Hello All,
I am planning to buy a new computer for design and gaming. Currently, I am using a laptop.Specs Intel I3 3rd generation, 1TB hard disk, two gb graphic cards.Using it for the past four years, and now it is outdated.
So I am thinking of buying an intel i7 processor, 256 SDD hard disk, NVIDIA (I didn't decide on the model yet). Should I customize it, or I buy it from the shelf of Walmartone?What will be better? My uncle works at Walmart, so they get some employee discounts. Anything else should I consider before buying, I am 19 years, and I am earning enough to cover my laptop/desktop expense.
Your suggestions are welcome.
It depends on what graphics you do, I'd avoid laptops, AMD, Xeon processors and high end gaming systems. The i9 with 32 to 64 gb of ram, an 6 to 8 gb NVIDIA graphics card and Samsung SSD in a desktop works well for me.
It all depends on the work environment and use case. If someone does all their computer work at a desk in an office then a traditional desktop tower is usually better than a notebook. In a home environment that's a different story.
I work all day sitting at a computer desk, but still have to do a fair bit of computer use at home for both work and leisure. When I'm at home the very last thing I want is to have my leg chained to another #$%!ing computer desk. Typically a home desktop computer will be isolated in some bedroom or other out of the way place. A portable computer can be placed on a living room coffee table or taken out of the home.
20 years ago I was of the mindset that I would never buy a notebook computer. Now it has been over 20 years since I bought a desktop PC for the home. I've used nothing but notebooks for personal use ever since. Modern notebooks can be configured to be reasonably portable and really powerful at the same time. Meanwhile general purpose graphics applications do not require top of the line gear.
I have both but there is no way you can do critical color work on a laptop in an uncontrolled environment. The color managed work flow requires control over the lighting.
Can you get a powerful enough laptop? Yes my wife has one, it's a reall good laptop and even though it's an i9 with 32 GB of RAM it cannot hold its own against my i7 with 32 GB of RAM desktop which is my secondary workstation. My primary workstation which is an i9 desktop runs all over both of them.
However there are no laptop screens worth having for critical color editing. So at best you need to plug in a real display which anchors you to a desk in a controlled environment.
So if you stick to a laptop you limit your work. Image editing is really profitable it is the single highest profit margin work available if you do what it takes to be in demand. Almost ZERO overhead costs.
I do some stuff on a laptop and I appreciate the fact I can write stuff on my deck but I'm in no way I'm limiting myself. I have both because you need both, I also have an really nice gaming computer chair.
Not every task in graphic design work requires a top of the line computer monitor with a hood over it situated in a controlled lighting situation.
And I never said anything about using a notebook computer exclusively. But doing 100% of computer use exclusively at a desk REALLY SUCKS. I can put up with it at work; however, I'm not going to do that at home. I might as well stay at the office otherwise.
Also, I don't know how much better notebook displays have to improve to live up to your standards. They have improved a great deal, although the buyer must decide which is more important: gaming performance or content creation. None of the monitors are perfect for both. Most desktop monitors, even ones marketed for photo editing, aren't fundamentally different than the IPS or OLED panels installed in higher end notebooks. I see the same marketing blurbs about how much of the Adobe RGB or DCI-P3 color space is covered in either (and reviews detailing how valid those claims might be). There are MANY crappy desktop computer monitors, even ones that cost a lot of money.
I understand needs and budget, if you working and you want to make money and demand higher prices get the best machine you can. Laptops have gotten better displays but they lag behind the graphics displays of Asus, ViewSonic and Eizo to mention a few. Then control your viewing environment, proper lighting and ambient light control. Without a dedicated work environment that's impossible.
I open the curtains when doing low end work, when I work on the deck, patio or by the pool I use my laptop. The problem is everyone does that work and the margins are poor.
I make 62% of my net profit in under 15% of my available billable time because I bill better rates and have very low costs. As I've gotten older I take a larger portion of that 85% of available time and make it my time and enjoy myself and as of 2021 I only do project work.
I suggest you make yourself a decent work environment at home. My editing studio is at home, there's a treadmill, training bike, TV and a trash can rigged basket trash. I still like the deck and patio some times but at my age (and younger people need to learn this earlier than I did) I'm not going to piss my time away making things for next to nothing.