Help with Photographer's first complete build

[imported_SpiderJohn]

Other than the Motherboard and processor, I have added to or replaced most of the other components in various computers over the years. My best friend has convinced me it's time for a complete build (mainly because my current box is starting to give me problems.)

I am a photographer and use my computer for photo processing about 75% of the time. I use Photoshop CS mainly but I do have several other supporting applications. I do use it for work sometimes which involves some intense Excel spreadsheets. In addition I also use it for surfing and some gaming (although I am not a serious gamer).

I have some parts picked out:

Case: Antec P160
PS: Antec Truepower II 430w
RAM: Corsair Value Select 1Gig (x2)
HD: Seagate Barracuda GB

I already have a video card, DVD Burner, CD Burner, Floppy and a Maxtor 60 GB HD.

I need advice on a new Motherboard/CPU combination. I would like to stick with an Athlon 64 processor (mostly because I have had good luck with them).

I understand that you guys have a much different perspective on these things because of the overclocking. I have no immediate plans to overclock.

What do you guys recommend? Is any of the above overkill for what I will be using my box for? If so, I am open to suggestions. Please, just don't bankrupt me!! LOL

Thanks in advance!

sj

 

[imported_rod]

CPU: AMD Athlon64 3000+/3200+
Motherboard: ASUS A8N-E (PCI-Express)

2GB of RAM is a good choice if you're going to be doing photo editing.

Also, you will probably need a new video card, as the MoBo I have pointed out above is PCI-Express, and your video card is probably AGP. If you dont mind buying a new video card, the 6200 is a good cheap choice, or the 6600GT if you want to be able to play games.

What size HDD were you going to buy? You could set up you HDD's so your current 60GB is your system drive, and the new HDD is storage for your photos. That's just a thought anyway.

RoD

 

[imported_SpiderJohn]

My plan was to use the 60gb hd for the os and various other programs.

Initially I think I am going with a second hard drive of around 160gb or so.

I have chosen the ps to enable future upgrades. If I find that the 160gb is not enough, I will add another HD. However, I only keep current year photos and favorites on the HD. All of my other stuff is backed up on DVD's (several copies at several locations.)

sj

 

[imported_rod]

I'm am amature photographer (i got the subject award when i graduated last year), so yeah, I know how much space they take. Do you post any of your stuff on the net? Im planning to at some stage - just haven't got around to it yet.

Do you work professionally in photography. If so, you might want to consider getting two identical drives, and setting them up in a RAID-1 configuration. This way, if one of the drives fail, you dont lose the data.

I know it might cost a bit more, but i think that a 200GB or 250GB HDD give the best $/MB at the moment.

Also, take note that for a HDD over 137GB you will need to use windows 2000(SP3) or preferably XP(SP1). I found this out when i was missing 70GB from my 200GB hard disk. 🙂

RoD

 

[imported_SpiderJohn]

No, I don't work professionally, although I have sold some stuff locally. I do have some stuff on the web. When and if you decide to put yours on the web, drop me a line, I can tell you what I have learned about the different sites and maybe save you some money and dissappointment.

Since I back up my photos to CD on a regular basis, I don't think I need a larger hard drive but I will look around at some of the larger ones, thanks for that advice.

I will be running WinXP Pro SP2 so the size of the drive shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for your input.

sj