New PC - Photoshop experts?
- Thread starter DSG
- Start date
Wolvo7
Bright Spark
Lol I like your style of writing ^^ For the case you could maybe have a look at the Corsair 400R, the Antec 902 V3 or the Corsair 500R, they're not too flashy and have the connectivity you need. Have a look at this thread http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?15-Show-off-your-new-PC-Laptop! once you have chosen the case, maybe a previous customer will have posted pics of his new PC with your desired case 
PCS offer a 90GB Kingston SSD, but maybe you could try only getting 2 disks and see if you need a scratch disk when you start working on your new PC, and if you do then get a separate 60GB SSD or whatever you need from Amazon or Scan.
You seem to really want performance so in that case get the 240GB SSD for your files if you think that's enough storage for your needs. A HDD will never be as fast as an SSD, it's just a matter of size vs performance as I mentioned earlier. There are also other points to consider like never defragment an SSD and all
PCS offer a 90GB Kingston SSD, but maybe you could try only getting 2 disks and see if you need a scratch disk when you start working on your new PC, and if you do then get a separate 60GB SSD or whatever you need from Amazon or Scan.
You seem to really want performance so in that case get the 240GB SSD for your files if you think that's enough storage for your needs. A HDD will never be as fast as an SSD, it's just a matter of size vs performance as I mentioned earlier. There are also other points to consider like never defragment an SSD and all
Last edited:
Thanks again to both of you.
I'll look at those cases and that thread. I think I am tending towards dropping one SSD and buying a small one later if needed. I think performance is key - as I said I only have about 70GB of data/image files on my PC at the moment since I archive finished stuff that I don't need immediate access to onto a portable HDD and/or optical disks.
Once I've thought about it a day or two more I'd like to post an updated spec and seek both of your comments again, if that's OK...then I'll hit the rep stars with abandon (I presume I can only hit 'em once per thread so I'll wait 'til the thread is finished).
Yeah, for SSD owners and soon-to-be-SSD owners, defrag is just soooooo last year.
Cheers...
I'll look at those cases and that thread. I think I am tending towards dropping one SSD and buying a small one later if needed. I think performance is key - as I said I only have about 70GB of data/image files on my PC at the moment since I archive finished stuff that I don't need immediate access to onto a portable HDD and/or optical disks.
Once I've thought about it a day or two more I'd like to post an updated spec and seek both of your comments again, if that's OK...then I'll hit the rep stars with abandon (I presume I can only hit 'em once per thread so I'll wait 'til the thread is finished).
Yeah, for SSD owners and soon-to-be-SSD owners, defrag is just soooooo last year.
Cheers...
keynes
Multiverse Poster
Once I've thought about it a day or two more I'd like to post an updated spec and seek both of your comments again, if that's OK...then I'll hit the rep stars with abandon (I presume I can only hit 'em once per thread so I'll wait 'til the thread is finished).
QUOTE]
ohh you can hit rep per post (not thread)
Your responses are so fast it's more like IM than a forum!
Well, I've fair worn me fingers to the bone rep-clicking. I notice the box comes up with something like 'may you receive the same rep in return' or somesuch. Please don't rep me! Otherwise people might think I know what I'm talking about when it comes to spec'ing PCs, which would be a grave mistake.
Ruben - front panel SSD/HDD insertion would definitely be of interest. I presume that's what the 500R Wolvo suggested is all about? The very same 500R, btw, which despite my comment on dowdy cases, I couldn't help but notice comes in a nice blend-in-so's-you'd-hardly-know-it-was-there shade of bright white .
So if I wanted frontal insertion (errr...so to speak) with audio plus 2 usb2 and 2 usb3 on the front, do you know of a case that gives that while still giving the cooling I need?
Wolvo - I may not be able to keep impatience in check and might post a new spec tomorrow, but if not, I hope the house move goes well and the removal team manages not to drop any priceless Ming vases.
Cheers...
Well, I've fair worn me fingers to the bone rep-clicking. I notice the box comes up with something like 'may you receive the same rep in return' or somesuch. Please don't rep me! Otherwise people might think I know what I'm talking about when it comes to spec'ing PCs, which would be a grave mistake.
Ruben - front panel SSD/HDD insertion would definitely be of interest. I presume that's what the 500R Wolvo suggested is all about? The very same 500R, btw, which despite my comment on dowdy cases, I couldn't help but notice comes in a nice blend-in-so's-you'd-hardly-know-it-was-there shade of bright white
.So if I wanted frontal insertion (errr...so to speak) with audio plus 2 usb2 and 2 usb3 on the front, do you know of a case that gives that while still giving the cooling I need?
Wolvo - I may not be able to keep impatience in check and might post a new spec tomorrow, but if not, I hope the house move goes well and the removal team manages not to drop any priceless Ming vases.
Cheers...
Wolvo7
Bright Spark
Thx for the rep, I'll remember to never rep you since you asked so nicely Good thing the HDD bays are at the front, it would be awkward if there were some at the back
Yep if you want to satisfy all these requirements you'd have to go for the ST. If I had any precious Ming vases I'd probably sell them and buy a beast PC. Or a Hummer H2.
Good thing the HDD bays are at the front, it would be awkward if there were some at the back Yep if you want to satisfy all these requirements you'd have to go for the ST. If I had any precious Ming vases I'd probably sell them and buy a beast PC. Or a Hummer H2.
Hi DSG.
I'm new here but I've just ordered a PC which will be used mainly for photo editing and website creation, as follows:
FRACTAL DEFINE R3 - BLACK PEARL CASE
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770K (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache
ASUS® P8Z77-V: PCI-E 3.0 READY, WIFI, SLI, CROSSFIREX
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (4 x 4GB KIT)
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st Hard Disk: 120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk: 1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
3rd Hard Disk: 1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
RAID 1 (MIRRORED VOLUME - 2 x same size & model HDD / SSD) (£9)
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£59)
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
PCS EXTRA-CARE DIAMOND DELIVERY - MON-FRI, PRE-NOON (£9)
FAST TRACK 5 WORKING DAY DISPATCH (£39)
Price (excluding VAT): £1,039.55 Price (including VAT): £1,247.46
Reasons:
1. The Define Case R3 (£89) has excellent soundproofing and cooling capabilities (it also looks good - like me: plain and simple!). Reviews are good too.
2. The new Ivy Bridge i7-3770 processor was recommended to me by other Photoshop users who are also PC savvy. I splashed out on the K model so that I could, later, overclock it. The other advantage of the 3770 is that it's got integrated graphics (see -6- below).
3. The ASUS P8Z77-V motherboard has just the right mix. Bang up to date with lots of SATA ports (4x6Gb/s and 4x3Gb/s), lots of USB 3.0 ports (8 in all), DisplayPort (up to 2045x1536 resolutions) as well as DVI and HDMI, 2xPCIe3.0/2.0 slots as well as 5 others and "ASUS Fan Xpert 2 (software to optimise fan efficiency). It's even got Wi-Fi.
4. The 16Gb (4x4Gb) of 1600Mhz memory, I think, is more than sufficient. If more is needed sometime in the future, two slots (or both slots) could be upgraded to 8Gb modules (by which time they should be cheaper!).
5. The 120Gb Intel SSD is for Windows and programs and the two 1Tb HDDs (in RAID 1 configuration - faster reading and security if one of the drives fails) for data and holding a mirror copy of the SSD .
6. You'll notice that I didn't order a graphics card. Like you, I'm not interested in gaming and, from what I've read, the new Intel built-in graphics will be perfectly OK for photo editing.
7. Lastly, I paid an extra £9 for "extra-care delivery". Hopefully it will be placed on the van, not thrown!
Backups (full and incremental) will be done on one or more external HDDs (probably USB3), onto memory sticks and onto the PC which this one is replacing (via my network).
I think that I've made the right choices as this is an expensive outlay and I hope it gives you a few more things to ponder on. Lastly, it might be worthwhile you looking through dpreview's PC Talk forum (see http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1004) as it's full of photo enthusiasts talking about PC configurations, monitors, etc.
Paul.
I'm new here but I've just ordered a PC which will be used mainly for photo editing and website creation, as follows:
FRACTAL DEFINE R3 - BLACK PEARL CASE
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770K (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache
ASUS® P8Z77-V: PCI-E 3.0 READY, WIFI, SLI, CROSSFIREX
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (4 x 4GB KIT)
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st Hard Disk: 120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk: 1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
3rd Hard Disk: 1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
RAID 1 (MIRRORED VOLUME - 2 x same size & model HDD / SSD) (£9)
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£59)
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
PCS EXTRA-CARE DIAMOND DELIVERY - MON-FRI, PRE-NOON (£9)
FAST TRACK 5 WORKING DAY DISPATCH (£39)
Price (excluding VAT): £1,039.55 Price (including VAT): £1,247.46
Reasons:
1. The Define Case R3 (£89) has excellent soundproofing and cooling capabilities (it also looks good - like me: plain and simple!). Reviews are good too.
2. The new Ivy Bridge i7-3770 processor was recommended to me by other Photoshop users who are also PC savvy. I splashed out on the K model so that I could, later, overclock it. The other advantage of the 3770 is that it's got integrated graphics (see -6- below).
3. The ASUS P8Z77-V motherboard has just the right mix. Bang up to date with lots of SATA ports (4x6Gb/s and 4x3Gb/s), lots of USB 3.0 ports (8 in all), DisplayPort (up to 2045x1536 resolutions) as well as DVI and HDMI, 2xPCIe3.0/2.0 slots as well as 5 others and "ASUS Fan Xpert 2 (software to optimise fan efficiency). It's even got Wi-Fi.
4. The 16Gb (4x4Gb) of 1600Mhz memory, I think, is more than sufficient. If more is needed sometime in the future, two slots (or both slots) could be upgraded to 8Gb modules (by which time they should be cheaper!).
5. The 120Gb Intel SSD is for Windows and programs and the two 1Tb HDDs (in RAID 1 configuration - faster reading and security if one of the drives fails) for data and holding a mirror copy of the SSD .
6. You'll notice that I didn't order a graphics card. Like you, I'm not interested in gaming and, from what I've read, the new Intel built-in graphics will be perfectly OK for photo editing.
7. Lastly, I paid an extra £9 for "extra-care delivery". Hopefully it will be placed on the van, not thrown!
Backups (full and incremental) will be done on one or more external HDDs (probably USB3), onto memory sticks and onto the PC which this one is replacing (via my network).
I think that I've made the right choices as this is an expensive outlay and I hope it gives you a few more things to ponder on. Lastly, it might be worthwhile you looking through dpreview's PC Talk forum (see http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1004) as it's full of photo enthusiasts talking about PC configurations, monitors, etc.
Paul.
keynes
Multiverse Poster
As far as I know "extra care diamond delivery" only means pre-noon. All packages should be treated with the same care.
Thanks for the advice on the CPU cooler and for the rep (rep on my first post, goodness me!).
Paul.
Hi Pautur
What photo editing software do you use? If it's PS then the latest versions do support graphics cards - check the PS forums and Adobe for required specs. I read on one forum that 3 tools (sorry, can't remember which) don't work at all without a graphics card. Other tools and operations do work, but slower - the software uses the gpu to speed up and smooth some operations. Whether that's important or not obviously depends on you.
Cheers...
What photo editing software do you use? If it's PS then the latest versions do support graphics cards - check the PS forums and Adobe for required specs. I read on one forum that 3 tools (sorry, can't remember which) don't work at all without a graphics card. Other tools and operations do work, but slower - the software uses the gpu to speed up and smooth some operations. Whether that's important or not obviously depends on you.
Cheers...
90% of my photo editing (and graphics, like logos) is for my website work (the other 10% is for tweeking personal photos), so I don't need CS5/6. Depending upon what needs doing, I use Photoshop Elements 10, Corel Paintshop Pro X4 and Serif's Photoplus (and Drawplus) and, occasionally, Corel Painter.
I've been told that the speed of the 3770 CPU and its new Intel graphics controller will more than make up for the lack of an independent graphics card. However, if that proves wrong then I can always slot in the (low-end but with dual DVI sockets) graphics card that's in the PC that I'm replacing or (heaven forbid) I could spend some more money on a new card!
Paul.
LOL...took me a moment but I got it in the end.Good thing the HDD bays are at the front, it would be awkward if there were some at the back
Thinking about cases...
The Storm Trooper has been suggested but having now looked through all the cases there are a few cheaper options that have 2xUSB2 and 2xUSB3 plus audio on the front. I don't know if they have front loading but thinking about that I'm not sure how important it is. I'm only likely to add another SSD if necessary or swop one if it fails, and opening the side of the case isn't that big a deal I suppose.
Would you let me know whether any of these cases are suitable for my spec and (if you know) whether any are front-loading? Or would the ST still be better?
I've seen a few 'hate mesh/like mesh' comments. Is it just looks or are there other factors such as dust ingress?
InWin CENTINAL BUC BLACK GAMING CASE
COOLERMASTER CM STORM ENFORCER
InWIN Dragon Rider Black Gaming Case
NZXT PHANTOM 410 BLACK GAMING CASE
Many thanks.
I've got the InWin Buc gaming case, you can check it out here http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?17054-InWin-CENTINAL-BUC-BLACK-GAMING-CASE
Hi DSG.
The case that I chose (Fractal Define R) "should" have 2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0 and Audio I/O on the front panel (according to the Fractal website). We'll see! However, I was more impressed by the quality, sound-proofing, decent cable routing, having a front door (!) and looking really good! If you want to know more, see: http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&prod=71
Are you going to buy a new monitor? Lots have USB ports on the side (the new ASUS 24" PA248Q - which is VERY tempting - has got 4 x USB 3.0s - see: http://uk.asus.com/Display/LCD_Monitors/PA248Q/
Paul.
The case that I chose (Fractal Define R) "should" have 2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0 and Audio I/O on the front panel (according to the Fractal website). We'll see! However, I was more impressed by the quality, sound-proofing, decent cable routing, having a front door (!) and looking really good! If you want to know more, see: http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&prod=71
Are you going to buy a new monitor? Lots have USB ports on the side (the new ASUS 24" PA248Q - which is VERY tempting - has got 4 x USB 3.0s - see: http://uk.asus.com/Display/LCD_Monitors/PA248Q/
Paul.
Last edited:
Hi Chaps - I'm back but please don't run for cover.
After thinking a bit more I've slightly revised the spec, keeping mainly to Wolvo's suggestion but upping the gpu to the 'ti' version and reducing the number of drives. I realised that I don't need to go all out on drives to begin with. My current PC has a 160gb hdd with room to spare because I offload archived material. A single 240gb ssd should be OK, but if not I can easily add more. In emergency I could always add my existing hdd for storage.
I still have some questions though.
Firstly, is the choice of mobo, psu and cooling enough for the spec below and enough to handle the addition of two more drives, either ssd or hdd (or one of each)?
Secondly, I'm not worried what the case looks like and I don't want to pay more than I need to but I do want a case that gives good cooling and protection from dust, easy addition of ssd or hdd, and usb3 and usb2 ports plus audio on the front and, again, has room to add two more drives. The following cases all have the ports I need on the front so would any of them suit or are some better than others in terms of the other requirements I listed?:
InWin CENTINAL BUC BLACK GAMING CASE
COOLERMASTER CM STORM ENFORCER
InWIN Dragon Rider Black Gaming Case
NZXT PHANTOM 410 BLACK GAMING CASE
COOLERMASTER CM STORM TROOPER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
And here's the spec:
Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM TROOPER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
32GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (4 X 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 Ti - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI-EX CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Many thanks...
After thinking a bit more I've slightly revised the spec, keeping mainly to Wolvo's suggestion but upping the gpu to the 'ti' version and reducing the number of drives. I realised that I don't need to go all out on drives to begin with. My current PC has a 160gb hdd with room to spare because I offload archived material. A single 240gb ssd should be OK, but if not I can easily add more. In emergency I could always add my existing hdd for storage.
I still have some questions though.
Firstly, is the choice of mobo, psu and cooling enough for the spec below and enough to handle the addition of two more drives, either ssd or hdd (or one of each)?
Secondly, I'm not worried what the case looks like and I don't want to pay more than I need to but I do want a case that gives good cooling and protection from dust, easy addition of ssd or hdd, and usb3 and usb2 ports plus audio on the front and, again, has room to add two more drives. The following cases all have the ports I need on the front so would any of them suit or are some better than others in terms of the other requirements I listed?:
InWin CENTINAL BUC BLACK GAMING CASE
COOLERMASTER CM STORM ENFORCER
InWIN Dragon Rider Black Gaming Case
NZXT PHANTOM 410 BLACK GAMING CASE
COOLERMASTER CM STORM TROOPER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
And here's the spec:
Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM TROOPER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
32GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (4 X 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 Ti - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI-EX CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Many thanks...
Hmm...after carefully reading back through the thread, I think I've detected where you vaguely hinted at possible slight preference...(you already know the case I would suggest
Thanks for confirming the rest of the spec will be OK for adding more drives.
Cheers...