Building a system for Lightroom photo editing

[mfenn]

Many thanks for your patience with me guys -- it's a been a few years since I put togther a system and I've got some catching up to do.

o MOBOS: My bad. Newegg's other varient is the LX. But the Pro there is only $18 more than amazon's price on the non-pro, and the Pro has

an additional pci 2 x16slot (even though it will only run at x8) which might help future proof it.

You were doing so well until you mentioned the dreaded "future proof". :awe: The non-Pro also has two x16 slots. The difference between x4 and x8 secondary slot will never matter for a productivity machine. "Only" $20 here and there adds up to an expensive build.

o CPUS: OK, with you now: the HTing on i7 brings little to the party for amount extra it costs. Otherwise the processors are nearly

identical. OK, I think that sells me on the i5. Though I wonder then what the i7 *is* good for?

Strictly speaking, the i7 is better than the i5 (price notwithstanding). There are always people for whom the additional performance justifies the cost. Case in point: i7 980X

I'm thinking of the following for the rest of the system:

RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600 C9,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231314

VIDEO: 9800GT card,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814500115
(Although it's overkill for LR it supports dual monitors and the GPU will be used by Premiere if/when I do video editing.)

HSF: Coolmaster 212+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103065
(suitable, I think, for a bit of OCing?)

SSD: Corsair F90 90GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233149

HDD: 2TB SATA

OS: W7 64b Pro OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116758

I would absolutely, under no circumstances overclock a productivity system and thus would ditch the HSF and DDR3 1600 RAM. They are fine if you are dead set on overclocking though.

The 9800GT is a poor choice overall. Get a GTS 450 instead.

I agree with David about Windows Home vs. Pro.

PSU. The calculators are suggesting around 400W for this system, so maybe
something like SeaSonic M12II 520W? Is that enough for a moderate overclock?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151093
ian

Should be fine.

 

[Davidh373]

Strictly speaking, the i7 is better than the i5 (price notwithstanding). There are always people for whom the additional performance justifies the cost. Case in point: i7 980X

If your primary usage 3D Rendering, Video Encoding, or scientific calculation the better the processor the faster it goes, but since you and everyone else seems a little fuzzy about lightroom even making use of 4 threads, what good will 8 do you? No good, that's what 🙂. YOU, would be spending $100 for nothing, others may be paying to make use of it.

 

[IanWorthington]

Many thanks for that.

not especially. It won't be used well if you're using CS5, anyway. Mercury Playback needs a little something more substancial in CUDA core count. If you can justify an extra $10, get a GTX 450.

Can't find a GTX450. You mean maybe a GTS450? Or a GTX460?

 

[Davidh373]

GTS450

^ yes, my apologies

 

[IanWorthington]

You were doing so well until you mentioned the dreaded "future proof". :awe: The non-Pro also has two x16 slots. The difference between x4 and x8 secondary slot will never matter for a productivity machine. "Only" $20 here and there adds up to an expensive build.

🙂 Sorry 'bout that! I've tended to keep my systems for quite a long time in the past, by upgrading cpus, memory, and disk, so, even though this is the most expensive system I've ever put together, by virtue of LR's thirst for power, I'm hoping that it'll last me quite a few years.

The only real "future proofing" I thinking of here is the possble addition of SSD on a PCIe card if that's the way the market moves (http://www.anandtech.com/show/3788/oczs-revodrive-pcie-ssd-preview-an-affordable-pcie-ssd) -- and I know you don't buy the need for even 6Gb/s for these, so I hesitate to mention it. The Revo's a x4 card though, and x4's just over 3x the speed of sata 6gb/s, so presumably that's good enough for a few years.

I would absolutely, under no circumstances overclock a productivity system and thus would ditch the HSF and DDR3 1600 RAM. They are fine if you are dead set on overclocking though.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by a "productivity" system, but everything I read suggests these are relativly straightforward to overclock so probably worthwhile doing for this application.

GPUs and W7 version changed as you and others have suggested.

This is coming in now at around $1k excluding HD (I have already) and case (will source locally). Does that sound reasonable, or still overpriced?

 

[Sp12]

This is coming in now at around $1k excluding HD (I have already) and case (will source locally). Does that sound reasonable, or still overpriced?

Looking at Anandtech's official Sandy Bridge article I think it makes a lot of sense to get an i5-2500(S?)/H67 mobo for less than what you're spending on the i5-760+P55 mobo+Graphics.

 

[IanWorthington]

Understand. Though it will have to be P67 as I want dual monitors. Waiting to see some stock and prices then I'll price up a SB system. Though everything I've seen today suggests it will be awash in price but with better performance.

 

[mfenn]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by a "productivity" system, but everything I read suggests these are relativly straightforward to overclock so probably worthwhile doing for this application.

A "productivity" system is a system that you use in order to be productive. 😛 In other words, stability is paramount.

Overclocking is fine for a gaming system where a crash might only lose your progress since the last checkpoint. Not so good when (for example) it crashes during a heavy disk operation (Lightroom qualifies), corrupting your NTFS journal and forcing you to spend hours restoring from backup.

 

[IanWorthington]

A "productivity" system is a system that you use in order to be productive. 😛 In other words, stability is paramount.

Overclocking is fine for a gaming system where a crash might only lose your progress since the last checkpoint. Not so good when (for example) it crashes during a heavy disk operation (Lightroom qualifies), corrupting your NTFS journal and forcing you to spend hours restoring from backup.

Thanks for that. Hmm. You don't think it's possible to do a moderate clock, (just what one can get with stock voltage for instance) and end up with a stable system (or at least one that crashes less due to that than because of Windows itself)?

 

[Davidh373]

Thanks for that. Hmm. You don't think it's possible to do a moderate clock, (just what one can get with stock voltage for instance) and end up with a stable system (or at least one that crashes less due to that than because of Windows itself)?

Well, windows isn't the problem with OCing. It's the different settings in bios. You should technically be able to get 3.0 - 3.2 withought completely going crazy. mfenn is right though, I would never OC my workstation.

 

[IanWorthington]

Looking at

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=191

and the indicative pricing suggesting that the processer and mobo pricing is about the same, I'm thinking that the equivalent SB system might be something like:

CPU: i5 2500K
MOBO: Asus P8P67

And it looks like I can save a few pennies by going to a non-modular Seasonic 520W PSU.

I'm wonderng though if I'll ever need more than 16GB in the lifetime of W7. Like processor technology I tend to skip alternate generations.

 

[mfenn]

Thanks for that. Hmm. You don't think it's possible to do a moderate clock, (just what one can get with stock voltage for instance) and end up with a stable system (or at least one that crashes less due to that than because of Windows itself)?

Depends how how much risk you're willing to take on. When $$$ is on the line, my personal tolerance for hardware screw-ups is about zero. Though that may just be the sys admin in me talking.

Looking at

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=191

and the indicative pricing suggesting that the processer and mobo pricing is about the same, I'm thinking that the equivalent SB system might be something like:

CPU: i5 2500K
MOBO: Asus P8P67

And it looks like I can save a few pennies by going to a non-modular Seasonic 520W PSU.

I'm wonderng though if I'll ever need more than 16GB in the lifetime of W7. Like processor technology I tend to skip alternate generations.

Don't forget that the prices that you commonly see quoted for the CPUs are 1kU tray prices. The actual retail price will be a bit higher. Initial indications are that the mobos will carry a bit of a markup ($30 or so) in the beginning. Not trying to dissuade you, just helping you plan.

As for the PSU, that sounds like a good idea to me. Everyone goes through their "modular PSU" phase (me included) and then realizes that it doesn't actually help you that much. So if you can skip the phase (and save the money!) entirely, you're ahead of the curve.

I'd doubt that you'd need more than 16GB, but I don't have a crystal ball.

 

[Davidh373]

I'm wonderng though if I'll ever need more than 16GB in the lifetime of W7. Like processor technology I tend to skip alternate generations.

This won't matter, your Mobo only supports 16GB, and the windows you will be getting is OEM, which means it assigns itself to a motherboard and can only be used with that motherboard. The thing is, you may be able to call M$ and get the license transfered, but that is a gamble.

 

[IanWorthington]

Many thanks guys.

OC: OK, I'll put that on the back burner for now I'm only interested in that if I can acheive 100% stability. My experience though of slightly *under* volting the top end of my laptop to reduce heat output has been a good one. I'll see how it performs first I guess.

PSU: I just really hate that rat's tail of unused wires I have to zip tie somewhere out of the way. But as I don't care about decorative features on the mobo, nore flashing lights, nor fancy cases, I guess I just need to get over it. 🙂

16GB: This was in reference to the SB config: that board supports 32GB, which iiuc would need w7 pro. I wasn't aware though that the oem license wasn't transferable. Hmm. Not so good.

 

[Davidh373]

16GB: This was in reference to the SB config: that board supports 32GB, which iiuc would need w7 pro. I wasn't aware though that the oem license wasn't transferable. Hmm. Not so good.

Really, 32GB huh? Nice.

Anyways, yes. You'll notice the OEM license for Home Premium is $100, while retail is $200. I dunno about you, but I would like 2 OS' for the price of one, rather than one that is transferable. Also, you won't see value in a retail purchase unless you transfer it over 3 builds, which is pretty ridiculous imo.

 

[IanWorthington]

Even better: found my old XP upgrade CD for an out of service machine. I should be able to use the W7HP upgrade package with this and avoid the whole OEM mobo change sillyness for an additional $10 by the look of it. That gotta be worth it.

Just waiting for SB pricing & availability now.

 

[mfenn]

Even better: found my old XP upgrade CD for an out of service machine. I should be able to use the W7HP upgrade package with this and avoid the whole OEM mobo change sillyness for an additional $10 by the look of it. That gotta be worth it.

Just waiting for SB pricing & availability now.

Sounds like a plan! :thumbsup:

 

[IanWorthington]

I've swapped the cpus and mobos for their SB equivalents giving:

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K, $225
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115072

ASUS P8P67 PRO LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Intel Motherboard $190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131682

EVGA 01G-P3-1450-TR GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card, $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130572

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL, $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231314

Corsair Force CSSD-F90GB2-BRKT 2.5" 90GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD), $190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233149

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel, $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103065

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade, $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116713

SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply, $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151094

Total $1050, excluding a couple of HDDs and a DVDRW I already have. Case to be sourced locally.

Is the 520W psu going to be enough for this (with the *possibility* of some moderate overclocking), or should I step to a Seasonic 620W at $80?

 

[Davidh373]

Is the 520W psu going to be enough for this (with the *possibility* of some moderate overclocking), or should I step to a Seasonic 620W at $80?

The 520 is plenty of power. With the 450 you could probably get away with a 430W Antec, but the seasonic will do you well.

 

[mfenn]

Why do you need the P8P67 PRO again? I suspect that there is a less expensive mobo that meets your Firewire needs. The Intel BOXDP67BA for instance.

 

[IanWorthington]

Thanks guys.

I'm quite partial to Seasonic. I had one die on me after I'd relocated abroad and they made a replacement happen for me whereas most manufacturers would have said "no international warranty". Would have been better if it hadn't died in the first place of course, but never the less.. 🙂

Intel mobo: That's a *lot* cheaper. Is misses a pci slot, bluetooth and ps/2 connectors, so a bt dongle and a new keyboard will be called for but that's tempting. I wonder *why* its so much cheaper though...?

 

[mnewsham]

Because intel isnt a big MB manufacturer. It is a no frills board what you see is what you get 😉

 

[d33pblue]

I'm about to build a similar system in the near future. Most of the components you chose look good to me. A few comments:

- LR doesn't utilize more than 4 cores very well. Hence I seriously doubt hyperthreading in the 2600k is going to be of much use. I still haven't made up my mind whether or not I'm getting the 2500k or 2600k. I'm a pro photographer and the system will be used mainly for LR editing.

- Overclocking a "production" machine is fine so long as you achieve good stability. And if you find it isn't stable, bump the speed down a little bit. I've been running an overclocked Q6600 based machine for about three years with very good luck. I say if you can get another 30% bump in clock speed for free, go for it.

- Your video card id MASSIVE overkill for photo editing. I assume you're gaming as well?

- Seasonic makes a 630W modular power supply that might be a better bet for you given the video card you're using.

Everything else looks great. Good luck 🙂

 

[IanWorthington]

o Looks to me that the performance difference between the 2500k and the 2600k doesn't justify the difference in price for this application.

o I tend to agree. I probably won't up the voltage, just find the max frequency which passes all the stress tests, then back it down a notch from there. In fact one of the advantages of the Asus mobo is you can do all that from Windows on the fly. Not sure if that justifies the extra cost though!

o The gpu is added for video editing. Premiere will make use of it.

o Hmmm.... What makes you think I'm going to need more juice?

 

[Davidh373]

In fact one of the advantages of the Asus mobo is you can do all that from Windows on the fly. Not sure if that justifies the extra cost though!

eeeeeeeehhh.... I dunno if I'd trust that to be stable...