System for Photoshop and Lightroom?

henchard

henchard

henchard

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21 Mar 2014
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3
Good morning, Newbie here to building my own PC so please be gentle. I've looked through the old recent threads re system recommendations but perhaps someone could point me in the right direction for specs for a Photoshop system. My current PC celebrates its 8th Birthday today which must be some sort of record! But I can not now run programmes like Lightroom on XP; so time to bite the bullet. I've never built a PC before but have successfully installed additional drives etc in my current PC.

Budget ideally under £1000.00

Thinking about windows 7 Pro 64bit as an operating system although if someone can convince me to wait for the new version of 8.1 due next month please do so.

Processor and Motherboard advice needed (Intel or AMD?), seems from reading the forums that Intel may have the edge at present? Also seems that more RAM etc may be better than a faster processor for Photoshop? Is this true?

Ideally would like a SSD disk to boot from and run Photoshop (perhaps a second as a scratch disk - any thoughts?) and at least 1TB hard disk (I have several external USB drives with my work on as well).

Preferably 16GB RAM

Graphics advice would be very helpful; I don't need gaming performance but have two existing monitors with DVI connections which I want to keep so need to be able to run dual monitors.

So if anyone can point me in the correct direction I'd be very grateful.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4771 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £229.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV "Frost Edition" 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit £119.99
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 750 SuperClock 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £99.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H105 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060016-WW ) £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x Aero Cool Dead Silence Gaming White/Black Mini Tower Windowed £72.95
1 x Gigabyte H87-HD3 Intel H87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £71.99
1 x Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/120G) £67.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £59.99
1 x Seasonic G series 360w '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply £47.99
1 x LG GP50NB40 8x Slim External DVD-RW Retail Kit (Black) £26.99
1 x OcUK Value 3m DVI to HDMI Gold Plated Cable (CDLDV-303) £6.79
Total : £984.59 (includes shipping : £12.50).



How's this look?
 
Last edited:
Many thanks for taking the time to reply

Questions!

You have suggested Windows 8.1 over Windows 7.0 any reason?

You have suggested and external DVD; again is there any particular reason rather than an internal drive?

Isn't the power supply a tad small? I've sort of got in my head 500W as being a minimum for stability and should I want to add anything in the future?

Could I get away with a less expensive graphics card and perhaps add a second SSD?

Is a liquid cooler necessary for this type of system?

Would also be grateful if someone could advise on best 'bang for buck' for Photoshop work e.g. are two solid state drives (one for Windows and one for a scratch disk) more cost effective than say 32GB of RAM.

Any advice gratefully received as I am pretty ignorant about this stuff (I just take photos)
 
henchard said:
Many thanks for taking the time to reply

Questions!

You have suggested Windows 8.1 over Windows 7.0 any reason? -

No point sticking with an older OS, the added features & slickness of windows 8 is worth it, especially with a SSD.

You have suggested and external DVD; again is there any particular reason rather than an internal drive? -

CD/DVD drives are barely used anymore, and they ruin the look of cases IMO, plus take up room in a small ATX case, so an external seems more logical!

Isn't the power supply a tad small? I've sort of got in my head 500W as being a minimum for stability and should I want to add anything in the future?

The Seasonic will be perfect, unless you want to a 780 or something which you won't need to, it will be small, quiet and efficient for your needs.

Could I get away with a less expensive graphics card and perhaps add a second SSD?

Truthfully using Photoshop myself with large files, a single SSD with a fast HDD loads files quick enough anyway, if you wanted the extra speed for certain files, a single 250GB may be worthwhile.

Is a liquid cooler necessary for this type of system?

Not entirely, but does allow for a quiet neat looking system, can be changed for a smaller Heat sink & get a larger SSD.

Would also be grateful if someone could advise on best 'bang for buck' for Photoshop work e.g. are two solid state drives (one for Windows and one for a scratch disk) more cost effective than say 32GB of RAM.

All depends on how large the files are & how many at a time really, I'd say a single SSD and 16GB of RAM is the sweet spot.


Any advice gratefully received as I am pretty ignorant about this stuff (I just take photos)
Click to expand...

Answers in red.
 
Once again many thanks; I've tweaked this slightly (below)

Added larger SSD

Changed graphics card to one similar but with two DVI outlets (thus no need for a HDMI - DVI cable, I assume)

Changed to a smaller water cooler

Any issues with the above?

Not sure about the Aero Cool case, it gets average reviews here

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2013/12/30/aerocool-dead-silence-cube-review/4

where they suggest that the The Fractal Arc Mini R2 (not sold by overclockers) is better. Any thoughts on this or an alternative case; the quieter the better. Will the water cooler fit in this size case OK (told you I was ignorant)?

Once again many thanks for the input.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4771 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £229.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV "Frost Edition" 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit £119.99
1 x Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 240GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/240G) £119.99
1 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x Aero Cool Dead Silence Gaming White/Black Mini Tower Windowed £72.95
1 x Gigabyte H87-HD3 Intel H87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £71.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £59.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H60 V2 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler £49.99
1 x Seasonic G series 360w '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply £47.99
1 x LG GP50NB40 8x Slim External DVD-RW Retail Kit (Black) £26.99
Total : £979.84 (includes shipping : £12.50).

 
My 2 cents ....

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4771 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £229.99
1 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 WindForce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £134.99
1 x Crucial M500 240GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (CT240M500SSD1) £89.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 350D Micro ATX Case - Black (CC-9011028-WW) £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87M-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £82.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £59.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £59.99
2 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99 (£111.98)
1 x NH-U12S Ultra-Quiet Slim CPU Cooler with NF-F12 Fan £52.99
1 x Samsung SE-S208DB/TSBS External Slimline 8x DVD-RW (TV Connect) - Black £21.98
Total : £1,024.87 (includes shipping : £12.50).

 
henchard said:
Once again many thanks; I've tweaked this slightly (below)

Added larger SSD

Changed graphics card to one similar but with two DVI outlets (thus no need for a HDMI - DVI cable, I assume)

Changed to a smaller water cooler

Any issues with the above?

Not sure about the Aero Cool case, it gets average reviews here

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2013/12/30/aerocool-dead-silence-cube-review/4

where they suggest that the The Fractal Arc Mini R2 (not sold by overclockers) is better. Any thoughts on this or an alternative case; the quieter the better. Will the water cooler fit in this size case OK (told you I was ignorant)?

Once again many thanks for the input.
Click to expand...

All will be OK with what you have spec'd.
Alternatives for the case would be a 350D Ethel has chosen & the Prodigy M-ATX, depends on your preference though, I think a white small PC will look smart & perform very quietly.
 
Over budget but another idea

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4771 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £229.99
1 x Crucial M500 480GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (CT480M500SSD1) £179.99
1 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 WindForce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £134.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x Gigabyte H87-HD3 Intel H87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £71.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 330R Silent Mid Tower Case - Black £69.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £59.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £59.99
2 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99 (£111.98)
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler £29.99
1 x Samsung SE-S208DB/TSBS External Slimline 8x DVD-RW (TV Connect) - Black £21.98
Total : £1,060.82 (includes shipping : £12.50).

 
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