[Recommend decent nvidia laptop?]

Am helping a friend upgrade from a very sluggish ATI based laptop (Packard Bell TJ 75).  We are researching decent NVidia-based laptops - middle price range.   What would you recommend for SL?  Should be able to easily do shadows and most photo effects...

 

 

[Max out specs for photography...]

Yep, great feedback Void, thanks!  I do know that today's monster becomes a mere garden lizard in a couple of years

[Max out specs for photography...]

Yep, there is a level of planning for the future in it - today's overkill becomes a nice sweet spot in a year.  I know I may start doing machinima as well.

[Max out specs for photography...]

[I'd posted this over at Kirsten's Viewer, but I want to reach a wider audience before I go order]

Hello, I am seeking to replace a 2006 Intel iMac. Obviously almost any desktop I buy these days is going to be an improvement.  I am thinking of:

http://www.velocitymicro.com/wizard.php?iid=18

Although I would love to max out a new iMac, I am thinking that Windows 7, 64bit, is the way to go.

Some of the hardware specifics are:

1200 Watt Velocity Micro® Power Supply - Nvidia® SLI™ Certified (+$110.00)
EVGA X58 FTW3 motherboard with USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s
Intel® Core™ i7 processor i7-960, quad 3.20GHz cores, 8MB Cache
6GB DDR3-1600MHz Triple Channel Premium Memory with Heat Spreader (3x2048) (+$35.00)
1536MB EVGA™ NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 580 GDDR5, PCI-E 2.0, SLI ready (+$450.00)
Genuine Microsoft® Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit w/ SP1 (+$80.00)

Specific questions: what to avoid? what to zero in on? I know the machine will be decent for machinima, but the primary goal is to get the best photography features from SL.

[Recommend a high end graphics machine for SL - with all features turned on?]

[sorry if this is a repost - this part of the web site seemed to swallow the first one]

I want a machine, Windows or Mac, that can handle all SL graphics features on maximum, with a great frame rate...

What would you recommend?

I want to be able to take photos with depth of field, shadows, and blur.  My 2006 iMac wont do these ...

 

[ An Update -- thanks for the nod towards BOXX -- I am a diehard Mac fan, but am unsure as to whether a high end iMac is going to handle every graphics feature turned on -- the next step up from that is to go Mac Pro... on the other hand.. for that money I can really max out a Windows machine and know that there is a large pool of people in the same boat -- it is safe to say I am targeting 2000-3500 for this, if need be..  I want rapid fire snapshots to disk at high res w/shadows, depth of field, etc.. everything turned on.   Working with my 2006 iMac is like having a photographic arm tied behind my back.. I know what is possible ( Hello there, Zonja C!), but I cant do it on my machine. ]

 

 

[Which iMac / MacBook Pro to get all photo effects?]

[sorry if this is a repost - this part of the web site seemed to swallow the first one]

Which of the current crop of MacBook Pro or iMac machines will allow me to take full advantage of all available photo effects?

I want to be able to take photos with depth of field, shadows, and blur.  My 2006 iMac wont do these ...

thanks!

 

[ Just to be clear - yes, I know where the system requirements are.  I am coming up on 5 years in SL.... my SPECIFIC question is really aimed at those who are currently taking advantage of ALL available effects on an iMac or MacBook Pro.  I want to hear about their experiences.]