Best Config For A Graphic Artist - (my brother)

[TechJumper]

Alright, everyone, I need your minds quick. My mom has agreed to get my brother a computer for x-mas, and I told her to let me handle it. My brother is very interested in graphics design, so keep that in mind.

I need a configuration that will be excellent for DVD movies, internet, GAMES, and adobe photoshop. I need memory, graphics card, NIC, 800 + Mhz processor, great sound, .....tv card, best MOBO.


Please post your configs, I really appreciate any suggestions on this. I really need to know the best MOBO, I pretty much have an idea on everything else.


Mike


my budget is 2000 tops- http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/frown.gif but It will be more than enough.


http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif

[OuTpaTienT]

$2000!!! Geez, you could build two machines for that. A buddy of mine just put together this system for $933

900MHZ AMD T.B. Athlon
256MB Micron PC133 CAS-2 SDRAM
ABIT KT7-RAID Motherboard
40GB Maxtor ATA-100 7200RPM HD
64MB Voodoo5 5500 SLI AGP
SoundBlaster 128bit Value
Heatsink

And if you're going with AMD, I'd recommend an ABIT motherboard.

[Rat]

You got me drooling Out!! LOL http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

Rat...

[TechJumper]

Thanks Out- but my parentswill not let meput together the machine. Does your config hold up well for the cache memory usage a graphics designer would be pulling?

How about games??

Thanks,

Mike

[CujoRbd]

You can't put it together yourself?!?

That sucks. So, you're basically looking for a brand name and model? Or.... ?


I know what monitor you should get already, and have definite ideas for everything else. So, let us know what's up.

Cujo


[EDIT- You know... If you can't put it together yourself, I could put it together for you and then just FedEx (or whatever) it to you when I get it up. Let me know what you think.]

[This message has been edited by CujoRbd (edited 12-02-2000).]

[NDC]

If your parents won't allow you to build the system, will they let the computer store technician build it?

Definetly go for a dual CPU system. You will notice a BIG difference between the two in multi-tasking in Windows and all Adobe programs and other graphic application since most of them support SMP (Symmetric Multi Processing).... Not sitting around and waiting for the first process to finish to begin the next which is very important for a graphic workstation.... Pro user or not! Some Photoshop rendering can take as long as 3~5 minutes or even longer and you would just have to sit there and wait until that's completed until you can execute the next task. As for me, I just go do other things on a different program or browse the net while the rendering is getting finished. Somethinng that is impossible on a single CPU system 1Gz or not! For single processor systems, most of the CPU power is centered on the first thread, and until the first thread is finished, other threads in line just have to wait until the first one is finished. Ss for dual processors, that isn't the case.

Too expensive you say?

Buying (2) P3 450Mhz chip (which are dirt cheap these days) Vs. Buying (1) 1Ghz... Buying a dual P3 450Mhz would be a much wiser choice than to buy a single 1Ghz system. The reason that when you have two processors, the CPU won't have to wait for the first process to be finished before the second process begins. But keep in mind that not all OS's and programs support SMP, yet. As for most graphic applications, they support SMP. You will have to run either NT or WIn2K to utilize SMP, Win98 and ME won't support 2 processors, (1) processor will just sit there like a dummy.

The bottom line is, you will grow out of a Dual CPU system slower that you would on a single processor system. The responsiveness is incomparable to a single processor system.


Here is my brief system specs:

Dual P3 733Mhz
Tyan S1832-DL
RAM 1GB
Geforce DDR+
Adaptec 29160N SCSI Adapter
Seagte SCSI 10,000RPM Ultra 160 18.4GB

What I recommend:

Dual Pentium 3 450Mhz (or higher)
Tyan S1832-DL
RAM (At least 256MB)
Geforce MX
IDE 7,200RPM (at least 20GB)


Read here to know advantages of having Dual Processor system:
http://2cpu.com/smp-faq.htm

[This message has been edited by NDC (edited 12-02-2000).]

[TechJumper]

Thanks for the thoughts you guys, I have recorded them. My parents have decided to postpone his comp untill July, his birthday. Maybe in the interum I can persuade them to trust me with building it http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif


Thanks,

Mike

[bdunn]

Better off. By then the dual socket A boards will be available. Yes the AMD chips support SMP but the boards aren't there yet. A dual Tbird system would be nice.

[thxmanu]

That would be the thoroughly kick *** system!!! It would almost be hard to spend all that money (except for a 24" plasma display!).

[GroundZero3]

hey tech if your parents do let you build the comp goto www.pricewatch.com (http://www.pricewatch.com) they always have some good deals and you can build cheaper. The one thing i recommend is to buy the monitor and case in a store near you. for better support. Good luck.

JaYsin

[CujoRbd]

That's very wise, GroundZero! This certainly cuts down on the shipping bill as well. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif

And if you atleast get to choose the monitor, get a Viewsonic E773 (http://www.viewsonic.com/products/productdetail.cfm?productid=00090FF8-5516-18FF-B58780C4C7BE009A) . You can get it locally at just about anywhere. To check for resellers of it in your area, go here (http://www.viewsonic.com/buynow/howtobuy.cfm) .

I hope this helps!


Cujo

[yankinoz]

However much ram ya think ya need - double it when you order it. for graphics work nothing is better than memory. when you go to the store just keep thinking Ram Ram Ram Ram...

[NDC]

I know I'm going to get whacked for this (it goes against my grain also) but Mac's are still the best for graphics


WHACK! NOT! I agree with you 101%. People just don't know how fast MAC is when it comes to graphics....Uh... At least double... Why? They've never really had the time to sit down and use one... http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/biggrin.gif But of course I wouldn't recommend it to general users, it's primarily a graphic workstation. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[NDC]

when you go to the store just keep thinking Ram Ram Ram Ram...


I agree . But also say BAM BAM BAM BAM to your wallet! LOL http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/biggrin.gif

[yankinoz]

He's got two grand to spend. One for the puter and one for RAM!

Also I'm with you on Macs and Graphic Arts - they really a better choice.

[TechJumper]

I realize Macs might be better for this (...) but I want to network the comps for DSL, and share games and software---no can do with a mac.


http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/frown.gif

Mike

[yankinoz]

Well there ya go. Then maybe PC is better for you. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

What's Photoshop go for these days - about 500? He'll want Illustrator - that's about 250. That 2000 gets spent real fast...

[thxmanu]

I know I'm going to get whacked for this (it goes against my grain also) but Mac's are still the best for graphics. They won't help for games though!!! My apologies to all my PC brethren!!

[Warthog]

ughhhhhhhhhhhh........we've had that discussion before.

Ok....so you spend $3500 at least on your "better" G4 mac.

Holy ****! You know what kind of pc system you could build with $3500??? If Out's friend can do that for under $1000...imagine the possibilities.

Actually, would someone like to put some specs together for a $3500 pc?

Warthog