Computer needed for graphic design ~ Under $700

[proverbialromance]

Hello all!

As stated, I need a computer that can handle graphic design, by which I mean Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, etc etc.
I would like to be able to run at least two of these programs and use the internet/music at the same time.
Other than that, I might watch a movie on it every once in a blue moon. That's about it.

I'd like to keep the budget as close to $700 as possible, but if it goes a little over it's not a huge deal.

I'm not including a monitor, keyboard, etc in that budget, those will be separate.

Approximate Purchase Date: In the next week or so.

Hopefully that's all the info you guys need to give me some advice. If not, let me know!

Thanks!

 

[proverbialromance]

Not that I know of, I'm pretty sure I have a copy somewhere around here!

 

[proverbialromance]

It should be, I think.
Besides the programs I listed I'm not planning on installing many others, and I will store my files on my external hard drive.

 

[BreadWhistle]

^ I don't think it would be wise to have and HD 7750 on a editing/rendering PC

 

[proverbialromance]

Haha
Like I said, as long as it isn't $100+ over we should be good

 

[proverbialromance]

Breadwhistle - why do you say that? I'm somewhat new to this whole build thing, as you can probably tell.

Jr - I'm fairly certain my external is at least 1 TB so what would you recommend?

 

[BreadWhistle]

Breadwhistle - why do you say that? I'm somewhat new to this whole build thing, as you can probably tell.

Jr - I'm fairly certain my external is at least 1 TB so what would you recommend?

Well, the 7750 is definitely not the the most powerful card out there, It should be okay for picture editing, but video editing may be too much on it. So if you just deal with pictures, you will be fine.

BTW, I'm pretty new to this too. If you sit down and watch some videos on Youtube
( http://www.youtube.com/user/motherboardsorg is a GREAT channel) and just pay attention to all the stuff they say, you can learn about a computer really quick.

 

[k1114]

What is sometimes forgotten is that 2d takes very little gpu power and can easily be handled with today's integrated. I used to use the hd 3000 in photoshop and illustrator and it handles it like a champ. I now have a 560ti and there is no difference. These graphic design programs rely mostly on cpu and ram. I believe there is no video editing involved with the op, that would be the only reason to get a better gpu. You could always upgrade a gpu later anyways. I would still recommend a hdd though (with the ssd), it is good to have your work doubled for backups, one on internal and external.

 

[Kamen_BG]

i improved jrgong's build by quite a bit.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.54 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($46.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS224-06 DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $767.45
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

Here's the improved version.

 

[proverbialromance]

Thanks for all the input guys, keep it coming haha.


K1114 - what would you recommend for a build then?

 

[k1114]

All the already suggested builds are relatively the same with just the gpu being the component in question. Having a more powerful gpu would help if you use any of the gpu accelerated features. (Which is mostly just the filters.) It's not really a budget buster so is really your decision. Any of the builds will do the job exceptionally.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jVVY The only thing that is different is the samsung ssd (more reliable than ocz) and the mobo (the one they chose has a weird layout, plus the b75 is $10 cheaper.)

 

[k1114]

I don't care for powercolor either but it had good enough ratings. Just because they aren't viewed as a top brand doesn't mean there products are bad. There's always the igpu to fall back on.