Build for Photo editing (Lightroom, photoshop)

[theDeep]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: January2010

BUDGET RANGE: <$1500, the less - the better

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Serious, high volume, high quality photo editing (lightroom, photoshop), not a gamer

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: do not require enclosure ( I have 2u and 3 u eclosures, do not require KMV, do not require OS (I have a a W7 upgrade and probably can dig up a copy of Vista to upgrade from)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: any that will ship to US Virgin Islands, I have bought stuff at Tigerdirect before.

PARTS PREFERENCES:

OVERCLOCKING: No or Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No or Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: n/a


OK, I am trying to put together a no-nonsense machione, a workhorse for my photography business. Something that will last me for a little bit, be fast, and that will handle heavy photo editing tasks smoothly, but will not break the bank. I MIGHT be doing some little bit of video work on it too, but that is absolutely secondary to the photo editing work.

Right now I am thinking:

3 X WD Caviar Green 1.5TB 32MB/SATA-3G (4.5 lbs) $329.97 ($109.99 each)

EVGA GeForce 9500 GT Video Card - 1GB DDR2, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Support, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, VGA Support (1 lbs) $69.99

C13-8250 :: Corsair PC12800 RAM - 4GB, DDR3, 1600MHz, Core i5, Dual Channel, Class 9 (0.3 lbs) $129.99

Intel DP55WB Motherboard - Intel P55, Socket LGA1156, micro ATX, 8 Channel Audio (2 lbs) $109.99

I69-0860 :: Intel Core i7 860 Processor - 2.80GHz, LGA 1156, 8MB L3 Cache, Quad-Core, Lynnfield, Retail $279.99

Not sure which power supply to go with. I have used some of those iStar dual redundant power supplies at my daytime job and been happy with them, but then again there I have an unlimited budget, whereas this machine will come put of a much smaller budget.

Also looking for a S-IPS or H-IPS monitor that would not break the bank. As much as I would love to have an Eizo, that is out of the question, looking for something that wont necessary scream "sexy" but will do the job just the same.

Any thoughts, comments and ideas would be greatly appeciated!

Thanks everyone!

 

[MadAdmiral]

First, I'd really suggest going with an LGA1366 build (i.e. i7-920). This will be a little more expensive, but it's a much better build for a work computer.

LGA1156 build suggestions:

Mobo: I don't particularly like mATX boards. Here are two that have USB 3.0 and SATA 6 GB/s ports: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4P and Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD43P. The first one is $185, and has 2 PCIe slots if you want to Crossfire/SLI. The second one is $160, but only has 1 PCI3 slot.

RAM: Corsair is pretty much the most expensive RAM you can get. You don't get a whole lot of performance for the price. I highly suggest G.Skill sticks, specifically their Eco series. There's a 1333 mhz CAS Latency 7 set for $98 on Newegg.

Either build suggestions:

HDD: WDs are really far behind in terms of speed and price. I highly recommend swithcing those 3 out for 4 Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB. The total price for the 4 would be $340, which is slightly more expensive for a tad less space, but a lot of gains in speed, heat, and quiet operation. Another option would be getting 2 TB WD ($400+ for 2). The reason the F3/2 TB WDs are better is they use 500 GB platters, thus have a much higher data density. These leads to fewer heads moving around, faster read/write times, and a number of other benefits.

PSU: You can't beat Corsair, Antec Earthwatts and OCZ as far as quaility. Corsair will be pricier, but it's the highest quality you can buy. You'll need 650W as long as you don't Crossfire. Corsair 650W will be $100, Antec Earthwatts $75, OCZ StealthXStream 700W $80.

Totals for 1156: $978 with the UD4P, F3s and Antec.

LGA1366 build suggestions.

CPU: i7-920 $289

Mobo: ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 $270

RAM: G.SKILL 3 x 2GB 1333 mhz CAS Latency 7 $150

Total for 1366: $1,124 with F3s and Antec PSU.

If you need an optical drive, 24x SATA DVD burners usually run $30 each. BluRay burners are usually $150. A BluRay reader is $100, so if you only need to read BluRay discs, but burn DVDs, it'd be a total of $130 for the 2 drives.

These changes will add some cost to it, but it makes it a much better work build.

 

[theDeep]

Thanks. Will going with the 970 setup make a realworld difference over the 860 build? Also, won't the upgrade path be more narrow?

 

[MadAdmiral]

Other way around. The i7-920 is the higher-end chip. The i7-860 is the lesser chip, on the 1156 socket. The only reason to get an 860 is if you really need hyperthreading, but absolutely can't afford the extra $100 or so for a 1366 build. You don't have that problem...

To be honest, either upgrade path is fairly narrow, as Intel likes to moves through their sockets quickly. However, the "upgrade" for the 1156 socket will actually be a downgrade.