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Graphic Design Rig

F

Freddy

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 13, 2004
10
0
Hey, I am looking for some information on what I should buy. I will be doing alot of graphic and website designing, and for price I would like to keep it around 2500 bucks for the actual system(not including any programs, except OS). And I just need some information on what would be the best stuff to get. I am totally new to Macs, I have always used PCs. Also what are some programs avalible for Macs that are good for design? I really like PhotoShop CS on the PC, is there an equivilant for a Mac? Or is there a version of it for a Mac? I pretty much need to know everything about Macs as far as design goes, and what I should have on it. Thanks alot

Freddy
 
As a fellow graphic designer, welcome to the Mac side! :)

If you're looking at about $2500, I would recommend a "fully-loaded" low-end G5, or failing that, a fully-loaded refurb dual processor G4. But that's not including the cost of a monitor if you need one.

Yes, there is Photoshop CS for the Mac, along with almost every other Adobe product as well.

I'll leave it up to the other posters to fill in the gaps. Good luck to you!
 
Get yourself as much ram as you can. If that means going to middle end system over the high end, do it still. RAM makes your apps happy :)
 
OK. Thanks everyone! Where would you suggest buying one? Is there a good website other the apple.com? Or is that the only good place? Also where is a good place to get refurbished ones?

And this is probably a dumbe question but as I said I have no knowledge of Macs, so what OS would be the best? Or do they come with one installed? A little info on that would be nice. :)

Thanks again for everthing guys!


EDIT: Also, can Macs run Internet Explorer?
 
All the major graphics applications are available for Macintosh. As well, important hardware is available.

You'd probably be best off with the dual 1.8 GHz G5 system. I wouldn't suggest going with a dual G4 system at this point, unless the budget is more of a concern that longevity.
 
Originally posted by Freddy
OK. Thanks everyone! Where would you suggest buying one? Is there a good website other the apple.com? Or is that the only good place? Also where is a good place to get refurbished ones?

And this is probably a dumbe question but as I said I have no knowledge of Macs, so what OS would be the best? Or do they come with one installed? A little info on that would be nice. :)

Thanks again for everthing guys!


EDIT: Also, can Macs run Internet Explorer?
Click to expand...

Personally, I'd recommend Apple.com, but that's just me! The OS is preinstalled, and all new Macs come with MacOS 10.3 (a.k.a. "Panther") installed.

Yes, there is Internet Explorer for the Mac, although Mac's own browser, Safari, is arguably faster and more stable than IE for most tasks.
 
OK Thanks, the only reason that I said "not apple.com" is that I thought it probably would be alot cheaper then some other dealers. But if you recommend apple.com then I suppose you know best then. hehe.

Yea and about the browser, I just wanted to make sure that you didnt have to use Netscape.

Thanks again everyone!
 
if you have spare cash, consider getting a Cinema 20" display. My friend who is an I ndstrual Art Major really likes his new 20" combo'ed with his Ti Powerbook 1ghz.... Quality and color wise they are priced fair... but not every one is willing to shell out for a 1000 dollars for an lcd ...people like me don't need that kind of high quality display so I got a really good deal on a 19" Samsung from dell .com with a student rebate that I got ...I bought two for a thuosand+ and sold the other one on ebay for a 100 profit.
 
OK. Great! Thanks alot! This all helps alot! I'll check those sites out.
 
My thoughts:

If you're doing mainly web design, you'll be just fine with a 1.6 + 1GB of ram. $2174

You won't ever be working with mega files and the speed will be plenty sufficient for the occasional bigger job.

Spend the "extra" $300 (plus a bit more) on a monitor or a Wacom Tablet.

{edit: the 20" monitors ARE extra nice. }
 
OK. And would it be bad to get a refurb G5? Cause Hemingray said maybe a refurbished G4. Does that mean NOT to get a refurb G5? And what is a Wacom Tablet? Thanks again
 
Apple factory refurbished stuff has a 1 year warenty that garentee them to be good as new (or better considering some of the "new" powerbooks) so yeah a G5 refub should be good for you.... i recommend getting a 20" cinema HD... it'll save your eyes
 
lol I have loked over the Apple store like 5 times and I cannot find refurbished stuff, can you possibly direct me to the refurbished section? Thanks alot
 
IMHO -- nothing wrong with a refurb G5. I'd get it over a refurb G4 that's for sure.

A wacom tablet is a pen and tablet based input device which replaces / supplements mouse input. For designers, it's better is so many ways. But, you might be better getting your fledging business off the ground first. Then spend the $ on a tablet (not a tablet PC, but a tablet). Your hands & wrists will thank you.
 
Yes those tablets sound nice. My wrists get all shaky if I am doing very 'close' work, lol, and that sounds very nice.
 
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