Hardware spec please...

shayser

I've posted in Comp > Graphics [HTML]http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=320479[/HTML] but hoped the good folk of boards.ie/comp might be able to impart some sound advice... thanks.

shayser

Any one recommend something that would do the job for me?

I know I need something big and powerful but that's as far as it goes.

I need the machine for desktop publishing and graphics work using Photoshop CS2 and Illustrator.

There could be multiple copies of both open, each with multiple files open. Files could be hundreds of mb, multiple photshop layers with full undo history.

Reliabilty and speed come before price, and I want it to have decent future proofing, but don't want to pay mad money if I can help it. :rolleyes:

I could get my local pc shop to build something but I would be afraid they would bung loads of high spec components into a box with no real testing. I went this way for some low-spec office machines before and boy did they suck, so I'm thinking of a brand name for this specialised machine maybe?

Or if I could get a list of stuff that anyone has had experience of and knows will work well together I'd go for that...

So,

Board =
CPU =
Memory =
Storage =
Graphics =
TFT =
Case etc =
Anything else I've missed?

I also need a full-colour A3 printer.

Suggestions greatfully accepted...

CuLT

Not really in the mood to pick out your components for you, but some suggestions:

about 2GB of medium price range RAM (you don't need superfast ram, and the 2GB should mean you don't need to think about what you've got open too often)

Graphics card is not really important. Some simple desktop card, I have a Radeon 9250 which is still far more than needed. Don't spend more than 50 or 60 quid on the graphics card.

Storage ins't hugely important, though I'd go for a Western Digital Raptor for primary drive, and then something normal for general storage.

Monitor - my Samsung Synmaster 193P-Plus does the trick, great viewing angle, nice and bright, though it costs a fair whack. I also read a review saying it wasn't great for graphic designers (it mentioned that they might have gotten a dodgey monitor), works perfectly for me though (for graphic design). Still, research your chosen monitor very carefully.

shayser

Thanks for your reply, CuLT

The reason I was hoping to get some specifics was that the machine is for my brother. He just recently started his own business, two employees, himself and his wife. He went to an "IT consultant" who got him a machine built for the job. Well, it was pretty useless, slow and frequently crashing. So now he just wants to get something that will reliably and speedily handle the work he wants to do.

He can't afford to get it wrong again. I was hoping that people here might have some ideas on what to get/what not to get and would be able to make some recommendations based, not on vested interests, but on their knowledge/experience of computers.

shayser

Anyone have a go at a spec for me? I'm not gonna go off and buy someone else's spec but if I got a list of components I'd have a better idea of the sort of stuff were talking about here.

I have to get this machine, but to be honest I just don't know what to get. I'm afraid of getting something that's not up to the job or spending way to much on overkill. A Dell Precision 670 can be customised anywhere from 2k to 10k!!

astrofool

the tweaking/modding forum has a good list of components, not sure how up to date it is tho (in sticky).

You should probably be looking at: a64-3000+ socket 939, nforce4 board, for quiet try the A8N-SLI-Premium (though expensive). An antec sonata 2 case is very quiet, and comes with a good power supply. An NEC ND4550 Dvd-writer, a gig of value ram (corsair value seems good). A SATA HD, 120gb+, or two, samsung's sata2's seem good, maybe want to mirror Raid them for data integrity. Gfx wise, a geforce 6200 non turbo cache will have all the checkmarks, and be cheap enough (PCI-Express). Also overclockers do a mitsumi floppy/flash card combo drive which can be very handy in a business (getting pics from digital camera etc.)

Then, just make sure you get a nice comfortable keyboard and mouse (a logitech or MS combo are nice, and not too pricey). And get a 17" DVI monitor (19" if the budget stretches that far).

www.komplett.ie is a good source, as is www.overclockers.co.uk (though you'll have to use their webnote + fax them to get VAT back as soon as you order).

angelofdeath

yes a good mouse is a must for photoshoppage, something along the lines of an mx518, comfortable and precise