System Requirements

[coolokoy_me]

Good day,

I work as a Graphic Designer in a new company based in UAE..My manager ask me what i need for a system that will last for more than a year before we upgrade to a new system.. but honestly speaking i do not know what im going to request for such a system because i am just starting to be a graphic designer and i dont know what specific system requirements i needed.

can anyone suggest or give comments about this thread..

thanks and regards

[urstwile]

It would help if you gave more specifics about what you're currently working with. :)

[coolokoy_me]

most probably will work with photoshop and illustrations and also for web designing.. i just want to know what best system that can use a year or more than a year before an upgrade..

[PrintDriver]

It depends on what design software you already have.
Is your current software for Mac or PC?

[rickself]

The thing about computers today, as soon as you buy one, it's already out-dated! It depends on your preferences and requirements.

[MyST]

Is there a budget to respect?

Minimum 1gig RAM, ideally 2gig.
No "onboard" video card. I don't think the video card is so important in PS/Illy, but onboard vid cards are resource hogs. If you think you'll be doing some 3D in the future, you might want to invest in a Pro card, not a gamer card. I'd suggest a card that supports dual monitor set-up. I recommend dual monitor. Once you get used to it, you won't want to go back to single monitor.
Dual-core processor. AMD is excellent, but Intel remains the standard in work environments.

[morea]

It depends on what design software you already have.
Is your current software for Mac or PC?

^ oh my, yes. Whatcha looking for?

[coolokoy_me]

It depends on what design software you already have.
Is your current software for Mac or PC?

the company have a registered copy of Windows XP.. so we prefferred PC..

[rickself]

By chance, are there any other design agencies in that region that you could consult and they would not feel threat of competition? Or schools? You are basically starting from the ground up.

[coolokoy_me]

Is there a budget to respect?

Minimum 1gig RAM, ideally 2gig.
No "onboard" video card. I don't think the video card is so important in PS/Illy, but onboard vid cards are resource hogs. If you think you'll be doing some 3D in the future, you might want to invest in a Pro card, not a gamer card. I'd suggest a card that supports dual monitor set-up. I recommend dual monitor. Once you get used to it, you won't want to go back to single monitor.
Dual-core processor. AMD is excellent, but Intel remains the standard in work environments.

for now no budget issues.. but the company says that we need what system is really needed for work not for pleasure to have a new model of intel processors and others.. so we just need system thats between minimum and maximum requirements for a graphic designer.. ill include 3D.. that i think i might use in the future..

[urstwile]

A little more clarification would still be helpful.

Is there no computer set up for you already? Or are they looking to upgrade an existing computer or buy you a new one?

[coolokoy_me]

By chance, are there any other design agencies in that region that you could consult and they would not feel threat of competition? Or schools? You are basically starting from the ground up.

i think we cannot do that, because the company is not as big as others.. we are just starting...this plays people with the same ages around 27-29.. we just build the company last month..i handle the marketing dept.. i have a celeron laptop but its not preffered for designing so we are going to buy a desktop PC that have the requirements between the minimum and maximum as mentioned before..

[urstwile]

Well, for design stuff, I'd usually recommend a Mac (not to start a Mac vs. PC war here). You can get a really decent Mac for $2K, including 24" monitor.

Get as much RAM as you can afford. Utilize the slots to their maximum if you can. That'll hold you for a while.

In terms of software, the Adobe CS2 Suite is considered standard. They're planning to upgrade to being Universal in I believe spring of 2007, but you could probably hold off upgrading until months after that.

[PrintDriver]

If you can't ask your competition, ask your print vendors. I'm not a PC guy but you'll need something with 2 gigs of RAM to run the latest design software. And a dual core processor for speed. As for video cards and other system specs, can't help you.
Do a search on the entire forum. There was a recent thread about PC systems around here somewhere.

[coolokoy_me]

A little more clarification would still be helpful.

Is there no computer set up for you already? Or are they looking to upgrade an existing computer or buy you a new one?

yes there is but its a Fujitso Siemens Laptop with minimal system setup and its not for graphic designing..

A system that can handle big graphic files with sizes around 5mx5m and higher like big billboards and big posters..

[hewligan]

Well, I'd also recommend a Mac if it were an option, but I am using a PC here at work. Since I'm using the Adobe Creative Suite and Dreamweaver, I'd imagine it's much the same sort of thing as you're planning to do.

The computer has an Athlon 3500+ processor, a gig of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce FX5200 graphics card.

More generally, as a recommendation, I'd say that probably any modern processor is good enough, but you should probably avoid the budget lines like the Celerons. As much RAM as you can afford is good. It's better to avoid onboard graphics if possible, but at the same time, you don't need anything flashy. They pretty much all support dual-head now, and I find that's well worth the cost of an extra monitor.

If you're likely to be doing 3D or video work, you might want a better graphics card, and, well, even more RAM.

[coolokoy_me]

Thanks a lot guys for the help and ideas you have given me.. now im going to sort this thing and work on it..

Regards to all...

[coolokoy_me]

i have 1 more question!!!

How about the Monitor??? What are you suggestions about this one.. is it typical to buy a 17" Flat monitor??

Whats the best monitor guys??

Thanks..

[panzer]

as above 3ghz pc 2gig memory (must) video card medium range would do
ECS P4M890-MT or core duo processor MSI,s P965 platinum look realy nice (i would deffo go with this one)
onboard graphics you can always disable ???
yes a medium build will do you great but as myst said get a graphics card, a pentium would do for the pc MSI,s P965 platinum is good very good
btw you can run OSX on these now

[panzer]

CRT is better for me but i am a games freak
flat are very good for work space but if your working in 3D i think your gonna need a crt as myst said get 2 :) two 19 inch (or as big as ya can afford) its great having your work on those big ones but you pay for it)

[mojoprime]

i always try to say that the same machine that gamers like makes a fine (albeit overpowered) design workstation. you want a dual core intel processor. you can get that on a dell, if you *have* to run windows. go to the dell store, and start configuring a machine in the small business store. i'd start with a dimension 9200 or so -- it's in the middle. pick "customize it" and pick the processor in the middle.

next, don't pick the upgrade to vista yet. it's supposedly buggy as hell so let everyone else work the kinks out before you upgrade. next, ram -- 4gb is included in the price. *nice* click next. bump the harddrive up to something like 500gb. if you're doing 3d, you'll want another drive eventually too. next, might as well add dual dvd burners; only $100 and you can burn 2 discs at once if you need to. next, select "at least* the 20" monitor; again, if you're even thinking about doing more than layout on it, you'll be happier on down the road. as a matter of fact, if you can afford it, get another monitor too. next, get the nividia 790 or higher; 3d rendering will eat the lower-powered cards alive.

the rest is just gravy. it'll end being around 2000-2500 bucks for a good station that will grow with you. remembered, buy as much machine as you can afford, not "in the middle". as for a budget and go from there. if not given a budget, shoot for the moon and then back off on some things.

by the by, i don't endorse dell at all; it's just what a lot of people have to use. you can find a similar machine from gateway, etc. i prefer macs as well, but if you have no choice...

good luck, by the way.

[coolokoy_me]

thanks anyways... good luck for me...