Photoshop Spec requested!

GM2 · 17 Oct 2008 at 12:33

Hi

My main PC has died and looking to replace it. Main use will be standard office apps and internet - so nothing that needs any horse-power. But, I also do a reasonable amount of Photoshop work and would like to find time to do a bit of video editing - nothing too fancy, just chopping up family stuff.

I don't play games, but do have 3 kids. The eldest is 10 and would like to get his hands on it occasionally, but is unlikely to be playing anything too challenging - so this is not to be a main consideration for the spec! I currently have Photoshop PS2, but am considering upgrading to the new PS4 - which I understand can make use of a Quad processor and, to a limited extent, the GPU.

I'd like to keep the budget as low as poss / sensible, but if it makes sense, can go to about £500 / £550 + VAT. But if it can be done well for less - so much the better.

Looking for a box only - existing monitor, keyboard, mouse are OK. I have a new copy of Vista Ultimate and intend to get the 64 bit media and use that - so no OS required. Happy with on-board sound.

I also have various IDE HDD in capacities of up to 250 Gb. Is it worth installing any of these - or should I just use them as back ups with a USB housing?

I'm currently thinking about:

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £102.99

Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £84.99

Corsair TX 650W ATX2.2 SLi Compliant PSU £54.99

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD6401AALS) £48.99

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775) £13.99

Sub Total : £305.95

Not sure on the GPU. Maybe a NVIDIA 9800 or ATI 4850?

NVIDIA seem to have close links with Adobe, but opinion seems to be that even with PS4 an ATI should be just as good and more 'bang for buck'.

Probably 4Gb RAM to start - maybe more later.

A.N. Optical Device.

A Case: Antec Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case £39.99??

So, questions:

Is this spec overkill for what I need?

If not, are these components a reasonable start?

Which GPU / RAM / Optical etc

Many thanks!

GM2

GM2 · 17 Oct 2008 at 12:35

Oh - my intention would be to overclock the processor to about 3.00 GHz, but probably no other mods than that - at least not to start with, unless anyone suggests some easy 'must do' changes!

Thanks

reflux · 17 Oct 2008 at 12:41

That's a good baseline spec. For the graphics, I'd suggest going for one of these:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail

A 9800GT or 4850 is probably more than you'll need.

Regarding storage, how old are the disks you have? If they're very old, you'd be better off just buying a new drive. They can be had so cheap now. Also bear in mind that modern motherboards usually only have one IDE port.

GM2 · 17 Oct 2008 at 12:56

Thanks for the suggestion.

I know nothing of PowerColor - I presume you've recommended this board because they have a reasonable reputation at this price point - or is it purely on price?

I did read someone expressing concern that if their board went wrong after 12 months, they'd have to return the board to the US for warranty service.

reflux · 17 Oct 2008 at 13:50

PowerColor are OK, but yes, if warranty worries you, spend a little more on the Asus with three years warranty.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail

GM2 · 17 Oct 2008 at 15:35

£10 for an extra 2 years - probably just about worth it - but I suspect that if either of them last 12 months, they'll do 3 years.

Are these cards 'chunky' enough to do a bit of video editing?

reflux · 17 Oct 2008 at 15:45

Yeah, you can video edit on just about anything these days. The CPU is more important, and all the decent video-editing software takes advantage of multiple cores. The Q6600 was a good choice.

GM2 · 17 Oct 2008 at 16:13

OK - thanks for that.

GM2 · 17 Oct 2008 at 16:37

reflux said:
Regarding storage, how old are the disks you have? If they're very old, you'd be better off just buying a new drive. They can be had so cheap now. Also bear in mind that modern motherboards usually only have one IDE port.

I intend to get a new drive as the main drive - but was thinking of using one or more IDE drives either as data storage or back up or maybe as a 'paging file' for Photoshop - which some PS4 'experts' seem to think will enhance performance.

GM2 · 17 Oct 2008 at 16:39

reflux said:
Regarding storage, how old are the disks you have?

I've just been looking them up - one of them is:

Barracuda 200GB 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD - probably getting on for 3 years old.

I think I may have one newer than that too - but I'm not at home and can't find the details at the moment.

reflux · 17 Oct 2008 at 16:49

GM2 said:
I've just been looking them up - one of them is:

Barracuda 200GB 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD - probably getting on for 3 years old.

I think I may have one newer than that too - but I'm not at home and can't find the details at the moment.

Ah, that disk should be fine. I'm not sure you'll need a scratch disk though; I don't remember needing one since the old days of PS7.0; extra RAM is so cheap these days that even design houses working on massive files just bang more memory in.

I work as a website designer and PS CS3 runs very nicely on just 2GB.

fobose · 17 Oct 2008 at 16:49

I would partition the WD 640GB so you have about 500GB of "storage" and the rest for the OS. You can always add another drive later on if you run outta space. Dont bother using your old drives.

sir-les-mp · 17 Oct 2008 at 16:51

With the fact you are qoing to using photoshop PS4 as well as Vista Ultimate 64bit i would recommend getting 8Gb memory as PS4 will use it as well as your quad core you propse purchasing
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...l Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK)
two sets of this should be good enough for what you are propsing
as for optical drive i would suggest this
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...A Dual Layer ReWriter (Black/Silver) - Retail
Sony NEC are good when it comes to thier optical drives and as this is a retail version you will also get a copy of nero and a few other bits with it.
as for Graphics card i would go with this
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...2 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail
it has all the power you require and is silent to boot as you are not into gaming i doubt you will stress the card out enough that warranty will become a factor this card should purr along in your system for many years to come.

thats what i think your basket should look like

GM2 · 17 Oct 2008 at 17:18

sir-les-mp said:
thats what i think your basket should look like

Many thanks for that - but you've raised a few questions:

Why the Corsair HX 620 not the TX 650, which is quite a bit cheaper?

Why the HIS ATI 4650, not the HIS 4670 Ice Q, which is more powerful and only £2 more? Or the Asus 4650 for £10 more?

Why the Samsung HDD not the Western D - only £3, same size, 32Mb cache, not 16Mb?

Why the version of the Q6600 you've suggested? Is it just to save a couple of £?

I've nothing against saving a few £ here and there, but just want to clarify whether that's the reason for your choices or whether there are other reasons too.

Many thanks!

fobose · 17 Oct 2008 at 17:21

620/650W is way overkill for that spec. If you want to keep it modular then I would get the Corsair HX520 or you could save quite a bit more by going with the VX450.

I would say he spec'd the OEM version as you're getting a Arctic freezer 7 cooler instead, so you dont need the one that comes with the retail package. You do only get a year warranty though apposed to 3 years (OEM vs Retail that is).

I personally would go with the WD hard drive, but hard drive brands are just personal preference, I doubt that is much difference between the two speed wise.

Lastly the 4650 is passive so it will help keep noise levels down a lot, you probably wont notice a difference between the 4650 and the 4670 for what your intending to use your pc for (I think the 4670 is only slightly faster too).

sir-les-mp · 17 Oct 2008 at 17:44

GM2 said:
Many thanks for that - but you've raised a few questions:

Why the Corsair HX 620 not the TX 650, which is quite a bit cheaper?

Both are a bit overkill for what you are going to use however this one with it being modular means you only need to use what cables you need keeping your case tidier but will give you room to upgrade without having to worry about your PSU

Why the HIS ATI 4650, not the HIS 4670 Ice Q, which is more powerful and only £2 more? Or the Asus 4650 for £10 more?

There is not much difference between this and the 4670 however this has passive heatsink therefore less noise.

Why the Samsung HDD not the Western D - only £3, same size, 32Mb cache, not 16Mb?

This hdd i belive is the one with 2x320Gb Platters which makes it perfect for a 50/50 split one OS and programs the other storage, also with it being just the 2 platters i believe its slightly faster than the WD one.

Why the version of the Q6600 you've suggested? Is it just to save a couple of £?

As your getting an after market HSF i thought this would be ideal

Hope this clears things up a bit for you

GM2 · 17 Oct 2008 at 17:51

fobose said:
620/650W is way overkill for that spec. If you want to keep it modular then I would get the Corsair HX520 or you could save quite a bit more by going with the VX450.

Currently, the 650 is cheaper than the 520! But the 450 is quite a bit cheaper.

Would the 450 allow for any expansion, extra HDDs etc later?

fobose said:
If you want to keep it modular

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the alternative?

Can anyone explain the difference between HX, VX & TX? Or tell me where to look! Thanks

reflux · 17 Oct 2008 at 18:01

sir-les-mp said:
With the fact you are qoing to using photoshop PS4 as well as Vista Ultimate 64bit i would recommend getting 8Gb memory as PS4 will use it as well as your quad core you propse purchasing

8GB of RAM is over the top. The OP said he wanted the PC for general tasks and some photoshop work. I use Photoshop professionally and it runs fine on 2GB of RAM. The only way he would need 8GB would be if he was performing large edits and filters on massive (10mp+) images. 4GB is a more appropriate amount.

GM2 · 17 Oct 2008 at 18:03

GM2 said:
Can anyone explain the difference between HX, VX & TX?

OK - guessing here:

HX = modular

VX & TX = non modular?

Modular = cables plug in.

Non-modular = cables already in PSU and those not wanted just get pulled to one side.

Am I close??

GM2 · 17 Oct 2008 at 18:08

reflux said:
I use Photoshop professionally and it runs fine on 2GB of RAM.

Is that on Vista 64?

If not, is 4GB enough for Vista 64?

I guess I could always add more later if it seemed like it needed it. Would it matter if the exact RAM I fit now is not available if I decide to add some more? Presumably something of same spec would be fine?