€500 photoshop build help

Blue_Seas · 25-01-2014 7:28pm #1

1. What is your budget?

Not much more than €500

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer?

Photoshop and digital drawing programs. Gaming is just the sims.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows?

No

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer?

Keyboard, mouse, monitor, external hard drive. Don't think my Mac mini (2006) can be gutted for parts

5. Do you need a monitor?

No

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

Wifi capable, but I can use an Ethernet cable

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

I'd be open to it

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

All of the above.

9. When are you purchasing?

As soon as possible

10. If you need help building it, where are you based?

Castleknock, but I shouldn't need help.

I had this all researched a good while ago, but things changed and plans fell through. I now need to get a macbook for college but neither my current desktop nor netbook are cutting it for my computer needs. I'd prefer a laptop, but I can't get anything in my budget that runs photoshop (anything with dedicated graphics cards is more €600-€700). So I need a decent photoshop build that I can upgrade in the distant future, as my needs change, since my macbook won't be upgradable...
Essentially I do not know what parts to go for anymore, I lost a thread here about choosing parts. All I know is that I need quad core processor, at least 4gb ram, a decent GPU, and around 500gb hard drive.

marco_polo · 26-01-2014 3:12am

Something like this should meet your needs pretty well, I don't really think a GPU is required here as the HD4000 integrated GPU is decent enough and does a relatively ok job in photoshop, relative to the cost/performance gains of adding a better discrete card. (And there's nothing to stop you adding one later if you feel the need).

http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Adobe-Photoshop-CS6-GPU-Acceleration-161/

Item|Price
Cooler Master Force 500 Midi-Tower - schwarz, ohne Netzteil|€35.33
XFX PRO450W Core Edition Full Wired Power Supply|€43.45
ASRock B85M-HDS, Sockel 1150, mATX|€51.44
2 x 4GB G.Skill PC3-12800U CL11-11-11-28|€69.74
Intel Core i5-4440 Box, LGA1150|€157.16
Samsung SSD 840 EVO Basic 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€77.99
WD Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€51.22
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€505.32

Blue_Seas · 26-01-2014 5:43pm

I thought a video card was good for photo and video editing? Not sure how much of the latter I'll do, but I thought photoshop ran better with a discrete GPU?

If the intel hd4000 is enough, I might just go for a laptop

quainy · 26-01-2014 8:38pm

Blue_Seas wrote: »

If the intel hd4000 is enough, I might just go for a laptop

Now that you mention it, Harvey Norman's have the Asus X501A notebook in stock lately and due to the sales and everything you should be able to pick it up handy enough, I'll link the specs here.

However if you wanted to settle on a desktop you could also get by with this build:

Obviously, it's not a professional graphic designing computer, but it should work Photoshop with no problems. Then as time goes on if you do decide to take on big projects then order another identical 4gb ram stick and add it in.

Blue_Seas · 26-01-2014 9:11pm

Maybe I have my specs wrong. I thought it should be a quad core processor and a discrete video card. Would photoshop run well in a dual core laptop, without a discrete GPU and 4Gb of ram?

quainy · 26-01-2014 9:50pm

Blue_Seas wrote: »

Would photoshop run well in a dual core laptop, without a discrete GPU and 4Gb of ram?

You know, it really depends on the projects that you'd be using it on. It would run effectively on a dual core i3 laptop with intel hd4000 or better, however if you were looking for it to be super fast and perfect to use then you'd be best with a quad core desktop or higher. 4gb of RAM is fine, it'll be more about CPU and GPU capabilities. I can see Photoshop maxing out a CPU way faster than using a full 4gb of ram.

Blue_Seas · 26-01-2014 10:14pm

Do you know any decent laptops with those specs within my budget?

quainy · 27-01-2014 12:25am

If any mod sees my posts they'll probably think I work for Harvey Norman's as I've suggested this three times today lol.

The best place I know for laptops is Harvey Norman's, and I recently done a lot of research on this as I bought a new laptop last September. I'd suggest going there and having a browse and telling them what you're looking for. You should also inquire about the ASUS X501A. It has an i3 2330m (2 core & 2.2Ghz), 4gb RAM, integrated hd4000 graphics and a USB 3.0 port.

The specifications can be found here.

€500 photoshop build help

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