Need help creating a build for Photoshop, Painter & Co, please!

[Chrononaut]

Hello,

First of all - I already looked at existing builds, but the graphics ones were mostly intended for 3d graphics or Video use.
I am looking for a build that can run Photoshop, Corel Painter and other 2D graphics programs at high performance. I intend to work on a Cintiq tablet and would love to have a computer that does not take forever if I apply a filter or even lag when drawing with lots of layers open. Also I would like a build that I can upgrade in a couple of years time (buy lots more RAM, maybe a new graphics card etc)

So I want the processors to be fast, I will need alot of RAM and a good graphics card. Also I am not sure whether I need an SSD as scratchdisk for Photoshop in addition to an SSD system disk, since some people claim that with a lot of RAM that is unnecessary. Someone told me to get a "6 core Xeon processor", but again I am unsure wether that is necessary. What do You think?

I have considered getting a workstation, but by now believe that would be overkill for 2D illustration plus if I don't get a workstation style graphics card I can also play games on this thing.

Most of my actual data is going to be stored on external drives and i will try to keep the system as clean as possible to keep performance up.

As You can see I have little knowledge of current hardware and would therefore greatly appreciate help.

Addendum: a nice looking case that is designed with good cooling options in mind would be nice of course. Being a graphic artist I like my toys to look cool.

regards

-the Chrononaut

 

[geniuslemon]

Hyperthreading is important. I recommend that you get an i7 if you intend to use photoshop alot.
Get high performance ram, I think corsair's XMS3 CL10 RAM sticks are good. Aim for alot of ram 16 - 32GB.
Get a good processor-cooler from Noctua or something similar. The hydra watercoolers are also a good option.
An SSD with good write/read speed is important if you're aiming for speed and flow. I'm quite unsure about the GPU however, but I think that you would be going for a card with alot of VRAM and good bandwidth. This is all I have to say.
I wish you the best of luck and I hope that I was able to help.

P.S My knowledge in rendering is limited.

 

[Chrononaut]

Thank You for Your help! That is a good start!

I am still not sure whether I need 2 SSDs (one as system disc and one as scratchdisc for PS etc) and which GPU to take. Also I want to make sure all the parts work together well