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Is this system acceptable for the task?

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  • Computers
  • Business Computing
Last response: in Business Computing
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March 25, 2013 4:48:01 PM

Hi,

Our office computers share the following configuration:
- Intel Core2 Duo CPU @ 2.8GHz
- 3 GB RAM
- Intel G33/G31 Express Chipset video card (I am guessing on-board)
- Windows XP 32-bit

I have no idea what kind of motherboard or hard drive the computers include, but they are all about 4 years old.

We do press quality InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop jobs; as well as website graphics and high-quality presentations. At least two of the graphics programs, and the usual MS Office software run at the same time, along with a browser of some sort and occasionally a video playback software, as well.

According to our admin, these computers are "perfect" for the above mentioned tasks. Are they really? Because most of the time, the systems lag, the hard drives spin like crazy, and graphics performance is mediocre at best.
But trying to convince our boss against the word of our admin is an uphill battle.

Thanks for your help,
Istvan

More about : system acceptable task

March 25, 2013 4:55:20 PM

That computer is outdated. I mean it will run the programs. But it you have a bunch of stuff running, it will lag. Might have some problems running photoshop depending on how much you are doing with it
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March 25, 2013 4:59:36 PM

They will do the job, but they are far from perfect. If you were just running MS Office they would be just fine, but programs like photoshop like lots of ram and fast processors. Something with an Intel core i5, 8Gb of ram and a 64-bit windows 7, and a low end quadro or firegl paired with an IPS monitor(for better color representation). For a good argument I would get the minimum and recommended specification details for the adobe software and possible the others(except office of course).
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March 25, 2013 5:39:09 PM

We build professional design workstations for the very tasks that you are doing. My dad owns a sign business with two locations and we have done all their computers, network, and server. Talk with any professional designers out there and the truth is the computer systems you described are barely getting you by using the software you are using.

If you're really serious about getting your design work done, and keeping up with the latest versions of the Adobe software, then you are going to need more performance. The computer systems we use for the same types of tasks as you are doing are each a Core i5 or Core i7 quad-core, 8 GB to 16 GB of RAM each, with a high speed hard drive or preferably SSD, along with a professional graphics card like the Quadro 600. Now, the graphics card is one of those things that people often over-estimate or underestimate. If you're not doing 3D rendering and complex CAD work, then most of your computation is still being done at the processor, not the graphics card. Some of the work of rendering in the latest Adobe software can be helped with a GPU though, so having a mid-range professional graphics card can be key. Additionally, this professional graphics card supports better color correction, driver support, and resolution and multi-monitor support that you might need in a true business design system.

The cost of upgrading computers to where you should be might seem absolutely impossible, but they will pay for themselves over their lifespan. Think of it this way, by upgrading to new computers, your designers will be able to work much more efficiently and complete artwork much faster since you won't have to be sitting and waiting on stuff constantly. Not only will it improve the quality of your work, but it will increase your productivity. That increased productivity can really add up. When we calculated it for my dad's office, purchasing four new computers almost two years ago, each computer paid for itself in the amount of increased productivity and reduced cost of maintenance within the first two years.

Not to mention that Windows XP is an aging operating system, has a whole list of vulnerabilities and weaknesses compared to newer operating systems like Windows 7 or Windows 8, and that alone should be a huge reason to look at upgrading. I have also heard rumors from another sign forum that Adobe is contemplating a 64-bit only version of several of its production software in a product update not too long from now.
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April 14, 2013 5:55:08 AM

Thanks for the replies, I will try to convince our decision makers that our admin is... well, I don't know. I'm trying to give him the benefit of a doubt and not assume he is incompetent, but rather just lazy. Also hoping that money is not an issue :|

Again, thank you all for your valuable input!
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