2 Systems for Photoshop

H

Hulk

Supreme [H]ardness
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Nov 4, 2005
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Gentlemen, I'd like you to design for me two PC systems that will be used for Photoshop.

I would like one that's fitted with top-of-the-line hardware and then I would like another one that's a budget version.

Also, I will be needing a monitor(s) as well.

I don't know if dual core or quad core are better or if there is a difference that's why I'm asking for your input on this.

Thanks!
 
45nm Dual core E8400 or E8500 cpu man for Photoshop. The higher core clock on an E8400/E8500 cpu will benfit you more in Photoshop than a lower clock speed Quad Core. O/C that CPU also for added performance increase, 4 gig DDR2 800 Ram minimum with the WD WD6400AAKS HDD. You should be flying with this setup.
 
You could be a lot more helpful if you answered these questions fully:
- What's the budget for the top of the line system and the budget system separately?
- What EXACT parts do you need for the system? RAM? CPU? OS? Case? etc. Please be very very specific.
- What size monitor are you looking for?
- Where are you located?
- Will you be overclocking?
- What else will you be doing with these two rigs besides photoshop?
- Why do you need two Photoshop builds?
 
Yeah, It made me wonder to, why build 2 systems for Photoshop 1 being high end and the other a budget version? It would be helpful if you would answer Dannys questions on your build. I stated earlier an E8400/E8500 Dual Core cpu as a good choice. But, if you are O/C the cpu, a Quad Core will be just as good if not better. You can't go wrong with either. But, if you will not O/C then, I give the edge to the Dual Core E8400/E8500 cpus as far as Photoshop is concerned.
 
Danny Bui said:
You could be a lot more helpful if you answered these questions fully:
- What's the budget for the top of the line system and the budget system separately?
The reason why I wanted two systems was because I wanted to know how big of a difference there was between the budget and extreme versions (in hardware).
- What EXACT parts do you need for the system? RAM? CPU? OS? Case? etc. Please be very very specific.
I need everything except for mouse/keyboard!
- What size monitor are you looking for?
I would like one 24", but I would also like to have the option of getting another 24", or even 2 of them (so maybe 3 total)
- Where are you located?
Detroit area
- Will you be overclocking?
Probably not because I don't know anything about OC.
- What else will you be doing with these two rigs besides photoshop?
Basically just photoshop, so NO gaming.
- Why do you need two Photoshop builds?
Click to expand...
See the first question.
 
OK there's a mis-communication here. My first question asked for the price range for the budget rig and the price range for the high-end rig. People have different definitions of "budget" rigs.

Also, what features are you looking for in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Large # of SATA ports? etc
 
Ok I would say budget meaning $600 and the other system $1,200.

To me it doesn't really matter what kind of motherboard the system contains. My main concern is that I want this system to be fast, no stuttering, minimal loading times, etc.

I might be interested in RAID.
 
I assume the $600 budget build and the $1200 high end build is for the PC only and not include the monitor(s)? What would be your budget on the monitor(s)?
 
$600 budget:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 CPU - $190
Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L Intel G31 mATX Motherboard - $60
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $80
Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $85
Samsung SH-222F 22X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner - $27
Antec NSK4480 ATX Case with Antec Earthwatts 380W PSU - $76
Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit SP1 OEM - $80
---
Total: $598 plus tax and shipping.


$1200 budget:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 CPU - $280
Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L Intel P43 Motherboard - $90
2 x G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $160
MSI R3450-TD256H Radeon HD 3450 256MB PCI-E Video Card - $33
2 x Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $170 (For some RAID 0 action)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $140 (Backup and Data Storage)
Samsung SH-222F 22X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner - $27
Corsair 450VX 450W PSU - $70
Antec 300 ATX Case - $60
Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit SP1 OEM - $80
----
Total: $1110 plus tax and shipping
 
thanks for the awesome setups Danny!

Hardwareguru - thanks for your help as well. What do you recommend for the 24"?

I will be working with photos so I would like something that shows the colors on the screen as close to what they actually will look like once printed. My budget for the monitor would be $250-$375.
 
For the budget system build, I would also like to watch High def. videos, which video card do you recommend for that? The budget build looks very powerful compared with the other build, the main difference I noticed is the processor is a bit slower, less HD space, and a bit less memory.
 
Also, I think I will go with the E8400 like Harewareguru suggested, its clocked at 3.0GHz compared to the 2.4 & 2.6GHz quad-cores.
 
Hulk said:
For the budget system build, I would also like to watch High def. videos, which video card do you recommend for that? .
Click to expand...

Just add the same video card from the High-end build.

Hulk said:
Also, I think I will go with the E8400 like Harewareguru suggested, its clocked at 3.0GHz compared to the 2.4 & 2.6GHz quad-cores.
Click to expand...

IIRC, Photoshop does benefit from quad-core rigs. So the quad-cores Q9450 or Q6600 could perform better than the dual-core E8400.
 
That's tough man looking for a good 24" LCD monitor in that price range. Since your primary purpose of this PC build is Photoshop, it would be ideal in your case to have an lcd monitor that uses an 8 bit panel. 8 bit panels display the full 24bit 16.7 million colors. Most lcd monitors nowdays are using the cheaper 6 bit TN(Twisted Nematic) panels that suffer from color shifting due to its limited viewing angles. With you're budget on a 24" lcd, you are pretty much stuck on a TN panel lcd. I would recommend the BenQ G2400WD. TN panel yah, but, its pretty good. Would you consider, just building 1 decent system and getting 1 good monitor? Or, would you also consider getting a better smaller LCD monitor?



Hulk said:
thanks for the awesome setups Danny!

Hardwareguru - thanks for your help as well. What do you recommend for the 24"?

I will be working with photos so I would like something that shows the colors on the screen as close to what they actually will look like once printed. My budget for the monitor would be $250-$375.
Click to expand...
 
It also depends on how heavy of a multitasker you are. If you plan to convert a video in the background while editing a photo, than, a Quad core will be more useful. The Quad core will be more future proof than a Dual Core and that's why some people suggest a Quad over a Dual core cpu. An E8400 will be a tad faster than a Q6600 in Photoshop CS3 especially in raw photo processing. But, nothing dramatic. Either cpu is sufficient for Photoshop. What you do need is lots of RAM. 4 gig RAM minimum. Heck, with the prices of RAM now, go for 8 gigs already. Also, a fast HDD is a must and the WD WD6400AAKS HDD can deliver.

Hulk said:
Also, I think I will go with the E8400 like Harewareguru suggested, its clocked at 3.0GHz compared to the 2.4 & 2.6GHz quad-cores.
Click to expand...
 
Hardwareguru, thanks for your help.

Looks like I'm all set except for the monitor. I'm willing to downsize to a smaller monitor that is a 8bit panel.

Also I'm going to build just one system.

1) How much is a decent 24" 8 bit panel?

2) If I go with the budget setup listed above and I go with the E8400, can I upgrade it to a quad core later on with the same motherboard?
 
For an ultimate Photoshop machine I would put in 8GB of RAM and use a 64bit OS. PS CS3 is 32bit but will run faster on a 64bit OS with lots of RAM when working on large images due to less disk caching. On Vista x64 when PS runs out of memory the OS will use up to 2GB of RAM as a scratch disk before the hard disk is used. I have experienced this myself on my computer.

PS CS4 on Windows will be 64bit so you would be future proofing as well. Lightroom 2 is already 64bit capable.

As for monitors, I would reccomend a NEC 2490wuxi - Spectraview version - for 24". It has full hardware calibration of its high bit internal LUT and is specifically aimed at graphics professionals. You could also look at its larger brother the 2690 which is a wide gamut screen and is 26". You can't get much better than these NEC monitors. They both are H-IPS screens.
 
A decent 8 bit 24" lcd will run you $600. This is decent/good monitor. If you want very good color accuracy, then the Nec 2490wuxi that mlewis just mentioned ranks among the very top. But, expect to pay a hefty price of over $1,000+ dollars though. If you are not willing to spend $1,000 on a monitor and I'm sure most people won't, a $600 8bit 24" lcd will do fine. If $600 is still too steep, look at a 20" 8 bit lcd for $400 or less. The HP LP2065 20.1" for example is a good LCD for photo editing.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176053
Note: This LCD is good in producing good image quality and sharp text, but, it does not support HDCP. The means it won't display copy-protected HD content if you plan to watch HD movies on this LCD.


If you are considering spending $600 on a 24" lcd, you can look at these 8 bit 24" lcds that deliver good image quality.

Samsung 245T
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001246

ViewSonic VX2435WM
http://www.pcconnection.com/IPA/Sho...664&srccode=cii_9324560&cpncode=12-62802526-2

HP LP2465
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176059
Note: This LCD is good in producing good image quality and sharp text, but, it does not support HDCP. The means it won't display copy-protected HD content if you plan to watch HD movies on this LCD.

As far as the build setup, if you want to put in a quad cpu later on you can.


Hulk said:
Hardwareguru, thanks for your help.

Looks like I'm all set except for the monitor. I'm willing to downsize to a smaller monitor that is a 8bit panel.

Also I'm going to build just one system.

1) How much is a decent 24" 8 bit panel?

2) If I go with the budget setup listed above and I go with the E8400, can I upgrade it to a quad core later on with the same motherboard?
Click to expand...
 
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