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Computers


KraVeN

KraVeN

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looking for a career in graphic designing, one needs a computer to work! lol
well what i want to ask is what are the best specs for a photoshopper? and what would be better, a desktop or laptop?
I hope this is the appropriate place to start this thread sorry if not
 
Depends, are you going to be a freelancer who travels from one business to the other? If so, it would be handy to use a laptop as you can display your client work in a more personable meeting. Not to mention, it's therapeutic to work outside or at Starbucks instead being stuck at home! The graphic & marketing division of our "campus" uses and prefers laptops.

Desktops are generally more powerful but you lose mobility. There are 4 people who work at our company, 2 of us use Macbook Pros, 1 Lenovo Thinkpad and the other uses HP (Saving for a Mac).

Whatever you decide, make sure it has the newest i5-i7 processors, 4gbs of RAM, 200gb+ of HD space, a decent nVidia or ATi graphics card (my Mac has 2 cards which help out a lot in speeding up photoshop). I'd say depending on your budget, go Mac. You can get something similar in specs for probably less but you don't get OS X and seamless ergonomics. The head graphic designer/co-owner likes his 13" Think Pad which ran around $1,500. It's a tough little sucker with some power. He also works on a dual screen XPS desktop system and hates it. He wanted a Macbook Pro but found the Lenovo for a decent price.

Also, I'd invest in higher end external HDs to backup everything!
 
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I have a laptop and I really enjoy the mobility. I don't often get a chance to work outside of the home, as I am still a high-school student - but I really enjoy being able to move away from my desk! I'm working on a Dell M1710 right now, but am hoping to end up with a Mac sometime. I have been told (and have done some research) that they are better for designing, so that's what I would like to end up with.
 
PatrickE said:
Depends, are you going to be a freelancer who travels from one business to the other? If so, it would be handy to use a laptop as you can display your client work in a more personable meeting. Not to mention, it's therapeutic to work outside or at Starbucks instead being stuck at home! The graphic & marketing division of our "campus" uses and prefers laptops.

Desktops are generally more powerful but you lose mobility. There are 4 people who work at our company, 2 of us use Macbook Pros, 1 Lenovo Thinkpad and the other uses HP (Saving for a Mac).

Whatever you decide, make sure it has the newest i5-i7 processors, 4gbs of RAM, 200gb+ of HD space, a decent nVidia or ATi graphics card (my Mac has 2 cards which help out a lot in speeding up photoshop). I'd say depending on your budget, go Mac. You can get something similar in specs for probably less but you don't get OS X and seamless ergonomics. The head graphic designer/co-owner likes his 13" Think Pad which ran around $1,500. It's a tough little sucker with some power. He also works on a dual screen XPS desktop system and hates it. He wanted a Macbook Pro but found the Lenovo for a decent price.

Also, I'd invest in higher end external HDs to backup everything!
Click to expand...

Why does it have to be an i5 or i7?? Also Any windows machine with the same specs can run Ps just as good...
 
It all comes down to your budget. Get the best computer you can buy within your budget.

A desktop is always going to be less expensive and more powerful than a laptop, plus it will have a lot more upgrade options. I would only get a laptop if you NEED it to be mobile.

As for Photoshop specific requirements I would say get as much memory (RAM) as possible and if your budget allows go for an SSD hard drive as your main OS drive, with a larger standard hard drive as your storage drive. This will really save you time and boost performance for Photoshop.
 
What I meant is, if you're going to spend money on something work related. Might as well invest in the new/higher end stuff. I won't argue that a similar spec'd Windows computer will run PS just as good but it all depends on the OP's decision whether to go windows or os x. I worked with a Vaio previous to my Mac and I hated it. Vista was the reason.

I won't start a brand war so I'll just sit back and sip my tea while enjoying my virus resistant, no need for defragging, 30 sec start up Macbook Pro...hehehehehe!
 
Hate to break it to you but Apple's aren't bulletproof and are still susceptible to trojans and given enough time will probably become prone to viruses as well.
 
OS choice is really up to whatever you are comfortable with using... it's not going to make much difference for Photoshop related work. There is a considerable price difference though. You can get a lot more power and speed for your buck with Windows than you can with Mac.
 
Ever since i started graphic designing ive been using this computer. I'm running a Dell Dimension 3000- Intel Celeron (2.40GHz), 1.25GB RAM, 80GB HD, and 256MB ATi Radeon 9200 GFX card. Im also running Photoshop Cs2. It runs good but not great. When i go to get some images online or download plugins/brushes and whatnot, it tends to freeze. That just gets irritating. I am planning on freelancing but i want to get as far as i can. At school i took a graphic designing course and we used Macs, photoshop ran smoothly but it's not really my liking. I'm more of a Windows XP kinda guy.
I'm thinking about getting a laptop but that'll take me some getting used to, i love desktops. I was thinking about getting a touchpad too? is that a good investment? Or how about a tablet like the HP TouchSmart series?
MY budget isn't too tight but i don't want to go to crazy. I'm looking for something to run smooth, durable, and preferably not Apple.
 
Poor guy, he had a VIAO with Vista, no wonder he doesn't care for windows based systems LOL!!! I can actually afford a MAC and still choose to go with Windows (yes i have played on MACS) They are overpriced for what they do which is the same thing as Windows LOL...

I can think of several programs that are not for MAC.. I need those programs... I am not putting MACS down at all but.. They are over simply rated..

Kraven, i know what you mean by Xp guy, i mean what is more stable than Xp right?? Well, Windows 7 is just as stable, i had Windows 7 on disk for almost a year before i would even install it. Finally got around to it and i tried to make it crash, i do a lot of producing with music and i run process heavy programs that run VST's. Windows 7 is what Vista was supposed to be, kind of like the Blackberry Storm & Storm 2, Vista and Storm 1 came out and then within a year a newer version was out that was way better. Windows and Blackberry both prematurely released.. Windows 7 is what Vista was supposed to be..

If i were you i would build a custom PC, you know what your getting and everything is custom... I have never had problems with ASUS boards, i actually love em..
 
Sorry but I have to say somthing about all this,

IMO a Desktop computer is better than a Laptop, the reason why is cos Laptops die way faster than Desktop, they can be upgraded as much as a Desktop, and if you need a better Graphocs crad, in a Laptop you'll find then to cos way more than a Desktop.

People have said that you need to make sure you get a lot of RAM for the memory, this is true, the more ram the better, but then comes the problem, if your running an 32 Bit operating system, cos on a 32 bit OS can only handel $GB of RAM, (well more like 3.6GB of RAM) and will not acept any more so getting over $GB of RAM in a 32 Bit operating system is just a wast of money.

If you get a computer with a 64 Bit operating system, then you can have up to 128GB of RAM, so making sure that you have this in mind whan you get a computer.

But RAM means nothing with out a good proceser, as a Intel Celeron, proceser, is the worst one you can get, so look out for somthing along the lines of a Core 2 Duo, with a Quad core, this means the proceser should last you for some years.

But then there is the mainboard, (mother board) if this is not a good one then there is no point spending all that money on getting the best proceser and RAM, when the mainboard BUS wont handle the flow af data as fast as it's being sent, so again you need to be looking at this as well.

As for HDD (Hard Disk Drives) A SSD (Solid-state drive) is, well just like a USB pen drive, but one that you can't remove, and is inside your computer like the HDD, SSD cost more, as they are some what new to the market, so getting a HDD drive may be more cost efective, I'm in the UK and I can get a 2TB (terabyte which as 1024 GB total for a 2 TB drive is 2048 GB) for £69.99, I did a quick look online and found a SSD will cost £62 for only 80GB so you can see a SSD drive may not be what you are looking for.

The best thing to do is let us know what contry you are in, and the limit you have to spend, also whether you looking for a Laptop or a Desktop.

As for the Mac vs PC, this is just what you feel like you will want, there good and bad point to both of them, so this is up to you, but I will say if you only go for a Mac, cos they are somewhat virus free, then I feel you are making a big mistake, as Mac don't get hit with them that much cos 70% of people run Windows, and theres no point making a virus for a system thats not being used by a lot of people, thus you wont get the max damage you can get if you code it for windows.

Anyway thats my thought on the whold point, feel free to as any more question :)
 
Dezigns Unlimited said:
I have to agree with Kev here, sounds like he builds his own PC's too.
Click to expand...

I do a lot of PC repairs, and I have bulit my own in the past, but the one I have now, is store bought, as I found it to fit my needs, but I am looking to buy/bulid a new one, this is getting out of date, and after buying from a store pre built, just reminded me how limited they make PC, I only had it 2 years, and the mainboard, Proceser, and GFX card need updating, as well as the PSU..... I'll stop now you gget the point ha ha ha.
 
Well, i agree entirely with gaussian on this one, and if your experiencing problems i would blame dell. and i myself run CS2 and im on windows 7 64-bit with 4 GB of RAM and a AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5000+ 2.6 Ghz processor and it runs wonderfully.
 
iCooper said:
Well, i agree entirely with gaussian on this one, and if your experiencing problems i would blame dell. and i myself run CS2 and im on windows 7 64-bit with 4 GB of RAM and a AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5000+ 2.6 Ghz processor and it runs wonderfully.
Click to expand...

You may agree with Gaussian, on some of what he said, but I do not with this part.

As for Photoshop specific requirements I would say get as much memory (RAM) as possible and if your budget allows go for an SSD hard drive as your main OS drive, with a larger standard hard drive as your storage drive. This will really save you time and boost performance for Photoshop
Click to expand...

There is no point getting as much RAM as posiple if your only running a 32 bit OS, after 4GB it wont recognise it, so a 64bit system is needed.

As for SSD, why pay £62 for an 80GB HDD when you can spend £69.99 and get 2TB HDD space with:
Spindle Speed 7200 rpm
64MB Cache,
Drive Transfer Rate 300 MBps (external),
Internal Data Rate 138 MBps.

I get the whole idea of a SSD, but the cost out ways the function, and the best cheaper HHD, with way more space is just a safer oprtion, and a better one.
 
Not only is 64bit required for more ram but it is also required to run several of the new Adobe CS5 products.. Your SOL if your not running 64bit..
 
entirely mayve been slightly too extreme lol i meant i agree on the RAM subject, lol my bad, but Windows 7 on a custom desktop is gonna get you the best bang for your buck. and 64-bit is definately the way to go.
When you're building your own computer I have several tips:
Dont skip out on ram if your on a 32-bit get 4gb if your on a 64-bit get as much as you can, it will help with rendering.
Dont get the best processor on the market its a money drain because the extra few tenths of Ghz arent going to help you too much, instead get the slowest or second slowest of the highest tier of processor. their much cheaper and have the same benefits as the fastest. Get a quality graphics card especially if your wanting to be a graphic designer.
Once you have a computer built start saving money and every 3-5 years upgrade something that is now outdated. 2 years ago I put about $1000 into mine in ugrades cuz the motherboard and processor were outdated but normally would just spend a few hundred on a newer graphics card or a hard drive upgrade. ASUS boards are very reliable and arent too pricey, i personally prefer AMD processors but that is likely just becuz thats what my dad always uses lol. Your going to need to start out at about $1000 to build a computer that i would consider proficient for graphic designing.
 
Most MOB's only allow up to 8 - 12 gigs of ram. The only computer that will hold as much as KRF said (128gig) is a super computer that company's like Paramount pictures would use. It's actually like a server box they all connect to, to do their rendering/designing...
 
lol at the 128 gigs part, I woulld love to have that much ram in my PC, but I would have to have a sever rack, and RAM slate to be able to get it, and I don't need anything close to that amount.

If your mainboard has 4 RAM slots, then you'll get up to 16GB or RAM in there (4x4GB), but then you have to ask your self, why you would need that much :)

So heres a question, what would you say was a good port?

USB 2.0 or firewire 800?

I'd say USB 2. is just as good for data transfer as firewire, but if you go in to video and audio, I would get firewire over UBS 2.0 anyday.

But with the new UBS 3 coming out I would go for this over eSTAT and FireWire, as it's just faster and full duplex the same as firewire, but can get faster is it has a theoretical maximum rate of 5Gbps making it 6 times fastre than firewire.

Just come thought :)

I think I still have a USB 1.1 PCI card some where, I'm off to hunt it down lol
 
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