a good video card for people who do a lot of web design and some graphics work

[tkim]

hey fellas.. my buddy wants me to build him a pc for web design and some graphics work and i dont know jack about what video card to use. i've only built pc's for gaming so far..

is there one that is reasonably priced and will work well? what are some specs that i should look for? will a good gaming card work as well?

thanks in advance.

 

[andyfasthands]

 

[andyfasthands]

For ~$70, there is an ASUS GeForce3 Ti500. I own the Ge3 Ti200 on an old system and its great for photoshop and other 2-d work... 64mb is enough, in my opinion.

 

[dmw16]

Matrox cards are supposed to have really good 2d graphics. Not sure what they go for tho. But I know they are supposed to be good.
-doug

 

[candacomputers]

Really depends on what kind of art he's doing for websites and graphics. If he's only doing 2D work get him a cheap 32MB Video Card.

 

[digitalsm]

Like others, if its just 2D graphics work, almost any quality gaming card will work. If its 3D, it depends on his budget.

 

[Submit]

I just got a Gainward FX 5200 for ~ $80


Gainward FX5200, 8X AGP, 128MB(64bit) DDR, memory.
dual monitors display; one CRT port + one DVI port + one DVI adapter for CRT display + one S-video TV out port + one TV out adapter cable to TV composite port + CD driver + manual.

Ii works well with my LCD @ 1600x1200.

I also like that it doesn't need a fan.

 

[Regs]

I'm a web designer as well and a GF4 MX did me fine (until I started playing PC games). Funny thing about web design is even if the designer sees the graphics with bright and textured pixels does not mean the end-user will see the same thing on their hardware.

For a web designer the most important thing would be the monitor. If it supports all res's and offers crisp contrast and picturing. This is a must.

 

[Chu]

Originally posted by: digitalsm
Like others, if its just 2D graphics work, almost any quality gaming card will work. If its 3D, it depends on his budget.

No, no no! You would be amazed at how bad the vga output is on some, even most cards. After working with a high quality 2d video card + display, you begin to notice these things. If she does not care at all about 3D, I would *VERY STRONGLY* suggest a matrox card. Matrox cannot be beat for 2D, though some of the high end ATI's come close.

Also, as mentioned, the video card is half (actually, 1/3'rd) of the equation. The other half is the monitor. Do not skimp here, expect to shell out at least $200-$400 for a high end CRT. LCD's are to be avoided for graphics work -- unless that is your intended output.

The "other half" is your ICM profiles. You would not believe how hard it is to get color matching to work in windows. After you have your monitor and video card set up, MAKE ABSOLUTLY SURE TO INSTALL THE ICM PROFILE FOR YOUR MONITOR -- AND THEN CALIBRATE IT. Most High end monitors come with calibration software. Getting ICM working correctly on your screen really isn't that big of a deal, in fact if done properly calibration is just a matter of adjusting the contrast and brightness to your work setting, you shouldn't have to worry about color adjustments. Getting it to work right when outputting however . . . let's just say I am coming back from spending 3 hours in a lab strugging to get photoshop and windows to coperate to match colors on a HP Laserjet 8500 Color. You want to know why most people think mac's are so superior tp PC's for graphics work? You don't have to waste (much) time trying to get ICM profiles to work with each other. Colorsync is a godsend.

-Chu

P.S. : When I say "high end ATI," in many ways I am referring to what was high end at the time. Until the 9500/9700, I could not find a non-matrox card that touched my Radeon DDR 64MB VIVO. In fact, I still use this card for precisely that reason. Doom3/HL2 will be forcing me to shell out for a new card though :frown:

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Chu

Originally posted by: digitalsm
Like others, if its just 2D graphics work, almost any quality gaming card will work. If its 3D, it depends on his budget.

No, no no! You would be amazed at how bad the vga output is on some, even most cards. After working with a high quality 2d video card + display, you begin to notice these things. If she does not care at all about 3D, I would *VERY STRONGLY* suggest a matrox card. Matrox cannot be beat for 2D, though some of the high end ATI's come close.

Also, as mentioned, the video card is half (actually, 1/3'rd) of the equation. The other half is the monitor. Do not skimp here, expect to shell out at least $200-$400 for a high end CRT. LCD's are to be avoided for graphics work -- unless that is your intended output.

The "other half" is your ICM profiles. You would not believe how hard it is to get color matching to work in windows. After you have your monitor and video card set up, MAKE ABSOLUTLY SURE TO INSTALL THE ICM PROFILE FOR YOUR MONITOR -- AND THEN CALIBRATE IT. Most High end monitors come with calibration software. Getting ICM working correctly on your screen really isn't that big of a deal, in fact if done properly calibration is just a matter of adjusting the contrast and brightness to your work setting, you shouldn't have to worry about color adjustments. Getting it to work right when outputting however . . . let's just say I am coming back from spending 3 hours in a lab strugging to get photoshop and windows to coperate to match colors on a HP Laserjet 8500 Color. You want to know why most people think mac's are so superior tp PC's for graphics work? You don't have to waste (much) time trying to get ICM profiles to work with each other. Colorsync is a godsend.

-Chu

P.S. : When I say "high end ATI," in many ways I am referring to what was high end at the time. Until the 9500/9700, I could not find a non-matrox card that touched my Radeon DDR 64MB VIVO. In fact, I still use this card for precisely that reason. Doom3/HL2 will be forcing me to shell out for a new card though :frown:

Thank you for stepping in and offering the 0wn4g3 Lite ® package as opposed to the full-on lambasting I would have dished out in response.

Web design and 2D work? Matrox, all the way. G550 with dual-DVI cables = excellent consumer-level 2D and for under three figures. And don't forget the ICM profiles and a good monitor. That 14" SuperHappy FunBee radiation king won't cut it.

- M4H

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Matrox G400's can be had for under $50 on fleabay and FS/FT here. Not sure how much they are new, but they're pretty old so they should be cheap.