Do you really need an extremely expensive pc/laptop to be a graphic/web designer??
By K8
@Ethereal8 (6)
October 6, 2022 12:42am CST
So, I'm very drawn to graphic and/or web design and I would love that to be my career some day.
I have talent (not bragging, but I've met a couple of designers online, asked for their opinions on my projects and they said that I'm talented and one of them said (he runs a team of designers from what I remember) that the work I did was equally good as the work of his "creatives."
While all that sounds great, the issue is that I've heard that you need an extremely expensive either pc or laptop to be a designer and I don't exactly have the money to buy one. I can buy a regular one, not the very expensive one like that.
So, I was just wondering whether it's truly necessary to do that or can you work with a regular computer?
I hope I can, but who knows.
That's pretty much the only career that's really calling to me, that I really like and would really enjoy but I'm torn between pursuing it and settling for something less interesting but more secure and easier...
6 people like this
8 responses
@mrki444 (15149)
• Croatia (Hrvatska)
6 Oct 22
Unfortunately Photoshop or Gimp require bigger amount of RAM and solid processor so if you want run software smoothly it should be better and expensive. You can run those programs on weaker computer but it will be slower experience and maybe even won't start.
2 people like this
@pitstop (13734)
• Australia
6 Oct 22
It depends on what software you will be using. See the minimum requirements for that software and aim at getting something a little more. Sometimes the software can be the more expensive investment.
All the best, if you choose to chase this dream.
2 people like this
@sublime03 (2339)
• Philippines
10 Oct 22
You just need enough memory to run the software you will need. For the meantime if you are eager to do it, go ahead and let nothing keep you from pursuing it. You can make do with what you can afford for now until such time you can purchase the more expensive ones. If you believe in the capabilities you have, I am pretty sure you can make it to where you want to be one day.
@iKONICNoona (4192)
• Philippines
6 Oct 22
Well I think you can save up for a good quality pc or laptop. But for the meantime , there are sofwares tat is suitable for a good pc or laptop you can use them for commission basis so that you can earn and save to buy a much better pc.
1 person likes this
@laser_vision (56)
• United States
1 Jul 23
My current laptop cost $1000, and I added an SSD later on for an additional $200. A laptop with a dedicated GPU and SSD should be good enough for your personal machine. The bigger expense is Adobe Creative Cloud and Figma, both of which are costly subscriptions.
To get started in this field, I recommend going to college, even if it is only a community college. A community college can have a good graphic design program with connections in the field, and they will have the expensive computers in class. You do your work in the class and avoid other hardware expenses. You also get a sweet Adobe student discount, which should help on the financial end of things.
@jstory07 (139516)
• Roseburg, Oregon
6 Oct 22
Find out from some one employed in that field. I always get a laptop that has what I want and I am happy with that
@bsetiadi (9)
•
9 Oct 22
I have the same issue with you couple years back. Budget constraint.
To be a graphic designer you need to invest on 2 things: computer and software.
What I did in software thing is, I install only open source software which is free to download but has capabilities almost as good as the commercial ones. Not perfect may be, but it must be more than sufficient to create a good design.
Secondly, upgrade (double) your memory (RAM). The cost will not as big as you buy a professional PC. Quite cheap. (and if your computer is still using SATA disk, try to replace it with SSD SATA. it is not expensive but will double the speed of your computer).
Submit your design to Online image bank company which will pay you for your design. The money you earn can help you to buy a new laptop later on.... :)
