I am currently trying to build a work station to do some web and graphic design work. I am new to building my own machine and need a little help in deciding on a motherboard and graphics card.

I am pretty sure that i am going to go with a Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz processor. Any suggestions at this point would be helpful.

First basic question:

What is your budget?

Most computers designated as "workstation" "graphics design" etc. are running CAD software or video editing.

"Workstation" specific graphics card are far more expensive than even the best "gaming" cards.

"Workstation" cards can run up over a thousand dollars just for a card.

Some examples here:

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.as...ics-Video-Cards

I guess that is an important piece of info that I left out, sorry. I am trying to do this for about a $1000 or less.

I understand that in this field there is a lot of money to be spent on a proper machine, but I am in an intermediate stage of design work so I am not ready to shell out to much cash. Most of my work is going to start with Illustrations and page lay out and design using photoshop and illustrator, and then I am going to start working on flash animation and interactive design for web pages, so I am looking for a machine that can perform these tasks adequately for now with the prospect of upgrading the machine as business picks up.

As of right now I have spent nothing on it and am just trying to get the best bang for my buck.

I use Newegg as a starter tool due to their advanced filtering system plus overall satisfaction with the company but I just use it as an example. A good shopping tool.

They no longer list your preferred: Quad Q8300 2.5GHz

However in the socket 775 version they have:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115055

Or to upgrade to an i7 motherboard we have:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115202

So now we are considering a difference in CPU of $279.99 to $149.99.

The i7 is also most likely to require DDR 3 RAM rather than DDR 2 for a 775 board but the RAM prices have pretty much leveled out by this point.

An i7 board will be a bit more than a 775 board. i7 is the current "state of the art" for Intel.


That being said your PSU becomes a critical factor and may easilly run $100+ for a decent model which is critical for overall performance.


Are you building this from scratch?

In other words do you need a case and hard drives etc.?


Also expanding upon my last post are you going to be using any specific CAD software beyond photoshop?

Many professional CAD programs offer their own specific hardware requirements and suggestions.

Yes I am building this from scratch, so I will need monitor case and all the bells and whistles. I also understand that I may have to go over a little on my budget, but I want to try and keep it as close as possible to $1000.

As for CAD programs, the answer is no, I won't be using anything like auto CAD or pro engineer.

So far the only design programs I am planning on putting on this machine is the Adobe Creative Suite 4 Web Premium package.
In case you aren't familiar this contains: Illustrator, Photo shop, Flash Professional, Dream Weaver, Fireworks, Sound Booth, and Acrobat 9 Pro.

As of now this is all that I need to run in order to do what I want.

As the cheapest i7 CPU is what I posted @ $279.99 it would not be a basis for a $1,000 system.

So going back to socket 775:

This appears to be very in line with your system:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115041

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 = $219.99


As to a supportive motherboard I am quickly filtering to this list showing anywhere from $100 > $200:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....e=4%u00d7240pin

RAM is best at 2 X 2GB. Here is a decent set @ $59.99:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820145247


PSU: I am suggesting Thermaletake and you will also see some "Case Combos" here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....=501%20-%20600W


Generically speaking of cases I would require both front and rear fans. 120mm is preferable to 80mm.

Many offer side fans then there are others that just jack prices for "looks".


SATA 3 hard drives are the norm and anything less than 500GB is basically obsolete:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....0GB%20-%20800GB

Solid State drives are basically beyond this budget at this point in time.


The last piecs being the grpahics card here is the Newegg list of "work station" cards between $100 & $200:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....00%20-%20%24200


All the above should create a system @ $1,000.


Of course we have not considered an operating system. A Windows 7 upgrade is listed as $199.99.


Anyway: hopefully some ideas and directions to look.

Let us know if we can help further.