Full Adobe creative suite, quark, corel draw, etc. U sent a pm, but it gives me a 404 error. I think they paid $3000 for these machines 3 years ago. They are IBM IntelliStation M Pro machines. They're getting ready to convert us over to W7, but they've had some issues with the guinea pig system the 4th graphic artist is using.
I'll just put the pm here.
OK, If there are that many people in your IT department, I would have to guess they are running active directory and managing computers with it. That's more than likely the reason for no mac where you work.
If you are on a budget of 2K or less, go with an HP and get some upgrades. Windows7 Pro 64 bit is all that you will need in a business environment. They have an elite machine which has six cores@twelve threads out now. What model machine do you have now? There is something seriously wrong if 20% of your day is waiting on the system.
I always question IT people who have macs. The apple OS was derived from a 100% free unix operating system. Apple took it (legally) and began their own work on it. They made it pretty and have complete control of the hardware and OS that can run on it. The problem is as they made it more user friendly and added functionality, they introduced the security issues that have always plagued microsoft products. If they were real IT people, they would run a unix variant or one of the many linux distributions out, all are free and provide incredible security. The downside is ease of fitment into corporate environments. If the IT people are so good at what they do, why do they buy a prebuilt machine that holds their hand at everything. It's like a mechanic that has to have a new car so they don't have to fix it. Doesn't make sense to me.
Anyways, let me know if you need something real specd out.
Hp has an elite series with the (i9) really the i7 980x processors from intel. These have six cores with hyper threading, basically twelve 64 bit processors in a desktop computer. I have an elite with just eight cores (i7), it can rip an entire dvd in sixteen minutes. Pick up either an external sata drive (esata) and install your programs from there or add another internal sata drive to the box 2gb video 18gb of ram with 25" monitor for less than 3K. This would be an absolute power house for a workstation.
I am getting an auto supplier's older infrastructure ready for w7. It just takes money and time... If your current machine sucks, it may not have been built in house. I buy systems from dell, hp and ibm. The original XP installs are blasted away and imaged with one that I build without all the junk that comes with a new pc. The performance is night and day.
