HI all, this might be off the topic a bit but this Christmas their a possibility I"ll be getting My first digital camera which I"ll use for posting pics ,jet related. My question is what should I look for when purchasing a new computer to post and receive pictures, go on the internet and eventually use it for RC flight simulator. I"d like to work with very clear pictures, not the grainy ones.
Rcpete

I built my own and this is what i used
Asus A7N8X mother board
Athlon xp processor 2.08 Barton core
ATI Radeon 9700 graphics card 128 megs onboard memory
Two Serial ata harddrives raided
one Western digital 60gig for storage
one gig of ram
swapped plextor rewriter and 40 speed cdrom from my old system
and included a Plextor 712a dvd rewriter
Thermaltake Xaser11 case
also recently fitted a card reader to speed up picture transfer the camera is way to slow when you have a full 1gig microdrive to download

software
windows xp service pack 2
Photoshop 6
photoshop elements 3
ACDSee 6
i use a 5.25 digital camera which gives me a tiff file of between 3 to 5 megs depending on picture size setting
outputed to a IIyama tft monitor set to 1280 x 1024 colour quality 32bit
it shifts large files around very quickly but sadly now its out of date.
So go for the biggest bestest fastest bang for your buck
Oh and go for broadband internet service dialup is way to slow.

Hope this helps you
Regards
Brian

get the best digital camera, sony 3.2 mega pixels ,

Perhaps a new computer is not needed. what makes difference in manipulating digital pics is a new big HD with windows XP and a 3.0 megapixel plus camera.. about the simulator stuff, a 3d acelerator card is what you need for fast graphics that can also be installed in your PC. Worth to do
it if the PC is not very old and have at least USB ports.


Rgds, Enrique

I like the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F828. It is 8 meg pixel, four color with a 7X optical zoom.

THe requirements for the RC simulator should influence your choice more than the photo stuff.

I would say spend extra money on the screen (19 inch LCD, a nice one), and as others have said, consider getting a bigger camera, the hot ticket now are the through the lens systems, maybe $1500 but now you are in a different league from the small cameras.

Get the minimum requirements from the RC Sim vendor, then call Dell and let them set up a system for you.

i don't quite get your question. a new computer won't help your posting pics if you are stuck with 56k dial up access. i have a nikon d70, of which the raw files are over 5 meg. the transfer of files to the computer is relatively quick using a card reader with either a fire wire or usb 2.0 port.

you are getting a new camera and a new computer? or are you trying to upgrade your existing computer? what do you have now?

if a new computer is what you need, what matt says is the way to go. look at the dell xps gaming systems, and buy the most you can afford... then don't look back.

Rcpete347,

Don't forget about RAM. A lot of people overlook this. Nowadays 512 is minimum with 1 gig being the ideal choice. Start with a fast processor, better than average graphics card, add 512 of Ram and top it off with a fast hard drive. Soundcards are pretty cheap, go with SB Audigy. Monitor should be at least 19 inches. I would not recommend flat panels as you get more bang for your buck with CRTs, especially in video games.

CPU: 3.4
Graphics: ATI 9800
Ram: 1 GIG
HD: 7,200 RPM
Monitor: 19' Trinitron CRT

If it gets too expensive sacrifice processor speed for RAM.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Alex

I bought a new computer last december.I wanted a large monitor personally myself as I have gotten very spoiled with my 60" Sony HD TV.So I wanted something big too for my computer so I could enjoy the computer the best way possible as well.I forget what exactly my computer has but I do know that my HD is a 2 Gig .I wanted a DVD most definately & opted for Harmon Karden surround sound.My monitor which was almost the most important to me that I factored in.I have a 21 inch Sony flat high fidelity screen -I see now that the 21 inch Sonys have come down nearly 400.00.I paid just over 1800.00 for my monitor last year.I wanted a very nice monitor that I would be happy with for a long time to come.Most people wouldn't see a need for such a extravagant monitor but I thought long & hard before I bought this last computer ,and decided being that I am a big Audio & Video nut that the big computer screen was a must for me.

Steve

Steve, how are you doing??

Looks like you have a killer rig. I am myself a big computer freek. I just gave myself for Christmas a brand new Alienware system, top of the line. That baby is faast. Two 160 gigs HD and DVD burner so I can finally edit and burn my RC movies.

Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!!!!


Alex

A good GFX card is a must. [8D]

If you don't generally build your own computers, I'd really recommend going with one of the decent packaged systems. If you're not a power user or a heavy gamer, Dell has some very nice systems that you can add a few things making a very good system for the value. A couple things you want to be sure to get are:

RAM - AT LEAST 1GB (gigabyte). RAM is the single best performance to dollar upgrade.
Large hard drive.. at least 80gb. You'll be amazed how quickly it fills up.
Good video card. I personally like nVidia cards like the GeForce 6800 but some of the ATI like the 9800 Pro or even the All-In-Wonder cards if you want to do any video editing.

I think the computer issue has pretty much been covered. Now, with regard to the camera, I say go with the Canon Powershot A series. I had (and lost [:@]) the A70 3.2 MP. I just bought the A80 4 MP and now the A95 5 MP just came out, very nice camera at a decent price. You can find the 3.2 MP for as low as $149. The 5 MP A95 goes for about $349.00. It has a pop out swivel screen that works like a camcorder's. Whatever you camera you decide to go with, just make sure you buy a huge memory card for it. The high resolution images you want fill memory cards VERY QUICKLY!! Good Luck and Happy Holidays to all!!

Richie