Out with the Old, In with the New

[sandiegoislandboy]

finally able to upgrade but need your opinion in available options i have...

me and my wife are both overdue for new systems, i play games and she primarily lives in photoshop.

i pretty much have my system all planned out (details in a different post) but trying to decide her computer.

with the basis of photoshop in mind this is what i have come up with if i was to build her a new computer:

cpu: intel core 2 quad --- $290
mb: ???
ram: 4gb corsair ddr2 800 (2 x 2gb kits) --- $67 each set after rebates
hdd: western digital 320gb sata 3.0gb/s --- $75
video: ???
psu: ???

three components left. trying to keep the remaining components within reason. ideas?

since i am getting a new system, my current system could be handed down to her. the specs are:

cpu: amd 64 3400+ socket 754
mb: msi k8n neo2 platinum
ram: 2 x 512mb ddr400 kingston
hdd: western digital 120gb sata150, maxtor 250gb sata150
video: ati x850 pro or x800 pro (dont remember which it is)
psu: thermaltake 420w

if she was to get my current system, what should i upgrade, if anything? the downside i see is the single core cpu and low amount of ram... i know photoshop benefits from multicore cpu and more ram.

also, want to get a NAS or maybe even build a file server.

if i was to go with a some-what off-the-shelf unit, i was looking at the dlink dns-323 which has 2 drive bays with raid 0 and 1 options.

not sure if raid is necessary since more than likely the photos will also be backed up onto dvds.

could use my wifes current system for a file server:

cpu: amd xp 2500+
mb: msi k7n2 delta-l
ram: 2 x 512mb ddr400 kingston
video: ati radeon 9800 pro 128mb
psu: antec 450w

if i was to use my wifes current system, what are my options for making it a file server?

500gb or 1tb is ideal. and like i mentioned before, not sure if raid is necessary.

any help/insight is appreciated.

thanks ahead of time.

 

[airhendrix13]

Okay, lets walk through this one step at a time.

CPU: Good choice. Should work great with photoshop.

MB: Buy a P35, they are the best performing / OCing mobos out.

RAM: Good.

HDD: Fine.

Video: I'm not sure what your budget is but I would recommend the 8800GTS.

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139001

Drive: Any DVD/CD combo

For your wife's rig:

Like you said a dual-core and more RAM wouldn't hurt, but if you are on a budget, then just buy some more RAM.

File Server:

Just buy a HDD with the amount of space you think you will use and plop it in the old rig. Have the files be transfered either VIA wireless or ethernet.

Hope this helped,

Ryan

 

[LightningRider]

Does Photoshop even use the graphics card? Isn't it the processor that matters mostly in Photoshop? Cause if that's the case I wouldn't get the 8800GTS if she's not gaming. Any budget card should do fine. For motherboard, I would get the Gigabyte DS3R unless you need firewire then you might consider the ASUS P5K, though the P5K has no built in RAID support.

Oh, I think you should just buy her something new instead of reusing the old stuff. Be nice to her and she will be nice to you.

 

[airhendrix13]

The 8800GTS is meant for the gaming machine he wants to use. For the photoshop machine, the x800pro will be plenty of power.

 

[sgrinavi]

Originally posted by: LightningRider
Does Photoshop even use the graphics card? Isn't it the processor that matters mostly in Photoshop? Cause if that's the case I wouldn't get the 8800GTS if she's not gaming. Any budget card should do fine. For motherboard, I would get the Gigabyte DS3R unless you need firewire then you might consider the ASUS P5K, though the P5K has no built in RAID support.

Oh, I think you should just buy her something new instead of reusing the old stuff. Be nice to her and she will be nice to you.

Yes and no, photoshop needs a decent graphics card with a reasonable amount of memory if you want fair performance at the upper resolutions. I would not stick any budget card in there, I upgraded my system from a 64 mb NV card to a 512 MB 6800 GT and noticed a huge difference.

 

[tjaisv]

Here's the system i am planning on building after spending months of research. It's mid-high end, so some of the stuff might be too expensive for your needs but you can still use the list as a good reference point. Prices quoted are from zipzoomfly and newegg, except for the HSF which is from jab-tech.com.


CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad-Core Processor 2.4GHz, 1066FSB, LGA775, 8MB cache Retail ($275.90)

MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R Intel Core 2 Duo (Desktop) Socket 775 1333MHz FSB DDR3 1066MHz ATX Motherboard Retail ($165.99)

HSF: Thermalright Ultima-90 heatsink ($46) and Scythe S-Flex SFF21F 120mm fan ($14) and Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM ($6)

MEM: 2x Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA804 - Retail ($110 each)

VID: EVGA 640P2N825AR e-GeForce 8800 GTS Superclocked 640MB GDDR3 PCI Express Video Card Retail ($399.99)

HDD: 2x Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 500GB 7200RPM Serial ATA II Hard Drive w/16MB Buffer ($104.99 each)

SOUND: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Xtreme Gamer Sound Card Retail ($92.98)

PSU: Corsair HX Series CMPSU-620HX 620W Power Supply Retail ($146.90)

CASE: ANTEC Performance One P182 SE Mid Tower Case Retail ($189.99)

DVD: SAMSUNG SH-S183L/BEBM 18X SATA DVD Burner Black DVD±RW Bulk ($37.59)

FLOPPY: SAMSUNG Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - OEM ($7)

TV TUNER: ATI 100-715331 TV Wonder 650 High Definition Personal Video Recorder Retail ($119.99)

TV TUNER REMOTE: Microsoft Remote Control and Receiver for Windows XP Media Center, Single-Pack OEM ($30.49)

KEYBOARD: Microsoft A13-00002S White USB + PS/2 Ergonomics Natural Keyboard Elite - OEM ($27)

MOUSE: Logitech G3 Laser Gaming Mouse Retail ($46.99)

OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Single-Pack DVD OEM ($109)

SPEAKERS: Logitech Z-5500 505 Watts 5.1 Computer Speaker System ($305)

MINI DRIVE: CORSAIR Flash Voyager GT 2GB Flash Drive (USB2.0 Portable) 256bit AES Encryption Model CMFUSB2.0-2GBGT - Retail ($34)

DISPLAY: Dell 3007WFP-HC 30" Widescreen LCD ($1274)