nldixon

Honorable
Apr 26, 2013
2
0
10,510
I work for a small printing company with no IT staff and since I know the most about computers I've been tasked with replacing a MacPro 3.1 that recently died. The boss wants to go with a PC, since we already have software for it. I'm pretty sure the MacPro was way more computer than we needed for the job, since the designer runs Illustrator and Photoshop almost exclusively.

I've never built a PC exclusively for graphic design, but I did a little research and I came up with something I think will work pretty well, but isn't bank breaking. I was hoping anybody with a little more knowledge and experience with PCs built for graphic design can tell me if I'm barking up the wrong tree.

Intel i7-3770 (quad core, 3.4ghz)
16GB RAM
120GB SSD for OS and CS6
1TB HDD for everything else

We're trying not to spend $4k on a workstation that's going to be overkill. We're not doing any 3D modeling or video editing, so I'm assuming that dual Xeon CPUs are not something we need to be thinking about?

I've also been trying to figure out what kind of video card we need. I'm really not familiar with Illustrator and Photoshop, so I'm not sure what kind of video card would be the most bang for the buck.

Thanks!
 

aford10

Distinguished
That build would be more than sufficient.

I have internal clients where I work using CS6, and I a few running it on a Lenovo T420, and even a T400. If your budget supports the build you listed, then go for it. It would do what you need for sure.
 

nldixon

Honorable
Apr 26, 2013
2
0
10,510


Thanks for the response! We've got the components on the way. I'm hoping the integrated GPU will be able to handle things, but we've budgeted an extra $200-300 for a card if necessary.