graphic design computers

[Argonquestions]

Hey community so I need yalls help. see one of my friends asked me to help her find or build a computer. since i know a decent bit about them. problem is I don't know a thing about what she needs for her graphic design stuff at college in terms of specs. she also wants to use this pc after college for when she gets a job so I know that it cant be super low end. she has about 1200$ budget. I'm at the end of my rope trying to find something that might work . so if anyone can help me figure out what she would need that would be awesome.   if you cant then thank you for taking the time to read this.

[Skipple]

You almost certainly can get a build going for $1200. 

 

What kind of software does she use? 

[Argonquestions]

Were not sure what software she will be using yet. her first year starts in the middle of September.   Though I know that she said she was interested in illustration and advertisement design. If that helps

[Skipple]

Alrighty assuming she will be using something like the Adobe suite and other similar tools I would target around a 3600xt paired with a 1650ti (just in case there is some GPU accelerated software she could be using)

 

You want me to build you a full parts list? 

[Argonquestions]

yes, and thank you for helping me out.

[Skipple]

30 minutes ago, Argonquestions said:

yes, and thank you for helping me out.

Alright here is what I would recommend: 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($239.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($129.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($56.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($104.99 @ Adorama) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4 GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card  ($169.99 @ B&H) 
Case: Thermaltake Versa H18 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($60.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($89.99 @ Best Buy) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($108.78 @ Other World Computing) 
Total: $961.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-07 00:34 EDT-0400

 

 

Just something to keep in mind. A monitor is really important when it comes to graphic design. 

I would recommend something like a color accurate 4k monitor, but those don't come cheap. $500+ (and that's at the really low end)

We can, if needed, downgrade some of the hardware to put that into the budget. 

 

Another note, if she is going to school there is a good chance she can purchase the Windows 10 Key through her school at a pretty deep discount (or sometimes even for free!)

 

Case is subjective. I build this to be somewhat small form factor in case she is moving on campus. (Full towers in dorm rooms suck) Feel free to swap out the case if it's not to her liking. Anything with decent airflow should be fine. 

 

The power supply market has been really weird recently. You may have difficulty finding one, but anything 80+ Gold and more than 450w should do the trick. 

[Argonquestions]

Alright  and thank you for your help and those tips. Have a good night.

[Skipple]

17 minutes ago, Argonquestions said:

Alright  and thank you for your help and those tips. Have a good night.

No problem! You said you were having some trouble so I figured I would tell you why I picked what I did. Also, because I'm bored and can't sleep.

 

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($239.99 @ Newegg) 

 

CPU is at the heart of this layout here. Assuming she will mainly be using the Adobe suite, those applications are very reliant on CPU. Single core performance is actually a big deal here because Adobe STILL DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO SCALE THEIR APPLICATIONS ACROSS MULTIPLE CORES. /rant

 

There are a couple different options and honestly we could go with a 3600 (non X or XT variant) and be just fine. Save $100 too. If you want to trim the fat on this build that would be the first thing I would swap. 

 

There's an argument to be made here to go with a i5-10600k. Just a bit more expensive than the 3600XT with faster single core boost speeds. I wouldn't be mad with going Intel here at all. Makes sense. 

 

• Motherboard: MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($129.98 @ Newegg) 

 

B550 because why not. Allows for upgrade path to 4xxx series down the line. This mobo is MATX form factor allowing for smaller cases, has decent enough power delivery and includes WiFI in case she can't hardware ethernet. 

 

• Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($56.99 @ Newegg) 

 

3200ghz, CL16. Standard Ryzen memory. 

 

• Storage: Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($104.99 @ Adorama) 

 

Fast storage. 1TB should be more than enough for the OS, programs, and all the image files her heart desires. 

 

• Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4 GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card  ($169.99 @ B&H) 

 

There is a chance that she could be using some software with GPU acceleration. Especially if she gets into 3D modeling. This should be enough for both. Heavy 3D modeling may require a bit more horsepower down the line, but it should be fine for now. 

 

Everything else I explained above. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!