Photo Editing Build - Assistance requested

[alteredform]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for - Photo Editing and mild gaming (waiting for Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3)

2. What YOUR budget is - $1000-$1200

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from - USA (Newegg, Zipzoomfly, etc)

4. IF YOU have a brand preference - N/A

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are - N/A (Will be purchasing monitor separately - see below).

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads - Yes, I am not really a gamer - so there are much fewer photo editing builds to compare and research.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds - Nope

8. WHEN do you plan to build it - Yesterday


Just to note....

I am looking to build or buy a new system (DELL). I get a 7% employee benefit discount from dell. My company contracts with dell, so we can get a discount if we choose. As a result, I am willing to either build or buy. I understand you all get pinged for system recommendations constantly, but I would appreciate any guidance as I have not kept up with current technology since I built my AMD 3200+/ATI Radeon 9800Pro. So.... It's been a while.

At the moment I am leaning toward one of the Dell deals on a XPS Studio 435 w/ i7-920 & Radeon 4870 1gig...

Thanks for any help.

PS. I am not including the a new monitor in the budget. I am keeping that a separate line item. I will most likely be picking up an HP LP2475W.

 

[AmdInside]

Just wanted to say the HP is a good choice. It uses an IPS panel. IPS monitors are awesome for photography.

 

[alteredform]

That's the plan so far at least...

Now I just need some system help

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Giga X58 $185 after MIR
i7 920 $280
2x OCZ gold 6gb kit $180 after $20 MIR
EVGA GTS250 1gb $148
Antec Sonata III w/ 500w PS $120
3x WD640 $210
$25 DVD burner of your choice

Thats $1150

 

[elconejito]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
Giga X58 $185 after MIR
i7 920 $280
2x OCZ gold 6gb kit $180 after $20 MIR
EVGA GTS250 1gb $148
Antec Sonata III w/ 500w PS $120
3x WD640 $210
$25 DVD burner of your choice

Thats $1150

^^^ That one.
Wiggle room on the case/PSU, and the video card.

I'd recommend 3 drives one for OS/apps, one for storage, and one for scratch. But you could drop down to 2 drives (OS/apps/Scratch + storage) and use the money from there for a bigger video card.

Don't forget to budget for a proper backup (external drive, offsite storage, DVDs, or something).

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
Giga X58 $185 after MIR
i7 920 $280
2x OCZ gold 6gb kit $180 after $20 MIR
EVGA GTS250 1gb $148
Antec Sonata III w/ 500w PS $120
3x WD640 $210
$25 DVD burner of your choice

Thats $1150

I'm confused...why are you recommending 6 sticks of ram @ 12GB??

 

[Athena]

If you are going to be doing a lot of photo editing, I'd strongly advise you to include a digitizing tablet for more precise markup. It doesn't have to be big or fancy, just a small surface with a stylus will be sufficient.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
Giga X58 $185 after MIR
i7 920 $280
2x OCZ gold 6gb kit $180 after $20 MIR
EVGA GTS250 1gb $148
Antec Sonata III w/ 500w PS $120
3x WD640 $210
$25 DVD burner of your choice

Thats $1150

I'm confused...why are you recommending 6 sticks of ram @ 12GB??

Because the MB only has 4 slots... 2 sticks are spares. :laugh:
When you're in a hurry slap to together wish list, you don't have time to think about minor issues like functionality.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Athena
If you are going to be doing a lot of photo editing, I'd strongly advise you to include a digitizing tablet for more precise markup. It doesn't have to be big or fancy, just a small surface with a stylus will be sufficient.

Agreed. I'd also include a colorimeter in my budget if I didn't already have one.

 

[mauiblue]

Would the Wacom Intuos 6" x 8" tabet suffice for a Photo Shop rig?

 

[elconejito]

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
Giga X58 $185 after MIR
i7 920 $280
2x OCZ gold 6gb kit $180 after $20 MIR
EVGA GTS250 1gb $148
Antec Sonata III w/ 500w PS $120
3x WD640 $210
$25 DVD burner of your choice

Thats $1150

I'm confused...why are you recommending 6 sticks of ram @ 12GB??

Because the MB only has 4 slots... 2 sticks are spares. :laugh:
When you're in a hurry slap to together wish list, you don't have time to think about minor issues like functionality.

Funny I didn't notice that either. I thought all i7 boards have tri-channel ?

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: mauiblue
Would the Wacom Intuos 6" x 8" tabet suffice for a Photo Shop rig?

Even a Wacom Baboo is fine. Just depends on how much resolution you need and how little zooming in you want to do.

 

[Denithor]

Originally posted by: elconejito
Funny I didn't notice that either. I thought all i7 boards have tri-channel ?

It does. Insert three sticks DDR3 and they will run in triple channel mode. Add a fourth stick and it will run in a hybrid triple+single mode (still more bandwidth than dual channel mode with only two sticks installed).

Just get three sticks and you're gtg.

EDIT: And I would suggest a GTX 260 or GTX 275 instead of that GTS 250 - much stronger cards for just a little more cash.

 

[alteredform]

I'm going to assume that most of you agree with Guitardaddy regarding the hardware choices...?

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: alteredform
I'm going to assume that most of you agree with Guitardaddy regarding the hardware choices...?

Wrong assumption, because he recommended 6 sticks of memory and a MB that only has 4 slots.

My pick for memory would be the G.Skill F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ or Corsair TR3X6G1333C9 kits.
They both adhere to the JEDEC DDR3 voltage standard of 1.5v

 

[Athena]

Originally posted by: mauiblue
Would the Wacom Intuos 6" x 8" tabet suffice for a Photo Shop rig?

The Intuos line is more for professional graphic artists, the Bamboo should be adequate for most hobbyists. Rather than spending all your money on a tablet, consider PurdueRy's advice to get a color calibrator too.

Although Wacom is the industry leader in this field, there are other manufacturers -- e.g. Aiptek, Hanvon, and Vistablet -- you might want to consider. 6" X 8" would be nice but you could probably do just as well with a smaller digitizing window. FWIW, I've never met anyone who actually used the mice that come with some models -- the stylus is what you use for editing-- so don't be influenced by getting an (unwanted) mouse in the bundle.

 

[alteredform]

Thank you. I will keep that in mind.

Aside from the other items... tablet, calibration devices... Does the computer build seem "okay"? Am I overbuying? I really feel no need to be cutting edge, as I (try) to upgrade every 2 years or so. (It hasn't been the case this last time around)...

 

[PurdueRy]

You don't need a i7 build for photo editing. My computer (e8400 w/ 4850) works for all my photoshop needs. Photoshop CS4's graphics acceleration option are all supported with the 4850.

 

[elconejito]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
You don't need a i7 build for photo editing. My computer (e8400 w/ 4850) works for all my photoshop needs. Photoshop CS4's graphics acceleration option are all supported with the 4850.

Well, that depends...

CS3 I'd agree with you. CS3 is/was very Ghz dependent.

CS4 is very much multicore dependent. Anandtech's Photoshop CS4 benchmarks. i7 is at the top, followed by C2Qs and PhIIs. Even a Q8200 performs very well. [At stock speeds. If you overclock your e8400 to 4Ghz I'm sure that changes the equation, but the OP said he doesn't plan on OCing]

CS3 on the other hand, the C2Ds were at the top of the pack, right in the middle of the much more expensive C2Qs. Tom's Hardware Photoshop CS3 benchmark

Unless we're trying to save a lot of cash, but the OP's budget allows for an i7 or C2Q.

The video card helps mostly with onscreen drawing (zooming, rotation) and 3D stuff, not with any filters (at least those within PS, 3rd party plugins may be different). Adobe KB - GPU and OpenGL features and limitations in Photoshop CS4.

 

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: Athena

Originally posted by: mauiblue
Would the Wacom Intuos 6" x 8" tabet suffice for a Photo Shop rig?

The Intuos line is more for professional graphic artists, the Bamboo should be adequate for most hobbyists. Rather than spending all your money on a tablet, consider PurdueRy's advice to get a color calibrator too.

Although Wacom is the industry leader in this field, there are other manufacturers -- e.g. Aiptek, Hanvon, and Vistablet -- you might want to consider. 6" X 8" would be nice but you could probably do just as well with a smaller digitizing window. FWIW, I've never met anyone who actually used the mice that come with some models -- the stylus is what you use for editing-- so don't be influenced by getting an (unwanted) mouse in the bundle.

Another great option are old used tablet PCs. You could pick one up for $100-250 and you get a nice 12" screen, and you actually get to see the surface you're drawing on, much like the much more expensive cintiqs. But then again, you won't be getting that uber performance you built your system for.

I love my Lenovo X41 tablet that I picked up for $220. Either way, he mentioned photo editing and not graphics designing, so aside from the occaisional lassoing, there ain't much use for one.
I'd highly recommend the colorimeter though.
Huey is about $60.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: elconejito

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
You don't need a i7 build for photo editing. My computer (e8400 w/ 4850) works for all my photoshop needs. Photoshop CS4's graphics acceleration option are all supported with the 4850.

Well, that depends...

CS3 I'd agree with you. CS3 is/was very Ghz dependent.

CS4 is very much multicore dependent. Anandtech's Photoshop CS4 benchmarks. i7 is at the top, followed by C2Qs and PhIIs. Even a Q8200 performs very well. [At stock speeds. If you overclock your e8400 to 4Ghz I'm sure that changes the equation, but the OP said he doesn't plan on OCing]

CS3 on the other hand, the C2Ds were at the top of the pack, right in the middle of the much more expensive C2Qs. Tom's Hardware Photoshop CS3 benchmark

Unless we're trying to save a lot of cash, but the OP's budget allows for an i7 or C2Q.

The video card helps mostly with onscreen drawing (zooming, rotation) and 3D stuff, not with any filters (at least those within PS, 3rd party plugins may be different). Adobe KB - GPU and OpenGL features and limitations in Photoshop CS4.

Right the only point I was making was photoshop CS4 will run fine on a dual core processor. If you need to really push through work then yes the i7 investment makes sense. But it isn't exactly hard to upgrade further down the road as technology becomes cheaper and more polished.

 

[alteredform]

I failed to ask.... Which OS would currently be better for me? I have limited experience with vista. I was considering continuing with xp for a while longer.... With that said, newegg makes shopping for an OS quite confusing with their huge pricing disparity. Could someone please link me which OS's I would need to purchase for a new build?

Thanks.

 

[elconejito]

you'll want Vista Home Premium 64-bit to take advantage of all that RAM. Or if you feel adventurous, you can try the Windows 7 RC. If you're set on using XP, get the 32-bit version (and get less RAM since you can't use more than 4GB). The 64-bit XP really isn't worth the bother between a lack of drivers and lots of compatibility issues with software. 64-bit Vista has a lot less problems in that arena, but still make sure you check if the software you use is compatible with 64-bit Vista.

Get the OEM version, it's only $99 at newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16832116488

 

[Blain]

Some 64-bit version of Vista if you want to use more than 4GBs of memory.
Windows XP 32-bit if you aren't buying more than 4GBs of memory.
Give Windows 7 64-bit a try for FREE (expires June 1, 2010), and use more than 4GBs of memory.

 

[alteredform]

Are any of you using Windows 7 on your primary machine? How is that working out for you? Any security issues?