Desktops: Can you recommend a good PC for graphic design?
Can you recommend a good PC for graphic design?
by dzetik - 8/27/09 5:30 PMMy husband does a lot of work with graphic design programs: Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. We are looking to replace his Dell Inspirion laptop with a more powerful desktop that can handle these programs and large files. We have discovered through trial and error that we are PC people, not Mac people. Any suggestions?
A new Computer
by Acaykath - 8/28/09 8:48 PM In reply to: Can you recommend a good PC for graphic design? by dzetikFor graphic design, the biggest limitation is RAM. Anything with less than 4 gigabytes is simply not good enough, especially if using adobe products with are horrible memory hogs.
Your next concern should be the processor. While some functions in photoshop will use the GPU, the majority of the slower operations are reliant on the CPU, and many of these are thread aware. Because of this, you will want to have a core 2 quad processor.
When those two are taken into consideration, even taking the cheap options for graphics cards and other components will not noticeably affect the machine. And, these constraints happen to be a rather good fit with mid end gaming machines. If I were to tell you to use a pre-configured system, the one I would recommend from a quick check would be the upper echelon of the dell xps 630 series.
Just remember, theres nothing as annoying as working on a 6000^2 pixel image without enough ram.
Photoshop
by msgale - 8/28/09 9:43 PM In reply to: A new Computer by AcaykathPhotoshop loves memory. I am running Photoshop CS4 extended (X64) on a Dell PWS 7400. I have 12 gigabytes of RAM (12,000,000,000 bytes) and am using the 64 bit version of Vista Ultimate. I have been able to open some very large TIF files on my system with no problems. I used nine gigabytes of RAM to do that. I worked with no problem. Your problem is that PCs that can use more than eight gigabytes of RAM are expensive.
Can you recommend a good PC for graphic design?
by Patrick_G - 8/29/09 2:01 AM In reply to: Can you recommend a good PC for graphic design? by dzetikDell Studio XPS 16 is a good machine for graphics work. I got mine for nonlinear editing of HD video and high res stills. It is a nice box. It is a tad limited in run time on batteries but not a major difficulty.
There are 12 volt power supplies to run it from 12 volts when mobile BUT... it is cheaper and more versatile to buy a 12VDC to 120VAC INVERTER and use that to run the OEM power supply-charger that comes with it.
Notebook
by msgale - 8/29/09 2:55 AM In reply to: Can you recommend a good PC for graphic design? by Patrick_GUnless you really need a notebook/laptop, I would stick with a desktop PC. Desktops give you more bang for the buck, easier to maintain and typically have larger displays. I run Photoshop on a Dell PWS 7400 - two Xeon four core processors, 12 Gigabytes of RAM, Nvida Quattro FX 1700 graphics card and 24 inch wide flat panel display. The system cost in excess of $4,000.00
You will jnot find an off the shelf system.
by mccallaway - 8/29/09 1:21 PM In reply to: Can you recommend a good PC for graphic design? by dzetikOver the counter systems always have at least one weak spot.
To do graphics on a PC effectively you need to max out the hardware, slightly less horse power that a full blown gaming machine.
I do web sites and graphic art for a living as well a software development.
My primary work machine is a mid to high level PC
OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 16 Model 2 Stepping 3 Authentic AMD ~2706 Mhz. Dual core X2 it is a Phantom processor with 2 cores turned off
I am running a 32 bit processor on a 64 bit board, I can upgrade to 64 but see no need.
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 0802, 1/8/2009
ASUS mother board
Total Physical Memory 4,096.00 MB windows 32 bit system can only access 3 gig and change.
I have 3 internal disk drives 2 ea 500 gig data and a 1 Tera byte sata.
I forget what the video card is Navida with 256 meg of memory.
Whole box cost me under $500.00 I waited until components were on sale.
The only time I crash the system down was when I set the cache for my video processing application to high and ran out of memory.
I hope this does no confuse you. What I am saying is you may need to spec the machine to do what you want to do. you can do this with some companies like Dell but it is expensive.
Best computers for graphic design
by mrkbrny - 8/30/09 2:26 PM In reply to: Can you recommend a good PC for graphic design? by dzetikI do a lot of graphic designs along with form building. Everyone in my home have laptops. We have HP's, toshiba, Dell, Compaq & Gateway. Of all, I find the HP's are better at everything. From now on, I won't buy anything but HP.
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