Graphics card?

Dejan11 · Sep 30, 2004, 04:18 AM

Hi all,

I`m looking to go into the web design and graphics field and need a computer capable of meeting my needs. Can anyone give me a few pointers on what sort of graphics cards I should look for and any other essentials relating to visuals?

Many thanks!

~~HawK~~ · Sep 30, 2004, 07:33 AM

Are you going to do 3D rendering aswell ?
If so then the NV quadro would be the best choice IMHO.
Get a Good monitor aswell, the bigger the better

Dejan11 · Sep 30, 2004, 02:03 PM

Many thanks for the reply! Highly appreciated.

Ideally, I`d like to be able to go in a shop and buy a brand new computer with graphics capabilities good enough to suit an aspiring web/graphics designer (which I`d imagine would include 3D rendering). I dont suppose PC World and other major outlets sell computer packages on the strength of graphics capabilities though, so do you know anywhere I could look?

And being that you`re clearly very au fait with the market, what would be the absolute minimum specs I`d need for such a computer do you think?

Thanks again!

~~HawK~~ · Sep 30, 2004, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Ideally, I`d like to be able to go in a shop and buy a brand new computer with graphics capabilities good enough to suit an aspiring web/graphics designer (which I`d imagine would include 3D rendering). I dont suppose PC World and other major outlets sell computer packages on the strength of graphics capabilities though, so do you know anywhere I could look?

You could do that but this kind of computer doesn't fit the mainstream market, thus it needs to be special build.. (read extra $$$!!)
nodoubt a specialised shop will build one for you though... cause that is were you'll have to buy one, and not in the last place for support which is very much needed if you are not a computer-tech capable person,
but if you are.. then build one yourself is my advise, because you will need every penny, cause it won't be cheap!!
we are talking about $5000 - $10.000 machines and with the right software even more.. read some more about it here: in these design forums you'll find many tips and links, to help you further

Quote:

And being that you`re clearly very au fait with the market, what would be the absolute minimum specs I`d need for such a computer do you think?

No, not anymore but still know it will cost you alot of money, so why not start with an "average" machine in the 2ghz zone, try different software programs and find one to suit your needs and liking
(although you will need Adobe Photoshop in any case imm), an average machine *or even the one you have now*
will do the same job but takes alot longer, but will give you an idea on how to go on.
if you are serious with those kinds of work, and like to do more, then maybe you can ask Zardon nicely (the website owner here) in a pm since he has those machines and the software it needs, and can tell you alot more,
*but only if you are serious in this part of computer work, for it's a busy Man.

*
good luck with a future in the design world.

Dejan11 · Sep 30, 2004, 06:14 PM

Many thanks for the reply again! What do you make of this computer;

http://www.tiny.com/packages.php?prodid=11484

pr0digal jenius · Oct 1, 2004, 02:31 AM

not sure ont hat rig.

first off...you want xp pro..not home

second, see what kind of 'DDR RAM' it is...it needs to be DDR 333 at the very least, preferably DDR 400 and up

finally..there's a lot of stuff on there you really don't need, if this is indeed a work machien and nto a game machine...like a 56k modem is useless, and you don't need a soundcard/surround sound speakers for a work rig weither.

your best bet is build it yourself, or find a friend who can do it for you

as for specs to look for, here's my reccomendation:

-2.4GHz processor(HT or even dual processors is nice in premiere, photoshop, etc)
-768MB RAM(1 gig is nice, but not really necessary if you have a big page file)
-hard drive space to suit your needs, but get SATA
-nvidia quadro graphics card if you're serious about 3d modeling, if not, get a nice DX9 card, liek a x800 or 6800GT
-get a nice motherboard....many people get cheap ones....this will bite you in the ass later

Dejan11 · Oct 1, 2004, 02:41 AM

Many thanks for the reply! Very insightful.

Can I just ask why it's so important to have XP Pro? What are the benefits?

pr0digal jenius · Oct 1, 2004, 02:56 AM

XP Home tends to lock you out of some fo the nice admin features, like, if I'm nto mistaken, the administrative user panel where you can delete all the stupid support/remote accounts and such. and if i recall it also has better networking support for a wider array fo stuff.

and it supports more CPUs if you go multi processor

~~HawK~~ · Oct 1, 2004, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Many thanks for the reply again! What do you make of this computer;

No, like Prodi said most if it can go, and what's left will cost you later on more money because you need to replace it, these shops always have nice offerings but as soon as your money is gone.. so are they (in the suppport field)
Indeed; try to find a friend who can build you one, if you can't do it yourself.
Follow Prodi's advise on what to buy, just one thing to add myself:
get a good monitor!! you have to look at it all day!! an 24bit color 19" TFT(~600 B.pound) or a 21" CRT (~ 150 - 300 B.P) would be the best for you..
I have recently bought a HP1110 21" Sony Trinitron CRT for only 200 euro, and it is a joy to work with

WisMerHill · Oct 1, 2004, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HawK

get a good monitor!! you have to look at it all day!! an 24bit color 19" TFT(~600 B.pound) or a 21" CRT (~ 150 - 300 B.P) would be the best for you..

1 remark tho. i would advise against a TFT monitor when doing design work, colours always come out different on a TFT, if you sit higher or lower the colours will be either darker or lighter depending the angle. CRT's don't have that effect. concluding: a design made on a tft might look consistent of colour but on a crt you'll see it's actually 2 different colours.
As HawK said a 24bit TFT would lessen this effect but these are very expensive in relation to a good CRT.

pr0digal jenius · Oct 1, 2004, 04:04 PM

www.azatek.com has great cheap monitors(msot are surplus/minor refurb jobs, but they are under warranty and look GREAT)

I have a 21" IBM CRT with a Trinitron tube(IBM p260 monitor) and it rocks....ESPECIALLY for only $220US....it has 1-2 very minor cosmetic blemishes to show for it's being a refurb...but it works flawlessly(by blemishes i mean, like, a small scrath on the pladtic housing down by where the buttons are below the screen and a blue spot of paint on the back)

Matth · Oct 1, 2004, 06:36 PM

The Radeon 9800 might do quite well with a "SoftfireGL" mod, not sure if current Nvidia cards and drivers can still be softQuadro'd

pr0digal jenius · Oct 3, 2004, 06:37 PM

softfireGL mods have a bad habit of messing up openGL games....fair warning

Nacht · Oct 4, 2004, 02:45 AM

you can still do the quadro mod on NV cards (well...i take that back, not sure about the 6 series, but i know that with the FX cards it still works great)

waterloo · Oct 6, 2004, 02:13 AM

How much is ur budget???
If you have can go over $200
i say go with the Nvidia FX5900Ultra, the Ti4600, OR ti 4800..

I have a FX5900ULTRA on my other system with a amd 2500barton overclocked to a 3200, 512 of ram and it's great for web desinging and great with graphics.

OR

Just get the 6800GT if ur a crazy F*Ck

Sep 30, 2004, 04:18 AM	#1
Dejan11 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	Graphics card? Hi all, I`m looking to go into the web design and graphics field and need a computer capable of meeting my needs. Can anyone give me a few pointers on what sort of graphics cards I should look for and any other essentials relating to visuals? Many thanks!

Oct 6, 2004, 02:13 AM	#15
waterloo Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 337 Rep Power: 0	How much is ur budget??? If you have can go over $200 i say go with the Nvidia FX5900Ultra, the Ti4600, OR ti 4800.. I have a FX5900ULTRA on my other system with a amd 2500barton overclocked to a 3200, 512 of ram and it's great for web desinging and great with graphics. OR Just get the 6800GT if ur a crazy FCk __________________ Motherboard: DFI Lan Party UT nF4 Ultra-D Modded to SLI Bios: 07/06/05 (File name - 704-2bt) CPU Cooler: Aritc Freezer 64 CPU: AMD 64 3800 Memory: OCZ 2GB Graphics Processor: ASUS EN6200GE Hard Drives: 2 X 160 IDE Western Digital, 320 SATA, 16GB SCSI Power Supply: Enermax Noisetaker 480 Watt Case:Antec CS600 Tower Case Sound Card: M-Audio Revolution 7.1/SB LIVE/SB X-FI Optical Drive*: 2 X LG GSA-4167B

Sep 30, 2004, 07:33 AM	#2
~~HawK~~ Banned Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 2,092 Rep Power: 0	Are you going to do 3D rendering aswell ? If so then the NV quadro would be the best choice IMHO. Get a Good monitor aswell, the bigger the better

Sep 30, 2004, 02:03 PM	Thread Starter #3
Dejan11 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	Many thanks for the reply! Highly appreciated. Ideally, I`d like to be able to go in a shop and buy a brand new computer with graphics capabilities good enough to suit an aspiring web/graphics designer (which I`d imagine would include 3D rendering). I dont suppose PC World and other major outlets sell computer packages on the strength of graphics capabilities though, so do you know anywhere I could look? And being that you`re clearly very au fait with the market, what would be the absolute minimum specs I`d need for such a computer do you think? Thanks again!

Sep 30, 2004, 06:14 PM	Thread Starter #5
Dejan11 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	Many thanks for the reply again! What do you make of this computer; http://www.tiny.com/packages.php?prodid=11484

Oct 1, 2004, 02:31 AM	#6
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	not sure ont hat rig. first off...you want xp pro..not home second, see what kind of 'DDR RAM' it is...it needs to be DDR 333 at the very least, preferably DDR 400 and up finally..there's a lot of stuff on there you really don't need, if this is indeed a work machien and nto a game machine...like a 56k modem is useless, and you don't need a soundcard/surround sound speakers for a work rig weither. your best bet is build it yourself, or find a friend who can do it for you as for specs to look for, here's my reccomendation: -2.4GHz processor(HT or even dual processors is nice in premiere, photoshop, etc) -768MB RAM(1 gig is nice, but not really necessary if you have a big page file) -hard drive space to suit your needs, but get SATA -nvidia quadro graphics card if you're serious about 3d modeling, if not, get a nice DX9 card, liek a x800 or 6800GT -get a nice motherboard....many people get cheap ones....this will bite you in the ass later

Oct 1, 2004, 02:41 AM	Thread Starter #7
Dejan11 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	Many thanks for the reply! Very insightful. Can I just ask why it's so important to have XP Pro? What are the benefits?

Oct 1, 2004, 02:56 AM	#8
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	XP Home tends to lock you out of some fo the nice admin features, like, if I'm nto mistaken, the administrative user panel where you can delete all the stupid support/remote accounts and such. and if i recall it also has better networking support for a wider array fo stuff. and it supports more CPUs if you go multi processor

Oct 1, 2004, 04:04 PM	#11
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	www.azatek.com has great cheap monitors(msot are surplus/minor refurb jobs, but they are under warranty and look GREAT) I have a 21" IBM CRT with a Trinitron tube(IBM p260 monitor) and it rocks....ESPECIALLY for only $220US....it has 1-2 very minor cosmetic blemishes to show for it's being a refurb...but it works flawlessly(by blemishes i mean, like, a small scrath on the pladtic housing down by where the buttons are below the screen and a blue spot of paint on the back)

Oct 1, 2004, 06:36 PM	#12
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,426 Rep Power: 93 System Specs	The Radeon 9800 might do quite well with a "SoftfireGL" mod, not sure if current Nvidia cards and drivers can still be softQuadro'd

Oct 3, 2004, 06:37 PM	#13
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	softfireGL mods have a bad habit of messing up openGL games....fair warning

Oct 4, 2004, 02:45 AM	#14
Nacht ein Krieger Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Clemson Uni Posts: 3,127 Rep Power: 0	you can still do the quadro mod on NV cards (well...i take that back, not sure about the 6 series, but i know that with the FX cards it still works great)