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Budget Graphic Design Computer

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Last response: in Systems
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Rad techie friends, hello. I'm a graphic designer (print and web) considering going down the freelance path. My HP tablet (d'oh!) is not up to following me down that path, however, so I'm looking into investing in a reliable desktop. As my own tech-savviness is inconsistent, my build will mainly be put together by my cousins who are computer-building hobbiests. I'm just not sure I trust them completely, so I'd love some external advice.

Purchase Date: Feb-Mar

Budget: 500-800 (lower the better!); rebates if I have to, but I'd rather not

System Usage:
- Ideally I could run 3 Adobe CS4 apps (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, DW & Flash--no video editing), as well as Firefox/etc, without seeing a slowdown.
- I have an HDTV (1080i), but no cable or antenna (I live next to a hill), so I need a setup that's also friendly to HD streaming for Hulu/Netflix as well as playing movies from a Blu-Ray drive (depending on price, the actual drive may be a future add-on).
- Not much of a gamer unless I get really bored, then I'll rock some Sims 3. Other than that it's just web stuff and so forth.

Monitor Resolution: 22" 1680x1050 monitor + HDTV via HDMI

I don't need specific component suggestions just yet, unless you have something great in mind, just your opinions about where I should be putting my money. Specifically, I'm on the fence about the processor, graphics card and whether I need more than 4GB of memory. I don't want to invest money into improvements I won't even notice.

Your help is appreciated!

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Homebuilt system Expert

Quote:

My HP tablet (d'oh!) is not up to following me down that path,


That's a sign that your software is too power hungry. You're running some latest software on the oldest hardware. CS4? In this case, you could just run software that's at least 1-gen older & not upgrade hardware. Like CS3. I've met people who still run XP.

Here you are:

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quantity of item 1


Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply

Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16811129024
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy

-$50.00 Instant


$149.99
$99.99

select item 2 quantity of item 2


SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822152181
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$5.00 Instant


$54.99
$49.99

select item 3 quantity of item 3


GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128392
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$10.00 Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card13-128-392

$84.99
$74.99

select item 4 quantity of item 4


SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814102855
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy

Protect Your Investment (expand for options14-102-855|hide options14-102-855)

Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty Plan

The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge(more info14-102-855.0.18)

* 1 year: $9.99
* 2 year: $16.99

-$5.00 Instant


$74.99
$69.99

select item 5 quantity of item 5


OCZ Gold Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G10664GK

OCZ Gold Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G10664GK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820227346
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy

-$15.00 Instant


$99.00
$84.00

select item 6 quantity of item 6


AMD Athlon II X3 435 Rana 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor Model ADX435WFGIBOX

AMD Athlon II X3 435 Rana 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor Model ADX435WFGIBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103724
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy



$74.99

select item 7 quantity of item 7


LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader & 16X LightScribe DVD±R DVD Burner

LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader & 16X LightScribe DVD±R DVD Burner - Retail
Item #: N82E16827136162
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

Protect Your Investment (expand for options27-136-162|hide options27-136-162)

Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty Plan

The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge(more info27-136-162.0.18)

* 1 year: $9.99
* 2 year: $16.99



$99.99

Subtotal: $553.94
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newegg.com

Sims 3 is a very flexible game that can run on almost anything. The HD 4670 is more than enough for the game and it has HDMI. Also, will come in handy when you're doing stills in Photoshop & Illustrator.

If you don't have an OS, get W7 64bit which can support more than 4 gigs of memory.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

If you want bigger storage, this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

You can get a quad core cpu, but your usage won't make good use of it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E...
 
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