Looking for Powerful Desktop for Graphic Design+Gaming

[EunJin]

Fairly new to this site, so I don't really know the rules of the forum, sorry X/

I am currently looking for a DESKTOP that is extremely powerful so I could delve into graphic design. I am also an avid gamer so amazing graphics and smooth running of games are a MUST. Price is NOT a huge issue as I am a firm believer in the getting the best products that are well worth the price for my circumstances. I have been eying the 27" iMac with Retina 5K Display and am looking heavily into performance and am wondering if the jumps between these make a real noticeable difference in performance:

3.5GHz i5 vs. 4.0GHz i7 processor
8GB vs. 16GB vs. 32GB RAM
1TB Fusion Drive vs. 3TB Fusion Drive vs. 1TB Flash Storage
AMD Radeon R9 M290X 2GB GDDR5 vs. AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4GB GDDR5

For the storage, I am really comparing the FDs to the 1TB FS, specifically if the 3TB FD would be better than the 1TB FS in terms of performance.

I've been using windows for basically 12-13 years and wanted a change, so I opted for Apple products this time around. However I am still considering Windows products, but as of now I'm really only looking at a Windows laptop (ASUS) which I will buy much later than the desktop. Feel free to leave suggestions though<3

Thanks in advance for reading this novel<3!

 

[Entomber]

let me get this straight: you're comparing apple products with these certain specs? Can you provide links to these products?

 

[EunJin]

let me get this straight: you're comparing apple products with these certain specs? Can you provide links to these products?

I basically went to the Apple website and clicked to buy the specific product I listed, and listed the specs from the page where I could essentially configure some specs: http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/imac-retina?product=MF886LL/A&step=config#

 

[williamcummins]

First off, graphic design should not take much resources on your computer unless you play with heavy stuff like super big HDR images or a huge quantity of extremely complex vector shapes in either photoshop, after effect or illustrator. If money is not an issue thought, you could get a computer outperform the new iMac by far with the same budget (like literally two times faster).

Now for gaming, 3000$ is more than enough to give you smooth experience at 4K resolution.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FFrfGX
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FFrfGX/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($204.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($338.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Red Pro 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($166.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Red Pro 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($166.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 980 4GB AMP! Extreme Edition Video Card ($569.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT H440 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($129.88 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus PB287Q 60Hz 28.0" Monitor ($546.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $3002.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-22 16:21 EST-0500

 

[EunJin]

First off, graphic design should not take much resources on your computer unless you play with heavy stuff like super big HDR images or a huge quantity of extremely complex vector shapes in either photoshop, after effect or illustrator. If money is not an issue thought, you could get a computer outperform the new iMac by far with the same budget (like literally two times faster).

Now for gaming, 3000$ is more than enough to give you smooth experience at 4K resolution.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FFrfGX
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FFrfGX/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($204.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($338.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Red Pro 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($166.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Red Pro 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($166.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 980 4GB AMP! Extreme Edition Video Card ($569.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT H440 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($129.88 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus PB287Q 60Hz 28.0" Monitor ($546.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $3002.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-22 16:21 EST-0500

I guess that I should tell you now that this girl has no interest at all to build anything currently. I was looking at the iMac because it has a nice screen, good reputation, and is NOT Windows, as I've always dealt with Windows. I'm just extremely confused on how noticeable of a change there is in terms of performance when you compare the different specs. However I am still open to Windows desktops so long as I don't have to build them

 

[williamcummins]

And I'm extremely confused on what you actually want from us.

 

[Entomber]

I think based on what you're asking, for a 5K mac, you will want to pick a GPU with the highest amount of VRAM, and if price is really not an issue you should pick the most expensive options available.

i7 - best CPU
"flash storage" - SSD, fastest storage available (I believe "fusion" is just another name for hybrid drive including SSD boot and magnetic HDD storage)
get the best GPU that you can choose
At the moment, 16GB of RAM is probably the max that anyone could reasonably use at one time.

 

[williamcummins]

Fusion drive and hybrid drive is two different things. Fusion drive doesn't only use cache to accelerate frequently used programs, it has a physical flash storage managing itself. But not worth the money...

If you plan on gaming with your machine, I don't think the iMac is a good option. Even with the best gpu available (r9 m295x) there are no chances you will actually be able to play at full resolution. The GPU is just not good enough.

iMac 5k might be good for graphic design, but seriously, for 3000$ !? That's just stupid.

 

[verdenshersker]

Fairly new to this site, so I don't really know the rules of the forum, sorry X/

I am currently looking for a DESKTOP that is extremely powerful so I could delve into graphic design. I am also an avid gamer so amazing graphics and smooth running of games are a MUST. Price is NOT a huge issue as I am a firm believer in the getting the best products that are well worth the price for my circumstances. I have been eying the 27" iMac with Retina 5K Display and am looking heavily into performance and am wondering if the jumps between these make a real noticeable difference in performance:

3.5GHz i5 vs. 4.0GHz i7 processor
8GB vs. 16GB vs. 32GB RAM
1TB Fusion Drive vs. 3TB Fusion Drive vs. 1TB Flash Storage
AMD Radeon R9 M290X 2GB GDDR5 vs. AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4GB GDDR5

For the storage, I am really comparing the FDs to the 1TB FS, specifically if the 3TB FD would be better than the 1TB FS in terms of performance.

I've been using windows for basically 12-13 years and wanted a change, so I opted for Apple products this time around. However I am still considering Windows products, but as of now I'm really only looking at a Windows laptop (ASUS) which I will buy much later than the desktop. Feel free to leave suggestions though<3

Thanks in advance for reading this novel<3!

Hey EunJin,

Being an only Mac user, I will give you my thoughts here.
The 27 5K iMac is stunning, there is no doubt!
But keep in mind you are running a lot of pixel with a high end mobile GPU.
In the Apple world, people usually pick the 4 Ghz i7 and the top GPU.
They do complain sometimes about heat issues and noise - so do your research.

About the fusion drive, it is a hybrid, so stuff you use often, will be fast and the rest will be like a hard drive.

The best option is without a doubt to pick up a Mac Pro (old version), that is where you get the best power when it comes to gaming.
They max out at 12 Core 3.46 Ghz (2 x 6 Core), up to 128 GB Memory, which I don't believe, you need.
All the newer Nvidia works straight out of the box with Yosemite OSX, so you can pick up GTX 970 or GTX 980.
Keep in mind that you can't get SLI or Crossfire support in OS X, but you are fully supported in Windows, which you can install with Bootcamp.

You only have 2 x 6 pins available for your PCI-e GPU. If you need more, you will have to install a booster (300w to 450w) in one of your optical bays, which you will need, when you are running dual GTX 980 or so.

When it comes to limitation, people install USB3 cards as well and PCI-e SSD, so you can get full speed, since none of the older ones have USB3 or SATA600.

You can only make your own Fusion Drive by combining two drives in OS X today if you rather want that.

This is what I use myself:
Mac Pro 2009
2 x 2.93 Ghz Quad Cores (8 Cores, 16 Threads)
32 GB DDR3 1066 Mhz Memory
HD5870 1 GB Memory (Original Mac Edition)
2 x 2 TB Storage HDD
250 GB HDD running Bootcamp
160 GB Intel SSD running OS X.

I only game a little bit, so I didn't need a GPU upgrade (mostly just League of Legends), but I am a graphic designer and I am doing just fine with this machine... I do like the amount of memory for the large Photoshop files.

Some games can run in OS X today, but generally you gain better performance overall by gaming in Windows.

Hope that will help you a bit on the way