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Archive 2009 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

Nickle S.
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p.8 #1 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

planning wrote:
When buying a computer with Turbo Boost do you still order it overclocked?

planning,

If you do not have any experience overclocking, I would recommend having the custom builder do it for you. Most Intel chips can be OC'd anywhere from 5% to 40% and retain stability, depending on the chip. The upper region CPU's like my i7/975 are already blazing fast, but I still had AVADirect overclock it almost 20% getting it up to 4020 MHz. The lower end chips like the i7/920 can be OC'd up to about 40% taking a 2.6 GHz up to 4.0. Likewise with the i5 series.

Overclocking takes place in your BIOS, but a program like ASUS' TurboV allows me to bump up the speed on-the-fly with a few clicks of the mouse. There are many PC forums on the internet where you can get step-by-step instructions on OCing your particular CPU, but to do it properly will take a lot of time. You have to adjust the timings and frequencies and then run a benchmarking program like Prime95 for up to 24 hours to check its stability. I don't have that much free-time on my hands and my computer is used for business purposes, so that's why I chose to have the company do it for me.

Here are just a couple articles about Turbo Boost, Google it and you'll get a ton more.
http://www.pureoverclock.com/review.php?id=685&page=7
http://www.intel.com/technology/turboboost/
http://download.intel.com/design/processor/applnots/320354.pdf?iid=tech_tb+paper

Nicholas
www.copperhillimages.com

Edited on Jan 21, 2010 at 09:03 AM · View previous versions

Jan 21, 2010 at 08:46 AM

digitalbug30d
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p.8 #2 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

Tom K. wrote:
I went to their web site (AVADirect) and put the following system together.

What do you think?

CUSTOM DESKTOP COMPUTER, Core� i7 2-way SLI� DDR3 24GB Performance Series System $2342.62

* CHIEFTEC, Mesh CG-01 Silver Mid-Tower Case, ATX, No PSU, Steel
* CORSAIR, CMPSU-850TX TX Series Power Supply, 850W, 80 PLUS�, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, SLI Ready
* ASUS, P6T Deluxe V2, LGA1366, Intel� X58, 6400 MT/s QPI, DDR3-2000 (O.C.) 24GB /6, PCIe x16 SLI CF /3, SATA 3 Gb/s RAID 5 /6, HDA, GbLAN /2, FW /2, ATX, Retail
* INTEL, Core� i7-920 Quad-Core 2.66GHz, LGA1366, 4.8 GT/s...Show more →
dont really need the blu-ray burner or ROm players save about 500
I would instead get 2 velociraptor 300 gig each and a 80 gig SSD
you could build this for about 1600.00 go to newegg

Jan 21, 2010 at 08:56 AM

digitalbug30d
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p.8 #3 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

Dpic_arctic wrote:
Would it be better to get an i7 with 2.8 GHz, or an i5 with 3.2 GHz (both dual-core)? Why?

you would want the i7 900 series chips they support triple channel memory

Jan 21, 2010 at 08:58 AM

Dpic_arctic
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p.8 #4 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

Tom K. wrote:
I'm running Photoshop CS3 on a 6 year old self-built PC. In it's day it was a powerhouse......but 6 years is a long time in the world of computers and it's time for an upgrade.

I don't want to build this time. I need a powerful computer to run Photoshop CS4. 64 bit.

I am will to go PC or Mac. It doesn't matter.

Can folks please recommend a computer to run Photoshop CS4 that won't even break a sweat working with huge files and multiple layers if needed.

Thank you,
Tom K.

Nickle S. wrote:
Tom,
Here's a great place to start:

http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=14884

AVA probably offers more options than any other boutique-computer company. This rig starts out at $700 and you can add on anything you want. They built my computer earlier this year and it is a powerhouse, to say the least.
http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/image/116244768/original

Nicholas
www.copperhillimages.com

Tom K. wrote:
I went to their web site (AVADirect) and put the following system together.

What do you think?

CUSTOM DESKTOP COMPUTER, Core� i7 2-way SLI� DDR3 24GB Performance Series System $2342.62

* CHIEFTEC, Mesh CG-01 Silver Mid-Tower Case, ATX, No PSU, Steel
* CORSAIR, CMPSU-850TX TX Series Power Supply, 850W, 80 PLUS�, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, SLI Ready
* ASUS, P6T Deluxe V2, LGA1366, Intel� X58, 6400 MT/s QPI, DDR3-2000 (O.C.) 24GB /6, PCIe x16 SLI CF /3, SATA 3 Gb/s RAID 5 /6, HDA, GbLAN /2, FW /2, ATX, Retail
* INTEL, Core� i7-920 Quad-Core 2.66GHz, LGA1366, 4.8 GT/s...Show more →
digitalbug30d wrote:
dont really need the blu-ray burner or ROm players save about 500
I would instead get 2 velociraptor 300 gig each and a 80 gig SSD
you could build this for about 1600.00 go to newegg

Yes, if this was just simplified a little, it could still be a powerful setup for a decent price.

Jan 21, 2010 at 06:23 PM

John P Mulgrew
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p.8 #5 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

Nickle S. wrote:
Tom,
Here's a great place to start:

http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=14884

AVA probably offers more options than any other boutique-computer company. This rig starts out at $700 and you can add on anything you want. They built my computer earlier this year and it is a powerhouse, to say the least.
http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/image/116244768/original

Nicholas
www.copperhillimages.com

Thanks for posting AVA just canceled with Dell who delayed me 5 times and AVA is on the other side of town so I can just pick up and save shipping when completed. Hate Dell!!!!!!!!

Jan 22, 2010 at 11:37 AM

Nickle S.
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p.8 #6 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

John,

AVADirect certainly delivered for me. I don't think I'll ever again buy an off-the-shelf computer. The difference in customer and tech-support is like two different universes. AVA has live-chat support where you can post a question and someone from the company will respond almost immediately. Telephone response is phenomenal, too. Read their ResellerRatings and you'll see that when they do encounter a hardware malfunction, they do everything they can to replace or fix the problem as quickly as possible. Top-notch in every regard.

Good luck with your build.

Nicholas
www.copperhillimages.com

Jan 22, 2010 at 12:07 PM

John P Mulgrew
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p.8 #7 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

Sounds good when talking on phone. Just left a rating for Dell over there and their ratings are horrible

Jan 22, 2010 at 01:11 PM

saincteye
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p.8 #8 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

....ok if budget is not a problem ...... go get an I7 975 +X58 + DDR3-1600 or 1800 , don't get the 2000+ , it's not worth it because they are latency is too high and it will just slow your computer down . Then go find those PCI-E slot SSDs (not Sata but PCI-E slots ....those reach speed @ 500mb/s if not more , but they are pricey too ). And why over-clock when there nothing on the market that will use the CPU to its max .... and if you only running a GTS 250 ...why need a powerful 850W PSU ?

Jan 22, 2010 at 04:59 PM

John P Mulgrew
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p.8 #9 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

This is what I ordered after canceling with Dell but I know nothing of computers anymore and I do a bit of gaming.

# + CUSTOM DESKTOP COMPUTER, Core� i7 2-way CrossFire� 24GB Performance Series System COOLER MASTER, Elite 310 Black Mid Tower Case, ATX, No PSU, Plastic/Steel
# CORSAIR, CMPSU-850TX TX Series Power Supply, 850W, 80 PLUS�, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, SLI Ready
# ASUS, P6T Deluxe V2, LGA1366, Intel� X58, 6400 MT/s QPI, DDR3-2000 (O.C.) 24GB /6, PCIe x16 SLI CF /3, SATA 3 Gb/s RAID 5 /6, HDA, GbLAN /2, FW /2, ATX, Retail
# INTEL, Core� i7-960 Quad-Core, 3.2GHz, LGA1366, 4.8 GT/s QPI, 8MB L3 Cache, 45nm, 130W, EM64T EIST VT XD, OEM
# CORSAIR, 12GB (6 x 2GB) XMS3 PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz CL9 (9-9-9) 1.5V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
# XFX, Radeon� HD 5870 850MHz, 1GB GDDR5 5200MHz, PCIe x16 CrossFire, DVI /2, HDMI, DP, Retail
# WESTERN DIGITAL, 150GB (WD1500HLFS) WD VelociRaptor�, SATA 3 Gb/s, 10000 RPM, 16MB cache
# WESTERN DIGITAL, 1TB WD Caviar� Green� (WD10EADS), SATA 3 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 32MB Cache
# RAID, No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
# SONY, AD-7241S Black 24x DVD�R/RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ Lightscribe, SATA, OEM
# ROSEWILL, RCR-IM5001 Black/Silver 75-in-1 Card Reader/Writer Drive w/ 3 USB 2.0 and eSATA ports, 3.5" Bay, SATA, USB 2.0

Jan 22, 2010 at 09:42 PM

Nickle S.
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p.8 #10 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

John,

Phew!!!!
If you were playing golf, I'd say you left nothing in the bag

Awesome, smokin' rig. You will love it.
Which heatsink are you getting and do you have a good monitor? They could overclock that for you 5% to 10% without breaking a sweat.

Best of luck with it.

Nicholas
www.copperhillimages.com

Jan 22, 2010 at 10:27 PM

Dpic_arctic
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p.8 #11 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

John P Mulgrew wrote:
This is what I ordered after canceling with Dell but I know nothing of computers anymore and I do a bit of gaming.

# + CUSTOM DESKTOP COMPUTER, Core� i7 2-way CrossFire� 24GB Performance Series System COOLER MASTER, Elite 310 Black Mid Tower Case, ATX, No PSU, Plastic/Steel
# CORSAIR, CMPSU-850TX TX Series Power Supply, 850W, 80 PLUS�, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, SLI Ready
# ASUS, P6T Deluxe V2, LGA1366, Intel� X58, 6400 MT/s QPI, DDR3-2000 (O.C.) 24GB /6, PCIe x16 SLI CF /3, SATA 3 Gb/s RAID 5 /6, HDA, GbLAN /2, FW /2, ATX, Retail
# INTEL, Core� i7-960 Quad-Core, 3.2GHz, LGA1366,...Show more →

Looks great to me! How much was this? Can PS utilize 2 different RAM modules? (or whatever you call them)

Jan 22, 2010 at 10:52 PM

sjms
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p.8 #12 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

send back that 75 in 1 reader. its dead slow and is a bay filler. invest in a good card reader.

Jan 22, 2010 at 11:01 PM

John P Mulgrew
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p.8 #13 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

Dpic I don't know anything about computers anymore so I have NO idea what it can do I just know it's fast hahahaha

sjms yeah I have to cancel that, I have a pretty fast one now but thanks for reminding me.

It was around 2880.00

Jan 23, 2010 at 06:00 AM

Bo_Shu
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p.8 #14 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

A possible choice for the best of both Win and Mac OS worlds is this:
27" i7 iMac with 1 or 2 TB HDD and 8 or 16GB RAM
VMware Fusion 3.0 for Win 7 and/or XP
CS4 on Win 7 or XP running as a VM on the i7 runs about as fast or better than my Core 2 Duo @ 2.67 GHz and XP

Jan 23, 2010 at 12:08 PM

sjms
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p.8 #15 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

so when your 1 or 2 TB HD dies inside the iMac and its out of its apple care. just how to you change it out?

Jan 23, 2010 at 12:16 PM

Bo_Shu
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p.8 #16 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

sjms wrote:
so when your 1 or 2 TB HD dies inside the iMac and its out of its apple care. just how to you change it out?

Aah, the old "you can't change anything in the apple products yourself argument"
-- not going there. To each his own.

My personal solution which does not apply in general is:
take your spouse's iMac and simply point to your NAS with all the hourly backups done by Time Machine to get running again. Either pony up the service charge for Apple repair or DIY. No big deal for me since I deal with h/w and s/w in real life.
Its like getting the Nikon and Canon DSLRs fixed out of (short) warranty periods.

Jan 23, 2010 at 12:31 PM

sjms
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p.8 #17 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

just as i thought. you're right you can't go there w/o seriously opening it up. which as we all know rhe imac was not meant to allow and does a good job of it.

and no its not like a nikon or canon repair. they are a different type of goods and that rationalization doesn't fly in the real world of computing commodized products. i really am looking foward to the day if you do have to open it up as i've already been there on the 20" one. you'll as you said you'll most likely pony up.

Jan 23, 2010 at 12:46 PM

Bo_Shu
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p.8 #18 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

sjms wrote:
just as i thought. you're right you can't go there w/o seriously opening it up. which as we all know rhe imac was not meant to allow and does a good job of it.

and no its not like a nikon or canon repair. they are a different type of goods and that rationalization doesn't fly in the real world of computing commodized products. i really am looking foward to the day if you do have to open it up as i've already been there on the 20" one. you'll as you said you'll most likely pony up.

Yup -- helps keep the economy going but hopefully in 3+ years the recession would be over

Jan 23, 2010 at 12:58 PM

Dpic_arctic
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p.8 #19 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

sjms wrote:
send back that 75 in 1 reader. its dead slow and is a bay filler. invest in a good card reader.

I didn't even know that there were 75 different formats of cards!

Jan 23, 2010 at 02:47 PM

VetraLens
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p.8 #20 · Best Computer for Photoshop?

PierreB wrote:
It's pretty new but I know there are motherboards out there that support it and at least one external HDD manufacturer has drives on the market:

http://www.buffalotech.com/press/releases/buffalo-ships-first-superspeed-usb-30-external-hard-drive/

Oh yes, and the other thing - it's FAAAAAST!!

This looks like a good place to jump into the thread. I'm in the midst of a build as well, and one thing I'm concerned about is USB 3.0 compatibility. Is it worth worrying about getting a mobo with USB 3.0 slots right now? The selections seem kind of sparse.

How does USB 3.0 stack up against eSATA? The boards I'm looking at all have FW and eSATA ports, so will I be missing much in a year if I don't have a 3.0 port? Though I suppose I can just add an adapter card in. Anyway, interested in hearing thoughts on this.

Jan 24, 2010 at 04:42 AM

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