Build a PC for Photography

Tiriel

Hey all,

I'm looking for some advice, not for me to build - but to guide me in asking a friend to build.

I do a lot of photography, with very large RAW files. At the moment I'm working on a dinosaur PC that badly needs replacing.

I use Adobe Creative Suite so mostly Bridge and Photoshop but also Lightroom from time to time. I generally use external drives for all storage, hoping to move to the cloud for backup rather than additional external drives in future. A day's photography could easily fill an 8GB card, if out from sunrise to sunset, so I'm only using external memory for this reason.

Can you advise on what sort of spec I should be asking for if someone was to help me build something? I need to future proof this a bit too as it's not something I can invest in again so quickly, not a professional so it's not going to pay for itself!

All advice appreciated, thank you!

1. What is your budget?[/B] €300-€600

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Photography editing - Photoshop/Lightroom

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? No I don't think so, 2006 Dell PC

5. Do you need a monitor? No

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future?[/B] [1920x1080/1440x900/etc.] 1680 x 1050 at 60 Hz, Acer monitor and won't be upgrading for a while

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

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No] Don't know what that is

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

9. When are you purchasing? In 20 days

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [South Dublin City/Cork City/Kerry/etc.] A friend has offered to help with building and has built before, so should be ok.

Serephucus

If you fill out this, and copy/paste it here, we can be of more help.

almorris

Ram, Ram and more Ram...

Tiriel

Serephucus wrote: »

If you fill out this, and copy/paste it here, we can be of more help.

sorry about that. OP edited to include as much as I can.

SterlingArcher

First off, get yourself familiar with hardwareversand.de and more so geizhals.de discount site.

Tiriel

SterlingArcher wrote: »

First off, get yourself familiar with hardwareversand.de and more so geizhals.de discount site.

My friend will be sourcing the parts but I'd like to be able to give him input on what would be my requirements. He has built a PC for himself before but I just want to make sure that the one he builds for me is best for running the kind of intensive programs I will be using.

SterlingArcher

Cpu. Intel Xeon E3-1231v3 Box, LGA1150
246,16 €

Motherboard. ASRock H97 Pro4, Sockel 1150, ATX
80,77 €


Ram. 16GB Kit Crucial Ballistix Sport Series DDR3-1600, CL9
125,03 €


Ssd. crucial 120 gb 64,51 €


Hdd.Seagate Barracuda 7200 1000GB, SATA 6Gb/s
51,98 €

Psu.be quiet! SYSTEM POWER 7 400W - bulk -
41,88 €

case. antec one ATX, ohne Netzteil
45,08 €

Card reader 13 euro
Total

6,99 € plus shipping 675 €

That one is a buget breaker.
Could cut it back 100 by dropping ssd lowering case and mobo specs

Tiriel

SterlingArcher wrote: »

Cpu. Intel Xeon E3-1231v3 Box, LGA1150
246,16 €

Motherboard. ASRock H97 Pro4, Sockel 1150, ATX
80,77 €


Ram. 16GB Kit Crucial Ballistix Sport Series DDR3-1600, CL9
125,03 €


Ssd. crucial 120 gb 64,51 €


Hdd.Seagate Barracuda 7200 1000GB, SATA 6Gb/s
51,98 €

Psu.be quiet! SYSTEM POWER 7 400W - bulk -
41,88 €

case. antec one ATX, ohne Netzteil
45,08 €

Card reader 13 euro
Total

6,99 € plus shipping 675 €

That one is a buget breaker.
Could cut it back 100 by dropping ssd lowering case and mobo specs

Thanks, a slight budget break but I could figure that out. Really looking forward to the improved processing time! Appreciate your help.

john the one

What are your current specs out of interest?

Tiriel

john the one wrote: »

What are your current specs out of interest?

I'll have to check, but the PC was purchased in 2004.. it's a dinosaur.

john the one

FYI basically over clocking is pushing your hardware to its limits, past the manufacturers intended speeds etc. It can be done in the bios or with software. Plenty of people do it to get the best performance they can from a build and it can be perfectly safe for your hardware if monitored and done correctly

Tiriel

john the one wrote: »

FYI basically over clocking is pushing your hardware to its limits, past the manufacturers intended speeds etc. It can be done in the bios or with software. Plenty of people do it to get the best performance they can from a build and it can be perfectly safe for your hardware if monitored and done correctly

Thanks so much, had no idea what it meant!!

SterlingArcher

Cork_girl wrote: »

Thanks, a slight budget break but I could figure that out. Really looking forward to the improved processing time! Appreciate your help.

Just mention to your friend the sites I used,will find it hard to get them cheaper elsewhere. also some of the parts unless getting for the right price wouldn't be in that build.

so you are aware the "xeon" is essentially an i7 minus the cost.

Tiriel

SterlingArcher wrote: »

Just mention to your friend the sites I used,will find it hard to get them cheaper elsewhere. also some of the parts unless getting for the right price wouldn't be in that build.

so you are aware the "xeon" is essentially an i7 minus the cost.

Thanks a million, I will do that. Appreciate the input and looking forward to getting started.