building a computer for photo editing

madra261

Hi

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on what components would be necessary in order to create a computer for photo editing. My budget would be 1,200 euro and I would be using software like photo shop, a raw converter and light room noise ninja etc. I would be working with multiple files that are at least 130 megs each.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

M

BloodBath

Hi fill this in please.


1. What is your budget? [€xxx]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming/Video editing/3D Modelling/HTPC/Internet] (If gaming include which games)

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes/No]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Hard drive/DVD Drive/Case/PSU/etc.] (If possible state brand and model of the parts to ensure compatibility)

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes/No]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [1920x1080/1440x900/etc.] [Yes/No]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No]

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser]

9. When are you purchasing? [In x days]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [South Dublin City/Cork City/Kerry/etc.]

madra261

Hi

Budget is about 1200 euro

It is for photo editing large image files using a range of software like photoshop lightroom raw converter etc
I would also want it to have room to expand should the funds appear.

Will need windows

I might be able to use internal hard drive 1 terabyte

Will be getting a new monitor later but at the moment have use of 24 inch dell monitor which is okay as a temporary solution. I will be getting a new monitor later in the year probably a Dell UltraSharp U2413 24 inch

Dont need any peripherals at the moment.

Debit card or bank transfer

Will be purchasing in the next 4 weeks

Have a friend to help with building if am stuck, but I am based in Dublin.

Happy to use over clocking

hope that helps

thanks!

BloodBath

Here's a build i knocked together for somebody in another post that should suit you as well. Make any changes to it like removing the monitor or mouse if you need to. Increase the hdd or ssd capacity if you need to. The case only takes up to 4 x 3.5 inch drives so change it if you think you will add more. The Nanoxia deep silence 2 would be a good upgrade. It also comes in a few colors.

The xeon is pretty much the same as an i7 3770 just running 100mhz slower and without the igp. Got a 120gb ssd for your os and programs and maybe a scratch disk depending on what size it needs to be. 2 x 1tb drives for importing/exporting. The 660gtx is a good mid range card for gaming and supports most photo/video editing programs gpu acceleration options.

You can get a retail copy of windows from HWVS for €89 (make sure it's english if you add it) or you can get an oem copy of W7 from here for €44.

http://www.pcfritz.de/software/betriebssystem/windows-7-professional/10264/windows-7-professional-64-bit

If you want to save €18 you can drop the after market cpu cooler. It's only there to reduce temps and noise of the stock cooler.

You can get the case in 2 other colors as well.

You can upgrade the monitor to the 24" version for €30 more.

Item|Price
Intel Xeon E3-1230v2, boxed, LGA1155|€202.63
Alpenföhn Sella - 92mm, AMD/Intel|€17.85
ASRock B75 Pro3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€65.09
16GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9-9-9-24|€108.94
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€85.04
2 x WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€112.24
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC Windforce 2X, 2GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort|€171.33
Cooltek Antiphon Black, ohne Netzteil|€60.73
be quiet! SYSTEM POWER 7 500W|€53.75
Samsung SH-118AB schwarz|€12.45
LG 22EA53VQ-P|€125.83
2 x LogiLink SATA Anschlusskabel mit Sicherungslasche, 0.5m|€2.78
Sharkoon Squad Laser Mouse|€10.97
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1048.62

madra261

Thats great thanks!

I will have a good look at that tomorrow

regards
m

dhplayer

Here is another spec with an i7-4770k. Just €10 over budget.

Item|Price
WD Red RD1000S 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB|€94,29
WD Red RD1000S 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB|€94,29
LogiLink USB 2.0 all-in-one Card Reader, für 3,5" Einbauchschacht|€3,32
16GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance Low Profile schwarz PC3-12800U CL10-10-10-27|€127,04
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€85,04
Corsair Carbide Series 200R, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€54,07
ASUS Z87-Pro, Sockel 1150, ATX|€170,72
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC Windforce 2X, 2GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort|€171,33
Corsair CX Series Modular CX600M, 600W|€65,11
Intel Core i7-4770K Box, LGA1150|€306,50
Rechner - Zusammenbau|€20,00
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1210.70

Gumbi

4770k on stock cooling? What is the point of that? Unnecessary mobo at 170 euro?

madra261

Hi

A friend recommended this set up with a slightly higher budget, what do you think?

Intel i7 3930

Asus P9x79 pro ATX mother board

Corsair Hydro series h60

Corsair carbide 200r

Corsair CX600M power supply

Geforce GTX 660

2 2 terabyte WD Red sata drives

2 Samsung sd drives 120g

it comes in at 1,500

Does that sound like a good set up or what alternatives would anyone suggest?

M

dhplayer

Thanks Gumbi
I had a cooler in then removed it and forgot to put one back in.
Out of interest which 1150 motherboard would you recommend.

Item|Price
Intel Core i7-4770K Box, LGA1150|€306.50
MSI Z87-G43, ATX, Sockel 1150|€101.51
2 x WD Red RD1000S 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB|€188.58
Thermalright HR-02 Macho Rev.A (BW)|€38.70
Corsair Carbide Series 200R, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€54.07
be quiet! SYSTEM POWER 7 500W|€53.75
16GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance schwarz PC3-12800U CL10-10-10-27|€121.50
Samsung SSD 840 Pro 128GB SATA 6Gb/s|€121.41
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC Windforce 2X, 2GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort|€171.33
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1176.34

Gumbi

http://www.hardwareversand.de/DDR3/79672/MSI+Z87-G45+Gaming%2C+ATX%2C+Sockel+1150.article

or this

http://www.hardwareversand.de/DDR3/79805/Gigabyte+Z87X-D3H%2C+ATX.article

That's the right cooler to pick But you'll need to swap out that RAM with a low profile kit.

BloodBath

A corsair H60 does not cut it for a 3930k. A 212 evo isn't far off the performance of a h60. Those cpu's are hot especially with overclocking. You would want at least a h100i or a top end air cooler.

No need for either of those 1150 boards. They support sli which you don't need. dhplayers build looks good but I'd swap the samsung 840 pro to an 840 evo. €20 less for virtually the same performance and some advanced features the pro doesn't have.

The wd 2tb reds use 3 disk platters afaik. The 1tb blues would be faster since they are 1 disk. You would be better off using those for workloads. If you really want speed and storage I'd get 4 of these and set up 2 raids with them.

Change the ram to this.

Use the leftover money to upgrade the case to the Nanoxia and upgrade the cpu cooler to this.

Add a couple of these fans.

Your going to need 2-5 additional sata cables as well depending on how many drives you get.

I'm not sure how good that cheaper msi board is for overclocking.

madra261

which processor should I go with the i7 3930 or the i7 4770?

BloodBath

I'd go with the 4770k. The 3930k is 2 generation old sandy bridge.

The 4770k actually outperforms it in a lot of tasks and isn't far behind it in the ones it doesn't.

dhplayer

Was going on western digitals recommendation on their website to use the red if doing any raid. http://www.wdc.com/en/products/internal/desktop/http://www.wdc.com/en/products/internal/desktop/
but what your saying there bloodbath makes perfect sense.
Madra what way do you currently store/backup your data or is doing a raid 1 necessary.

That case does look very good.
So would this look like the ideal photo editing rig for the money with some change left for win7. motherboard?

Item|Price
Intel Core i7-4770K Box, LGA1150|€306.50
Samsung SSD 840 EVO Basic 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€99.00
2 x WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€112.24
16GB-Kit G.Skill Sniper PC3-14900U CL9-10-9-28|€129.14
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC Windforce 2X, 2GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort|€171.33
be quiet! SYSTEM POWER 7 500W|€53.75
ASUS Z87-C (C2)|€129.00
Nanoxia Deep Silence Two Anthracite, ohne Netzteil|€78.33
Alpenföhn K2 - 120/140mm|€63.69
2 x Nanoxia Deep Silence 140 - 1100|€17.34
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1179.31

or would there be anything to be said for fitting in another ssd for ps6 scratch disk

Item|Price
Intel Core i7-4770K Box, LGA1150|€306.50
Samsung SSD 840 EVO Basic 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€99.00
2 x WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€112.24
16GB-Kit G.Skill Sniper PC3-14900U CL9-10-9-28|€129.14
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC Windforce 2X, 2GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort|€171.33
be quiet! SYSTEM POWER 7 500W|€53.75
ASUS Z87-C (C2)|€129.00
Corsair Carbide Series 200R, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€54.07
Thermalright HR-02 Macho Rev.A (BW)|€38.70
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€85.04
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1197.76

BloodBath

The first build looks good. I'm not sure how good Asrock's line up is for Haswell but their Ivy boards were great.

You could change the board in the first build to this and use the money saved to replace the 120gb ssd with this single large one. The larger drives have faster speeds and longer lifespans. Do scratch disks have to be on separate drives to the os and programs?

madra261

Hi

Just another quick question, would increasing the ram to 32gb be worth it, as photoshop uses up quite a bit? I was thinking also that I would be backing up by cloud so would a wd Caviar 2 terabyte sata be a faster set up than 2 1 terabytes.

Madra

BloodBath

No as said already the 1tb drives are faster. You can raid the 2 of them together to make a single even faster 2tb drive but ideally you want the 2 drives separate as if you are rendering/encoding a large file/s you want your input file on 1 drive and the output file going to the other drive so it's not trying to read and write at the same time.

If you are going to set up raids make sure the board supports them.

Whether you need 32gb of ram or not depends on the work you are doing.

madra261

Thanks that makes it clearer, if I was to go with a raid set up would the ASRock Z87 Pro4 motherboard be okay or would I have to use something else.

The extra ram might be necessary as I use very large photo files and tend to have quite a few open at the same time plus it probably cuts out the need to rely on a scratch disc.

M

BloodBath

You can eventually add 2 more 1tb drives and set up 2 raids. The h77 board supports raid and is a bit cheaper. The z77 supports overclocking which you don't need with the xeon.