What Makes For a Good Graphics Design Computer?

People who use their computers for graphic designthan the older 7,200 RPM ones. The speed with
work need computers with specs different fromwhich you can open files will be a blessing. If you can
those that will be enough for general users. Becauseafford it, go in for the new SSDs - very reliable and
the hardware configuration plays such a huge role infast. You will need a second storage device and a 1
the quality of the final output, most graphic designersTB external drive is the best.
take a lot of trouble in choosing their computers. ForTwo critical components are the display and the
a long time, Apple was the first and practically thegraphics card. While the size of the display depends
only choice and Macs set the standard for graphicon personal preference, most designers use at least
design abilities that others tried, but never coulda 17 inch one. Of course, it must be a high definition
match. Today companies like HP and Dell haveLED display so you get the best images of your
introduced PCs and laptops that are able to competedesigns. As for the graphics card, nVidia have for long
with Apple. But the best way to define what makesbeen the best in the business and their 2 series cards
a good graphics design computer is not to look atare the best you can get. However, the new ATI
competing brands and models, but to define thecards are also very good and if you buy a computer
specs that make a computer the right one for awith ATI installed, make sure it is a new 5 series
graphics designer.card.
It's Not Going To Be CheapTwo Options
A graphics design computer is going to be a high endA computer with anywhere near these specs will set
one, with a lot of expensive options. While there areyou back around $2,000. Spend time checking out
the lucky few for whom money is no object, forthe various options available to get one that is
most of us compromises will have to be made.nearest your requirements. Dell has recently
These compromises need not affect theintroduced the Studio XPS 9000 which is one of the
performance of the computer if they are thoughtbest graphic design computers available today:
out judiciously. For example, a person who does- VIDEO CARD: nVidia GeForce GTS 240 1024MB
designing as a hobby will not need huge storage and- DISPLAY: 22" Samsung HD LED
can make do with a smaller HDD. Those who do not- HARD DRIVES: 2 x 1TB 7200 RPM SATA
do large volumes of work could consider a less- OPTICAL DRIVE: 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
expensive processor since speed is not a critical area- PROCESSOR: Intel i7-920 processor (8MB L3 Cache,
for them. There is only one thing that must never be2.66GHz)
compromised on and that is the graphics card -- OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows® 7 Home
always get the best you can.Premium, 64bit
The Basic Graphic Design Computer Specs- MEMORY: 9GB DDR3
Let's start with the Operating System - you mustThis costs around $1,800 - about the same as a
have Windows 7 64 bit version (unless you are goinggood Mac. So the choice of a Windows or Apple
in for Apple). Next comes the optical drive - any highcomputer is up to you.
speed DVD RW will do. Blu Ray is a needlessThe other options is one that could save you money.
expense. As for RAM, you should look for at least 6That is to build your own computer to exactly your
GB of DDR3. You could go in for less, but asspecs. You will be able to get a higher spec computer
mentioned earlier, it will slow you down. Do not makefor less than the cost of a branded one. But unless
the mistake of looking at the HDD only in terms ofyou are sure of what you are doing, don't try it.
capacity. While 500 GB is the minimum, you shouldThere is no warranty or service support to help you
think of one of the new 10,000 RPM drives ratherwhen things go wrong.