1 / 23

Computers for Digital Photography

Computers for Digital Photography. Terry Straehley Channel City Camera Club Digital Interest Group November 23, 2004. Two Premises. Photographic/Graphic Applications will stress your computer more than anything else you do with it. (If you’re not into gaming)

john-mckee
Download Presentation

Computers for Digital Photography

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Computers for Digital Photography Terry Straehley Channel City Camera Club Digital Interest Group November 23, 2004

  2. Two Premises • Photographic/Graphic Applications will stress your computer more than anything else you do with it. (If you’re not into gaming) • Your Photos will be the most valuable data on your computer. • They are costly to replace – If not Irreplaceable.

  3. Two Major Decisions • PC vs Mac • There is no “right” answer. It depends upon personal preferences, other uses, previous experience. • My personal decision matrix follows • Desktop vs Laptop • Laptops are convenient, but are not ideal computers for serious long-term photo work. • Reasons Below

  4. PC VS Mac • A personal decision – often driven by previous experience. My decision circa 1984

  5. Desktop vs Laptop • More objective decision – whether you use PC or Mac.

  6. Intended Use • Photography as a hobby – Advanced amateur • Photography is not a primary income source

  7. Premises for Rest of Talk • PC (Wintel) based System • Desktop System • Advanced Amateur – Not professional use.

  8. Computer Configuration • Major Computer Components • CPU • Memory • Hard Disk • Video Adapter • Monitor/Display • All of these affect the usability of a well-designed system and should be balanced.

  9. Central Processing Unit • Intel Pentium 4 • 3.0, 3.2, 3.4, 3.6 GHz Clock Rate • 1 MB L2 Cache • 800 MHz Front Side Bus (FSB) • HyperThreading (HT) Technology • Intel 915, 925X Chipset

  10. Memory • 1 GB Minimum, 2 GB Recommended • Dual Channel DDR 2 • 400 MHz

  11. Hard Disk (s) • 160 or 250 GB • Serial ATA (SATA) 150 MB/sec transfer • 7200 RPM rotational speed • Two disks recommended • One for OS, Programs, OS swap file • One for Photos, Photoshop Scratch File

  12. Two Disk Configuration • Disk 1 – System and Programs 80 GB ATA133 • C: Boot Partition – 1GB FAT • D: OS and Programs – 20 GB NTFS • E: General Data – 5GB NTFS • F: OS Swap and General Use – 54GB NTFS • Disk 2 – Photos and Photoshop Scratch 200GB SATA 150 • G: Photoshop Scratch – 20GB NTFS • H: - ?? Photos 180 GB

  13. Video Adapter • Use a separate card • Integrated adapter uses memory shared with CPU • Not as fast • Impacts Video and CPU performance • Video Memory 128 MB to 256 MB • AGP Port (Requires AGP Port on Main Board

  14. Monitor / Display • CRT vs LCD – Parameters for a typical 19” – 21” display

  15. Total Configuration • This is a total configuration done for me by my local supplier • Intel Pentium 4 3.0Ghz (E) w/ 1MB Int Cache (800FSB, HT) on Genuine Intel 865PERLX, 6USB 2.0 (2Front, 4Rear), 4DDR (up to 4GB), 1AGP(8x), 5PCI • 1GB DDR PC-3200 / 400Mhz (Kingston) • 80 GB Ultra ATA 133 Hard Drive (7200rpm) • 200GB Serial ATA 150 Hard Drive (7200rpm, 8MB) • ATI Radeon 9800 Atlantis (TV Output, DVI) • Pioneer DVR108 DVD+/-RW 9-in-1 Drive 32x24x40 CDRW, Reads @ 16x DVD • Integrated 6 Channel Sound • Integrated 10/100Ethernet • ATX #228 USB 2.0 Mid Tower Case (360W SilverStone heavy duty Power Supply) • PS/2 Internet Keyboard & Optical Mouse • Win XP Professional CD & License • Total: $ 1279.00

  16. Display Choices • Some typical display choices • 19” KDS XF9i Xtreme Flat CRT Monitor .25dp, 1600x1200 $195.00 • 21” Viewsonic G220 Flat CRT Monitor .25dp $484.00 • 19” AG Neovo F419 LCD Contrast Ratio: 700:1 $434.00

  17. Part II Security • Defragmentation • Backup • Anti-Virus • Firewalls (Hardware and Software) • Adware and Spyware

  18. Disk Defragmentation • Deleting Files leaves empty spaces on the disk which are then filled with the next data written. • These spaces may be smaller than new data, leading to multiple fragments of next file. • Fragmentation Slows Disk Access • XP comes with a Defrag Program that can be scheduled with the Task Scheduler • 3rd Party Programs such as Diskeeper (www.diskeeper.com)

  19. Memory Defragmentation • Loading and Unloading Programs Leads to Memory Fragmentation. • This reduces available contiguous memory and sometimes overall memory • No memory defragmenter included with XP • 3rd Party Programs • MemTurbo www.memturbo.com

  20. Backup • Backup Protects against mechanical failure, human failure, and disaster (fire, theft, etc. • No perfect backup method. • Right Now – I would: • Archive Photos on CD-R or DVD-R • Backup System, Data and Programs on Magnetic Tape or External Hard Disk • Long Term Archiving Issues • Media Failure • Media Obsolescence • Expect to Re-record archives every 5 to 10 years

  21. Anti - Virus • Current Anti-Virus Program is absolutely Essential if you receive E-mail • AV Program should update automatically, over the Internet. • AV Programs are sold on a yearly subscription basis. • Even so • Don’t run your e-mail program with preview window open • Don’t open unexpected attachments (esp. .exe, .scr) • Text E-mails are generally safe, but not HTML

  22. Firewalls • Hardware and Software Firewalls • Absolutely Essential with “Always On” Broadband connection • Software Firewall for Single Computers • XP Firewall, McAfee, ZoneAlarm, Norton • Hardware Firewall for Home Network • Built into Router • NAT plus SPI

  23. Adware and Spyware • Generates POPup Ads • Sends Information back relative to your web surfing, could do much worse. • Known to slow down computers substantially • Remedy • Safe Surfing – surf legitimate web sites • Safe Installation – Know what “free” software you install • Detect and Clean Software • AdAware – Free Manual Scan – www.lavasoft.com • Spyware Doctor - $ Auto Scan – www.pctools.com

More Related