Computer system for graphic design

[Zayne]

I'm looking around for a new computer system and really clueless about what to get exactly so I thought maybe you could help?

I currently have a Dell 8250 and got screwed on the RAM. It apparently uses RAM that was discontinued and only used that one year, so if I even find it now it's always super expensive...Grrrrr!

I'm heavily into the graphic design applications, video apps too but not often and occasionally I like to play games. I like to run multiple programs but not often and I hated when my computer would get sluggish because I love speed!

I heard that you can build a computer cheaper but I don't know how to do that and I kind of like the warranty thing. Would it be good to buy a simple system and upgrade everything or is that dumb?

Are there any websites that I can learn exactly what I might need or exactly what kind of system will be good. I'd prefer my system to last for a few years and be upgradable also, in case I do want to make it faster or improve it in the future instead of buying a new system.
Any ideas or suggestions?

By the way, I've had a lot of trouble with Dell I'm not sure I should even buy from them again. Their support was awful and they must have replaced like 10 parts in my computer. It drove me nuts! Then the RAM thing really made me angry. I'd prefer not to get a machine like that again.

[Agon]

hi Zayne
Yours is a common problem a lot of people face.
I would have to start by first asking what is your budget ??
From there it is much easier to guide you here to there to look for a computer.
Aslo, knowing in which country you are will help, there are a lot of great "build to order" shops that are geographically specific, like you have Evesham and Rock in the UK.
I will check back here and will gladly provide my help :-)

[charonax]

Zayne, some answers you have already from Agon. Let me add to them.

Forget about building your own, although I don't think you're seriously considering that. Companies can build cheaper (economies of scale) and you can only match that if you have access to trade price parts. You need to know what you're doing too - choosing parts that work together is not that easy.

Future-proofing. It's a myth. You're in the hands of competitive forces manufacturing new processors and changing components at regular intervals. Five years from now (future enough?) none of it will be usable. You usually have to upgrade core components together, eg. motherboard + processor, and so on.

Ok. Enough negative thoughts. I'll assume you're UK since Agon mentioned it. Arm yourself with copies of Personal Computer World, PC Pro, and a couple of other similar ones. Check out the various product reviews, make a collection of ones that sound likely. Also check the 'A List' or equivalent that the mags have. What you're looking for is independent suppliers with a good rep.

If you want go down to PC World or Currys - the high street shops and check out likely stuff, mostly Compaq/HP steer clear of Packard Bell and Ascent. But never ever buy from them (if you think Dell was bad for service).

The other thing you could do is visit Dell's site and use its configuration tool to get some idea of price.

What to look for. I'm out of touch with the latest bits but going for graphic intensive apps means you will need power - both memory and processing. Disk space isn't an issue it's cheap now. Screen might be, and also the video adaptor. Some choices you make will be price led but you need to make a list. That's what the mags are for - to start you off.

I'm trying to think of web sites that might help. Trouble is a lot of the hardware review ones assume a good set of knowledge already, and I don't know of the less techy ones. You could look at the home sites for PCW and PC Pro mags, I guess. I'll go away and think some more.

BTW having a budget is useful but only to a point. You need to know what you want and what priority. For instance you might need to include a Wacom tablet, a second monitor, an A3 photo printer. ??

I guess you save money on software at least, this place being doing what it does.

I'll let someone else add stuff, and wait for a response from you too.

I'm definitely not a hardware expert, but as I got much help from the forum to build my new workstation some months ago, I try to give some of this knowledge back.

RAM and CPU are the most important elements, together with a motherboard that fits the two. As CPU, I wouldn't go under a Core2Duo. When you have that one, which is not very expensive, you have a very fast processor that will satisfy. And when you have at least 1GB RAM, most applications (and games) will run smooth.

[Zayne]

Sorry for taking so long to respond, things have been really crazy on my end but I really appreciate the responses!

I probably should have mentioned that I'm in the US.
As for my budget, I didn't really think about it. I just figured I would find when I really needed, or what I really wanted and then decide if it was worth the price. (Most likely between 3000 - 4000 us$ though)
I actually planned to finance my new computer and make payments because I'm supposed to get some money by next year but I wanted the computer now because mine is literally falling apart and not running applications like I need. I can't even get windows XP SP2 update to install!

I actually just bought a new monitor, a Dell 24 inch widescreen and my boyfriend bought me a 19 inch Acer widescreen, so I'm probably just going to use these two as my monitors because they are really pretty good. I bought a Dell because I read that this and the Mac display were the two best available at the time, aside from CRT screens of course. Aside from the brightness, the Dell monitor is pretty good.

I currently have 1 GB RAM in my computer and it doesn't really seem like enough sometimes so I do want to get more than this when I get a new computer. Is it cheaper to buy extra RAM after getting the computer on buying it with the setup?

The problem I have when I go to order new computers, is that there are so many choices and I never know which to choose. For instance, I never know the difference in motherboards and processors. I try to read reviews but there are always good reviews about every kind and that just confuses me even more! Same with video cards. I just want it to run Photoshop, Illustrator, and other types of graphic apps smoothly.

If I could find a reliable source of reviews and such, that would help a lot!

I remember when I was looking for an external hard drive, I read reviews everywhere that Maxtor was one of the best and very popular and supposedly reliable review sites praised the drive but after I got it and ended up losing all my files, I searched the Internet for help and found all these people that had the exact same thing happen and everyone mentioning how horrible the drives were. Of course I didn't find this out until I was physically searching the Internet for a "problem". So it made me a little scared to trust any review sites. That is why I'm asking you guys.

Anyway, thanks a bunch!

yeah, good observation on Maxtor drives. Good marketing and availability does not necessarily mean good quality.

I would also go for more RAM, 1GB is not very much nowadays. For graphics adaptor, both ATI and Nvidia cards are good, personally I prefer Nvidia. I think with a more or less recent geforce card you will be happy.

As for motherboard and CPU: where are the experts here? I must say that this is something I do not know a bit. I only know that the latest dual quad-core costs about $1300, but that's a monster, rendering about 10 times faster than my core2duo.

[snapdragon]

If you can finance look at the HPs. The XW series is designed for graphics and video editing. I use an xw8000 and an xw8200 at work and never had a problem. They have fast reliable motherboards and come with a great choice of processors. Financing is good too. Look for deals. They run monthly specials. When we bought our 8200 we got the second processor free. It saved us $700. If you don't want to build your own it is a good option.

Good luck.

[armada4x4]

I would start out with a barebone custom system from Ebay. Some with quad core for under 700 bucks. You need to play around with the options.

[henry005]

Here's how I do it:
I buy a new machine every 3 years or so. Since I do 3d animation and video effects work, I go to the pro 3d workstation vendor's website--like Boxx or Alienware, etc and spec out a really killer system. Then I buy all the parts myself from Newegg and get one of my tech friends to build it for me for about half the retail price.
That way, you know it's a good configuration and all the components work well together.
I just put one together -basically a Boxx 8300 quad processor for a little over 3000 bucks.
Actually, I noticed Newegg has some good deals on already built systems. You might check them out, too.

[Metropolis]

I've built all my computers, buying them by parts, but I've decided (after this last one), that my next computer will be a Dell or a Mac (actually, I prefer the Mac because it's more suitable to graphics and video work, specially with CS3 supporting OSX).

Nothing beats the support you have, and the stability of a custom-built-on-your-needs system directly from the factory. It just runs smoother and saves you the hassle of having to put it together, risking damage to your hardware and compatibilty issues...