Desktops forum: Buying advice for my final computer: laptop, all-in-one desktop, or what?

Go to a Mac store and check out and try an iMac with the 27" monitor. consider the i3 CPU. Then compare a i7 PC with HD 27-32" monitor with a hot graphics card. I have used most of the graphics software and each has its +s & -s. If you are already using software you like, stay with it. I would not invest in a printer, just email or download your pics at Walmart or another store that prints digital photos.
Like tasting wine, it is subjective. So go with what you finally like

Macs are not a problem in the graphics world - some cameras are.

hardly as motherboards and cpu slots keep changing.
Sure you could add more ram down the road but that's about it.
I recommend wait until you can buy a Desktop with USB3 ports.
Laptops are nice but the hard drive will die if you don't get a SSD drive. Even if your hard drive stays ok odds are your laptop screen or battery will need replaced within 2-3 years. Desktops are much more reliable.

Bought my laptop (Dell) in 2005 and the screen works fine and the hard drive has not died. Bought a desktop just over a year ago and the laptop is still more reliable. Of course, it does have Windows Vista. Read review regarding battery reliability, as it varies with laptop models. If buying any Windows PC, maybe wait until more of the kinks have been worked out of Windows 7 before buying.

While there's little doubt that notebooks can now do pretty much everything that our old desktops use to accomplish, I don't think Apple is the only company worth considering - especially with their prices and lack of what I'd call solid value.

Look at upper end Lenovo's with the 1GB dedicated video cards and the Intel I-7 that you can easily pick up for less than $1,400 complete with 3 year in home warranty. Lenovo has a very solid reputation for building great stuff that will meet your needs quite well while at the same time saving you a grand or more which is real money. While there are two different I-7 processors out there, the faster one is usually only ranked at being around 5% faster which just isn't that much difference if you ask me. If you're a person who enjoys real portability and doesn't like being plugged into the wall all the time, you might just see that an I-5 with a separate video card will give you more than enough speed while at the same time more portability than you've ever enjoyed before. Just an idea, but as an idiot who purchased two new notebooks this year already for myself, I've learned the hard way that Apple isn't the only option out there for heavy hitter users like you and me.

It really ends up depending on how you want to use your computer - in the field, or in the office. I am a pseudo-professional photographer myself, and I use a laptop to do my editing. I chose a laptop (technically a notebook) over a desktop because I could take it with me in the field for on-the-fly editing at client's locations. I use a 13" Macbook with Lightroom 2, Aperture 2, and Photoshop CS4 to do my editing and have not had any issues in the last three years since I bought the notebook. I also own a PC that I built a few years ago, though it mostly just collects dust since I purchased the Macbook.

If a portable was not able to handle the heat generated by its components, it would not be sold. Most portable computers now have multiple-core processors that actually generate less heat than a high-speed single core processor because they can turn the unused cores "off" when they are idle. Just because the bottom of the computer is hot to the touch doesn't mean that it is too hot to work - most chips work comfortably at 65*C (150*F).

If you went with an "all-in-one," I'd shoot for in the range of 2.2GHz+ with at least two cores (preferably 4), and 4GB of RAM. The video card isn't all that important since your dealing with stills and video files rather than rendering complicated CG video. Those specs should get you cooking! I've had good luck with Apple, Dell (Vostro), and Lenovo all-in-ones.

I have a Gateway all-in one computer, and love it. I am retired, 59 years old and wanted a nice computer. I love my Gateway, and have it on a bedside cart in my bedroom. I wanted something without wires and had a big viewing monitor.

The specs are:
Processor: AMD Athlon? II X2 Dual-Core 235e Processor (2.7GHz, 2MB L2 Cache)
Operating System: Genuine Windows? 7 Home Premium (64-bit)7
Memory: 4096MB DDR3 Dual-Channel 1333MHz Memory
4GB Memory
Hard Drive: 640GB 7200RPM SATA
Video: Integrated ATI Radeon? HD 4270 Graphics
Display: 20" HD Widescreen Ultrabright? LCD (1600 x 900)resolution with Multi-Touch
Optical Drive: 8X DVD SuperMulti Double-Layer Drive
Wireless Keyboard
Wireless Optical Mouse
Network: 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port)
Wireless Network: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED?

The monitor is 20", but looks much bigger and bright(easy on the eyes.)
I love the touch screen technology. I would consider a Gateway all-in-one.

This used to be true, but now a lot of processing gets handed off to the graphics card, especially by photo editing software.

I would suggest that you consider purchasing a Macbook Pro laptop. I have two computers one operating under Windows Vista and the Mac OSX Snow Leopard. In the two years since I bought the Mac, it has never given me a scrap of trouble and is excellent if you're into photography. The Windows one that I bought to take overseas in July, is a nightmare.

IMHO it is first of all the true colors that you get with the Mac computers and saying that Macs are expensive is not true unless you compare it to the bottom line PCs but any higher end PCs will run you just about the same... As for the batteries I had a 4 year old Macbook with a battery that lasted at least 3-4 hours but I've used this laptop as intended from the start charging the battery only when it was about empty then running it again on battery when full. the same was true with little less time with a Toshiba satellite that I owned previously. No Matter if you prefer Windows or Mac OS or Linux as I do run now A Macbook Pro will run them all PCs will not run OS X But and these ar just preferences but a good laptop with an extension HD & even possibly an external monitor for more viewing space will be a great photo/video editing machine and more versatile then a desktop of any kind unless you also get a netbook to go along.. If someone think I presently own a Mac they'd be wrong I use a rugged PC for reliability on the road and unfortunately it doesn't run OS X but Linux is a good alternative.

I agree with everything PB has written but I would add one caveat. I would not suggest relying only on an external hard drive for permanent storage of your data. External hard drives provide a false sense of security and have a tendency to fail when you need them most - and, in many cases, will take all of your data with them. It can be very expensive to retrieve your data, if this is even possible. I know of what I speak....I had to learn the hard way and would like to see that others avoid this expensive lesson! So, be sure to backup your important data onto DVDs (or CDs, if the files are small). Incidentally, the Library of Congress Digital Archives recommends replacing DVDs at least every 10 years, so it would be a good idea to make new copies of your DVDs at some point. They claim that digital media degrades over time, even on DVDs.

You're response to this subject is very misleading. Many today's laptops are either just as or as near as powerful as their desktop counterparts. The only real reason to own a desktop is if you're playing the latest games or want to option to upgrade your processor and graphics card later down the road.
You can now buy a Laptop with an Intel Core i7 Processor Running at 2.8Ghz with 4GB of ram, a 500GB hard drive and a graphics chip powerful enough to run almost every current game for around $1200. Since this person has a budget of $2000 for their computer I would suggest buying the laptop and an external monitor for when using the computer at home. This will be near as powerful and offer the same productivity for around the same price as a desktop.

Yes, indeed there are powerful laptops. I have a Comanche SLi from Kobalt Computers (basically the Clevo D901C), which was GBP 2300, and it's a beast. It plays pretty much any game you throw at it to a high level BUT you pay quite a premium to have that power in a small box.

A desktop computer will always be somewhat more powerful than a laptop of the same price. You can't even compare the same components, as an 8800M GTX (for laptops) is not as powerful as a 8800 GTX (for desktops).

Also, from my own experience, a powerful laptop generates a lot of heat and I've already had the motherboard burn out and now one of the graphics cards has died (and still waiting for response for guarantee replacement after 8 months, but that's another story).

The only reason for getting a laptop is mobility. If you don't need to move your computer from one place then with a laptop you're just paying a premium for its size and no real benefit.

What was your point of replying? I was reading smooth responses from compatible people then all of a sudden your post shows up. Please if you cannot contribute beneficially don't. Thanks