3k Budget Design Comp - Feedback please

Athrix

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 25, 2002
Messages
81
I've been away from PC building for a few years and I'm about to get back into it for my job. We're looking to replace our two design computers and have about a 3k budget (per computer). The budget basically just needs to cover the computer itself, no peripherals or monitors. Obviously if I can get a good one built for less that would be great but we're not looking to cut any corners.

They will primarily be used for large format graphics in photoshop CS2 and CS3. Some of the files get up into the 3+ GB range making it hard to render even basic effects.

Only one needs a lot of storage space ( to host most of our files ). I'd like to keep everything on xp, 64 bit if necessary to help with integration.

Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
i7 290 - $300 (should be less, but this is a placeholder value)
Gigabyte X58 board - $250
12GB DDR3-1600 -- $200
GPU (don't know that you need anything special here, could probably get away with a $50 card) - ?
Lian Li PC-7B Plus II case - $90
2 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black HDDs - $250
BFG LS-555 PSU - $70 (or Corsair TX750 - $90 AR)

No reason you can't build them both for $3000. Easy. Very easy. A machine like the one listed above would absolutely destroy anything in Photoshop. Period.

Higher end CPUs won't do jack for you -- $300 for another 300Mhz makes no sense. Doubt you need a stupid expensive board for what you do, you can probably save $50 if you look around a bit there too.
 
That sounds pretty good, yea GPU doesn't have to be anything special just needs to put out some clean crisp colors. What do you think about putting (2) 10k raptors in a raid 0 for windows system files and photoshop alone, then have a storage drive. Or do you think it would be better to have photoshop in its own array with windows and general storage in its own drive.
 
I'd just pick up the Caviar Blacks, honestly. The Raptors really aren't worth the price of admission these days. You could get a pair of the 320GBs and run RAID 0 on those for 1/2 the cost of 1 Raptor.

Might seriously consider a SSD, as your budget will certainly allow... but what I'd do is get a 1TB drive, or maybe a pair, for each machine, then get the SSDs if that's not fast enough for you.
 
Thanks for the input man i really appreciate it. Maybe I can charge my boss a commission for saving him some cash. :D As I'm sure you know time is money and the more time we spend opening, saving, and rendering the more money we waste.

Thanks again.
 
Oh for sure, whats a good build without some pics. After doing some reading on SSDs that might be a pretty good option, sounds like a pretty dramatic performance increase. I'll have to give it some thought. I've generally only built basic machines or gaming machines in the past so haven't really looked into SSDs before.
 
JakFrost has been doing a bunch of research on them and has some helpful links near the end of his thread, so check it out. Personally, for a business, SSDs are too new, IMO, to be considered for a stable platform. However, if you're up for the risk, you'd be best served by two OCZ Vertex drives in RAID0 for both OS and apps. For storage, you'll be better off using the Caviar Blacks. For the file server, you'll want WD RE3 drives in RAID5 or 6. Also, with the 12GB of RAM, you'll want a RAMdisk program to help CS2/3 scream. I know Adobe claims you don't need one, but tests have shown that a real RAMdisk program will benefit users who work with huge files.

You can easily hit your budget by going with workstation parts, dual LGA1366, 36GB max RAM, dual Xeon 5500 series, Quadro card, SAS drives + SSDs, etc.
 
Here is what I"m looking at right now, left room for future upgrades but I think this should be sufficient for a while.

LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA $24.99

GIGABYTE Triton 180 Black (-$8.00 Instant) $69.99 --> $61.99

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB (-$10.00 Instant) $119.99 --> $109.99

EVGA 256-P2-N761-TR GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB GDDR3 (-$5.00 MIR) $54.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W (-$60.00 Instant) ($20.00 MIR) $159.99 --> $99.99

CORSAIR XMS3 12GB (6 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) $204.00

MSI X58 Pro Intel MB $20.00 Mail-in Rebate $199.99

Core i7 920 2.66GHz $288.99

Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2C 64-bit $139.99


Grand Total:* $1,184.92

Anyone see where I could pickup better performance or save a little money. Keep in mind this is built for large format photoshop documents.

Thanks in advance.
 
The TX750 is often cheaper than that TX650. Look around a bit.

Are you going to OC at all? If so pick up a Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme or its Noctua equivalent.

Avoid that MSI board... get a Gigabyte or ASUS for a bit more. I don't trust MSI after several very bad experiences.
 
Edit: not sure how hot that case i suggested will get with the i7. a few people on newegg said its fine and one said it got too hot. i removed it because i don't want to suggest something that may overheat and lose your business money.

you might also want to check out the 1600mhz ram instead of 1333mhz. should only be $5 more in most cases and might give a little better performance.
 
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The discount on the TX650 was pretty hefty at the moment, thats the main reason I grabbed it instead of the TX750, its 80 bucks after the MIR. I dont' intend on over clocking at the moment, I'd hate to OC these for a little more performance and possibly shorten the lifespan of the system. We'll probably be using these for a while. They should be plenty powerful with stock settings.

I'll take your word for it on the MSI board, I was looking for something with 6x ddr3 slots so I could get 12gb w/o paying the premo of 4gb sticks. I'll shop around for something a little better but still w/ 6x slots. Looking like the next one up is an Asus for about 60 more than the MSI, skipping over the gigabyte that only has 4x ddr3. Was hoping to be lazy and just snag everything from new egg but it looks like i might need to branch out for a mobo

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I think the builds will start this week when the boss gives me the go ahead. I'll throw some pics up later :D
 
3.5Ghz is no sweat at all for an i7 920, and you'll be shortening its potential lifespan to like... 15 years instead of 30. Not enough that it'd ever matter. Ever.

Almost all the X58s have 6 slots, including all the Gigabyte boards in so far as I know, so I don't know where you got an LGA1366 board with 4 slots. Some have 3, but not many. None have 4. I guess you were looking at LGA775 boards on accident there.
 
3.5Ghz is no sweat at all for an i7 920, and you'll be shortening its potential lifespan to like... 15 years instead of 30. Not enough that it'd ever matter. Ever.

Almost all the X58s have 6 slots, including all the Gigabyte boards in so far as I know, so I don't know where you got an LGA1366 board with 4 slots. Some have 3, but not many. None have 4. I guess you were looking at LGA775 boards on accident there.

the UD3R has 4 slots. its gigabytes cheapest x58 board.
 
... I'd hate to OC these for a little more performance and possibly shorten the lifespan of the system. ...

I just wanted to point out that an OC from 2.6Ghz to 3.8Ghz is not a "little more performance" and if done correctly, will not shorten the lifespan of the system. ;) Intel's Core CPUs have changed OC'ing forever. :D I'm not trying to convince you to OC -- just merely trying to update you. I understand that most people don't need the extra performance of an OC, and the i7 actually OC's for you on the fly, so you may never need to tap into that extra processing power hidden in the silicon. :)
 
This is exactly why I"m posting on these forums and not winging it :)

1.2 ghz is definitely not a small performance increase, that would more than likely yield noticeable gains. Honestly if that 1.2 ghz can save us a few minutes here and there, that can add up fast. I probably wouldn't consider OCing w/o an aftermarket hsf, and with the change on mobo could be adding near $100 per machine, which would be more than worth it in my eyes. Only problem is convincing someone that has no idea what I'm talking about to fork over a bit more cash. I'll see what i can dig out of him :p

Thanks for the info on i7 OCing it's definitely something to consider.

I should have just stuck with Asus from the start rather than trying to save a few bucks, always used them in the past and never had a complaints. Still have an old ass Athlon xp 1700+ on an asus board running like a champ that I gave to my sister a while back. It's looking like the p6t will probably be what I go with. Thought I could save a few bucks and get something that didn't have SLI or xfire, but its looking like any decent board running an i7 will have at least a 200+ price tag.
 
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well the xigmatek there isn't too expensive, and $5 off with the combo. that should be enough to get you to 3.6-3.8. a little better cooler would probably be the noctua nh-u12p but its a little more expensive. be sure to get a little tube of thermal paste too if you get the xigmatek. the noctua actually comes with really good paste.

upgrading to 1600mhz ram is a really good decision especially if you overclock.
 
Keep in mind, a performance increase should be multiplied by two for duel cores and four for quad cores. In other words, little increases mean a lot.

Rendering and transcoding will run all cores at 100% until finished on many programs, regardless of how fast the system is, so having something stronger will save a few minutes, if not more.

As far as heat sink fans, the Noctua series is nice because it includes everything - good heat sink, exceptional fan, mounting backplate and other hardware, thermal grease, sound dampening washers and strips, etc.

Photoshop CS4 is much better at utilizing RAM discs and multiple cores, so spending a little extra money in your budget for CS4 might turn out to be quite profitable when it comes to render times.
 
... I should have just stuck with Asus from the start rather than trying to save a few bucks ...

...Thought I could save a few bucks and get something that didn't have SLI or xfire, but its looking like any decent board running an i7 will have at least a 200+ price tag.

Nah, researching the different brands is good. If someone bought the Asus P6T Deluxe with Tri-SLI in mind but didn't do research, they'd be pissed, lol. ;)

The thing is, the only chipset out is the X58, which is intel's high end enthusiast chipset. So, there are only minor differences between the different boards available, hence the prices. Intel's mainstream Nehalem parts (i5 and P55) aren't arriving until Q3'09, IIRC.
 
For work machines I would NOT overclock them. If the performance is an issue, get a fast CPU. You are only adding in something that can make your work environment less stable for you to work in. Last you need is the computer going to hell in the middle of working because your overclocked it.

Not that the PC cant go crazy without the overclock.
 
For work machines I would NOT overclock them. If the performance is an issue, get a fast CPU. You are only adding in something that can make your work environment less stable for you to work in. Last you need is the computer going to hell in the middle of working because your overclocked it.

Not that the PC cant go crazy without the overclock.

I agree. Sorry, I didn't re-read the OP before posting my spiel on OC'ing. I don't recommend OC'ing any systems for mission critical tasks, such as workstations/servers. I use Dell at work. :)
 
Thanks for all the feedback, I'll probably end up sticking with stock settings for a while. If that proves to be insufficient maybe I'll throw in a SSD when their a little more reasonably priced or upgrade to a newer i7. I'm betting this build will be plenty of power at least through the year. SSDs should be in better shape by then (hopefully)
 
This was put on hold for a bit, due to the owner's recent divorce (her name was on half the business) but is now back on. Reviewing over the parts again and the budget led me to ask:

Will I notice much of a performance gain if I put CS4 on its own SSD or would I need to put CS4 and windows on a SSD. I'd prefer to have windows on a more stable drive like a caviar black just to reduce the chance of having problems with a work machine. If I have problems with the SSD and just photoshop is on it, it won't be tragic.

Barring anymore unforeseen road blocks I should be order parts this week. Budget has changed to a max of 2k for one machine, but I think I can finish it for around 1500.

Thanks in advance.
 
What does your parts list look like right now? Which SSD(s) are you getting?

Yes, installing CS4 onto an SSD would speed it up. Also get RAMDisk and use it for the photoshop scratch disk -- will definitely speed things up.
 
This is where I left off last. I wasn't originally planning to do a SSD so I haven't shopped for one yet.

Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner
ASUS P6T ATX Intel
CORSAIR XMS3 12GB (6 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600)
EVGA GeForce 8600 GTS 256-P2-N761-TR
GIGABYTE Triton 180 Black Computer Case
x2 Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2C 64-bit
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W Power Supply


Was doing a little reading on CS4 and found that they are starting to utilize more GPU to help render images so I might venture to get a slightly better vid card.
 
That video card is no longer being sold nor would it be a good choice in the first place.

Why XP 64bit? Why Vista or Windows 7?
 
Build looks fine. I haven't seen reviews on the performance improvements with CUDA on Photoshop yet, but if you can, search around for those. I recall seeing a nice jump with Premier, though.
 
Didnt really have my heart set on that video card it was a decent price at the time with a combo discount. As far as xp 64, I'd rather not have one machine on the network running vista or win 7 and everything else running xp. When it comes down to it I'll upgrade everything to win 7 later.

Thanks for the feedback all.
 
Sounds like this is for a business.
I'd just spec out a couple of Dell Precision workstations. Have an all in one place warranty/support, next day on-site repair/replacement.

Risking potential debug time on your own, when project are due, revenu at stake is just asking for disaster.
 
Is the budget still the same and how do you feel with regards to buying a prebuilt for the previous posters outlined reasons?
 
Well how much are similarly spec'd dell/hp workstations? Everywhere I look they are atrociously high ($5-7k) just for one machine.
 
i speced one out and it came to about 3k (3071 Shipped) with 3year next business day warranty.

dell that is

also just hit HP's site and came out with an even better workstation for roughly the same price
hp was able to get 2 15k SAS 146gb drives and 1tb storage drive along with quatro graphics and such for the same money right at 3k. hp was also one more year on the warranty with next business day on site guarantee.
 
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