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.
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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?
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For a distro, I was thinking about Linux Mint but would other distros be better options?
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Other than GIMP, what are some essential software for graphic design and digital art on Linux?
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If you buy a used office desktop, it can be worth it to just put in a GPU. You have to know what you’re looking at though. Some prebuilds include stuff like custom motherboards or PSUs that are very hard to upgrade or make it impossible to install a GPU. Otherwise DIY is cheapest.
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Debian is very stable, good for professional use.
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She already uses some software and she probably would like something similar. Maybe look for alternatives or ways to run her choice of software on Linux?
- GIMP isn’t the most user friendly software and I don’t think it’s the best choice for graphic design.
- Inkscape is good for vector graphics, but it’s still lackluster compared to Adobe Illustrator.
- Krita is awesome for illustrations and digital art, but doesn’t have too many graphic design features that I found.
Overall if she’s going to use it in professional capacity, switching to Linux could be a risk.