System Recommendations

A moving target

The recommendations that are included here are current at the time of publication, April 2011. As we outline at the start of this course, hardware specifications are a fast-moving target.

System requirements for software

As you consider what kind of computer to use for your digital imaging, one important thing to factor in is the minimum system requirements to run your software of choice. Keep in mind that these specifications are minimum requirements, and those will not necessarily provide a satisfactory user experience. In almost all cases, you will want to have at least double the RAM that the specification requires.

Of course these are not the only pieces of software you will probably use in your photo business, but they are likely to be the most demanding. If you use other programmes for imaging, it is good to know their minimum and recommended system requirements if you are considering a new computer purchase.

Requirements for Lightroom

In Figure 1 below, you can see the current requirements for Lightroom 3. You will definitely be a happier Lightroom user if you go to 4 GB of RAM, if your hard drive is 7200RPM, and if your screen is larger than 1024x768 pixels.

Figure 1 These are the system requirements forAdobe Lightroom 3

Requirements for Photoshop CS5

Listed below in Figure 2 are the requirements for the current version of Photoshop, as of April 2011. Once again, note that these are minimum specifications, and that more RAM and a larger screen are highly recommended.

Figure 2 These are the requirements for Photoshop CS5

Premiere Pro CS5.5

The following screenshot shows the requirements for Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5. These requirements are significantly more demanding than those for Photoshop because of the demands of video. In order to make the programme work right, you need to run in 64-bit, have fast storage, lots of RAM, and a big monitor. Adobe also strongly suggests the use of a CUDA video card. If your computer is not up to these specs, you may want to consider using an older version like CS4.

Figure 3 These are the system requirements for Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5

Basic photo system

A basic computer system for a digital photographer should include what you see pictured in Figure 4. In most cases, it makes sense for the computer to be a laptop, since that enables location work, as well as the ability to do your imaging when and where you want to. Some people will opt for a desktop system, however, if they do not feel the need for portability, and if they want the maximum processing power for the price.

A computer that meets the system requirements of your software
A dedicated drive to serve as your photo archive
An additional dedicated drive that can be used to backup your photos
A DVD burner to make a disaster recovery backup of your images

Figure 4 Here is a basic system for digital photographers

Advanced photo system

If you want more processing power than the system shown above, often the best approach is to add a tower machine to a system that also has a laptop. The tower can support more hard drives for additional storage, as well as more RAM and a replaceable video card. This is outlined in Figure 5.

A tower computer that meets the system requirements of your software
Hard drive storage to serve as your photo archive
Additional hard drives to serve as backup
A DVD burner to make a disaster recovery backup of your images
A laptop with its own backup drives

FIGURE 5 This system adds a desktop computer to the laptop system. This offers the photographer both portability as well as a fast workstation

Basic multimedia system

A basic computer system for a multimedia photographer is similar to what is outlined for the basic photo system, with a few upgrades. You need to make sure that the hard drive you are using is fast enough (at least a 7200RPM drive). While you may be able to get by with a laptop monitor only for this, you will probably be more efficient if you also have a larger external monitor. If you are trying to do this with a laptop, it should be a recent model with lots of RAM and a good processor.

A computer that meets the system requirements of your software
A dedicated drive to serve as your photo and video archive
An additional dedicated drive that can be used to backup your photos
A DVD burner to make a disaster recovery backup of your images

FIGURE 6 Here is a basic system for multimedia photographers

Advanced multimedia system

When you start building video and multimedia editing systems, there are always more things you can buy to increase performance. As you move more into full HD editing, the requirements for processing and storage grow dramatically. A good system for this includes a GPU accelerated video card, 16 gigabytes or more of RAM, stripped RAID storage, and late model multi-core processors. In the system pictures in Figure 7, an External RAID has been added, as well as dual monitor support.

FIGURE 7 Here is an advanced system for multimedia photographers