After giving up a small but fairly busy 'puter consulting firm to pursue another career, I got completely out of the hardware environment for about 5 years and am actually not surprised about the dumbfounding changes that have taken place in these few years. To make things "short," I am in need for a potent rig but quickly realized the stupendous degree of ignorance that I know have to overcome to actually implement my needs. Although I have done some research to quote myself a system I am not sure if I actually need the level of hardware that I had come up with (which is very similar to some of the systems quoted in the "Best Builds 2017" poll on this board, e.g., the "Blackout"). I apologize for my rambling but I had just a few days ago decided that I needed a new system and have not yet found the time to read up on the technical aspects of the following issues and hope that readers can provide helpful pointers to help come up with a system that:
a) will manage most, not necessarily all games that are thrown at it (running at highest settings, or even capable to run 4K),
b) should be capable of managing virtual reality programs, hardware, and such well and without significant hiccups or stalls
c) can manage photo editing of 4K raw files using Photoshop and Light room with a shitload of filters and other shenanigans without chocking while I aggressively edit.
While I was always quick to push my machines to their physical limits back in the 80's and 90's via OC, manipulating pins and buses on the chips, early cooling attempts or other mods, those days are behind me. These day hardware is just so much more powerful that modding is not a necessary implementation for me anymore (unless I were interested in tinkering, which I just don't). Despite being a freak for speed, I can now satisfy that need by simply purchasing a powerful chip from the shelf.
To this end, I am looking for a machine that gives me the power to do what I described above, w/enough flexibility to upgrade until the system is totally outdated which, if past experiences predict future ones, should be in 5 years or so.
While I'd be willing to spend up to 2K USD on parts (I'd prefer to safe the labor as I enjoy completing the builds myself) I'd actually would like to spend as little money as possible by making smart hardware choices!
A main consideration is that of CPU cores (i.e., is it really worth the money to get as many cores as possible or can I get away with a 2 core I5 processor, for example). In my past life, I have primarily used AMD chips bc I was on a budget & did not see much difference between Intel and AMD, and in fact in the very early 2000's AMD actually had a leg up on Intel. At this time, I am practically illiterate about the development of motherboards and how AMD vs. Intel based boards compare. In the end, I simply want a motherboard that accommodates a fast enough processor while providing the most flexibility and upgradibility. I don't have a particular affinity to either chip manufacturer and thus would just want a chip/board pairing that provides the better "bang for the buck" although I would prefer a motherboard that can accommodate at least one or two generation of future CPUs.
Since my target applications are primarily of visual nature, my bottle neck will lie in that domain. Thus, I would want to spend more money on a video card capable of lots of throughput to ensure smooth and stunning visual imagery. But since video development seems to have advanced dramatically just don't know what current card, chips or driver have become a particularly "to go to" item.
Ah, and since solid state storage is now also available for relatively cheap, I am wondering whether it would be advisable to use a SSD to run OS AND games AND applications, or would it be better to keep the SSD just for the OS and active applications. I am planning to use an external drive for file storage so the SSD or HDD would be for actual processing. Again, I am just trying to integrate new systems into my built plan and like to know if SSD is capable of managing this task more efficiently than a heat producing, mechanical device, which theoretically should be slower doing the same thing.
Any sound, educated and applied advice from experienced folks in the know will be much appreciated. Good links about these topics are certainly appreciated and I won't mind if they are technical. I would like to avoid anybody wasting their time and would like to let everybody know I do not need to learn about basic computing or how to Lego a machine together.
Thanks you in advance for valuable advice.
Des
a) will manage most, not necessarily all games that are thrown at it (running at highest settings, or even capable to run 4K),
b) should be capable of managing virtual reality programs, hardware, and such well and without significant hiccups or stalls
c) can manage photo editing of 4K raw files using Photoshop and Light room with a shitload of filters and other shenanigans without chocking while I aggressively edit.
While I was always quick to push my machines to their physical limits back in the 80's and 90's via OC, manipulating pins and buses on the chips, early cooling attempts or other mods, those days are behind me. These day hardware is just so much more powerful that modding is not a necessary implementation for me anymore (unless I were interested in tinkering, which I just don't). Despite being a freak for speed, I can now satisfy that need by simply purchasing a powerful chip from the shelf.
To this end, I am looking for a machine that gives me the power to do what I described above, w/enough flexibility to upgrade until the system is totally outdated which, if past experiences predict future ones, should be in 5 years or so.
While I'd be willing to spend up to 2K USD on parts (I'd prefer to safe the labor as I enjoy completing the builds myself) I'd actually would like to spend as little money as possible by making smart hardware choices!
A main consideration is that of CPU cores (i.e., is it really worth the money to get as many cores as possible or can I get away with a 2 core I5 processor, for example). In my past life, I have primarily used AMD chips bc I was on a budget & did not see much difference between Intel and AMD, and in fact in the very early 2000's AMD actually had a leg up on Intel. At this time, I am practically illiterate about the development of motherboards and how AMD vs. Intel based boards compare. In the end, I simply want a motherboard that accommodates a fast enough processor while providing the most flexibility and upgradibility. I don't have a particular affinity to either chip manufacturer and thus would just want a chip/board pairing that provides the better "bang for the buck" although I would prefer a motherboard that can accommodate at least one or two generation of future CPUs.
Since my target applications are primarily of visual nature, my bottle neck will lie in that domain. Thus, I would want to spend more money on a video card capable of lots of throughput to ensure smooth and stunning visual imagery. But since video development seems to have advanced dramatically just don't know what current card, chips or driver have become a particularly "to go to" item.
Ah, and since solid state storage is now also available for relatively cheap, I am wondering whether it would be advisable to use a SSD to run OS AND games AND applications, or would it be better to keep the SSD just for the OS and active applications. I am planning to use an external drive for file storage so the SSD or HDD would be for actual processing. Again, I am just trying to integrate new systems into my built plan and like to know if SSD is capable of managing this task more efficiently than a heat producing, mechanical device, which theoretically should be slower doing the same thing.
Any sound, educated and applied advice from experienced folks in the know will be much appreciated. Good links about these topics are certainly appreciated and I won't mind if they are technical. I would like to avoid anybody wasting their time and would like to let everybody know I do not need to learn about basic computing or how to Lego a machine together.
Thanks you in advance for valuable advice.
Des
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