Graphic Design Workstation ~$650

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Anywhere from a week to a month

BUDGET RANGE: ~$650 This doesn't have to include a monitor, but maybe saving a few bucks for it out of this sum would be nice

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Graphic Design work, World of Warcraft

PARTS NOT REQUIRED:

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com

PARTS PREFERENCES: Good color corrected, good contrast monitor. It doesn't have to be huge, just good quality.

OVERCLOCKING: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1440x900 at the very least, higher would be better. Depends on the monitor.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I myself am an animator and have custom built my own workstations before in the past. However, I'm building this for my Graphic Designer girlfriend and I'm not sure what exactly should be going into a 2D workstation that plays WOW well on the side.

Well I'm not going to say I am an expert on knowing what would work best for a graphics designer, however I just wanted to point out that the motherboard and cpu you have in your cart have a combo right now, not sure if you knew that but judging by the screenshot you had you didn't...so that will save you quite a bit $210 vs $264, that extra $44 should give ya a bit more room for a monitor.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.205337

As far as monitors are concerned, I can only imagine that the higher the resolution the more room to work with as far as graphics are concerned, perhaps this one would suit you?

SAMSUNG 2343BWX High Glossy Black 23" 5ms 16:9 Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 20000:1 (DC) w/ HDCP Support - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824001317

I have never had a problem with samsung monitors and this one seems pretty decent to me, just something to consider, hope this helps!

Ah, thanks for the RAM tip. Didn't know that.

As far as the monitor goes, I'm thinking about changing over to the Dell Ultrasharp 2209WA, as it uses e-IPS: http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna [...] TopSellers

There's other stuff to graphic design monitors than just resolution and contrast apparently. I've been doing some research.

Good eye with the combo! Thanks =]