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Hello guys, let me start off with a Merry Christmas. Got stuck working today so I'm checking out the forum on the net. Anyway, I'm gettin more and more exited about this graffix biz. I'm looking to buy a new computer dedicated just to my graffix business. Whats your input on models? Desktop or laptop or is it just a prefference? Also is there anything i should consider before purchasing, as far as processors or anyhing else for that matter, that will make my life a little easier and stress free when start up time finally arrives? I certainly dont want to sink a ton of cash into start up expenses but i want to make sure i have good equipment also.

Thanks for any advise and HAPPY HOLIDAYS

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the only thing i can recommend is do NOT get something off the shelf at walmart or best buy or some place like that.  find a local computer shop and have them build one for you.  

 

Unlike a computer off the shelf, all of the individual components will have their own manufacturer warranty (most components have 3 year warranties).  I'm not sure what your budget is, but if you can swing an intel i7 cpu, 16GB of RAM and a solid state drive, i'd say you wouldn't have to upgrade for quite some time.   the solid state drives do not have the capacity of traditional hard drives so you may want to consider adding a larger sata drive to hold your data.

 

dual monitors are always nice, some motherboards with onboard video can accomplish this, you may have to add a video card if you go that route.

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You do not need to spend a lot of money on a computer,  There are some great deals on the big auction site.  As far a buying from Walmart, I am still using my Toshiba laptop with XP that I purchased new from Walmart in 2006, when I started.  I also have a Toshiba laptop with XP, that I use as a backup. that I purchased used on the big auction site 4 years ago for $200, and it came with the Photoshop program fully installed and licensed on it. As a plus, the seller left it on there.  . And if, for some reason I would need another one. I would get another used XP computer.  They are very stable.

 

You can still get desktop with serial connections and XP for less than $100 on the auction site.

My point is ,you don't need a big fancy expensive computer to run a vinyl cutter.  If you feel the need to later, then buy it.  Put your money in supplies and a better vinyl cutter. Just because you have an expensive computer,  it is not going to make an inexpensive cutter, cut any better. I went with high end cutter, lower end cutting software and computer.  And have never regretted it.

 

External hard drives and flash drives are handy also.

 

But is is best, to have a dedicated computer for your vinyl cutter.

 

check out some refurb computers at newegg.com,  For awhile they had Dell XP towers for under $100

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Eighty bucks, got my Dell from a dude on craigslist, it has a serial port, WinXP, and runs SignBlazer just fine, driving the SC cutter.

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

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Same here 30.00 on flea bay shipping cost more then the computer . It has xp pro and both serial and lpt ports works great . you can always use your lap top to design and transfer via flash drive if you wish but mine has a small hard drive and isnt even half full yet and you dont need a speedy computer for cutting . put all that extra money in a better cutter or supplys . and if it dont have spell check it can be downloaded very easy . As for walmart electronics you get what you pay for and it is easy to read what is on the computer I FIND THAT MOST UNITS FROM A RETAILER IS LOADED WITH USELESS JUNK that is not needed for vinyl and there is much freeware to be had that works fine like inkscape,gimp and signblazer why pay for software that you will never use for cutting vinyl just my thoughts .

 

Dan

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If you go the new computer route like was said before don't go box store. There are several good places to get a computer cheap. I just bought my wife a desktop for 300 all it needs is to have her HHD added and she is off and running. If i went to a box store to get it  would have been 1200$.  I get deals from tiger direct all the time for computers for right at 200$ all the time.  Good luck

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right on! i bought my co-workers Dell desktop for only 40 bucks and it  was up and running within an hour :)    

 

I saved lots of money!  now i can buy more supplies!

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Thanks for all the advice guys but I notice you talk alot about a serial port? Is this a better option than a usb port? Not sure I understand why the serial port. I'm deffinatly going to look around for a much cheaper computer, seems to me that better/more supplies are just as important for start up. As for the spell check.......hmmm!

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If your just gonna do Die Cut stuff, a basic computer is all you need.  For me, doing large format printing, I have EPS and AI files that are at or above 1gb in size.  It takes a computer with pretty good processing power to handle large files such as this.  Processing Power and RAM are my foundations for a good strong setup.  I also run Dual Monitors and a seperate S-Video to a projector that cycles my portfolio pics on a "live wall" in my shop

 

-Logan

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Thanks for all the advice guys but I notice you talk alot about a serial port? Is this a better option than a usb port? Not sure I understand why the serial port. I'm deffinatly going to look around for a much cheaper computer, seems to me that better/more supplies are just as important for start up. As for the spell check.......hmmm!

 

Yes.

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The inexpensive Chinese machines (MH, SC, LPII) all would benefit from using a serial connection, instead of USB.

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Just my 2 cents on the walmart comment.... I bought a refurb dell from walmart.com and paid 150.  Came with keyboard, mouse, serial port, half dozen usb ports.....etc.  came preloaded with windows as well.  Huge hard drive.... ya just gotta shop.  This thing is awesome.

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everyone is right on the money on a dedicated cutter computer  - it is overkill to use anything very powerfull.  now if you get into printed graphics (even hiring someone to print for you) or other graphic intensive images (maybe sublimation) down the road this is what I built in September for my latest design computer

quad 3.7ghz with room to move up to faster processor with more cores
24gb ram for now - will be 32
1tb system drive
(2) 2tb data drives
DVD burner
Blu Ray burner
3 120 mm case fans (top, back and front)
120mm heat sink fan
1GB 192-bit GDDR5  HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
4 usb 3 ports

next year it may get a 6 or 8 core processor.  but that is really for some of the bigger images I do on window perf or large vehicle graphics - for the cutter an old single core with 4gb ram would do

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We're in the same boat Dakota.  My EPS files get super large and processor intensive, so I gotta have a capable setup.  Nice specs on your new build.  I have a Quad Core AMD at 3.0, 80gb Solid State and 1TB SATA, and 16gb or RAM for my design computer and for my RIP / Print software.  The computer that runs my old PC-60 printer and cutter is probably a few steps behind my iPhone is processing power Lol.

 

-Logan

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I belive most start up vinyl cutters will never move up to large format printing and if you do you can always step up to a better computer then . There is a lot to be had on a refurbed unit because usaly it is basically bare bones and you can install programs pertinent to you and what you do and not all the useless crap loaded on most new retail units . If you buy from eBay there are usaly photos showing the different ports , also list of the features. Make sure it comes with a coa so you can upgrade .

Dan

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I belive most start up vinyl cutters will never move up to large format printing and if you do you can always step up to a better computer then . There is a lot to be had on a refurbed unit because usaly it is basically bare bones and you can install programs pertinent to you and what you do and not all the useless crap loaded on most new retail units . If you buy from eBay there are usaly photos showing the different ports , also list of the features. Make sure it comes with a coa so you can upgrade .

Dan

 Hey Dan , You hit the proverbial nail right on the head !!! I am sure we have went thru the same experiences in business , the same school of hard knocks etc & we both understand the purpose of this forum ( heck , it is spelled out by USC in several places !! ) . In some threads/posts , I don't even understand how the " Donald Trumps " of vinyl cutting , printing etc has the time to spend here :lol: . This is a forum for beginners to learn & for experienced members to associate via internet & help out those starting in return for those who helped us . Common sense tells me that starting out , I spent enough to find out if this is something I want to involve into more hi-tech equipment or stay at a lower level . I did buy a Copam because it was not that much more & I figured it would do whatever I wanted & it has . I figure if I was buying something that starts around $10K & can go up to $200K plus , I could budget a better computer into that ... but that is just how I think & seems you do also . Great advice !!!

 

 

 You need to join the " USC Super Hog " club !!! :lol:  :angel:  :bear: 

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you two are correct - it is overkill for the beginner but ,personally, I started 4.5 years ago with a plan to move into full time and grow the business into something that would provide income after I retired from my main job after 27.5 years - when a piece of equipment had paid for itself 2-3 times over I would move up to better equipment until I reached the equipment I have today all paid for by the previous equipment with profits put into the household along the way.  My cutter still uses a lower end custom computer I built 3+ years ago and is used just for cutting.  as you grow, if you have the desire and drive to do, you will need a better computer for designing.  USC sells printers so that as people move up the path they continue to serve the same customer - those people are on the forum also.  for those happy with occasional use of their cutter for personal need there is no reason to improve equipment over time.  you have to find your niche and what you are comfortable, capable of doing and be happy with that.  my first P-cut served it's purpose but lacked capability to do fine work that was important to me along the way - but it still made the money for the next cutter!  I found the 54" printer was overkill for 90 percent of my work and chose to downgrade to a newer 30" cutter and rely on friends to do the few prints that needed bigger printer  - it allows me to do most things in house to have a quick turn around while still providing a full service.  sublimation has also been a big part of my growth, that is one area where going cheap cost me a lot in the beginning and I found that buying the right equipment from a reputable dealer was worth he extra money for the most part.  
  It's up to each individual to find what level they want to work at, I love looking at the screen printing, embroidery machines, flatbed printers, routers at the show but have decided I have enough irons in the fire at the present and choose not to move into those areas - some of the newbies on this forum may move into those as they grow as it fits their business . . . . someone that just bought a entry level cutter now - may overshadow us all in a few years.  Heck the next Dan Sawatzky could be just getting his feet wet here and spark that imagination! 

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At least you are smart enough to understand the importance of having a reliable computer. This is what you need:  A simple machine that has at least Windows XP on it, if not a later version. I figured though, that if I'm going to spend the money to buy a new computer then I would get something at a good price that performs like a champ. 

 

You don't need 16gb of ram and an i7 processor to cut vinyl decals. However, if you do plan on using Photoshop, Illustrator or HD video editing software, then you will need a little beef on your machine in order to smoothly perform all of the functions you ask it to.

 

At the time of this writing (12/28/12) I would suggest that you search eBay or even better Craig's List (www.craigslist.org) for a computer.

 

I found an HP Pavillion Slimline on Craig's List for $140 (Here's the specs)

 

  • Intel Core QuadCore Processor, with each core running at 2.5ghz.
  • Windows 7
  • Integrated graphics card (not great, but it works)
  • DVD Burner
  • 6x USB Ports
  • 500 GB Hitachi HD (failing, had to replace)
  • 120 GB Kingston HyperX SSD (Thumbs Up, Rated 7.7 on the Windows Experience score!)
  • 6GB RAM (Rated 7.2 on the Windows Experience Score)

 

Overall excellent computer, runs My Plotter, My HP Printer, MY Portable HD, A Speaker System, YouTube, Illustrator and Signcut all at the same time with no problems!

 

Now you don't necessarily need  a quad core pc to do vinyl cutting as I said before, but I use Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Premiere and After Effects a lot for video editing and graphic design related jobs. So, I kind of validated myself to go ahead with the quad core. It's awesome!

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