Photoshop workstation - advice on proposed build?

[JLiu]

Hello,

I'm building a new computer and cobbled together a build based on reading the imagescience article and suggestions from another forum (a great forum but not one that is specialized for images and Photoshop). I'm posting the build here for the thoughts of people whose primary tools are similar to mine. One worry I have is that it's a bit overboard for my needs as I'm more of an enthusiast than a professional. Thanks, and any suggestions are welcome.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($309.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Intel 530 Series 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Red Pro 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($144.73 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($334.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Silverstone FT04B-W ATX Full Tower Case  ($229.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair 750W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1791.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-08 19:13 EST-0500

[Torbjörn Tapani]

Looks good. Don't forget backup.

[Alan Goldhammer]

I would get a larger SSD for the OS and programs (either a 240 or 256GB) since you want to future proof this as much as possible.  Ideally you want your main drive 50% full and no more.  I assume that the second SSD (the Intel) is a PS scratch drive, correct?  I'm not sure that you need one with that much capacity and you could save some money by dropping down to a 256GB drive; you have already maxed out the RAM for this MoBo which is fine.  If you don't want to pay so much for a video card you can also save there as well.  It's not clear that the one you have picked will offer substantial performance over a rock solid GTX 660 which is almost 1/2 the cost.  You certainly do not need a 750W PSU for this kind of build as you are only running one video card.  Corsair do not manufacture their own PSUs and some of them are just overpriced.  You might be better off with a Seasonic G550 which is more than enough power and about $80 less. 

Full tower cases are huge, do you need one that big?  You are not putting lots of drives into it.  My workstation is in a Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 that will take an ATX size MoBo.  It can hold up to 10 drives if you need it.  It has a built in fan controller, is silent (mine sits on a desk top 12 inches away and I cannot hear it), and best of all is over $100 less than the Silverstone case you have on this list.  Finally, I would get the WD Black HDD as the warranty is better.

[D Fosse]

Use the 480 GB as system drive, the 128 as scratch. That should be enough (and for the rare occasion it isn't; just set system drive as secondary scratch).

Watch out for preview caches, Bridge and especially Premiere Pro can rapidly fill up a smallish SSD. I recently saw Pr dump over 20GB on my system drive after just one large project. By default most of the caches go in your user account in hidden folders, so you don't notice the buildup until you look for it. Redirect caches to data drives or at least keep an eye on them.

Depending on monitor, a 10-bit capable video card might be in order (Nvidia Quadro or AMD FirePro).

[deejjjaaaa]

t's not clear that the one you have picked will offer substantial performance over a rock solid GTX 660 which is almost 1/2 the cost. 

nominally the differences between GTX660 GPU and GTX970 GPU are quite visible

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_900_series
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_600_series

certainly once you put in a specific card you might make things worse - but then it might be other way around

[deejjjaaaa]

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($309.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

I'd get a mb capable to work with 128gb RAM

[JLiu]

Thank you all for your comments.

T. Tapani: I have a backup, as well as an OS, that I will be re-using. Thanks for the reminder!

Alan Goldhammer: Thanks for your advice, which seems eminently sensible, and I'll make the following changes:
Smaller PSU and case, a Seasonic X series for the PSU and for a Fractal Design case
As well, I'll switch to WDD Black.

D. Fosse and Alan Goldhammer: I will be using the 128 as scratch and the 480 as system.

The system after your collective kind feedback:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($304.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Intel 530 Series 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($242.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($131.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($334.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Arctic White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($109.99 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 660W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($131.66 @ Newegg)
Total: $1619.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-09 16:07 EST-0500

[deejjjaaaa]

Samsung 850 Evo (non Pro) will be released for sales this month... may be just preorder 120 + 500 = http://www.anandtech.com/show/8747/samsung-ssd-850-evo-review  , prices @ amazon = $90 + $250

[JLiu]

The Samsung SSDs look great. Cross fingers that my current computer can hang on.

[Alan Goldhammer]

I'd get a mb capable to work with 128gb RAM

That jumps up the cost big time.

[dwswager]

Hello,

I'm building a new computer and cobbled together a build based on reading the imagescience article and suggestions from another forum (a great forum but not one that is specialized for images and Photoshop). I'm posting the build here for the thoughts of people whose primary tools are similar to mine. One worry I have is that it's a bit overboard for my needs as I'm more of an enthusiast than a professional. Thanks, and any suggestions are welcome.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($309.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Intel 530 Series 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Red Pro 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($144.73 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($334.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Silverstone FT04B-W ATX Full Tower Case  ($229.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair 750W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1791.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-08 19:13 EST-0500

Looks good, but depending on what you are doing, it looks like some overkill.  Graphic card for example.  Unless you have some serious gaming going on, then way overkill.

I prefer Seasonic power supplies and Samsung SSDs.  I use Asus and Gigabyte boards for speed, Intel for stability.  Get a larger boot drive.  I just swapped out the ones in my i7 Desktop and i7 9TB Server (it also does video transcoding in the background). Depending on the 'storage' end, I a RAID mirror might be appropriate with the 2GB WD Reds.  I use 3, 3TB Reds in my server.

[D Fosse]

it looks like some overkill.  Graphic card for example. 

Except for 10 bit capability, in which case it's underkill and a Quadro is required.

[deejjjaaaa]

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($334.98 @ SuperBiiz)

http://slickdeals.net/f/7511684-pny-gtx-970-graphics-card-287-w-fs-using-masterpass = $287

[JLiu]

Thanks for the comments!

I'm going with the Samsung EVO SSDs and a Gigabye mobo, as well as a Fractal Design case. And the great deal on the PNY card!

The build as it now stands, though I may switch out the case for a midi depending on what I end up with and I may go with a Seasonic PSU depending on how much this all ends up costing.  The price for the PNY video card below doesn't reflect the discounted price that deejjjaaaa found.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($299.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($161.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 970 4GB XLR8 Video Card  ($329.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($129.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1866.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-15 13:16 EST-0500

[dwswager]

Except for 10 bit capability, in which case it's underkill and a Quadro is required.

10 bit what?  Unless you are doing solid modeling or gaming an inexpensive card will provided the color bit depth you need.  All you want is something stable and configurable.   So you can calibrate and profile.  Again.  It depends what you are trying to do.

[D Fosse]

10 bit what? 

10 bit display pipeline. Smooth gradients, 1024 steps instead of 256. Not a big deal if you already have a good display, but a nice bonus I'd consider if building a new system from scratch anyway.

Only supported in Windows, higher-end displays, Quadro/FirePro cards and Photoshop (not yet Lightroom).

[Torbjörn Tapani]

I use WD Red drives for storage. In the main computer but also for the NAS.

[dwswager]

10 bit display pipeline. Smooth gradients, 1024 steps instead of 256. Not a big deal if you already have a good display, but a nice bonus I'd consider if building a new system from scratch anyway.

Only supported in Windows, higher-end displays, Quadro/FirePro cards and Photoshop (not yet Lightroom).

Oh, you're talking about 30 Bit color (10 bits/channel) instead of 24 Bit.  Gotcha.  Yeah, but absolutely everything in the chain has to support it and even then you need the right images to see a difference.

My point on the video card was that it was overkill from a processing standpoint.  A $60 card will work the same for photo editing as a $300 solution and still not get taxed from a processing standpoint.  I'm currently using a stable, but inexpensive air cooled ATI Radeon driving dual 24" IPS displays.

[deejjjaaaa]

A $60 card will work the same for photo editing as a $300 solution and still not get taxed from a processing standpoint. 

it depends on the software that you are using... ACR does not use GPU, C1 does... for example... and the trend is clearly for converters to start using advanced processing capabilities from GPUs (embedded or discrete)

[JLiu]

Ah! Thanks for the clarification on the 10-bit. I was somewhat confused. For what I'm doing, I'm not sure I'd need a 10 bit display pipeline.

Also, I'm getting a gaming graphics card because, even though I don't currently game, I have in the past and will probably do so again.

I'll look at Western Digital Red vs. Black again--I notice some of the Reds are on sale.

Thanks again to all, I very much appreciate it.