PC guru needed

[fredjeang]

Hi,
I have to reniew my PC that is obsolete now.
I plan to buy one custom-made.
I need a configuration for being able to work LF, scanning, big enlargements and HD video editing.
So far, I went in different shops explaining my needs and that's more or less what I've got in price/quality.

-Intel Core 17 860 2.8 GHZ TRAY
-Kingston DDR3 2GB PC1600MHZ CL9
-VGA PCIE GF GTS 250 1GB ZOTAC

or a Dell Precision T5500 o T7500

Do you think this is enough power or should I go for something more powerfull and expensive?

Thank you.

Fred.

[keithrsmith]

Hi,
I have to reniew my PC that is obsolete now.
I plan to buy one custom-made.
I need a configuration for being able to work LF, scanning, big enlargements and HD video editing.
So far, I went in different shops explaining my needs and that's more or less what I've got in price/quality.

-Intel Core 17 860 2.8 GHZ TRAY
-Kingston DDR3 2GB PC1600MHZ CL9
-VGA PCIE GF GTS 250 1GB ZOTAC

or a Dell Precision T5500 o T7500

Do you think this is enough power or should I go for something more powerfull and expensive?

Thank you.

Fred.

Not enough memory.  Go for at least 4Gb, or maybe 6 with DDR3

Think about an SSD disk fo rthe system

Don't forget data disks, and Backup disks.  Possible think about a USB3 equipped motherboard.

Graphics card not so important for Photoshop, but have a look at

http://tv.adobe.com/watch/davtechtable/sne...ine-technology/

which will be interesting if you are big into video editing (and can afford it all)

Keith

[NashvilleMike]

Hi,
I have to reniew my PC that is obsolete now.
I plan to buy one custom-made.
I need a configuration for being able to work LF, scanning, big enlargements and HD video editing.
So far, I went in different shops explaining my needs and that's more or less what I've got in price/quality.

-Intel Core 17 860 2.8 GHZ TRAY
-Kingston DDR3 2GB PC1600MHZ CL9
-VGA PCIE GF GTS 250 1GB ZOTAC

or a Dell Precision T5500 o T7500

Do you think this is enough power or should I go for something more powerfull and expensive?

Thank you.

Fred.

Way underpowered.

a: Move up to the Intel Core I7 920 chip series
b: The very fastest DDR3 memory you can afford, 9gb memory (the i7 920 is tri channel, so the memory should be in multiples of 3)
c: Two hard disks - one for the base programs, OS, etc, plus a second extremely fast disk for cache files from photoshop, your raw converter of choice, bridge, etc

Personally, I went through this exercise of replacing a 4+ year old PC a couple of months ago and went to my local Best Buy and upon several peoples recommendations, got the 1100$ ASUS  machine and added a WD Velociraptor (extremely fast) HD and I couldn't be happier. Even the dog slow Nikon Capture NX, which used to take 40 seconds to convert a raw file, now takes about 3 seconds.

Good luck and I think if you go the extra to get something really good you'll be very happy with it's performance.

-m

[Sheldon N]

I agree, way underpowered. Look at building your own PC so you can select components that best meet your needs.

I'd lean towards i7 920 (overclocked if you are able to DIY), 12GB of DDR3, SSD hard drive for the OS, FAST setup for Photoshop scratch - multi drive RAID 0 is ideal, separate drives for storage, good video card due to HD video needs (ie ATI Radeon 4850 or 5770)

Some good info buried in prior threads here...

http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....showtopic=41432
http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....showtopic=38984
http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....showtopic=39938

[Christopher]

I agree, way underpowered. Look at building your own PC so you can select components that best meet your needs.

I'd lean towards i7 920 (overclocked if you are able to DIY), 12GB of DDR3, SSD hard drive for the OS, FAST setup for Photoshop scratch - multi drive RAID 0 is ideal, separate drives for storage, good video card due to HD video needs (ie ATI Radeon 4850 or 5770)

Some good info buried in prior threads here...

http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....showtopic=41432
http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....showtopic=38984
http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....showtopic=39938

Well,

I wanted to write some info on how my workstation turned out and what I actually bought, however I'm still on the road and very busy i hope to have something done around mid March.

However here are some other infos for you:

- First the most important question is how much can you spend ? Everything else is not as important.

- Intel i7 930 should be your choice together with 12GB RAM (it's so cheap so no reason to get less) Everything else depends on what you need, SSDs are great, but expensive and don't have a lot of space.

[Theresa]

Hi,
I have to reniew my PC that is obsolete now.
I plan to buy one custom-made.
I need a configuration for being able to work LF, scanning, big enlargements and HD video editing.
So far, I went in different shops explaining my needs and that's more or less what I've got in price/quality.

-Intel Core 17 860 2.8 GHZ TRAY
-Kingston DDR3 2GB PC1600MHZ CL9
-VGA PCIE GF GTS 250 1GB ZOTAC

Get 6GB RAM instead of 2GB.  4-5GB is sort of the sweet spot but you cannot get 4GB usable on a 32 bit machine as the max is about 3.5 GB because of the memory space occupied by the video card and bios.  So I would get Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional 64 bit and six 6B RAM.  I did this and have been very pleased.  Also, get triple channel memory with three RAM "sticks" as that will allow the memory to work at full bandwidth with the i7 processor.

[feppe]

Sounds like heavy duty machine is indeed needed - this is gonna get expensive for you but no point in going overboard.

The differences between the performance of i5 and i7, and especially DDR2 and DDR3 are largely academic. Don't drink the marketing kool-aid on i7: I would urge you to check out some Photoshop and other real-world benchmarks comparing them before splurging on the cutting edge. You can spend the savings on more memory or SSDs - two or more RAIDed for scratch disk and another one for the OS for a high-end machine.

One real benefit of i7 is that you can get more memory easier than with the i5.

As others said, forget about spending on the GPU, buy a mid-range (100-200 euros/USD) and you're good to go. The only thing to condsider here are the # and type of outputs - if you want dual or triple monitor setup you need proper outputs. Monoprice sells good converters between DVI and HDMI.

Get a brand name 80% PSU rated at least 30% higher wattage than what you need - google PSU calculator.

For the mobo check that it has room to upgrade to a faster CPU and takes even more memory than you're putting in it right now.

Another factor to consider is that if you go over 4 gigs of memory you need a 64 bit OS. Check that the software you're using works well with 64-bit or that some components of your workflow don't get compromised. Photoshop for example does, but most of the plugins don't. Don't know anything about video editing software.

Finally, cooling. You will need 2-4 case fans. Get large 120mm ones if your case accepts them to cut down on the noise.

[fredjeang]

Thank you so much for your answers.
It is clear that I have to increase power.
Your repplies give precious clews.  

Cheers,

Fred.

[Theresa]

Thank you so much for your answers.
It is clear that I have to increase power.
Your repplies give precious clews.  

Cheers,

Fred.

It does not hurt to have an i7.  Program's demand on processor and video power is growing with each new improvement in software.  New software even uses the video card to accelerate tasks these days.  With all the demand from high megapixel files really demands as much computer as you can afford.