Hardware advice, video card & monitor, DVI or VGA ??

[Noahtuck]

A friend of mine, who is working within a tight budget because of medical issues with her daughter, wants to build a new desktop.

She works mainly in still photography doing graduations, baby photography, some weddings for friends, friends of friends, ect.
Her camera is a Canon EOS Digital XT 8 megapixel.

I know crap about that aspect because i am happy with any good video card that plays games & my 19" CRT boat anchor!! LOL!!

She wants something that is going to give her good sharp detail and accurate colors.
She saw someone else's $1300.00 MAC laptop that looked better colorwise with stills than her $600.00 gateway laptop.

What should she/i look for in a monitor & video card ?

Would DVI be better then VGA ?
I thought it would but not sure.

For something like this would it make much diff. from using onboard video ?
I would imagine it would be better with a PCI-E video card but not sure as they are pretty much aimed at gaming & she's not a gamer.

Here is what she is looking at,

20" Acer - 1600 x 900,
20" Samsung - 1600 x 900
19" Acer - 1680 x 1050

BFg GeForce 9400 GT Video Card - 1024MB DDR2, PCI, DVI, HDTV, VGA (not sure about this one, title says 1024 but specs say 512)

PNY GeForce 9400 GT Video Card - 1GB DDR2, DVI, VGA, PCI-Express 2.0
PNY GeForce 9500 GT Video Card - 1GB GDDR2, PCI Express 2.0, Dual DVI, SLI Ready, HDTV

Any opinions, knowledge, other options ?
She don't want to spend more then 50.00-60.00 for a video card and those looked pretty good with good reviews for the price.

She is building a dual core 2.3 or 2.5ghz with either 2 or 4 gb of dual channel ramm & sata drives.
What would probably be better for running app's like PS 10 ? and some other highend photo app's , a faster CPU or more ramm ?
If she gets the 2.3ghz she can get more ramm, but if she get's the 2.5 or 2.6 cpu she will have to get 2gb of ramm.

I can supply links to them if needed.

Thanks everyone!!

[budz]

It's always best to use a PCI-E video card instead of onboard video.
If not going to game at all it be better just to use a ATI Radeon based card. I'd suggest getting 4 gb of ram if she's doing photography stuff. Here's my suggestions:

gigabyte ati radeon HD 4350 video card, $24.99 after $10.00 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125251

sapphire ati radeon HD 4650, $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102829

his hightech ati radeon HD 4670, $59.99 after $10.00 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161252

All of the above video cards are HDCP enabled.
Just my 2 cents!

[Noahtuck]

Thanks bud(z) 8)

I was looking at some sapphire cards also but i did not know how good they were and i know PNY and BFG makes a good budget card, but im only into the gaming aspect, not photography.
And i've never been a big fan of ATI from the couple of cards i have had over the years...

Se is like, i just want my programs to open and run faster then they do on my laptop!!
Her laptop is a standard 1.6ghz cpu.

So do you think the DVI connection will be better also then the VGA ?
I assumed so but what do i know

Hey, i'm still using CRT's with VGA

And more ram over CPU ?
Yeah i guess that would work seeing as she won't be doing any kind of video encoding.

I'm gonna be posting another topic about some cheaper SATA burners for you in a little bit... keep your eye on this channel

[budz]

Yuh, DVI would definitely be better than VGA especially if the LCD monitor has DVI as well. I just seeing using a gaming video card a waste if your friend doesn't game.

What cpu is she thinking of getting? If she's doing lots of photo stuff in photoshop or any other photo editing software getting more ram would be ideal. Here's some suggestions for a budget build.

Intel E5200 cpu, $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072

GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L motherboard, $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380

WD Black series 640gb sata hard drive, $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

GSKill 4gb (2x2gb) DDR2-800 Ram, $46.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

Combo deal Antec 3 hundred case and Antec 380 watt power supply, $89.94
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.208560

LG Sata 22x dvd burner, $25.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136167

Gigabyte ATI HD 4350 video card, $34.99 ($24.99 after a $10.00 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125251

Total $441.51 which includes 3 day UPS shipping.

[ocgw]

Thanks bud(z) 8)

I was looking at some sapphire cards also but i did not know how good they were and i know PNY and BFG makes a good budget card, but im only into the gaming aspect, not photography.
And i've never been a big fan of ATI from the couple of cards i have had over the years...

Se is like, i just want my programs to open and run faster then they do on my laptop!!
Her laptop is a standard 1.6ghz cpu.

So do you think the DVI connection will be better also then the VGA ?
I assumed so but what do i know

Hey, i'm still using CRT's with VGA

And more ram over CPU ?
Yeah i guess that would work seeing as she won't be doing any kind of video encoding.

I'm gonna be posting another topic about some cheaper SATA burners for you in a little bit... keep your eye on this channel

nothing wrong w/ using a CRT, I am on my Samsung 56" 1080p DLP 95% of the time, but if I am going to edit pictures or join a online fps I switch to my Samsung SyncMaster 955df 19" CRT that has 2048x1536 (3mp) max resolution, .20 dot pitch, and will do 1024x768 @ 85fps or 1280x1024 @ 75fps

hell, my 8800GTX maxes out @ only 1792x1344 res

ocgw

peace

[Constant Gardener]

Don't dismiss on-board video from AMD's 780G chipset. The DVI and VGA outputs are more than adequate for stills and video, even HD.

I suggest something like a Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H with a dual-core cpu and 2 GB of RAM. Spend the extra money on a better monitor.

[Noahtuck]

nothing wrong w/ using a CRT,

Oh i agree!!!

I just make a joke about it because i am like the last person in the world (or so it seems) that still Uses CRT's with my PC's, it seems like the majority use and think LCD's are the greatest thing because they have such a smaller footprint & take up so much less space....

But the truth is, nothing beats an old fashioned boat anchor CRT 8)

[ocgw]

nothing wrong w/ using a CRT,

Oh i agree!!!

I just make a joke about it because i am like the last person in the world (or so it seems) that still Uses CRT's with my PC's, it seems like the majority use and think LCD's are the greatest thing because they have such a smaller footprint & take up so much less space....

But the truth is, nothing beats an old fashioned boat anchor CRT 8)

A guy I work with bought 1 of the first plasma TVs when the cost around $10K

I asked him why they cost so much?

He said because they don't take up as much space as a rear projection TV

I said, "for $10K you could have added an extension on you house"

he didn't like me anymore after that remark

ocgw

peace