4 replies to this topic

[MapMedia]

I would like to hear what computers and monitors others use. I am going to upgrade my Dell 8200 and monitor soon.

Also
- I just bought a very useful mouse - Microsoft Comfort Optical 3000 (
) - Its perfect for cartography as it has a built in magnifying
glass (small button on side of mouse) - very useful - instead of using
the zoom/magnifier in an application - I just move my thumb and I can
zoom into the details of a map or document - its a moving window, so
you just move the mouse to scroll the window around.

Anyway - any opinions on computers, OSs, displays and the like?

Is Mac better for non-GIS design work than PCs?

Chris

[Hans van der Maarel]

"I recently got myself a new setup:
AMD3800+ (dualcore)
2 Gb of ram
250 Gb harddisk
GeForce 6800 GS videocard, 256 Mb
Phillips 200W 20"" widescreen monitor (running 1680x1050)

I
love the big screen. All of the other specs are just a matter of how
much money you are willing and able to spend on it. I got a pretty
sweet deal on this in my local computer store.

The dualcore
processor (basically 2 processors on a single socket) allows me to do 1
processor-heavy task (VNS rendering for example) and all my usual
'office' stuff next to it (browsing, email, lighter apps). Haven't
tried 2 processor-hungry apps at the same time yet, but it should work
just fine.

If you're doing maps, a big screen is a must. One of my clients has the 30"" Apple Studio display and it is gorgeous! Mind you, he told me that on some projects he lost 20% of his time scrolling around.

As for Mac vs PC, I'm not going to go into that (not enough Mac experience to make a good judgement) "

[merft]

"The majority of my work is done on a laptop, though this is pretty expensive ($3k+):

Dell Precision M70
15"" WUXGA Screen
Intel Pentium M 2.26Ghz
2GB RAM
80GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive (main storage is on office and home servers)
DVD+/-RW
256MB Nvidia Quadro FXGo1400 video card
20"" Dell LCD Monitor (sorry don't remember the model, professional series)

I
did just recently purchase a gaming laptop ($2.5k), this thing screams.
The drawback is this is really not a laptop but more of a desktop
replacement. Weighing just over 14lbs and can get very hot. Has room
for 2 optical drives (I have one empty bay), and 2 internal hard drives
(I have one empty bay).:

MTech D900T (same as Alienware Aurora m7700)
17"" WSXGA+ Screen
Intel Pentium 4 3.4GHz 600 Series
1GB RAM
80GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
DVD+/-RW
256MB Nvidia GeForce Go 7800GTX

I
used to only use desktop computers, but have found in the last couple
years that there are a variety of laptops out that work as decent
desktop replacements. Now you WILL pay for this, I would say close to
twice the price for a equivalent desktop. But I prefer the laptops
because I am in and out of the office and need off-site capabilities to
run GIS and 3D (like 3D Natures Scene Express).

Monitors are a
matter of preference between CRT and LCD. LCDs have improved with their
color reproduction. Though if you are a serious color geek, you know
what to do. Just spend the money for professional series monitors (CRT
or LCD).

As for OS, I use a mixture of Windows, Macintosh, and
Linux operating systems. I use Linux primarily for servers. My home
server is an old Dell Precision 220, a great way to recycle computers.
I prefer Mac's for doing graphic design and video production. However I
must admit my Mac is getting pretty old and I don't have plans to
replace it right now. I however do a lot of cross work between GIS, 3D,
and graphic design, and more out of laziness just stick to Windows
since I can do all 3 on Windows and only graphic design on my Mac. My
suggestion is stick to the platform that you have the majority of your
software on already. If you are starting fresh, I hate to say it, but
go with Windows.

Good Luck,
-Tom "

[Hans van der Maarel]

Tom,

Funny, my laptop has more or less the same specs as the first one you described. Only it's an Acer, so it was a lot cheaper

It's
a nice machine to work with though, the Pentium M processor offers a
lot of oomph and with the 2 Gb of ram (stock was 512 Mb), it's about as
powerful as my desktop machine... which comes in handy when doing
projects that require a lot of VNS rendering.

[mike]

"Dual 2.5ghz G5 PowerMac
2GB RAM
160GB HDD
20"" Apple widescreen and 17"" Apple display
Full graphics package (Adobe CS2)

Dell Precision M70
2Ghz Centrino
2GB RAM
mated to 21"" Sony Trinitron monitor

I
basically use the PC to do all of my GIS processing, etc. And then
switch to Mac to do finalize the images. Or i just work solely on the
Mac to do my graphics from scratch. But having the Mac is awesome, I
love working on it. It is processes things much faster than my PC setup
(P4 3.0 Ghz) at home. All screens are color calibrated so that what I'm
seeing isn't too much of a change between all three monitors. "