Computer for Uni?

L

L126

New Member
Hi, I'm (hopefully!) starting university in September, studying Graphic Design. I've asked at the interview if I was expected to get a Mac and they told me no I wouldn't need one until the 4th year of the degree, so I'm after a PC. I have a few questions:

1) Would I need a laptop or desktop? I'd prefer a desktop as it's easy to upgrade and in my experience of laptops, will be more reliable (however of course if a laptop is more appropriate then I will have to go with one).
2) Do you need a decent graphics card? If so, what's the bare minimum?
3) Is an i5 processor with 4gb+ of RAM and 1TB hard drive decent enough?
4) Should I wait for Windows 8, or is Windows 7 good enough?

Also I'd be grateful for any other advice regarding this area, thanks everyone :)
 
Buy what you can afford. If the course tutors have suggested that you don't need a Mac till year four, read that as you don't need a computer capable of running the design software till year four. You will probably find that the first 2 years consist of maybe a couple of hours a week basic training in Illustrator, Photoshop etc... and the rest of the course will be problem solving, creative thinking and experimenting with more artistic mediums.
 
L126 said:
1) Would I need a laptop or desktop? I'd prefer a desktop as it's easy to upgrade and in my experience of laptops, will be more reliable (however of course if a laptop is more appropriate then I will have to go with one).
2) Do you need a decent graphics card? If so, what's the bare minimum?
3) Is an i5 processor with 4gb+ of RAM and 1TB hard drive decent enough?
4) Should I wait for Windows 8, or is Windows 7 good enough?
Click to expand...
If you have the spondoolicks then above sounds good though windows 7 is fine, you don't have to have a 1TB hard drive as you probably need an external hard drive anyway for backups and you could store stuff on that. I'm pretty sure that laptop would be the better option just for flexibility. I have a dell xps I've been using for years now and a good war horse that's lasted me well.
 
Don't forget, if you are going ahead and buying a machine, you need to factor in £300 for a student edition of Creative Suite.
 
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