I’m trying to build a workstation for my wife who is a graphic design by trade. She has only ever used Window so I thought that this would be a great way to introduce her to Linux. I just have some questions about getting this project off the ground.

  1. Am I better off buying a cheap, prebuilt desktop and adding some extra parts like a GPU and more memory or building it from the ground up?

  2. For a distro, I was thinking about Linux Mint but would other distros be better options?

  3. Other than GIMP, what are some essential software for graphic design and digital art on Linux?

  • Blackout@kbin.run
    0·
    1 month ago

    If she works with other teams they will be using Adobe software and a Linux box will slow her down. I don’t have the most up to date computer but had these requirements when buying:

    • 64gb fast RAM - large vector files with 1000s of paths will need lots of RAM not to go sluggish
    • Upper mid-range processor/GPU- you don’t need an i9 and 4080 card. Graphic software won’t tax the GPU. If she does mostly motion graphics/video editing then if could be useful but otherwise save your money.
    • Ultrawide monitor - This is a huge efficiency boost. Being able to run Photoshop and illustrator together on the same screen, without a bezel losing your mouse pointer. Big quality of life improvement for designers.