Build me a PHOTO Editing Rig $800

V

vidoprof

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
468
So I can wait until August no problem, but I am almost always doing photo work, NO GAMING AT ALL. I surf the web, small web design, dvd burning, but almost everything i am going to be using is Photoshop.

So do I get a Quad core? My budget is $800, not including monitor, keyboard, mouse.

Will that work?

I will have the Dell 2407WFP-HC Ultrasharp as my monitor (although I can change it if I want)

Thanks guys
Ryan
 
Wouldn't it be better if I built it myself though?

Thanks

Ryan

Plus CHEAPER After July 22nd?
 
I would honestly recommend an Apple, but you seem to have a very low budget.
so in that case:

Video:
photoshop does not gain anything from a fast GPU, so just buy something cheap here, it really doesn't matter

Processor:
Photoshop loves the GHZ....get the best you can with as many cores as you can afford. Photoshop is multithreaded.

RAM:
Photoshop also loves RAM. again, as much as you can afford.

Motherboard & PSU:
Get a good solid motherboard and PSU. Don't cheap out, trust me...

Hard drives:
HUGE! if you take as many photos as I, you can come back with 6-7 GB per shoot, so trust me....LOTS of HDD space. with LOTS of BACKUP room!
I recommend some flavor of RAID here.

throw it all in a case that you think is pretty, and have a ball.
 
4b,

Thanks. Yeah I am leaning Quad core just because of the price drop at the end of the month.

I figured people would have some suggestions that might help me out. I am leaning toward the Q6600, with 4 gigs of RAM (even though XP can only do 3). Would XP 64 make sense here? Since then I could use the 4gigs?

Anything else I am missing?

Thanks
Ryan
 
vidoprof said:
4b,

Thanks. Yeah I am leaning Quad core just because of the price drop at the end of the month.

I figured people would have some suggestions that might help me out. I am leaning toward the Q6600, with 4 gigs of RAM (even though XP can only do 3). Would XP 64 make sense here? Since then I could use the 4gigs?

Anything else I am missing?

Thanks
Ryan
Click to expand...

You will never be able to build a cheaper rig then the one listed in the 1st reply. Just go for it, its smokin' deal.
 
So

Q6600
4GB of brand RAM
Gigabyte DS3
8600gt or somthing like it.
Corsair 620
Perhaps a Raptor (never thought I would say this)
 
Acer's not near as bad as they once were. (Dear god what am I saying...?)

For /this particular purpose/ it will do fine.
 
Core 2 Quad Q6600 - $266 (After July 22nd)
GIGABYTE GA-965G-DS3 Intel P965 Express Motherboard - $117
SUPER TALENT 2x 1GB DDR2 667 RAM - $75
SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $110
Enhance ENP-5150GH 500W PSU - $69
Windows XP Home OEM - $90
Cooler Master Centurion 534 ATX Case - $35
-----
Total: $762 Plus Tax and shipping.

Ok the Acer is a good deal but that price is after mail-in rebates. If you don't like or care for MIR like myself, then go with the build I listed above. With this PC you have 2GB of RAM, 500GB of hard drive space, a motherboard with onboard graphics since you really don't need a graphics card with photoshop and a quad core CPU. I assumed you needed a new copy of XP.

The PC above should fit your requirements quite nicely.
 
Well I have XP already so I could save that $100 and put it towards a GPU right? Wouldn't I benefit AT ALL from a GPU?

Would I notice a LOT of difference from the Q6600 or the E6600? I know the quad cores are probably better, but seriously how much better for the price?

Danny thanks for the build that looks like I will probably be buying that but with an extra 1-2 gigs of ram (yeah I know I can only use 3 gigs in XP, but that 1 extra gig is worth it to me with photoshop and the files i work with).

Do I need a CPU cooler? I probably won't OC it since well I don't know how or don't want to worry about heat and longevity.

Would better RAM be worth it? Better PSU?

Thanks again. Any other comments?
Ryan
 
vidoprof said:
Well I have XP already so I could save that $100 and put it towards a GPU right? Wouldn't I benefit AT ALL from a GPU?
Click to expand...

Hmm now that I think about it, a dedicated GPU will allow you to use additional monitors or even bigger monitors than your current monitor. So I recommend going with this video card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127292

vidoprof said:
Would I notice a LOT of difference from the Q6600 or the E6600? I know the quad cores are probably better, but seriously how much better for the price?
Click to expand...

Well since PS is a multi-threaded app, it will benefit from a quad-core CPU. Dunno how to quantify how much better for the price. But if you want to go on without having to upgrade for a long time, then definitely get the quad core CPU.

vidoprof said:
Do I need a CPU cooler? I probably won't OC it since well I don't know how or don't want to worry about heat and longevity.
Click to expand...

If you want lower temperatures, then a 3rd party CPU cooler would help. I recommend getting the Scythe Ninja:
Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja HSF - $36

vidoprof said:
Would better RAM be worth it? Better PSU?
Click to expand...
If you're talking about lower latency RAM, no it won't be worth it IMO. As for a better PSU, tthat Enhance PSU is a pretty decent and good quality PSU. It doesn't look like you'll stress the system too much to warrant spending additional cash for a better PSU. The Enhance should suffice. But if you want some peace of mind and don't mind spending the extra money, I recommend this:
Corsair HX520 520W PSU - $105
 
The 8600 is overkill now, but it supports high-def video decoding in hardware and is a 'forward looking' kind of thing which I suggested because you keep hardware for long periods of time.

Do not skimp on the PSU. It is what keeps everything else alive, literally. Bad power kills. That Corsair 520HX is a good supply at a good price for the quality. Again: Do not skimp here.

I've had 2 Antec model PSUs die on me, one model died twice, all in near ideal operating conditions under mild to moderate loads for their rated wattages. I would not buy Antec. Others here feel differently.
 
Don't get that power supply. The power supply is the one item you should never skimp on. If you want a reasonable degree of assurance that your power supply won't kill your system, get the Corsair.

As for the 8600GT, I think it's overkill. It's not too good for gaming and you get the cheaper 8500GT if you want to offload video processing power from the CPU onto the GPU. But since you're getting a quad-core CPU, I don't think the 8500GT is worth it either since the quad core can handle hi-def content
 
Don't bother with the Antec Basiq. Go with the Enhance, its all you need. If you want modular, go with the Corsair 520W.

For a single 24" LCD, the onboard graphics will suffice. If you want to game at all, then of course, you'd want a GTX... but since you don't game, don't bother with a dedicated card unless you want to watch HD, as Danny mentioned above.

As someone mentioned earlier, I'd suggest getting two HDDs, unless you have a good backup solution already.

vidoprof said:
I was looking at the DDR-800 anyway. Not sure I need it right now but might be worth getting it anyway for the little bit more money if I plan to OC even just slightly
Click to expand...
Boards with onboard graphics can't OC too well, just FYI. Expect a very low OC. Which is good, because you can keep the CPU at stock voltage (good for stability and longevity). Though, the alternative if you want to OC a bit more would be a non-IGP solution board and a cheap $30 vidcard.
 
Eng,

I was thinking most likely this build.
E6600 (after the price drop) then go to 3.0ghz with it
The cooler that Danny recommended to keep it pretty cool
The Corsair 520
4 Gigs of RAM whatever I can find cheapest (will that work?)
Motherboard (maybe the DS3? anything I should really look at?)
HDD (I already have a couple IDE 300gb) but will probably get the 500gb Seagate, maybe 2
I already also have 2 IDE Burners that I would rather not just throw away (but if SATA is that much better I will pay the $40 for those)
Case???
Video (I might just get the best $50-$80 video card I can) cause you never know when I might play an older game like Myst or something

Anything else I am missing.. Thanks alot guys for the help. I really appreciate it

Ryan
 
what version of photoshop are you using? CS3 wants a min of 64mb video memory
 
I am upgrading to CS3 soon. I didn't know that part, so that is good to know.

I am ok with spending $50-$80 on a video card.

How does that previous build look?

Thanks
Ryan
 
Yah, looks like a good plan. Go with the case in Danny's build if you want good, but cheap. The Scythe Ninja is a great cooler, imo. It keeps my E6400 at 32° idle and it only reaches 51° on full load.

Yes, the cheapest 4GB kit will do fine. If you can, get CL5 or better. Go with 2 sticks of 2GB, so you can upgrade to more later on down the road.

As far as the mobo, go with a P35 chipset based board. This will allow you to upgrade to a 45nm quad core (yorkfield) in about a year or so. The prices on those new chips should be rather low, similar to dual core prices right now, because intel wants to make multi-core computing as widespread as it can. Theres a Gigabyte board that takes both DDR2 and DDR3, so I'd go for that if you can afford it (GA-P35C-DS3R).

For the vidcard... do you plan on watching any HD content? If so, you might want to look into the 8500GT. If not, go for the 7600GT, which should be around $80AR.

Since you have alot of IDE devices, pickup a PCI IDE Controller card.
$15 - Rosewill RC-200 PCI IDE Silicon Image RAID (0/1/0+1) Host Controller Card
 
Thanks again for the reply. I might actually lean toward the Q6600 and 4gig ram and that mobo you suggested (although it's a little pricey).

Getting Vista 64 I think and I should be good to go.

Ryan


I really don't want to be over $1000. I will revisit this after the price drop I guess.
 
Should be cheaper later, after the price drops. Though, ram prices will most likely go up.
 
So should I buy everything except the CPU and then buy that after the price drops?

I just want a decent video card for Photoshop CS3 (64 mb minimum) and the rest.

Thanks
Ryan
 
Yeh go for the Q6600 after the price drop. Also all video card today have more than 64mb memory but personally I would get a very low end DX10 like the 8500 series if you have room in your budget.
 
RAM is the most price-volatile component in a computer. So, if buying anything now, get RAM while its low. Though, since it already started to go up, it may in fact go lower later, but most sources say RAM is on its way back up. Its a cycle... sux, but all we can do is deal with it.
 
Thanks again for the comments.

I guess I will check out the deals on RAM then. I plan on getting AT LEAST 2 gig, probably 4. Might as well I think since it's only $100 or so for 2 gigs.

Ryan

Anything I NEED to look out for on the RAM side of things or do I care? Do timings really matter that much? Should I look for anything in particular?
 
Aim for DDR2-800 @ CL4, but if it has a huge price premium over CL5, then just get CL5. You can't really tell the difference between the two unless you're running benchmarks. So, in everyday use, you won't be able to tell the difference.
 
Don't forget to buy a decent heatsink. The Stock one will not cut it for the Q6600.
 
Well I already have the Artic Freezer Pro 7 now at my door. I also have 4 of http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5008315 OZ ram sticks.

I am leaning toward the Corsair 520, Q6600, and a video card that will get me by with no games. (Maybe a 1950 or something around $100 any suggestions?)

Case (if i can still get the P180 I will) but maybe the Centurion 534

Any other thoughts?

Ryan
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129017

It'll be a good bit with the shipping and all, but you get $50 back via rebate, so it ends up around $100. Not a bad deal, about what I paid for mine.

The X1950 could be overkill for your purposes, but at the same time it doesn't save much over even a HD 2400, which is a far, far slower card. Probably just grab one. They're down to around $110 after rebate.
 
Again, photoshop doesnt benefit at all from a $100 vidcard. Photoshop will run the same whether you have an X1950GT/Pro or a GeForce 6200. Though, silent-circuit has a point... so go with the X1950pro or GT, whichever is cheaper.
 
So here's a question. Is a case a case a case?

I mean what is really the big difference for me between a $120 case like the P180 or the a $40 case like the 534?

I guess I will at the $50 video cards. I don't really think that I need HD content (because I won't use it on this computer but you never know).

I appreciate the comments that all of you guys are giving.

I won't be overclocking at all really. I figure I should be ok with the Artic Freezer Pro 7 and then whatever fans come with the case right?

Anything else I am missing?

Ryan
 
Well the P180/180B/182 cases are for people who want to have a near silent case. Also, IMO, it's a nice looking case which is why I have one. However, the P180/180B/182 are a slight PITA in terms of cable management. The 534 is a budget case to allow people to have a case with a decent amount of airflow for cheap. Also, the 534 has pretty simple cable management.
 
Danny Bui said:
Well the P180/180B/182 cases are for people who want to have a near silent case. Also, IMO, it's a nice looking case which is why I have one. However, the P180/180B/182 are a slight PITA in terms of cable management. The 534 is a budget case to allow people to have a case with a decent amount of airflow for cheap. Also, the 534 has pretty simple cable management.
Click to expand...

The revised P180/P180B and P182 make things much easier, comparatively speaking, but yes it will likely take another 15-20 minutes to get the system together and keep decent cable management. Considering that's pretty much a one time thing, I don't see it being a big detriment... and they /are/ quiet.
 
silent-circuit said:
The revised P180/P180B and P182 make things much easier, comparatively speaking, but yes it will likely take another 15-20 minutes to get the system together and keep decent cable management. Considering that's pretty much a one time thing, I don't see it being a big detriment... and they /are/ quiet.
Click to expand...

Ditto. With the raised tray on the most recent p180's, its actually very easy. My Seasonic s12 550HT has no troubles reaching the top power plugs on the Motherboard, by going undearneath. Same with the top DVD drive. All the other unused cable are tucked by the sides of the PSU out of the way. In fact, I'd say the latest revision makes cable management a breeze, since you'd be taking an extra 15-20 mins on a "normal" case to do cable management, and probably not get the same effect. The p180 even comes with its own nice zipties, and little helpful spots to attach them to on the back of the tray.

I'm impressed with the quietness of the case. Plus, if you do alot of rendering on your CPU, you'll appreciate the two 120 mm fans sucking air out around the CPU. Unless you are overclocking heavily, you'll probably be fine with a stock HSF because of it.

The P180 is money well spent IMO. If you have to go cheap, then I hear the centurions make a good cheap case. I was pondering between the two, but I'm personally glad I got the p180. Especially since its so quiet, even during gaming with my 8800GTS. The perfect backdrop for most creative work, is silence! The setup of the case was extremely easy too. The instructions, if you need them are pretty clear. There's actually really nothing special about it, from a setup point of view.
 
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