PC for pro photographer

[imported_Francois]

1. Heavy photo editing with RAW files (Photoshop , Bridge, Lightroom) dual monitor, I will also need a new case (something silent).

2. around $500-$700

3. Canada

4. No preference

5. 1 Raptor 150Go,1 Barracuda 500Go,Vista Ultimate X64, 2 LCD,

6. I found a lot of thread for gamers but not much for photographers.

7. Default speed

8. February

9. here?s my actual setup:

AMD Athlon 64 3000+
MSI NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500 (256 Mo)
Asus K8V-X
1 Raptor 150Go
1 Barracuda 500Go
3Go DDR SDRAM PC3200 Kingston
LG DVD-R+DVD-RW dual layer
LG DVD
NEC MultiSync LCD2490WUXi
Vista Ultimate X64


Any suggestion would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[Slugbait]

You don't specify what monitors you're currently using. If they are TN, this is where a pro photographer should upgrade first.

However, $500 is coming up a little short: an S-PVA such as this 24" Samsung will set you back $660...for one. You could keep one of the older monitors to hold your tools.

 

[JMapleton]

You're going to need to spend at least a $1000 for a system that will show a significant difference than what you have now, at least in my opinion. Also I second the notion to get a good monitor (non-tn) if you don't have one already.

 

[yh125d]

Originally posted by: JMapleton
You're going to need to spend at least a $1000 for a system that will show a significant difference than what you have now, at least in my opinion. Also I second the notion to get a good monitor (non-tn) if you don't have one already.

He could spend 4-500 and have a rig that would blow up the old one he currently has

 

[trenchfoot]

I do quite a bit of photo-editing on my current work rig and I get pretty good results from it.

However, like JMapleton says, you need to spend at least $1K just for the components alone to build a solid photo-editing PC with some future-proofing, along with at least $650+ for a decent monitor that will calibrate accurately.

I just built another box for photo editing and it cost ~$1.5K for a middle of the road setup, not including the monitor.

If you're using CS4 and the latest LR then of course quad core is the way to go, as those app's support it. Intel just dropped their chip prices too, so now's a good time to get a decent speed chip too.

My middle-of-the-road setup:

ASUS P5Q Premium
Intel Q9450 (bought this before the price drop and cannibalized it from another rig)
4Gig Corsair Dominator RAM
Xigmatek Heat Pipe HSF (good clearance on this mobo with great cooling)
150Gig Raptor for OS and App's
750Gig WD for storage
EVGA 280GTX Vid Card
2 ea. 1TB WD external drives for photo archives and backup's
CoolerMaster RC-690 Case
Corsair 850Watt PSU
Vista Ultimate
CS4
DPP
--------------------------------
EIZO CE210W monitor
Optix X-Rite Pro Calibrator

edit- forgot to suggest that a case with 120mm fans is the way to go for quiet cooling.

 

[imported_Francois]

I have this monitor :
http://www.necdisplay.com/Prod...4177-b12e-5bde0b8eeaae

and planning to buy another one (cheap) for my photoshop tools.

Do you guys think I can use some of my current parts for the new one?

 

[Blain]

Nice monitor.
Editing RAW files will take every bit of machine you can buy for $500.

 

[MarcVenice]

You'll want a standard p35/p45 mobo, add in the most expensive quadcore you can afford (prolly a q8200/q8300), and get at least 4GB of ram. Videocard is NOT important. You could get a quadro nvs 280, which could help speed up things a little in CS4, but don't expect to much of it. Besides that, a case is only as quiet as the components in it. Since you're on a tight budget you should look at a antec sonata III or the Sonata Elite, or maybe the Coolermaster sileo 500.

Weird that you only have $500 to spend though with that monitor?

 

[imported_Francois]

Marc, you are right $500 is not much, I will probably end up putting a couple hundred more. I was not planning to upgrade but one of my HDD started to make some weird sound so I was thinking
it's maybe time to upgrade other part as well. It's also becoming to slow for the kind of work I am doing.

 

[dbcooper1]

For that kind of work, you'll probably do best with the highest clocked dual core you can get. I run Photoshop on an e8500 and a Q9550 and the 8500 does marginally better. Even an overclocked e5200 or 7200 would do well. It doesn't seem to gain much advantage beyond the second core and hardly anything from cache. Now, if you're doing video work with After Effects or Premiere, that's a different story.

 

[Denithor]

db hit it dead on there, what specific software are you using for your work? What you are using will determine where you get the best performance/cost benefit (some needs more RAM, others need more CPU muscle, some are GPU accelerated, etc).

Also, what case do you have (ATX or mATX)? Why exactly do you need a new one? Just replacing the PSU/CPU/GPU with quieter models will make a world of difference.

What you can expect to reuse from your current build:
LG DVD-R+DVD-RW dual layer
LG DVD
NEC MultiSync LCD2490WUXi
Vista Ultimate X64

And I think $700 is doable. That should get you a quick dual-core, mobo, 8GB RAM, 640GB HDD, 4670 and a solid PSU to run everything. In fact, you might be able to snag a quad on that budget (if you need it).

 

[jamesbond007]

Hm, you're not by chance 'fb101' from FM, are ya?

Anyways, as others have stated, you could easily spend way more than just $500 on a single, QUALITY, LCD panel. I personally use a single 24" Dell 2407FPW.

I spent $1200 on a completely new computer last fall, excluding the cost of mouse, keyboard, monitor, speakers, sound card, etc. Core 2 Quad 9450 (2.66GHz stock, OCed to 3.2GHz 1600MHz FSB, 12MB L2, equivalent to the QX9770 CPU) 8GB DDR2, ASUS Rampage Formula motherboard, Raptor HDD, and much more.

I really want a Mac Pro, but can't justify the cost at the moment since I shoot a lot, but not an income of $50,000/year a lot. My home-built PC is just what I needed until I get to the next level of professionalism!!!

 

[yhelothar]

$500 can buy a lot of computer these days. You won't get a monitor included for that price, obviously, as a decent non-TN 24" starts at about $300.
But I see quad core 6600 with 3-4gb ram deals from dell all the time for $500-600.

 

[imported_Francois]

Hey guys, thank you for your replies.

I will probably go with a quad but I don't know which one yet.

Jamesbond, I am not fb101.

 

[Strych9]

You might want to go to the PC Talk forum at Digital Photography Review.

 

[imported_Francois]

Thanks for the link!

 

[imported_Francois]

My budget is now @ 800 CAN
I will start from scratch and I will keep my current PC as backup.

I am still confused regarding CPU+Mobo.

What should I get?? AMD or Intel?

No game, no OC, just heavy photo editing, dual monitor.

 

[dbcooper1]

Most of the Adobe apps run better with the Intel processors in general.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Mobo $128
E7400 $170
8gb patriot 4x2 $90 after MIR's
2x WD640 black hdd's $215
Antec Sonatta w/500w $150
HD3450 256mb GPU $50


That's right around $800 CAD maybe a little over when you add an optical drive,and would be my choice for photo editing in that price range. A quad (Q8200 or Q6600) would push you over budget and would be slower in photoshop for 90% of your taskss

 

[imported_Francois]

Thank you for you suggestions!

I still have a bit of problem to understand why a dual core E7400 would be faster
than a quad Q8200.

I will need I think 3 HD.

1 for OS
1 for scratch disk
1 for data

The mobo looks like a safe choice. The reviews are good!!

 

[imported_Francois]

What about this VC for $30 more?
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P...=EVGA%2001G-P3-N959-TR

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Assuming no o/c E7400 will be faster because of clock speed.
E7400 2.8ghz
Q6600 2.4ghz
Q8200 2.33ghz

In photoshop only a few circumstances fully utilize 4 cores, and even when it does going from 2 to 4 cores only shows marginal improvement, so the higher clockspeed of the the E7400 will almost always win. Now for encoding/decoding or other multi-threaded apps the quad will definately outperform

And yes the 9500 GPU would be fine, however if I was going to make that move, I'd spend another $10-20 and get a 9600GT

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: Francois
I will need I think 3 HD.

1 for OS
1 for scratch disk
1 for data

The mobo looks like a safe choice. The reviews are good!!

You could consider pulling the 150gb raptor from your old system, and running the old one off the single 500gb hdd. That would require some planning, backing up, and reinstalling OS but it would save you buying a third drive. If your old system will truly be a backup this should work well, because if you have to fall back on it you could always move drives back to it.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Now what you really want to do is

Replace the E7400 with a Q9400, get a good aftermarket HSF for another $40CAD, making your total more like $1000CAD. Then put a mild tested stable o/c to about 3.4-3.6ghz on it, and have a machine that will top anything you can buy stock, including the new i7's

 

[imported_Francois]

Thanks Guitar!

I have never o/c but I will look into it.