It's wonderful to hear that you have survived your problems much better
than we (or you, apparently) thought you would.
I can't give you much advice on the computer but can tell you that I
find my refurbished HP Pavilion desktop to be adequate to run PhotoShop.
I paid USD 300 for it about 2-3 years ago as a refurbished machine so
I don't really know how old it is.
One thing I consider very important is that it have at least one USB 3.0
port for backup speed. This one has 2 USB 3.0 ports on the front, 2 USB
3.0 ports on the back and 4 USB 2.0 ports on the back.
Another important thing is lots of memory. Mine has 8GB but I don't
know that I've ever seen it using more than about 6GB real memory. If
it only had 4 it would be pretty slow when the real memory requirement
rose to 6GB. I always remember the old saying that nothing resolves
virtual memory performance problems like more real memory.
The processor is a relatively inexpensive AMD Quad Core A8-5500 at 3.2
GHz. The CPU is a middle of the road model for this HP model range.
The motherboard also supports A8-5600K, A10-5700 and A10-5800K CPU
models so upgrading is possible. The 5500 draws 65 watts. The 5600K
and 5800K both draw 100 watts and are presumably relative fire
breathers. These AMD processors have built-in Radeon graphics
processors. Mine is the HD7560D model which I was surprised to learn
recently is not supported by Adobe Camera Raw for accelerated graphics.
I thought it used to be but now know that it's not. It may be related
to a recent device driver update but I'm not sure of that. In any case
my CPU rarely gets as high as 60% usage and the graphics are fast enough
for me even without the acceleration. My display is a 24" Dell ISP with
1920x1080 HD resolution. The graphics card drives it nicely and it has
beautiful color thanks to the IPS panel.
You can check the performance of CPUs here:
<https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php>
My CPU has a passmark value of 3900 which isn't bad. Intel Core i7
sounds impressive but the very first i7 610 only has a passmark score of
1969 or half the speed of the AMD. On the other hand, the i7 970 (also
running at 3.2 GHz) has a passmark score of 8534, more than twice the
speed of the AMD. The i7 970, however, costs $856 just for the CPU.
Perhaps more telling is the single thread speed. My AMD model has a
single thread speed of 1269. The i7 970 single thread speed is only
1384. So, the processor that costs 3X my entire computer is hardly any
faster at all unless the computer is making good use of multi-theading.
Depends on what you're doing and the apps you're running.
As to your lens choice for an E-M1 I have personally shied away from the
faster pro model lenses simply because of their high cost and limited
focal length range. Because of price breaks when I first bought my E-M5
I started with the 12-50 and a 14-150. After buying the E-M1 I added
the 9-18 and the 75-300. The 14-150 is the best walk-around lens and
wider angle requirements are usually met by making panos. The 12-50 is
my next most used lens because it's just that much wider and has an
excellent macro mode. It's drawback is that a 50mm long end just isn't
as useful as 150mm long end. While I certainly use the the other two
lenses I've been surprised that I tend to use the 9-18 more often than
the 75-300. While I do use the 75-300, if I'm traveling light it's the
one that gets left home or in the car.
My feeling is that if I'd bought the expensive 12-40 its limited range
would have put me in need of more lenses but with less money to pay for
them. And the reason I use micro 4/3 cameras is small size and weight. YMMV.
Chuck Norcutt
On 10/27/2015 5:53 PM, bj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Hi all,
Firstly, many thanks for all the messages of best wishes
etc. They are much appreciated.
We have excellent insurance, thanks to
the inclinations of my wife.
We are over the worst of it now and
living with a local single man in his 60's who welcomes some company and
a source of rental/board income. He has a nice, modest house with 4
bedrooms.
I hope to create a web-page with more info at some stage.
A couple of years ago I helped my computer man who had significant
health (accident) issues, and he has come back at me with a loan
computer, AND the chance through his contacts of buying a really good
ex-rental commercial machine. (My machine was totally melted down in the
fire).
He has suggested an I7 (i7) machine, but with no more details
than that.
I will appreciate more guidance as to ideal specifications
for a computer for image work- non-Apple.
Thanks in advance.
A huge
relief for me; I thought I had lost all my digital images, but anyway I
asked the guys who were dismantling the wreck of the house to extract a
3-drawer metal filling cabinet which contained about 5,000 selected
colour slides, and some valuable documents, so that I could sift through
them as see what was there.
I discovered 2 backup drives which I
thought had been left on the top of my desk and therefore incinerated,
but no, they had been heated - but.. One was mid 2013 and the other, in
an aluminium case, mid 2014. We didn't try the former ( I want to some
time) but the latter restored perfectly !! :-)
I'm in the process of
getting stuff together to do a fresh backup of all that 2014 material.
The worst camera etc losses are my E-1 (Ian Manners is sending me one,
for which I will be everlastingly grateful) and my E-3 with DZ 14-54
Mk1.
As a replacement I am considering one of these as a possibility
Olympus OM-D EM-1 + 12-40mm f2.8
$2400.00
Olympus OM-D EM-1
+ 12-50mm kit
$1890.00
Cheers, Brian Swale
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