Types of processors

[michaellean]

for a newly trained graphic professioner what processor type,as well as memory,magnetic disk storage and video display capabilities and application software would you require for his job.?and why?

 

[Outlander_04]

Depends on the programs "he " uses

Intels Core i7 is the champ at rendering and encoding . The i7 920 is reasonably priced , and can be run much faster than stock speeds at the expense of heat and noise
Motherboards are X58 chipset socket 1366.

3 x2 gig of ram is the starting point and will do for all 32 bit applications , however if he is using 64 bit applications with the 64 bit version of windows he was smart enough to buy then consider 12 gig of ram if its in the budget .
Currently there are few 64 bit programs but CS4 is one of them

He should also consider a nice quiet case like an antec p182 or p183

 

[Griffolion]

I'd have thought a Mac if its graphic design...

I hear any designer who doesn't use a Mac gets laughed right out of the whole scene..

Anyway, as outlander said, I7 reigns supreme, 64 bit windows with 64 bit applications are the gold standard to go for. If its more CAD/CAM you're into then Labview and AutoCAD programs are multi-threaded, making good use of the quad core I7.

If you favour speed over storage then go for SSD's, if you need tons of storage then there are plenty of sub £100 (even sub £50) 1TB storage disks on the market today that will do the trick.

6GB of DDR3 RAM is going to suffice but if you are seriously multitasking then go for 12GB.

As for video, Nvidia and ATI both have design specialised cards on the market that are apparently optimised for this sort of stuff (Quadro and Fire respectively). But a GTX 285 will be a good choice since the CUDA technology inside it is second to none. Then again i don't know how the new ATI 5 series cards are performing so maybe consider one of those.

But if you're newly trained in this profession, shouldn't you kinda already know? :S

 

[Outlander_04]

The time when macs were superior has well and truly gone . The people laughing at you because you had a pc would be doing so because they are stupid .

Macs have used identical hardware , and identical programs to PC's for years . The OS is competitive but not superior .
And still the best reason to not buy a mac is they assign the service packs a different name and number and sell it to you as a new OS . Yawn .

32 bit Operating systems can only use about 3.3 gig of ram [ it varies a bit ] . You must use a 64 bit version of windows or your computer cant see more RAM than that . The same is true with 32 bit programs . If the program you are using is not 64 bit then 6 gig in the machine is more than enough [ unless your are the worlds most prolific multitasker ]
Dont buy more unless you KNOW your application is definitely 64 bit

If you are rendering then high end quaddro card is the best choice . If you are editing photos then a basic gfx is fine

 

[Griffolion]

Outlander i'm so glad you said that about Macs. I have a friend who gets everything Apple and is convinced they are better than PC's. I'm actually going to copy and paste your post into an E-Mail to him .

Cant high end Quaddro cards be expensive? I've seen them for over £1000 in some cases.

 

[False_Dmitry_II]

I think you'll find that the majority of people here think apple stuff is all over-hyped apple-taxed pieces of crap.