I've always preferred AMD to Intel for graphics, although the computer I'm using now came with an Intel P4 and I can't see any difference in speed on graphic programs. Depending on which programs you're using, the amount of RAM will probably make more difference than whether you use an AMD or Intel. If you've got Photoshop, you already know it's a memory hog and so are all of the render/modeling software packages I've used, though I still think Photoshop is the worst in pigging out on your RAM. I run Photoshop at the same time I run Poser and at 1 GB RAM, I'm still having to close and reopen both programs frequently. If you've got something like Max3d and Painter open at the same time, you can forget it. If you can afford it, spring for 2 GB RAM.