Need help picking a computer (2 choices)

Ok so for my birthday my parents got me a Sony LS computer, but i know theres better ones that i can probably exchange it for..these are my choices (click on specifications for details on the computers)

Either the Sony LT found here:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?childSku=8576258&skuId=999981300050004 &productCategoryId=abcat0502003&type=product&tab=1 &count=1&id=pcmprd81200050004#productdetail

or

the Imac..but if i do decide to go with the imac i would probably install Windows Vista on it
The imac can be found here:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8480271&productCategoryId=abcat0 501005&type=product&tab=1&id=1185267960072#product detail



Im just basically looking for a computer that can play games such as Guild Wars/counterstrike/Bioshock well, and be able to use photoshop


Thanks in advance

Haha, Mac.


But seriously, the Sony has this:

• 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 memory for multitasking power, expandable to 4GB


The Mac only has 1GB. Easy choice.

For the price you are paying, you can build a PC for a lower price and have much better specs.

Agreed. With that budget, you can build a system yourself that is far better than that Sony garbage.

Build your own, or have someone who knows what they are doing build it for you.


Order the following parts:

CASE: (You seem to like modern, minimalistic stuff. Choose a different case if you want)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119129

HDD: (For your operating system and games)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136012

2nd HDD: (for storing music, movies, other junk)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148140

GPU: (Best card on the market right now price vs performance)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130303

Power Supply: (great company, great product, rock solid)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153039

RAM: (I own this type, Ballistix is all I use now. Best bang for your buck, and Micron9 chips are AMAZING)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146565

Motherboard: (amazing Intel mobo, one of the best around)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127030

CPU: (very fast, very cheap, best bang for buck, can do anything)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115029

Windows: (as much as I hate Vista, the time has come to upgrade. Service Pack 1 should fix a lot of issues, and it is coming shortly)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116213

All together, it is $1,438.99. Beat that.

Do you have to pick a compact, all-in-one computer? Seriously, those give really low performance per dollar. Maybe someone can tell you what is faster, a 8400GT running 1680x1050 (sony) or a 2600PRO running 1920x1200 (mac). Expect terrible performance either way.

And if you can't or know any one who can build a pc for you check out:

1) http://www.ibuypower.com/mall/lobby.htm
2) http://www.falcon-nw.com/config/build.asp
3) http://www.alienware.com/product_pag...l_default.aspx

All are respectable PC Builders.

I recently got a E6750 and a 8800GT, excellent price vs performance

IMHO, drop the raptor and save yourself some cash. it's not really needed.
(had 2 burn up, all that speed...somethings gotta give)

other than that, you'll be amazed at what you can throw at that system, and newegg doesn't mess about. I deal with them exclusively. fast shipping...good prices.

My Raptor drives run beautifully. They improve performance by quit a lot, especially loading times in games. And they are built for the extra heat. 10k RPMs is nothing compared to SCSI solutions @15k.

mine run beautifully as well...when they don't burn up. and no it's not my thermal solution. lol.

Imho..shaving off like 4(if that) seconds just isn't worth it. I like performance, but I love reliability/stability better.

What temps are yours at? Mine run quite cool. I have very good cooling, but I don't actually use individual HDD coolers. I have only ever had one fail, and it was OLD.

Of course, I use this model now.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136011

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811103011

with this case never over 30/5 degrees C. with an average case temp of 28 C.

Then they are certainly not burning up. You are just having bad luck... sorry. 30C is cool for a HDD. My raptors are even higher then that, 41C on both.

yeah...it's just a run of luck for me...we all know how that works. win some, lose some lol. with the warranty offered, it's not a problem at all.

Ok,
I am not here to debate brands. I am building a new system myself to run vista 64 ultimate sp1.
To the OP: set up to run vista 64 ultimate and stay away from mac. What I am building:

case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129025

mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131593

cpu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103191

cpu fan/heat sink:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185125

ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231122

psu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182069

monitor:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-W1...oductDetail.do


Video cards are in a odd place at this moment. The new dx10.1 is out and currently the radeon 3870 can run it BUT the nvidia 10,000 series is coming soon, which means that it will be big boy on the block. All the other cards will drop in price. Best buy had a 8800gt that was pci express16 but are sold out atm, they were under 300.00. I suggest a 8800gt or a 8800gtx, or if you can hold out for the 10800 that is better but you will need deep pockets, be sure it is pci express16.

Vista 64 can see up to 8gb of ram. You may want to wait for vista service pack 1. The system I have listed leaves alot of room for upgrades and fun tweaking stuff.

As far as hard drives go, I suggest Western Digital that is sata 3.0 anything else is ancient technology, sorry raptor guys.

After what I have listed above you can upgrade for a long time. The case is large. Also the amd3 mobo's are coming out along with amd3 chips, look out pentium.(yes, pentium chips are faster than amd, at this time, if you really need to measure things in miliseconds!, its like: what is faster? the speed of light or the speed of dark? fast is fast. I have had a poor past with pentium) . stay clear of quad core prossecors, the architecture is buggy.


but

If I had to choose between the 2 you have listed I would go with the NON-mac.

STAY AWAY from the 64Bit version... most developpers dont support 64 bit vista so stick with the 32 version unless you like to crash whole the time ofc

build you're own computer, cheaper by far, better by far i also advise to stay away of the built-in boxes in the flatscreens, the sound is terible

@OP
Don't buy pre-built computers. Build your own. It's cheap, satisfying and not too difficult. By the sounds of it the games you want to play are quite old and will not require very high-end hardware. The only thing a Mac is good for is making you look hip.

My recommendations:
Intel Core2 Duo 6550 Processor - You can easily overclock this to a 6775 and save yourself 20$
DFI Blood Iron P35 Motherboard or Gigabyte P35-DSR. You will notice that these are not PCIE 2.0 MOBOs - don't worry about it, you will not see any real performance difference and will save a lot of money by not buying the newest boards.
Radeon 8750 (any brand) or Nvidia 8800 GT (any brand). At this point, buying any other graphics cards would be foolish. These two offer very good performance for a reasonable price. They will EASILY run the games you're looking at playing.
Crucial Ballistix PC8500 DDR2-1066 Memory
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 LGA775 CPU Heatsink. very nice heatsink, quiet, cool and very easy to install
Antec Sonata III case w/ 500w PSU
Vista Home OEM (OEM is way cheaper than retail)
Logitech G15 keyboard.
Western Digital 250 or 500 GB SATA2 HDD (Make sure it's SATA2 and don't buy a raptor - the slight performance boost is not worth it)
Logitech mouse.
BenQ, Samsung or LG LCD monitor, 22 inches is the sweet spot for gaming on a budget IMO.

good computer stores (besides newegg) Tigerdirect.ca and NCIX.com

I'm not sure, but can you even install Vista on an iMAC? And would it run GW if you could? (Vista has enough problems running GW on PCs!)

At any rate, it would be simpler and easier to just go with the other Sony.

Build your own. An iMac running Windows Vista via Boot Camp would be a framerate nightmare. That same $1800 would allow you to build a very enviable PC.

As a grad student in Graphic Design and a one-time "Mac person" myself, I can attest that Photoshop runs on anything as long as you have a modern processor and a GB or two of RAM. Macs are used out of tradition in the industry and because their ad campaign has convinced their users that Macs are a lifestyle more than they are a computer. There isn't really a technically-sound reason to have a Mac for anything.

I actually am looking at a system very similar to what Rahja (sp?) mentioned... but yeah, I'd go with building your own. Everybody has said why, and they are all right.
But if you HAD to pick one of the links.. I'd go with Sony, even though I love my MacBook Pro - it's really not for games. You can definitely run XP sp2 through BootCamp and play Guild Wars fine, but you're looking at Vista (which I hate.)

Option 1: Build your own
Option 2: Sony link
Option 3: iMac

Good luck!