So how much computer power is "enough"

[Busted Knuckles]

I have a 23" now. Top of market 3 years ago - probably bottom by now.

Also, you didn't mention a monitor. If you go with a desktop, a good IPS panel display can go a long way when it comes to your post processing. I've been eyeballing Asus's 24" ProArt monitor for a long time now.

[jrw]

I've been eyeballing Asus's 24" ProArt monitor for a long time now.

Don't know what you have now, but I can recommend the ProArt. not quite as big a gamut as some other graphics monitors but a fraction of the cost and more input options than most to boot. 16x10 format is really nice for editing photos. Lots of room for photo being worked on and toolbars or filmstrip underneath.

Just get it. You'll be glad you did.

[Dave Johnston]

I spent about 1500 on a beast last summer. I7-2600K @ 4.4GHz, 8g 1600 RAM, 2x GTX 570, 128gB SSD, 1 tB Storage drive, Blue-Ray, USB 3.0. Boots up in 19 seconds from complete power off. Photoshop opens nearly instantaneously. I've never really timed a raw conversion, but I'm at work so I'll have to time it once I get home.

I am extremely happy with my setup. Obviously not portable like a macbook pro, but I didn't spend 3500 on one that still doesnt have the hardware mine has either.

Plus I'm a gamer, so Mac was a no go for me anyway.

[Dave Johnston]

I spent about 1500 on a beast last summer. I7-2600K @ 4.4GHz, 8g 1600 RAM, 2x GTX 570, 128gB SSD, 1 tB Storage drive, Blue-Ray, USB 3.0. Boots up in 19 seconds from complete power off. Photoshop opens nearly instantaneously. I've never really timed a raw conversion, but I'm at work so I'll have to time it once I get home.

I am extremely happy with my setup. Obviously not portable like a macbook pro, but I didn't spend 3500 on one that still doesnt have the hardware mine has either.

Plus I'm a gamer, so Mac was a no go for me anyway.

8 Seconds.

[HDNitehawk]

8 Seconds.

Right at 8 seconds for my 3 year old Mac Pro 2.26 dual quad core
14 seconds for the wife's old cheap Mac Book Pro
1 hour 12 minutes 15 seconds for the three year old malware virus infected Dell laptop at work.....maybe I just made this up...maybe I didn't....you can never be sure since it is a PC

[Dave Johnston]

the three year old malware virus infected Dell laptop at work.

Speaking of work computers made me think about how foul the computers are at my workplace in certain areas.

Might be a little less dirty than this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=diCvsKmDsng

[Jarhead5811]

My Mom had a PC in her house, which for a time didn't have air conditioning in a Mississippi summer. A hard drive failed and when I went to replace it what I found was worse than that video depicts. The fact that she had her windows open 24/7 and hadn't blown the machine out in years provided for an interior that looked more like a clothes dryer's lent trap than anything else. Man, it was nasty.

[Sheiky]

If your computer starts vacuuming the house for you it has too much power

[Jarhead5811]

I purchased my current setup on Amazon. I got the lower grade 13.3" MacBook Pro. I then upgraded the RAM and hard drive using parts also purchased on Amazon. All told it was less than $1300.00 and it handles RAW photos from my T3i just fine. Of course keeping in mind that my only real use for it is for processing and organizing photos. I have an iPhone 4 and iPad 2 that I use for all of my non-photography computing use. So, I don't mind tying my Mac up for periods of a time to process photos.

I do plan to eventually remove the optical drive and replace it with an SSD but they'll have to drop in price considerably. As is, I'm quite satisfied with its performance.

[Busted Knuckles]

Thanks for the the input - the dusty PC video was great - I don't think I have seen that much dust - I have seen dog hair that you knit a sweater with...