Workstation for Photographer / Designer

[LeoNeon]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and topics related to computer components so first of all welcome everybody. I'm a full day working photographer and designer. My work mostly is done on such a software as:

Photoshop CS6
Photoshop plugins
Lightroom 4
PtGui / krpano (for spherical panorams)
SNS HDR (Software for processing high dynamic range)

and in the future I wont to start work on 3D software such as maya, zbrush etc.

Very often I'm working on huge composing files with lots of layers, smart objects etc. Spherical panoramas are sometimes just crazy huge like 50GB and it will be even larger as I'm going to buy in the future a camera with 36mpx sensor.

Below I have listed components which I have found surfing through the forums, hardware producers websites etc. As someone totally new in this I would like to ask more advanced user about components compatibility and general idea of set as a working tool.

Regards,

Leon.

Motherboard:
ASUS Z9PE-D16
http://www.asus.com/Server_Workstation/Server_Motherboards/Z9PED16/#specifications

CPU:
Xeon E5-2620 X2
http://ark.intel.com/products/64594/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E5-2620-15M-Cache-2_00-GHz-7_20-GTs-Intel-QPI

Graphic card:
AMD 7970
http://www.amd.com/pl/products/desktop/graphics/7000/7970/Pages/radeon-7970.aspx#2

SSD disc in RAID 10 for system and working files
Crucial m4 Slim SSD 128GB X4

Memory:
SAMSUNG M393B2G70BH0-CK0 2X 16GB

Tower:
Cooler Master COSMOS II
http://www.coolermaster.com/microsite/cosmos_ii/design.html

Keyboard:
Logitech K800
http://www.logitech.com/pl-pl/product/wireless-illuminated-keyboard-k800?crid=26

Optical Drive:
BLU-RAY SATA ASUS BW-12B1ST x12

CPU Coolers:
Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 X2

Power Supply:
G1600-MA

 

[Emelth]

forgot the most important part.... whats your budget?

 

[LeoNeon]

Budget is max 3200€

 

[angaddev]

Don't go with a Xeon platform, they are just normal CPUs with their prices upped and SLIGHTLY more reliable : If you're running a server you want them but for a PC just use the consumer CPUs.
Where would you like us to link the parts? What website will you buy them on and where do you live?

I'm thinking something along the lines of :
I7-3930k
Corsair H100i
Decent LGA2011 Mobo
2x 7970s
4x 240GB Mushkin SSDs in RAID 0
Corsair HX1050 or AX1200

 

[angaddev]

And out of curiosity, is the 36pix camera you're buying a D800/e?

 

[LeoNeon]

Thnx angaddev for reply. Yes, for now I have in plan to buy D800.

As far as I'm concern I7-3930k are more expensive than Xeon E5-2620. I haven't chosen any shop yet. At the moment I'm in Poland but from 6th of January I'm back in Ireland.

For prices I was using polish website. For an example:

i7-3930K BOX http://cenowarka.pl/eu/691075 (504€)
Xeon E5-2620 http://cenowarka.pl/eu/733975 (328€)

 

[angaddev]

I meant the i7-3770k, not the 3930k, sorry for the mistake

 

[LeoNeon]

Looks like i7-3770k are around 50€ cheaper than E5-2620 and have two cores less ... Is it really worth to save 100€ on this? I havens seen any dual cpu mother board for i7-3770k. Mostly I was checking Asus website.

 

[angaddev]

Total price : around €2800, not including windows, monitor, or blu-ray drive
http://cenowarka.pl/eu/761779 i7-3770k €285
http://cenowarka.pl/eu/647080 Corsair H100 €79
http://cenowarka.pl/eu/831343 Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP7 TH €327 according to google currency (no EUR price listed)
http://cenowarka.pl/eu/827777 FOUR 7970s €342x4 €1026
http://cenowarka.pl/eu/536896 Corsair AX1200 PSU €222
Couldn't find a blu-ray drive
http://cenowarka.pl/eu/691960 Corsair K90 keyboard €110
http://cenowarka.pl/eu/535565 CoolerMaster HAF X Case  €130
http://cenowarka.pl/eu/690342 2x Mushkin 480GB Chronos SSD RAID0 €313x2 €626

 

[angaddev]

forgot to add ram :0
http://cenowarka.pl/eu/816556

 

[angaddev]

Looks like i7-3770k are around 50€ cheaper than E5-2620 and have two cores less ... Is it really worth to save 100€ on this? I havens seen any dual cpu mother board for i7-3770k. Mostly I was checking Asus website.

The Xeons are overrated, they are pretty slow but have lots of cores to balance this. They are almost only used in servers. The 3770k is a much better option for your usage.

 

[Emelth]

Im pretty sure you picked the H100 because its on a deal (dont know i only speak dollars)

But just to put this out there the H100i is the improved version either way no matter which one you get you will be happy they are one of the most recommend watercoolers that Tom's Hardware approves as the best in performance

 

[LeoNeon]

angaddev Is Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP7 TH one processor mother board? I was thinking about xeons and ASUS Z9PE-D16 as it gives possibility to double PCU power.

My set cost around 3200€, your 3355€ including chosen by me blu-ray drive
http://cenowarka.pl/eu/?in=&fs=BLU-RAY+SATA+ASUS+BW-12B1ST+x12

Thnx Emelth.

 

[LeoNeon]

And thnx about pointing out thing about xeons. I did not know anything about this, I was advised to go with xeons and double cpu mother board by my friend ...

 

[angaddev]

For the budget, drop one of the SSDs and buy a regular 7200RPM 1Tb HDD.