Best PC builds for graphic design?

Didn't want to start a whole new thread, hope this spot works.

Apple iMac Pro 27"
Retina 5K CTO, 8-core Intel Xeon w 3.2
3.2GHz/64GB/1TB SSD/Radeon Pro
Vega 56 8GB HBM2/US KB

Look at this beast. It's basically a high-end workstation meant for heavy-duty pro graphics work.

The price tag over at Best Buy is $16000.

Is there any way to snag a similarly beefy setup without getting totally ripped off?

Appreciate the help.

Raymond Hill said:Didn't want to start a whole new thread, hope this spot works.

Apple iMac Pro 27"
Retina 5K CTO, 8-core Intel Xeon w 3.2
3.2GHz/64GB/1TB SSD/Radeon Pro
Vega 56 8GB HBM2/US KB

Look at this beast. It's basically a high-end workstation meant for heavy-duty pro graphics work.

The price tag over at Best Buy is $16000.

Is there any way to snag a similarly beefy setup without getting totally ripped off?

Appreciate the help.

You can find similar power everywhere, though even with the current pricing on graphics cards, it's hard to find anything else that carries the Apple name...😁

The real question is which monitor actually matches the quality you get on an iMac, or if there's even a decent alternative out there.
You're kind of drifting off-topic here; better to just start a new thread.

wiredotter14 said:The real question is which monitor actually matches the quality you get on an iMac, or if there's even a decent alternative out there.
You're kind of drifting off-topic here; better to just start a new thread.

Since we're talking about a 27" 5K setup, I don't think we're really getting into territory that's a waste of time. 😉 Most of the other specs should be pretty straightforward to match up.

wanderingbison9 said:Since we're talking about a 27" 5K setup, I don't think we're really getting into territory that's a waste of time. 😉 Most of the other specs should be pretty straightforward to match up.

The other specs aren't the issue. It's that 27" 5K screen. Regardless of whether you think it makes sense or not, it's pretty unique, which makes finding a desktop with "similar power" a tough call. As far as I know, it's a top-tier display—I don't know much about monitors, especially the high-end stuff, so I have no idea what else would offer comparable image quality.

wiredotter14 said:The other specs aren't the issue. It's that 27" 5K screen. Regardless of whether you think it makes sense or not, it's pretty unique, which makes finding a desktop with "similar power" a tough call. As far as I know, it's a top-tier display—I don't know much about monitors, especially the high-end stuff, so I have no idea what else would offer comparable image quality.

But the point wasn't really about the screen, it was about the overall performance of the machine. That display is unique because of its non-standard resolution and the fact that it's baked right into an all-in-one chassis, mostly because Apple always seems determined to do things their own way, whether it's practical or not. If we look at brands like Asus, Eizo, or NEC, they actually have screens that are arguably better. Personally, I can't even see the pixels on a 40" 4K TV, and while 5K does offer a bit more real estate, everything ends up looking so tiny; doesn't that raise the question of how Win text scaling will actually behave in the specific apps being used?

So, what does "graphic design" actually mean here?

Are we talking about full-on 3D scene rendering, or just slapping a logo on a page?

First off, the monitor isn't even the most important part of this whole equation.
For one, it’s much more critical to figure out how things are going to look once they hit the final physical medium—you know, the actual print or whatever device you're aiming for.

I mean, sure, there are certain professions that obsess over color calibration on a display, but honestly? It’s all pretty relative.
Absolute colors don't really exist in a vacuum; it's all subjective, based on the eye of the beholder or whatever.

And when you get into pixels and rasterization, it's the same story: everything hinges on matching the output of that final destination device.