New build for photo editing

[elresp]

I would really appreciate any advice on building a pc. I am going to keep my current pc and only use this one for photography editing. I am a very serious amateur photographer and I use Lightroom 4, psC5, as well as about 2 other plugins occasionally.
2. My budget is around $1500 give or take.
3. I live in the U.S.
4. No brand preference
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
--Yes, I have a monitor, a mouse and keyboard that I like.


7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
- default

8. What resolution will you be using?
Have a Dell 24” Ultrasharp running a 1920 X 1200 pixels.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Soon as I can.

 

[Termie]

Welcome to the forums, elresp!

What you'll want to prioritize are CPU, RAM, and SSD. You already have a great monitor plus the peripherals, and you don't need a graphics card, unless you use a lot of functions in Photoshop, and actually, I'm not sure how many were actually GPU accelerated in CS5. I'd just add that later if you find you need it or upgrade your software.

So, this is what I'd suggest:
CPU: i7-3770 ($290) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116502
GPU: none
Motherboard: AsRock H77 Pro4/MVP ($80) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157302
SSD : Samsung 840 Pro 256GB ($230) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147193
Case: Corsair 200R ($50AR) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811139018
RAM: Crucial 2x8GB DDR3-1600 ($90): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148561
Storage drive: Seagate 2TB 7200rpm drive ($110) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148910
DVD drive: LG ($18) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136259
Power Supply: Seasonic 360W Gold ($60) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151117
OS: Your choice, Win 7 or 8 ($100 for Home Premium, $140 for Professional) - here's Win8 Home: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832416550

Total comes to about $1050 with shipping.

But if you live near a MicroCenter, you can get better deals on the CPU and motherboard.


P.S. I got your PM, but thought I'd respond here since you have a thread going.

 

[Sleepingforest]

I'm going to say that Termie has a great build, but I'd switch to a Xeon E3-1240 V2--costs about $30 less, but performs the same. Also, there's a Corsair CX430 going for around $27AR at Newegg. If you sell the old monitor and add those dollars to the budget, you have enough room in your budget to get a bigger monitor, and if you get a Korean 1440p rather than one from Dell (it's $400 vs $600-700, but the Korean monitors come with less features), you have enough leftover to buy a color calibrator.

 

[lehtv]

$1500 seems a little excessive, you can build a very high performing photo editing rig for much less and still have enough left for a 2560x1440 panel.

Xeon E3-1230 V2 $234
Asrock Z77 Pro4 $110 with free 8GB Corsair Vengeance module
8GB Corsair Vengeance $48 for a total of 16GB
MSI 7770 GHZ edition $90 AR
Samsung 840 120GB $100
Seagate ST1000DM003 $78 or ST3000DM001 $137
Lite-On DVD-RW $18
Corsair CX430 $27 AR or Rosewill Capstone 450M $70
Corsair 200R $50 AR
Win 7 64 $92

= $847 to $949 +shipping (+tax?)

Does not include any backup solution.

Optional: Dell U2713HM $700 or U2711 $750 (which is older but offers somewhat better color accuracy); cost can be set off by selling the 1920x1200 monitor

I would rather have a Xeon and a discrete card than an i7-3770 with integrated HD graphics. It only costs about $20-30 more but the difference in graphics performance is huge, which isn't necessarily important for photo editing but can be useful. Photoshop CS6 benefits from OpenCL and a 7770 is easily enough to max it out.

 

[Sleepingforest]

There is much cheaper RAM than either full build here at OutletPC (8GB sticks for $30).

 

[mfenn]

I'm going to say that Termie has a great build, but I'd switch to a Xeon E3-1240 V2--costs about $30 less, but performs the same. Also, there's a Corsair CX430 going for around $27AR at Newegg. If you sell the old monitor and add those dollars to the budget, you have enough room in your budget to get a bigger monitor, and if you get a Korean 1440p rather than one from Dell (it's $400 vs $600-700, but the Korean monitors come with less features), you have enough leftover to buy a color calibrator.

That's the original E3-1240 that you linked (Sandy Bridge). I don't think that it has an IGP since it's listed as 80W instead of the usual Sandy Bridge 95W.

 

[mfenn]

$1500 seems a little excessive, you can build a very high performing photo editing rig for much less and still have enough left for a 2560x1440 panel.

Xeon E3-1230 V2 $234
Asrock Z77 Pro4 $110 with free 8GB Corsair Vengeance module
8GB Corsair Vengeance $48 for a total of 16GB
MSI 7770 GHZ edition $90 AR
Samsung 840 120GB $100
Seagate ST1000DM003 $78 or ST3000DM001 $137
Lite-On DVD-RW $18
Corsair CX430 $27 AR or Rosewill Capstone 450M $70
Corsair 200R $50 AR
Win 7 64 $92

= $847 to $949 +shipping (+tax?)

Does not include any backup solution.

Optional: Dell U2713HM $700 or U2711 $750 (which is older but offers somewhat better color accuracy); cost can be set off by selling the 1920x1200 monitor

I would rather have a Xeon and a discrete card than an i7-3770 with integrated HD graphics. It only costs about $20-30 more but the difference in graphics performance is huge, which isn't necessarily important for photo editing but can be useful. Photoshop CS6 benefits from OpenCL and a 7770 is easily enough to max it out.

:thumbsup: Looks good to me.

 

[snoylekim]

Yes ..if you need to shift, shift toward the Xeon w/ Integrated Graphics versus the I7 series: supposedly ( according to Intel) , the integrated graphics on the Xeons are the 'P3000' variation , which are certified for Adobe, Autodesk Tools , etc .. They're claiming as good as a low-end workstation card .. The 7770 will be fine as well ..
For your use , the monitor, processor, fast storage, and lots of memory will really help the post processing experience; Adobe products use what they're given

 

[Torn Mind]

That's the original E3-1240 that you linked (Sandy Bridge). I don't think that it has an IGP since it's listed as 80W instead of the usual Sandy Bridge 95W.

Indeed, it is the E3-1245 V2 that has an IGP.

 

[Termie]

I agree with the Xeon choice. I had only looked for it at newegg and it was too expensive, but the otherbbpurchasing options are good.

 

[Sleepingforest]

The Xeon 1230 V2 is only $240 at Newegg.

 

[Termie]

The Xeon 1230 V2 is only $240 at Newegg.

That does not have built-in video. Wrong choice for the OP in my opinion. Also, it's cheaper than a 3770 because it's slower.

 

[snoylekim]

I'd go for the E3-1245V2 .. that goes on sale occasionally ..I put one in a media server/backup rendering box ..nice processor ( a little overkill for the server, but, hey..) ..equivalent to the 3770, but better IGP .

 

[Sleepingforest]

That does not have built-in video. Wrong choice for the OP in my opinion. Also, it's cheaper than a 3770 because it's slower.

Well, it's only 5.7% slower in raw clockspeed, and he'll probably want a dGPU to help with Photoshop.

 

[mfenn]

That does not have built-in video. Wrong choice for the OP in my opinion. Also, it's cheaper than a 3770 because it's slower.

The E3-1230 V2 plus a 7770 is $324 AR vs $284 for the E3-1245 V2. The 1245 would of course work fine and save the OP some money, so I guess it comes down to whether the OP wants to spend a little more for better graphics capability.

With the workload that he's presenting, there is really no reason to do so, but the proposed builds are also $500 under his max budget.

 

[Termie]

The E3-1230 V2 plus a 7770 is $324 AR vs $284 for the E3-1245 V2. The 1245 would of course work fine and save the OP some money, so I guess it comes down to whether the OP wants to spend a little more for better graphics capability.

With the workload that he's presenting, there is really no reason to do so, but the proposed builds are also $500 under his max budget.

Just to clarify something - the OP has Photoshop 5, not Photoshop 6. Photoshop 5 used CUDA acceleration, so if that's the software he's going to be using for a while, he should not get an HD7770. He should get a GTX650.

Here's a forum discussion on the issue: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2253643

In fact, pretty much either way, the GTX650 is a better bet, even in PS6, where it's almost as fast as a 7850: http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Adobe-Photoshop-CS6-GPU-Acceleration-161

Also, if the OP has the budget for it, he should of course get the fastest CPU he can afford. It will make a difference in Photoshop.

 

[mfenn]

I thought CS5 didn't support any GPU-compute at all (not counting OpenGL functions here) unless you had 3rd party plugins that use it? After Effects and Premiere support CUDA in the CS5 version though.

 

[elresp]

Thanks everyone for the advice! Forgive my unfamiliarity as I am still in the learning stages. Are you suggesting the E3 - V2 plus a 7770 instead of an i7? If so, what is are the brands and model #'s? Also, should I add a video card aka GPU or are you suggesting I use the onboard video built onto the motherboard?

 

[Termie]

elresp,

Sorry to just now be getting back to you. Let me quickly explain something about the E3 CPU. It will work fine, but it is somewhat of a non-standard selection, because it is a server chip. It has a special combination of features that you may like:

(1) hyperthreading to enable two threads per core, which is used by some photography applications
(2) no video output, which removes functionality that you may not need and reduces the price slightly

My personal opinion, however, is that these CPUs are not necessarily the best solution for you. Yes, you can get an E3 1230 at Superbiiz for $225 after a $10 code and shipping: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=XE1230V2BX

This chip is a 3.3GHz chip, and does not have built-in graphics. You can also get an i7-3770, a 3.5Ghz chip, which also has hyperthreading, but adds built-in graphics, for $280: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116502

It's $55 more, but you are getting more speed and built-in graphics. Those built-in graphics may come in handy if you ever have problems with your video card or decide to move the video card to a different system. It also allows for quicksync video conversion, which the server chips without built-in graphics cannot do. Finally, the chip is about 5% faster. That's not a lot, but it may in part make the $55 worth it to you.

Also, my suggestion is that you NOT get the HD7770. It is not the best choice for accelerating non-gaming applications. A better solution would be a GTX650 or GTX650Ti. As it happens, this MSI GTX650 Ti is now on sale for $105AR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127710

It is much faster in games than an HD7770, but more importantly for you, it will accelerate Photoshop 5 more effectively for the same price as an HD7770. It will be limited, however: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/adobe-cs5-cuda-64-bit,2770-8.html. It's much more effective with Photoshop 6.

That is why I suggested early on in this thread that you get an i7-3770, use built-in video, and not buy a separate video card. Others took this thread on a different path, but I still think my initial suggestion is best for YOUR uses and YOUR software.

 

[mfenn]

You can get a GTX 650 (non-Ti) for $100, making it the same value proposition as the 7770 when paired with the E3-1230 V2.

 

[kowalabearhugs]

You can get a GTX 650 (non-Ti) for $100, making it the same value proposition as the 7770 when paired with the E3-1230 V2.

Mide is selling an eVGA GTX 650 for $70 shipped in the For Sale/Trade forum.