Computer system for processing & storing 8x10 scans?

[Nathan Potter]

A lot of talk about building a computer, but it sounds like the OP is not in that mode. Contacting someone like Puget Systems who is expert in design and construction would be wise (and there are others).

My feeling is that I'd be much happier out doing photography and inside doing darkroom or PS work than building a computer.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Corran]

My argument would be that he should be in that mode.

Building a computer takes 2-3 hours of research/investigation tops to see what parts to get, 30 minutes to order them, and maybe an hour or two to assemble at most. That's 5-10 hours at most, or one work day.

Comparatively, the same system built by some specialist company will likely be 3-4x the price. In my estimation that would probably amount to $1500-2000 saved for 10 hours of work at most. That's a lot of film and chemicals you could buy with the savings.

I'd be much happier out shooting rather than working my 9-5, but that doesn't mean I can afford to do that. I guess if you have expendable income for a custom computer system that's great, but for a lot of people, choosing to roll their own is an important financial decision.

[MisterPrinter]

My argument would be that he should be in that mode.

Building a computer takes 2-3 hours of research/investigation tops to see what parts to get, 30 minutes to order them, and maybe an hour or two to assemble at most. That's 5-10 hours at most, or one work day.

Comparatively, the same system built by some specialist company will likely be 3-4x the price. In my estimation that would probably amount to $1500-2000 saved for 10 hours of work at most. That's a lot of film and chemicals you could buy with the savings.

I'd be much happier out shooting rather than working my 9-5, but that doesn't mean I can afford to do that. I guess if you have expendable income for a custom computer system that's great, but for a lot of people, choosing to roll their own is an important financial decision.

Nobody is making margins like that now. It was difficult enough to make that money 10 years ago.

[Corran]

I've seen some prices on custom audio rigs that were about that, so that's what I was figuring off of. Myself, to prove a point once, I spec'd out my system against a Mac Pro with the same basic components and the markup was even more.

[Lenny Eiger]

50 layers? I've actually done this. I had a client ask me to composite 60 8x10 scans (or parts of them) into a single image. Photoshop isn't up to the task. Their lack of ability to handle large files was a huge problem, and still is.

A lot of the folks here have suggested PC's and I have no wish to argue. They make very good points. On the Mac side, the new Mac Pro is about to ship - any day now. That's where I would put my money - and probably will. There are new super fast interfaces that are better than SATA and, of course, SSD rules the day for working and scratch drives.

It's always been my opinion that when you buy a computer you are buying a hedge against obsolescence. It stinks that you can't just swap out processors when there is a new one but it isn't how the world works. If you buy last year's model, you will need a new one in 2 years. If you buy this year's model, you won't need a new one for three years. (Give or take, depending on lots of things.) I always buy the latest and it has been good for me as I have always been able to upgrade when a new version of the OS comes out or a new version of Photoslop.

When it comes to storage, I would buy outside the main computer. A system to handle large files and lots of them will cost you in PC or Mac. Buying the latest computer costs a bit more but its generally worth it as you get another year of usefulness.

That's my 2 cents.

Lenny

[Corran]

You can just swap-out processors, if the sockets are the same. They use the same sockets for many years, but of course when something really new/better comes out the socket does usually change.

I would wager that whatever new wunder-computer Apple comes out with, no one on this forum is likely to even need that amount of horsepower for film scans. Frankly, compared to some other things, working on even high-rez 8x10 scans doesn't take all that much. I invite some of you to edit 24-tracks of audio with effects or worse, video. Regardless - I highly doubt anyone needs to replace their computer every couple of years, if you are taking care of it properly.

[Shootar401]

Personally I wouldn't trust a windows based system for any serious work. Go with Mac or Linux.

[Ron McElroy]

Personally I wouldn't trust a windows based system for any serious work. Go with Mac or Linux.

Is there any robust photo editing software available for a Linux box?

[Jim Cole]

Personally I wouldn't trust a windows based system for any serious work. Go with Mac or Linux.

I've been using Windows self-built computers for my photo business since 2002 and do serious work. Never suffered more than drive failures which happen on any computer and are not an issue if you have multiple redundancy built in. I completely disagree with your assumption. The "Mac or Linux is better" argument is stale.

[Leigh]

The "Mac or Linux is better" argument is stale.

Stale... perhaps.

Correct... yes.

- Leigh