I need to buy my daughter the artist a new computer as required by her college. They provide specs and give Windows Based Brand X model Y as their recommendation but say anything with similar specs as acceptable. Then I read an article how Brand X is the best for artists. Maybe, I have no idea, cannot even cut straight so not an artist and my daughter cannot tell Intel from AMD so she is no help. However, it makes me wonder whether it really is the best or there was product placement, just as there are correlation (not causation studies) and so on with fat paid for by the sugar or soft drink industry. I start to think, who is paying, who benefits, starting to feel like Mulder or Scully
Anyone Else finding themselves more skeptical in general of Everything?
PrimalBrian
#2
Indeed. When it comes to health, I’m about halfway through the Dunning Kruger effect. I spent the last few years sliding down it the more I learned and read. I’m at the bottom middle. I know more than most around me, but I don’t know sh*t!
P.S. And, yes, the fact that I said I was “halfway through” the Dunning Kruger effect means I’m probably at the peak on the left still! 
OldDoug
(Doug)
#3
Heck yes, Saphire, marketing is such a massive force. Easy to get feeling cynical, jaded, suspicious, etc.
Intel versus AMD is an old-fashioned “horsepower race,” and the newest generation chips are always pretty amazing. For graphics-intensive applications, the videocard is very important - generally, the more video RAM it has, i.e. the newer and more expensive it is, the better - this is often a more important concern than which processor the computer has.
In your place, I might look for reviews on the specific computer model, and sometimes you’ll see something like “I’m an artist and here’s why I like this model…”
alanwil2
(Alan Williamson)
#4
When I see a claim, I see how I can test it to verify if it is true or not. I don’t take people’s word for it.