motherboard for photo work

[djo]

I have a P3 500MHZ HP8515 that until now has not been used for photo work.

I am a photographer, but have only just now gone digital. I would love a Mac G5 but that is some way off yet.

My machine has max RAM of 256 Mb and currently runs half that amount. What can I do at reasonable cost tomake it more suitable for the very large files I will be generating and working with in Photoshop? It is extremely slow at present.

djo

 

[iamtrout]

Buy or build a new system. You can't really make upgrading the parts in a 500MHz computer worthwhile anymore. $600-$700 should do the trick.

 

[imported_NoGodForMe]

Intel is the better choice for content creation.
I'll put a vote in for the system I built 6 months ago.
I have a P4 3.4c (northwood) and an Abit IC7 Max3 and it works great.
Stay with the Northwood core because it runs cooler than Prescott. Northwood chips have a C after them, while Prescott has an E. I'm looking at Newegg now and they have the 3.2c for $250.
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=19-116-165&depa=0
I don't see the 3.4c, but the 3.2c is good enough.
Then you'll need a gig of memory. You can stay with value select and not worry about the fancy 2225 timings you'll read about.

 

[chocoruacal]

Originally posted by: djo
I have a P3 500MHZ HP8515 that until now has not been used for photo work.

I am a photographer, but have only just now gone digital. I would love a Mac G5 but that is some way off yet.

My machine has max RAM of 256 Mb and currently runs half that amount. What can I do at reasonable cost tomake it more suitable for the very large files I will be generating and working with in Photoshop? It is extremely slow at present.

djo

Simply upgrading the motherboard isn't going to do it. For satisfactory results you'll want a new motherboard/cpu/RAM/hard drive upgrade. Your budget will determine the specifics though. A temporary measure would be to increase your RAM to the full 256MB alloweable amount. Unless you are running XP on the system (which would indeed be painfull at 500mhz/128MB) then any speed increase in Photoshop will probably be small. You might also look into a new hard drive, depending on what you're running. If whatever you have now is 7200RPMs or better, don't bother.

 

[djo]

Thanks for your replies. I am indeed running XP which works fine for all other apps. Photoshop on the other hand is ridiculously slow. SO I am up for a complete machine. I can't go G5 yet as my budget won't stretch that far. Thanks.

 

[slash196]

What's your budget? jpeyton has a fantastic buyers guide, I'd suggest checking that out if you're looking for a new system.