Small PC's a good idea?

macfanuk

macfanuk

macfanuk

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I am just starting a new job designing a companies website in house and they're not in a position to be able to provide me a dedicated pc so looking at my options. My laptop died last night so I'm wondering whether to buy a new laptop or should I go for a small desktop (like a nettop (is that what they're called?)).

It will be used primarily for SEO and Web Development so will need to run Dreamweaver and Photoshop and potentially InDesign.

In an ideal world I'd buy a Mac Mini but can't afford one :)
 
As long as they spec up there isn't really a problem with them.

I will say that InDesign likes to eat RAM. so as long as what ever you have runs at least 2Gb RAM min. The other 2 progs won't use as much as this. How much do you have to spend?
 
There's not much difference in price and performance of a nettop or sub £300 laptop but it would perhaps be more practical to go for a laptop as it would come with it's own display and be portable.
 
Thanks for the comments. I've seen a 2nd hand Dell latitude for £325 with a 2.5GHz C2D processor so might end up jumping on that.

I was just thinking I might be able to get a 2nd hand nettop and a 2nd hand screen or something for that kinda money
 
If you're running design programs you want a decent amount of power. I would say 2ghz Core 2 Duo and 2GB of RAM at minimum.
 
Go for a desktop, with a Micro ATX case or maybe a mini ITX build. They look nice and, especially if going for MATX, pack a lot more performance for the price because they are not spending a fortune on making them small.

Macs are over-rated as their hardware is pretty poor unless you want to spend a few £K on it. The only reason the masses think Macs are good is because they are expensive. Those more informed like them purely for the operating system, but you can't like them for their hardware, and definitely not their prices!
 
macfanuk said:
  • I am just starting a new job designing a companies website in house
  • they're not in a position to be able to provide me a dedicated pc so looking at my options.
  • My laptop died last night so I'm wondering whether to buy a new laptop or should I go for a small desktop
  • It will be used primarily for SEO and Web Development
  • need to run Dreamweaver and Photoshop and potentially InDesign.
  • In an ideal world I'd buy a Mac Mini but can't afford one
  • I've seen a 2nd hand Dell latitude for £325 with a 2.5GHz C2D processor so might end up jumping on that.
  • I might be able to get a 2nd hand nettop and a 2nd hand screen or something for that kinda money
Click to expand...

macfanuk.gif

  • O/S?
  • Keyboard & Mouse?
 
Oh, and I would recommend staying away from pre-built systems from OEMs, especially Dell. Dell have a reputation for using inferior quality parts and making most upgrades impossible. OEM systems have a much shorter lifespan too, as the build quality is not as good as one you built yourself or one built by a proper company like OCUK.

So in the long term, an OCUK built or self build system is better as it will survive longer and is fully upgradable- and you can rely on the build quality being spot on!
 
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