Quote:
Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward
So in your opinion the current state of the art is good enough, and there's little need to improve upon it... (Just checking I've got your perspective right, no judgement intended.)
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It depends. For people who need whatever the newest version of the software does, then they also really need to have the bigger, faster, and more RAM computer to load and run the usually bloated newest version.
With some programs (PSP being one of them), the latest and greatest does not mean the best version of that program. 8.1 was the last really good version, but that was when JASC owned the program. Corel and some other companies don't add much to the newer version, and screw you over on the price.
Same thing with Adobe Acrobat, the changes between versions 8 and 9 were definitely NOT worth the upgrade.
Now, for me, I do a lot of 3D models and rendering. So, if I use a computer that is old and slow to render an image with a lot of textures and (more importantly) light and shadow effects, it might take me the better part of a week (running 24 hours a day) to complete a single render ... only to discover that I don't like something and have to start over.
A higher end processor with lots of RAM .... I can do the same render in 3 or 4 hours. That's a HUGE difference. Especially since I always see something I have to tweak a few million times before I like the result.
If you are just talking about regular 2D graphics and word processing .... state of the art is fine and dandy. If you are talking about 3D graphics or video work then you can never have enough speed and memory. The extra few gigs of dedicated graphics memory on my graphics cards helps a ton with larger renders too.
It also depends on how many programs you tend to like to have up and running at the same time. On my main PC, I've got four monitors hooked up, and usually have from 6 to 8 programs up and running at the same time. It's the way I work, but it can be a bit of a resource hog at times.
Also, I like to keep several versions of each document, graphic, photo, movie .... whatever it is I produce. That's why I have so much HD space, but many's the time that the habit has pulled my ass out of a hot seat.
So, my minimum requirements are probably more than most people's. However, I also have, and still use, some older machines with old (ancient) versions of Windows on them .... I've still got (and use) my old first generation Toshiba Libretto. It's just that, if someone were to ask me how much is enough, that machine would not be my answer.