.

yeah i work on software that takes large amounts of point data and processes it into 3d models using some pretty complex algorthims. This can take alot of processing power, so the software uses all available cpu power as well as gpu power (CUDA).

And the more memory the pc has, the more data that can be kept live while processing, otherwise you end up having to cache it all, which slows the whole process down considerably

TrustyOven

Cycrow wrote: »

yeah i work on software that takes large amounts of point data and processes it into 3d models using some pretty complex algorthims. This can take alot of processing power, so the software uses all available cpu power as well as gpu power (CUDA).

Hardly the compute power needed for website development (which is all just text files anyway).

The only possible concern (from a compute power perspective) is the .PSD stuff, which isn't really web development, but is more closer to graphics design. Get some beefy SSDs and 8GB or 16GB (hell, 5 year old machines could theoretically support 32GB) RAM, quad or 8 core CPU and fiber-to-the-premises (very expensive, but I'm guessing you'd need it to transfer multiple 600MB .PSDs for each project?)

I think maybe the best thing for the OP to do is just take the loan, and chose get Mac. Just get the one that has the interest payments you are comfortable with, and don't forget to leave a bit of cash for yourself in case you have an emergency. Also, don't forget to buy licenses for Photoshop or whatever it is you will be using.

101problems

Another possible alternative? See if your employer would be interested in signing up for http://www.computingscheme.co.uk
Seems legit and could tick all the boxes depending on your employer

101problems

Reading the spiel it looks like a tax write off for you and for your employer as well so potentially a win win for both