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whats more important for graphics design, memory, processor or graphics card?

post #1 of 20
10/13/05 at 5:56pm
Thread Starter 
in an attempt to keep notebook pricing in range which should i sacrafice and which should i load up on memory, processor or graphics card?
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post #2 of 20
10/13/05 at 6:14pm
i have been looking into this a bit myself, and from i understand you need a lot of memory or else all the rendeing and stuff will take forever. graphics card is not that huge unless you are doing animating stuff. i could be totally wrong tho, i am sure one of the guys who knows more will help you out too.
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post #3 of 20
10/13/05 at 6:25pm
It depeneds what you are planing to do. I am not to much of a labby guy But I might sugjest the Graphics or processor because ram in the future will be cheaper and eaisyer to upgrade but then again now adays you need lots of ram. What I would do is do some research find out what kind and what brand of ram AW uses and then look on the web and see if you can find it cheaper if you can get it for less bye it and put that ram in.

Just my suggestion
Freak

ps sry about spelling and grammer in a hurry
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post #4 of 20
10/13/05 at 6:28pm
it really depends on what kind of graphic design you are talking about. CAD software and 3D illustration tools will really benefit from a Quadro workstation graphics card as well as memory. 2D imaging might not use enough of the openGL optimizations to make a Quadro worth it, but I could be wrong...it's not really my forte. get as much memory as you can afford...more memory is always a good thing. As far as processors, I would stick with a 3.0-3.2...for really large/complex 3D work you might want to step it up though.
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post #5 of 20
10/13/05 at 8:38pm
Listed in importance.

1. Memory

2. Graphics Card(only if used for graphic intended purposes)

3. Processor (this becomes #2 if Graphics card is not used for Graphic intended purposes)
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post #6 of 20
10/13/05 at 10:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alien_Head13
Listed in importance.

1. Memory

2. Graphics Card(only if used for graphic intended purposes)

3. Processor (this becomes #2 if Graphics card is not used for Graphic intended purposes)


Agreed. The difference is performance compared to the difference in price of say a pentium 4 3.0 to 3.8 makes dropping your CPU down a little the best way to save money vs the least amount of performance drop...

so if it was me i would say look at a P4 3.0 and max out the RAM and VID card...

but thats just me
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post #7 of 20
10/13/05 at 11:23pm
I agree
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post #8 of 20
10/13/05 at 11:27pm
it mainly just applies to what u use it for, but ditto for that list, its a good standard
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post #9 of 20
10/13/05 at 11:28pm
thanks!
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post #10 of 20
10/14/05 at 1:03am
I had a user with a Dell 8300 3.4G P4/1GH/stock Dell video card (ATI x300 I think) using AutoCAD 2004. The computer ran office apps, email etc fine but was painfully slow redrawing anything in the cad package. I purchased an Nvidia Quadro and the performance was night and day. Redraws were immediate.
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post #11 of 20
10/14/05 at 2:44am
For graphics work I would consider the desktop below or if your insisting on a laptop...it's mobile counterpart.

MJ-12 5500

Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/Onsite Service
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional w/SP2
Case: Alienware Professional Workstation Chassis - Black
PSU: Alienware Approved 650 Watt ATX 2.0 Power Supply w/Active PFC
Motherboard: Alienware PCI Express w/Intel 955X Chipset
CPU: Intel Pentium 830 w/Dual Core Technology 3.0GHz 800MHz FSB
Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 x 1024MB
VGA: NVIDIA Quadro FX 3400 PCI-E 256MB DDR3
Chassis Upgrades: Alienware Acoustic Dampening Level II
System HDD: 500GB Serial ATA-II 3Gb 7,200 RPM w/16MB Cache
Secondary HDD: 500GB Serial ATA-II 3Gb 7,200 RPM w/16MB Cache
Removable Storage : Alienware 10-in-1 Digital Media Reader/Writer
Primary Optical Drive: 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive w/LightScribe
Secondary Optical Drive: 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive w/LightScribe
Network Connection: Integrated High Performance Gigabit Ethernet
Digital Audio Hardware: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi
Keyboard: Microsoft Multimedia - Saucer Silver
Mouse: Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0 - USB - Saucer Silver
Alienware Mousepad

SubTotal: $4,433.00

Zoid
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post #12 of 20
10/14/05 at 8:36am
Memory is the most important component in graphics design, then IF you are doing 3D RENDERING (not neccessarily animation [video, flash, etc]), the graphics card...other wise the processor and memory are the most important components...Photoshop as well as Premier are multithreaded so it will benefit from a dual core processor (sometimes hyperthreading), if that's what you are in to.

Note: you will benefit TONS more from RAM especially with the use of AutoCAD (which is one of the biggest memory hogs I've come across as an acceptable application)

Edit: if you are doing rendering then you will want ECC RAM, you don't want to have to rerender and entire frame because part of it is messed up...also a low-class workstation graphics card should do, unless you are going to game...
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post #13 of 20
10/14/05 at 8:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boyd
For graphics work I would consider the desktop below or if your insisting on a laptop...it's mobile counterpart.

MJ-12 5500

Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/Onsite Service
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional w/SP2
Case: Alienware Professional Workstation Chassis - Black
PSU: Alienware Approved 650 Watt ATX 2.0 Power Supply w/Active PFC
Motherboard: Alienware PCI Express w/Intel 955X Chipset
CPU: Intel Pentium 830 w/Dual Core Technology 3.0GHz 800MHz FSB
Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 x 1024MB
VGA: NVIDIA Quadro FX 3400 PCI-E 256MB DDR3
Chassis Upgrades: Alienware Acoustic Dampening Level II
System HDD: 500GB Serial ATA-II 3Gb 7,200 RPM w/16MB Cache
Secondary HDD: 500GB Serial ATA-II 3Gb 7,200 RPM w/16MB Cache
Removable Storage : Alienware 10-in-1 Digital Media Reader/Writer
Primary Optical Drive: 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive w/LightScribe
Secondary Optical Drive: 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive w/LightScribe
Network Connection: Integrated High Performance Gigabit Ethernet
Digital Audio Hardware: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi
Keyboard: Microsoft Multimedia - Saucer Silver
Mouse: Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0 - USB - Saucer Silver
Alienware Mousepad

SubTotal: $4,433.00

Zoid

Yeah, you don't need all that crap....and X-Fi soundcard for a graphics designs workstation...give me a break...you don't really need that much HDD backing you up either....nor do you need that powerful of a graphics card...unless you work on a render farm you DON'T need that much power. I do heavy development in video, graphics, [some animation], 3D rendering, and my system specs are very lite compared to that...and my system never skips a beat.
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post #14 of 20
10/14/05 at 10:08am
Just to add my two-fiddy: Memory, graphics card, processor.

A dual core will definitely help with most graphics and sound workstations as those programs are actually written for two threads, but to save money a P4 HT processor will be more than enough.
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post #15 of 20
10/14/05 at 1:04pm
What would you guys suggest for a Photoshop and maya work computer, would have to be good for gaming and have power all round.
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post #16 of 20
10/15/05 at 5:14am
Damn lilfields I lightened up the config anticipating your critique...you would bitch if you were hung with a brand new well rope.

That version of X-Fi is not that expensive considering the alternatives...and on-board sound ain't one of 'em.


Zoid
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post #17 of 20
10/15/05 at 5:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boyd
Damn lilfields I lightened up the config anticipating your critique...you would bitch if you were hung with a brand new well rope.

That version of X-Fi is not that expensive considering the alternatives...and on-board sound ain't one of 'em.


Zoid
But you don't need sound at all for GRAPHIC design. It loks like you kinda missed the point of the original poster's question.
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post #18 of 20
10/15/05 at 5:48pm
but if you can afford good sound, you might as well. Plus the orginal question what is more important. Mem, graphics or processor. Memory is of top most importance, because your don't want to stock a high-end computer with just 512 mb's of ram...That would be stupid, you would end up bottle necking everything because of the amount of ram present. Up the ram to about 2 gigs...maybe higher depending on what you want to do. Then up the Processor. The graphics you would only up next after the Memory only if your doing graphic design, if you not, might as well get a mid range processor, and then get a good graphics card.
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post #19 of 20
10/15/05 at 5:51pm
Well my 7700 works just perfectly for my degree course in 'graphics, multimedia and design' at university. specs below

You might also want to invest in a portable hard drive to back up your work, gawd in graphics its a necessity, you lose your work; you are ABSOLUTELY screwed
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post #20 of 20
10/15/05 at 7:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boyd
Damn lilfields I lightened up the config anticipating your critique...you would bitch if you were hung with a brand new well rope.

That version of X-Fi is not that expensive considering the alternatives...and on-board sound ain't one of 'em.


Zoid
hehe, I'm pretty tight with my money. I have an old Audigy Platinum and it performs fine with my 5.1
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