Suggestions for Someone Building an Artist's PC?

albamuth asks: "A friend of mine recently handed me $1000 (in the form of her credit card) and asked me to put together the best artist-friendly PC possible. Though I enjoy reading system guide recommendations put out by the likes of Arstechnica and Sharkyextreme, it seems that most, if not all, of these guides are geared towards gaming purposes. My friend is an artist and was surprised when I approaced with a list of decidedly non-Apple recommendations. I countered that the lousiest new iMac would cost $999 and the reason why "all the other artists" use them is because of brand loyalty. However, now I'm tediously looking through motherboard and monitor reviews for things like Firewire ports and color accuracy, respectively. There's plenty of other things to think about as well: Photoshop vs. GIMP, [slide] scanners, video capture, etc. Though I'm pretty dogmatic on getting an AMD, I would like to hear opinions on hardware/software for a media/arts-oriented box."

Comments

A few thoughts...

[_dave_the_one_]

OK. Just a few thoughts. I use my computer for a lot of graphics work and although I am not a normal artist moving to using a computer (as this person seems to be) there are a few things I think you should consider that your post doesn't really touch on.

Macs

I countered that the lousiest new iMac would cost $999
[True, yes] and the reason why "all the other artists" use them is because of brand loyalty.

No. IANAMOA (Mac-owning artist) but I do know that Macs are still superior graphic-wise. Their CPUs handle that sort of thing a lot better (find out about the vector subsets in the G3s and G4s)... and even if you counter by saying Apple's benchmarks are made using Photoshop because of all the optimisations Photoshop has built in... that's kind of the point.

I admit I don't know a great deal about Macs but there have been several other discussions about Mac vs PC over the past few months (unfortunately I haven't bookmarked any) - try and find them. Go look on graphic websites and do some research about the sort of computers these professionals use - somehow while slashdot is prabablya good place to ask about free software, it's probably not a good place to find out about what software you're going to need.

Consider your friend's requirements in a non-free-software-only light

Somehow I get the idea you don't know a great deal about using / creating graphics on a computer, and that this friend of yours has asked you to buy this computer because you know about computers, not because you know about computers and are also an artist.

...eg, Photoshop vs the Gimp

Few computer-using artists that I know would not use Photoshop. Many use other programs in addition, of course, but none would ever not use Photoshop. Sound like a blanket statement? Your friend probably has other artist friends that use computers - ask them. Or go look on the net - like I said before, I don't think /. is really the place to go for advice about what software to buy for an artist.

What I can say is that the Gimp will probably not do. I like the Gimp and I applaud the efforts of those making it. However, when you get down to the base of things, the Gimp simply doesn't have all the functionality of Photoshop. It is also a lot harder to use. This friend of yours sounds like a newbie as far as computers go: I really don't think that a Linux (or even Windows) computer running the Gimp is going to be suitable. Even running Windows, just the differences in the gui might be off-putting. It's colour support isn't too good either (as in the various ways it represents colour, rgb, cmyk and other, bits per channel... etc). Also (I don't know, but it just occurred to me you should check) does the Gimp have scanner support? From memory, I don't think so.

Other things she might need that might not fit into $1000

Another thing you might not have considered is a scanner or a printer. Is the artist going to distribute her work purely electronically? Will she want to have a photo-quality printer?

And, how is she going to get her hand-done work onto the computer? It sounds like she is an artist who is moving to using a computer, so she has, and probably will, use normal non-electronic methods for the actual drawing. You're going to have to get these onto the computer somehow. You haven't mentioned anything in your post that wasn't about software; but hardware like is also something to consider.

Rethink it...

So, investigate Macs. You could get a second-hand mac for less than a new one :) There's nothing wrong with a G3 except that it's old... like a P3 450 in the PC world. Go for a good, reasonably-priced but not cutting-edge computer, that she'll be able to use without being forced to pay for something she can manage without.

I also think that Photoshop is a must. Investigate second-hand copies, or student software (are you a student? Is your friend?)

And don't forget hardware like scanners etc as well. Somehow I think you're going to have a bit of trouble fitting this into $1000... $1500 maybe though.

I don't think /. is the place for finding out what you're going to have to buy. I think you should do some research on art sites and that kind of thing as well. Don't approach this from the perspective that free software will do just as well as commercial. That may be true for other areas like office apps, etc, but it is not true for graphics.

Good luck.

Insufficient Question

[gmhowell]

You don't give enough info. For example:

"I'm a gamer, what's the best PC for me?" Okay, do you play at LAN parties, do you play RTS, FPS, sol.exe?

Similarly, what does it mean 'she's an artist'? Does she work with photo manipulation, is she a painter, is she a playwright?

The thing is, the computer is a means, not an end. You have to figure out what medium she is working in. I'll assume it's photo manipulation, given your mention of slide scanners. Now you have to figure out what program(s) she likes. Let her try the GIMP. Let her try Photoshop. Let her try whatever other things are out there. THAT is what should decide your platform.

If she likes some Mac program most, and a little bit she likes the GIMP, get her a Mac (your preference be damned) and go with it. Say she likes some WinXX program. Go with that.

A couple of things: shift money heavily towards the monitor. As a matter of fact, get her to go up to $1500 so that you can get a larger monitor. Even if you have to skimp on processor. And load it with RAM (as much as the machine will take) and then pack in a gigantic hard drive. Probably want a cd-burner of some sort. The difference between a $300 processor and a $100 processor is far less than the difference between $300 of RAM and $100 of RAM, especially in perceived performance.

Pay attention to your user, and try to show a little less geeky arrogance next time.

BTW, an iMac can be had for $799. Have you done any research, or did you just pan the Mac outright?

Final thought: the software isn't cheap. Has your friend included this in the $1000? If she hasn't, you are likely going to be stuck with either Linux/GIMP or iMac/builtin stuff.