Need graphics card recommendation (Photoshop, Illustrator)...

[somunny]

I'm looking for opinions on graphics cards geared towards Photoshop and Illustrator work.  I really don't play games on the PC so 3D performance isn't a concern to me.

Mid-priced card recommendations, anyone?

[CCM]

Need more information.  PCI-E?  AGP?  Vista?  XP?

[RayB]

Any card will do.

Just need a PC that's fast enough for your version of Photoshop and enough RAM for the size of photos and amount of layers you intend to work with.

Really, just because those apps are "graphics" editors, does not mean they demand anything special from the video card.

[boykster]

Yep, what RayB said...

You'd be much better off with a lot more memory than by replacing your gfx card. 

[somunny]

Ok then. 

I going to put it together piece by piece so I was just asking to get a feel for current cards.

Thanks for the input.

[RayB]

PS: Just wanted to be a little more specific with my advice: Refer to Adobe's recommended system specs as well. For some reason, each new version of Photoshop runs slower, even though they add next to no new functionality that would require more resources. So if you're going for the latest (CS3), chances are it won't run so well on a 1ghz or older machine.

[somunny]

Thanks Ray.  I'm sticking with CS1 and looking at picking up a 3+ gHz proc with 1 gig of ram.

[RayB]

XP or Vista?

If Vista, then you will need more RAM.

[boykster]

XP or Vista?

If Vista, then you will need more RAM.

I sound like RayB's chorus in this thread.  I can attest that 2gig would be a good minimum to run CS1 on Vista....xp, 1 gig would be ok, but 2gig or more would be better.

[shmokes]

It's also worth noting that there is one vital feature for a videocard to have for your purposes.  It is true that the amount of horsepower it has is virtually irrelevant.  But what you do want is a dual head card, i.e., a card with multiple VGA/DVI outputs, so you can run a dual-monitor setup.  Once you start using a dual-monitor setup, you won't even know how you did without it.  This is especially true for someone who works with graphic design programs where you have loads of tools and pallets, etc. that you can keep on one screen and have the other one for the workspace.

[boykster]

I'm really very partial to dual head cards that have dual DVI output, rather than the split VGA / DVI or dual VGA.  I tried running 2 identical Princeton 19" monitors -> one on VGA, the other on DVI and it drove me NUTS!!!  I could NEVER get them to "look" the same.  One looked so different, and I mean bad diferent, I even returned it and got another one (costco), but it was the same deal.

I upgraded to a dual DVI video card, and Voila! Perfection. 

[somunny]

I'll be running XP for sure.  I'll look into dual head cards though I won't be running any twin monitor setup immediately.  However, it would be nice to have that option for future use.

[Zero_Hour]

  Once you start using a dual-monitor setup, you won't even know how you did without it.  This is especially true for someone who works with graphic design programs where you have loads of tools and pallets, etc. that you can keep on one screen and have the other one for the workspace.

I can't agree more on this one. I've been running dual monitors for several years now, and The ability to really spread out all the tool pallets in Adobe apps makes for a much more productive environment.

I recently went a little crazy and added a 3rd monitor - a 15" Wacom Cintiq that I use exclusively for graphic work. If you are already inclined to do a lot of drawing / illustration away from the PC, a Wacom Tablet or Monitor is a great way to go.

To see an Expert User showing off what the Wacom stuff is capable of check this out: Link

The tablets do pretty much the same thing as the monitor in that video, and cost a lot less.

And in true BYO fashion, someone figured out how to make one themselves.  Link

[RayB]

I've been working with Photoshop, 3D Max, Flash, web apps, and other graphics tools for the better part of 15 years now and have never used a dual monitor set-up. (I believe what people say about it... I'm just saying it's possible to to get by, even professionall,y without it).