Attn: all computer sophisticates

[D. King]

I'm looking at what is essentially a gaming computer to replace my Duel Core running on XP Pro 32 Bit with 2 gigs of memory.  

The new one comes with Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit, 1 TB HDD, DVDRW, 12 GB DDR3, (2) 9800 GT Video Cards in SLI, 650W 80+ Power Supply and will set me back about $1300 US.

I will be using it with CS4 and LR2 mainly for stills but since I have the 5D2 I expect to do some video editing with it as well.  My main question is about the 2 video cards.  Will having 2 of them in any way improve most of what I'll be doing?  

Also, any words of wisdom about moving from 32 Bit to 64 Bit will be appreciated.  

Thanks.

 

[Sheldon N]

No real benefit for running dual video cards in SLI for photo work. Each card individually is more than powerful enough.  Instead I'd get a second monitor and run one card for each monitor. Having two screens really improves Lightroom and Photoshop workflow.

64bit is good, it lets you access all your RAM in Photoshop. Big improvement over 32bit.

Sounds like a good machine overall. What CPU is it running?

[D. King]

No real benefit for running dual video cards in SLI for photo work. Each card individually is more than powerful enough.  Instead I'd get a second monitor and run one card for each monitor. Having two screens really improves Lightroom and Photoshop workflow.

64bit is good, it lets you access all your RAM in Photoshop. Big improvement over 32bit.

Sounds like a good machine overall. What CPU is it running?

It comes with an Intel  Core i7 920 2.66GHz  with HyperThreading Quad-Core

Seems pretty good for the price.

[fike]

Generally, two video cards, probably in SLI mode, will be overkill.  One thing that you may be able to do more easily is run different monitor calibration profiles on each display.

[D. King]

Generally, two video cards, probably in SLI mode, will be overkill.  One thing that you may be able to do more easily is run different monitor calibration profiles on each display.

Thanks, guys.  Now for the second part of my question:  when I migrate from 32 to 64 bit, other than having to search for updated drivers, are there any other items that could cause heartburn that I should be aware of?

Thanks.

[fike]

Thanks, guys.  Now for the second part of my question:  when I migrate from 32 to 64 bit, other than having to search for updated drivers, are there any other items that could cause heartburn that I should be aware of?

Thanks.

Nothing too major.

* Many of your plugins and auxilliary photo tools will only work in 32-bit mode unless you pay to upgrade them to 64-bit.  This hit me for Neat Image.
* My epson scanner drivers only work in the 32-bit version of PS (you get both 32-bit and 64-bit version of PS when you setup CS4).

[D. King]

Nothing too major.

* Many of your plugins and auxilliary photo tools will only work in 32-bit mode unless you pay to upgrade them to 64-bit.  This hit me for Neat Image.
* My epson scanner drivers only work in the 32-bit version of PS (you get both 32-bit and 64-bit version of PS when you setup CS4).

Yes, Epson and Canon have both indicated they will have no 64-bit drivers for my two scanners.  But I'm confused.  Are you saying that I can install both the 32-bit and the 64-bit versions of PS CS4 on my new 64-bit system and use the 32 when scanning?  

If not, what about setting up a dual boot system with my old XP 32-bit?

[fike]

Yes, Epson and Canon have both indicated they will have no 64-bit drivers for my two scanners.  But I'm confused.  Are you saying that I can install both the 32-bit and the 64-bit versions of PS CS4 on my new 64-bit system and use the 32 when scanning?  

If not, what about setting up a dual boot system with my old XP 32-bit?

Yes, the 64-bit PS CS4 installation routine automatically installs both the 32-bit version and the 64-bit version.  You need to go out of your way to tell it not to install the 32-bit.  You don't need to have a dual boot.  Most of your 32-bit apps will work adequately on your new 64-bit machine (I don't know of any exceptions).

[D. King]

Yes, the 64-bit PS CS4 installation routine automatically installs both the 32-bit version and the 64-bit version.  You need to go out of your way to tell it not to install the 32-bit.  You don't need to have a dual boot.  Most of your 32-bit apps will work adequately on your new 64-bit machine (I don't know of any exceptions).

That's great news.  Thanks.  Another basic question:  Will I have occasion to have to tell PS that I want to use the 32-bit version or will it automatically detect that it is required?  

Also, re the scanners for which there will be no 64-bit drivers -- a CanoScan FS4000US and an Epson Perfection 1630SU -- am I correct in my assumption that I will still need a 32-bit OS in order to run them?  

Thanks.

[fike]

It does not auto detect.

I have been running my epson 4990 scanner with the 32-bit driver on my 64-bit vista system.

[D. King]

It does not auto detect.

I have been running my epson 4990 scanner with the 32-bit driver on my 64-bit vista system.

Thanks for taking the time to help.  The adventure begins.

[Theresa]

The new one comes with Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit, 1 TB HDD, DVDRW, 12 GB DDR3, (2) 9800 GT Video Cards in SLI, 650W 80+ Power Supply and will set me back about $1300 US.

Thanks.

That is a very good price.  Having more video performance never hurts, don't worry about having too much.  Those video cards are also capable of off loading processing from the CPU and more and more products are utilizing this.  I wouldn't be surprised if Adobe PS and other photo programs were to take advantage of this and your system will run very fast if that happens.  About 5 years ago I upgraded to XP 64 bit and it was literally the bleeding edge.  My scanner and printer didn't have drivers for it.  It was such a hassle I got myself a iMac and used it for several years.  Things have changed for the better now though with all modern peripherals supporting Windows 7 64 bit.  Some programs require updating to take advantage of 64 bit, as was mentioned before.  If your going to use 64 bit PS or Lightroom for example you will need to get 64 bit plugins.  I'm using the Lightroom 3 beta but I don't use anything but free 64 bit plugins.  I suppose I'll have to buy Lightroom in March though.  I have not run into any programs that don't run with the 64 bit Windows, some just run in 32 bit emulation mode.  I have some programs that were quite slow in their Mac versions but with Windows 7 64 bit with plenty of ram and processing power are blazingly fast.  I think 1 TB is about the minimum you can get by with what with the large files from medium format and full frame cameras.  I don't do any gaming even though my system is pretty much like the one you describe except for an ATI video card and I have much more HD space.  It never hurts to have a faster computer.
You should be very happy with that system.

[D. King]

That is a very good price.  Having more video performance never hurts, don't worry about having too much.  Those video cards are also capable of off loading processing from the CPU and more and more products are utilizing this.  I wouldn't be surprised if Adobe PS and other photo programs were to take advantage of this and your system will run very fast if that happens.  About 5 years ago I upgraded to XP 64 bit and it was literally the bleeding edge.  My scanner and printer didn't have drivers for it.  It was such a hassle I got myself a iMac and used it for several years.  Things have changed for the better now though with all modern peripherals supporting Windows 7 64 bit.  Some programs require updating to take advantage of 64 bit, as was mentioned before.  If your going to use 64 bit PS or Lightroom for example you will need to get 64 bit plugins.  I'm using the Lightroom 3 beta but I don't use anything but free 64 bit plugins.  I suppose I'll have to buy Lightroom in March though.  I have not run into any programs that don't run with the 64 bit Windows, some just run in 32 bit emulation mode.  I have some programs that were quite slow in their Mac versions but with Windows 7 64 bit with plenty of ram and processing power are blazingly fast.  I think 1 TB is about the minimum you can get by with what with the large files from medium format and full frame cameras.  I don't do any gaming even though my system is pretty much like the one you describe except for an ATI video card and I have much more HD space.  It never hurts to have a faster computer.
You should be very happy with that system.

Thanks Theresa.  Very encouraging to hear all that.

[Vautour]

My main question is about the 2 video cards.  Will having 2 of them in any way improve most of what I'll be doing?  

Also, any words of wisdom about moving from 32 Bit to 64 Bit will be appreciated.  

Thanks.

Hello,

I don't even know if SLI works with PS, i. e. if the Nvidia drivers support it for Photoshop.

I've run Vista (and now 7) 64bit (Business, resp. Professional) without any problems with CS3 suite (mostly PS and Acrobat 8, some InDesign and Illustrator) and LR1 (also tested LR2 and 3 Beta without problems). As others have said, you might need updated plug-ins.

[titan]

Hello,

I don't even know if SLI works with PS, i. e. if the Nvidia drivers support it for Photoshop.

I've run Vista (and now 7) 64bit (Business, resp. Professional) without any problems with CS3 suite (mostly PS and Acrobat 8, some InDesign and Illustrator) and LR1 (also tested LR2 and 3 Beta without problems). As others have said, you might need updated plug-ins.

SLI only benefits 3D applications. In fact, a quick Google search reveals CS4 not recognizing an SLI setup as suitable hardware accelerator resulting in the software renderer being used instead. (Apparently this is an issue related to CUDA and not the drivers themselves.)

Additionally, a 3D graphics card will only be utilized by CS3 Extended and CS4. And from what I understand, 3D hardware acceleration isn't supported in 64 bit without a registry tweak.

(For the record, I'm a Bibble and GIMP user. My information could be out of date.)