I am hoping you left out adobe illstrator from your list because you need to have illustrator too...its good to know quark but its on its way out and Indesign is becoming industry standard

I bought a Mac G4 eMac (due to limited funds...I am still a student atleast til June 23rd) I have 512 RAM and 700 Mhz and I also have an ipod to bring projects to class.....I think my computer (10 months ago) was 1500 bucks...it has worked just fine for me...I which I had a 22inch monitor etc but this computer gets the job done..

you want atleast 512 RAM on your computer and the bigger the monitor the better....

there was someone that just posted from your school looking for free work....

I think the majority of people use Macs for GD....however if you plan on doing web development (backend stuff) you would need a PC...

JUST LAUNCHED - www.hirethisdesigner.com - check it out

Get what you can afford.

The dual processor macs scream, even the G4's you can still get at a reasonable price (about $1795 MacMall). And you need at the very least 512mb of ram. Ram is cheap. Adding sticks is easy.

People on here use Mac or PC and seem to get the job done. Macs are more forgiving when working with PC files. Adobe is more forgiving to Macs as far as softkeys and registering product goes (PC requires you register to use CS and has a limited number of reloads.)

Quark sux on both And Quark 6 sux more than any of the other versions IMHO.

Adobe Creative Suite has all you'll need for design. You probably don't need the premium set. If you are going to do web stuff Go Live is a waste (Dreamweaver's much better) and you can pick up Acrobat when/if you need it for short money.

Since you are a student have you checked out the student discounts at places like www.academicsuperstore.com? Apple occasionally has student deals too. If your college offers graphic design as a major, don't they offer you discounts on equipment?

Do a forum search. This topic has been brought up many times with no clear winner. You will find on most other forums that if you don't use a Mac you are considered sub-par and treated with disdain. It ain't the tools, its how you use em.
This place is great.

Thanks for the relies. Ive tried the search function. I put in terms (with commas) such as pc, mac, computer, and apple, but i either get no results, or i get the same results over and over for different terms.

Ive been using PCs my whole life, and im sure it would make my life easier in areas other than GD. Im just hoping i wont be in a big disadvantage if i use a pc.

journeyed.com is a good place to for us students....

I think pretty much everyone grew up on a pc well atleast I did...making the switch is not that hard.

knowing both PC and MACs is the best way to be....

to me there is not much difference...I use a PC mouse on a MAC computer

however I think industry standard is MAC when it comes to GD

JUST LAUNCHED - www.hirethisdesigner.com - check it out

Well since you havent used a Mac, I would advise you get one. You want to be employable and most of the design world does use Macs. In my 15 years of experience--even in the PC-loaded corporate world--only one job has required I use a PC for design. If you are fluent in Mac, you will be more employable. Knowing both *is* good, but knowing a Mac is essential. I have hired production artists and junior designers, and I am afraid if you didn't know Macs, you wouldn't get a second look. Just being honest here [img]/emoticons/smile.gif[/img]

BTW, I do web design on a Mac--I dont ever use a PC except to test the sites. I do farm out the SQL programming-type stuff, but that is not because of the platform I use--its because I don't want to be a programmer [img]/emoticons/smile.gif[/img]

Be sure and learn inDesign--our company dumped Quark a year ago. Others have too--you need to know both right now if you are doing print work.

Good luck with your schooling!