New Win 7 box for PS and C1?

[Nill Toulme]

I don't see a recent (1 year) thread on this topic.  Time to retire the old Norge (XP, probably going on 10 years old).  Can I get some recommendations?  Basically C1 on multiple 1D Mark IV files, with some cleanup using PS CS5 (or 6).  Nothing fancy, hopefully under $1k (computer only) and the cheaper the better, maybe 2 or 3 TB of internal storage, but I want more speed.  A lot more speed.  

Any straight recommendations or pointers to recent articles etc. much appreciated.  (And I don't mind Dell.)

Thanks!

p.s.  I'm not sure I have the patience to do a build anymore, but I probably could be talked into it.

[alain]

Sure a ssd at least for os and programs.  I would buy a "250GB" capacity SSD with a smaller OS /programs partition and a second larger SSD partition for "incoming files".  With incoming files  I mean those files that you are still culling/editing on, after that they can move to a (HDD).

For C1 I would prioritize CPU before GPU (graphics card), I would get a i7-4770K or i7-4771 before thinking on a separate GPU.   

[Nill Toulme]

Thanks.  A typical session for me would involve taking between 1,000 and 3,000 RAW images down to maybe 150 to 600 keepers using BreezeBrowser Pro, then processing those keepers in C1 — so I don't think I want to be moving files back and forth between my main storage drive and an SSD unless there's a really easy way to automate that process.  I'd kinda sorta been thinking about two 2TB or maybe 3TB drives in a RAID 0+1 array for storage; does that make sense?  And maybe a single SSD drive for OS/programs?

I guess that's not really sounding like <$1k, is it ...

[alain]

Thanks.  A typical session for me would involve taking between 1,000 and 3,000 RAW images down to maybe 150 to 600 keepers using BreezeBrowser Pro, then processing those keepers in C1 — so I don't think I want to be moving files back and forth between my main storage drive and an SSD unless there's a really easy way to automate that process.  I'd kinda sorta been thinking about two 2TB or maybe 3TB drives in a RAID 0+1 array for storage; does that make sense?  And maybe a single SSD drive for OS/programs?

I guess that's not really sounding like <$1k, is it ...

I move the working files, c1 has even capabilities for that (selected folder).  I do have a separate drive  where all of my original raw files are kept (better safe than sorry).
I advise against RAID in a "consumer desktop", one software/firmware problem and the disk could be "empty".

[Alan Goldhammer]

There is a separate section for computers within the forum HERE.  There have been some discussions there about builds.  I don't think you are going to meet your price point.  I built a new Win7 machine earlier this year and parts cost $1200 and I didn't need quite the specs you have outlined.  You don't say what the size of all your files are (all your keepers in addition to new images).  You might be better off having a simple work station and keeping all the files on a NAS where you can configure redundant hard drives.  You can build one of those (or have one built for you) for a reasonable amount of money.  Moving files around is not resource intensive in terms of the CPU, it's the processing steps that involve computation where you need power.

I have not used C1 so I cannot advise you on that.  I decided on an i5 processor for my build because I use Lightroom 95% of the time and I don't do more than one or two panoramas a year.  If you do  a lot of processing in PS you probably want an i7 processor.  You will also need a separate graphics card (if you don't do video processing you don't need a card costing more than $150-200) and a minimum of 16GB of memory.  I'm not sure how Dell is these days regarding custom computer builds.  I've heard good things about Puget Systems.  You should also check to see if there are any small companies in your area that build custom computers as you would have local service in case of problems (the last thing you want is to have to ship a unit back for repair!).

I can give you more details on a build if you want; just send me a PM.

Alan

[Nill Toulme]

Thanks very much Alan.  Sorry about the wrong forum; I haven't been here for a while and missed it.  Mod please feel free to move this thread (as if you needed my permission ...)

On my current system I have an internal 1.4TB RAID 1+0, and back up (and archive) to external drives.  2 to 3TB online would be more comfortable.

[alain]

Here a quick selection (maybe not complete and certainly not checked for comp ability):

Intel® BX80646I74771  i7 4771     € 299,-
GIGABYTE GA-Z87-D3HP    € 129,90
G.Skill 16 GB DDR3-1600 Kit
F3-1600C9D-16GXM, RipjawsX, XMP   € 134,90
be quiet! Straight PowerE9 400W       € 74,90
Samsung 840 EVO MZ-7TE250BW, 250 GB SSD  € 169,90
Seagate Desktop HDD, 3 TB
SATA 600, ST3000DM001,  2x   €229,80

Fractal Design Define R4    € 99,90

Cooler Master Hyper212 Evo € 34,99

total without windows : € 1.173,29

You could start with one HDD.
 I would definitely prefer a faster CPU first, C1 is currently not using the full GPU potential.
Adding a graphics card is easy afterwards, changing a CPU is a lot more work (and money).

EDIT:  I saw that the mentioned motherboard doesn't had displayport, which I recommend.  An alternative could be GIGABYTE GA-Z87MX-D3H  (but a µATX board).

[Alan Goldhammer]

The Intel on chip graphics have improved a lot over the last two years.  I've built three PCs in the last several months that all run on HD4000 graphics and it's fine for office applications and home theater.  I don't know how good they would be for PS or C1 since it would take away some of the processing power to run the graphics.  I'm a little too lazy to run the experiment as I would have to open my PC and disconnect the graphics card and I only have HD2500 on my CPU.  The chip Alain recommends has HD4600 which might be good and certainly save some money.