the ultimate computer for photo processing

**rossco** · 14-05-2009, 10:26am

i am going to put together a computer as a treat to myself for making it to 40, im interested in peoples thoughts as to what makes the ideal system for working with photos and pp work. Im thinking how much ram, hd size, graphics card., moniter and the such, look forward to hearing peoples thoughts.

**matilda** · 14-05-2009, 10:37am

my hubby built my computer.

it currently has 4 gig of ram, but soon to be 8 gig.

When he gets home I'll get him to write out the specs for you.

**rossco** · 14-05-2009, 10:38am

thats great thank you very much

**Kym** · 14-05-2009, 10:42am

Ok, Whirlpool is your friend in this case (and MSY for pricing).
With MSY you cannot complain about the service - there is none! BUT the prices rock; but you have to have more than just a clue to deal with them.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum....cfm?t=1138855
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/?tag=rmp_sg

Systems (in Monitor) by price...
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/?tag=rm...oolpcs_systems

Boxes (no Monitor and extra bits) by price...
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/?tag=rm...lpoolpcs_boxes

My suggestion... is to look at this WP config and work* from there...

CPU: Intel E8400 S775 $248
Motherboard: Asus P5Q $149
RAM: 2 x 2GB DDR2-800 $64 (4GB total)
HDD: WD 640GB 16MB SATAII $91 (*Maybe up this to a 1TB drives and have two in a mirror RAID1 config)
GPU: 512MB RAEDON HD 4870 $320
Case: Antec Three Hundred $89
PSU: Antec NeoPower 550W $121
Optical Drive: Samsung 22x SATA $27
Monitor: 22" Samsung 2233BW $245 (*this could be upgraded as well)
Speakers: Creative Gigaworks T20 2.0 $75
K/B: Logitech Corded Wave $40
Mouse: Logitech MX 518 $30

Total: $1499 + Software + $70 for MSY system build.

**Invictus** · 14-05-2009, 11:39am

Ultimate computer? That leaves the door open for possibilities

Since you didn't mention any budget constraints, how about:

Code:

CPU:	 Intel S1366 Core i7 965 3.2GHz Quad Core CPU Extreme Edition   
COOLING:	CoolerMaster V10 CPU Cooler
MOTHERBOARD:	Gigabyte S1366 GA-EX58-EXTREME Motherboard   
MEMORY:	Corsair 6GB (3x2GB) D3 2000 w/Heatsink/Fan
HDD	2.5" 120GB Solid State Drive SATA2 (IN RAID 5 on RAID CARD)
HDD	2.5" 120GB Solid State Drive SATA2 (IN RAID 5 on RAID CARD)
HDD	2.5" 120GB Solid State Drive SATA2 (IN RAID 5 on RAID CARD)
RAID CARD:	4 Port PCIeX4 RAID SATA Controller   
HDD:	2TB Western Digital 7200rpm 32M SATA HDD
HDD:	2TB Western Digital 7200rpm 32M SATA HDD
DVD:	Blu-Ray Writer 
VIDEO:	ATI 4870X2 2GB PCIe Video Card
CARDREADER:	Internal MultiCard Reader
POWER:	Thermaltake 1200 Watt Toughpower ATX Power Supply
CASE:	CoolerMaster Stacker 830 Case
OS:	MS Vista 64bit
MONITOR: 24" 8bit LCD (eg: NEC 2490WUXi )
BACKUP:	THECUS N3200PRO with 3 x 1TB Western Digital HDD

That would pretty much handle anything you throw at it, but will put a reasonable dent in the bank account

**pgbphotographytas** · 14-05-2009, 11:55am

Originally Posted by Invictus

Ultimate computer? That leaves the door open for possibilities

Since you didn't mention any budget constraints, how about:

Code:

CPU:	 Intel S1366 Core i7 965 3.2GHz Quad Core CPU Extreme Edition   
COOLING:	CoolerMaster V10 CPU Cooler
MOTHERBOARD:	Gigabyte S1366 GA-EX58-EXTREME Motherboard   
MEMORY:	Corsair 6GB (3x2GB) D3 2000 w/Heatsink/Fan
HDD	2.5" 120GB Solid State Drive SATA2 (IN RAID 5 on RAID CARD)
HDD	2.5" 120GB Solid State Drive SATA2 (IN RAID 5 on RAID CARD)
HDD	2.5" 120GB Solid State Drive SATA2 (IN RAID 5 on RAID CARD)
RAID CARD:	4 Port PCIeX4 RAID SATA Controller   
HDD:	2TB Western Digital 7200rpm 32M SATA HDD
HDD:	2TB Western Digital 7200rpm 32M SATA HDD
DVD:	Blu-Ray Writer 
VIDEO:	ATI 4870X2 2GB PCIe Video Card
CARDREADER:	Internal MultiCard Reader
POWER:	Thermaltake 1200 Watt Toughpower ATX Power Supply
CASE:	CoolerMaster Stacker 830 Case
OS:	MS Vista 64bit
MONITOR: 24" 8bit LCD (eg: NEC)
BACKUP:	THECUS N3200PRO with 3 x 1TB Western Digital HDD

That would pretty much handle anything you throw at it, but will put a reasonable dent in the bank account

That is a serious piece of hardware you have come up with

Paul

**Kym** · 14-05-2009, 12:31pm

CPU: Intel Core i7 Extreme 965 3.20Ghz 8Mb Cache Quad Core 45nm $1989
Motherboard: EVGA X58 Classified Motherboard eATX $769
RAM: DDR3 Corsair TW3X4G2000C9DF 4GB (2x XMS3 2GB) PC-16000 2000MHz $1079
HDD: 2 x OCZ Core Series 128GB Solid State $998
2 x Hitachi 1TB SATAII 32MB Cache Ultrastar $2224
Case: Lian Li V2010 $375
PSU: 1200W Thermaltake Toughpower Modular $415
GPU: 3 x 1GB EVGA Geforce GTX285 Superclocked $2072
PhysX: EVGA GeForce 9800GT 512MB Superclocked $269
Optical Drives: 2 x Sony BWU200S Internal Blu-ray Drive $1393
2 x ASUS BLT-1814 Lightscribe x18 SATA $84
FDD: Sony BLACK Bezel 1.44 MB FDD $19
LCD/VFD Display: Thermaltake Media Lab $165
Cooling: Swiftech H20-APEX Ultra Plus Liquid Cooling Kit $495
OCZ Technology XTC Memory Cooler $39
3x 120mm Scythe Kamakaze VR LED Case Fan $90
4x 140mm Aerocool Streamliner 140mm Blue Fan $120
Thermal Compound: Tuniq TX-2 $8
Cables: Flexiglow Blue Illuminated SATA Cable, 50cm w/ EL wire $20
Thermaltake A2117 60cm EL Rounded FDD Cable – White $20
OCZ Enhanced VGA & HDD Power Lead With PowerShield™ EMI Control Technology $20
Monitor: 30" Dell 3008WFP LCD ~$3798 (without specials/discounts) X2
Speakers: Creative Gigaworks S750 THX Certified 7.1 $592
Keyboard: Logitech G19 $305
Mouse: Logitech G9 $99

Total: $17,026

And maybe a bit more sane 'ultimate'...

CPU: Core i7 920 $450
Motherboard: Asus P6T-Deluxe $459
RAM: 6GB (3 x 2GB) G.Skill-NQ DDR3-1600 $209
HDD1: OCZ Vertex 60GB SSD $375
HDD2: Western Digital 640MB 16MB SATAII $120
GPU: 1GB GTX 285 $522
Case: CoolerMaster HAF932 $212
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 750W $187
Optical Drive: ASUS 20x BLT-2014 Lightscribe SATA $35
CPU HSF: Noctua NH-U12P (for Socket LGA1366) Performance CPU Cooler $85
Monitor: 24" Samsung 2433BW $379
Speakers: Logitech Z-5500 5.1 $400
Keyboard Logitech G15 $107
Mouse Logitech G7 $89

Total: $3629

That said... the $1500-2000 system I posted (all from WP) is plenty for a 'tog using Photoslug.

**Seesee** · 14-05-2009, 12:44pm

...what.....no coffee cup warmer

**earthairfire** · 14-05-2009, 1:08pm

You didn't mention if you want to go PC or Mac. Personally, I'd go the Mac route. Given you asked for the ultimate, and not the most affordable, I'd go for an 8 core Mac Pro, with 32GB RAM:

# Two 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon Processors
# 32GB 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM
# 4 x 1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3GB/s drives with RAID card
# 2 x NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB graphics cards
# One 18x Double Layer SuperDrive (unless you want 2)
# 2 x Apple Cinema HD Display (30" flat panel)

A$ 31,065.00

You can add up to 8 x 30" displays if you want, but I thought 2 was probably enough for photo processing...

I'd be pretty sure on saying that this spec would take on anything you could throw at it. Including making the next Toy Story movie, if you feel so inclined...

If 31k is more that you were looking to spend, the 24" iMacs are all pretty capable machines - I have no issue pushing 1Gb photoshop files around on mine, and I've only got 4GB RAM. They start from a slightly more pallatable A$ 2,499.00 .

Tim

**Invictus** · 14-05-2009, 4:43pm

LOL CypherOz you had to go for the bling factor in that big one didn't you

There's always the skulltrail ... but anyway.

What you had with the i7 920 is similar to my thoughts :

Code:

CPU:	Intel Core i7 920	 $441.00 
MBOARD:	Gigabyte EX58 Motherboard   	 $309.00 
RAM:		Gskill 6GB DDR3 NQ	 $135.00 
HDD:	WD 640GB SATA2 (Mirror RAID)	 $119.00 
HDD:	WD 640GB SATA2 (Mirror RAID)	 $119.00 
HDD:	WD 1TB SATA2	 $144.00 
DVD:	LG DVDRW	 $35.00 
VIDEO:	ATI 4850 1GB PCIe Video Card	 $272.00 
C-READER:	Internal MultiCard Reader	 $15.00 
PSU:	Coolermaster RealPower Pro 650w	 $164.00 
CASE:	I Cute S901-5G1 Midi Tower Case 	 $99.00 
OS:	MS Vista Home Premium 64bit 	 $183.00 
MONITOR:	Unspecified size preference ….	 x 
		
	TOTAL	 $2,035.00 

All are MSY Prices with the exception of the case.
Plus build fee, warranty, keyboard/mouse, and monitor.

A lot comes back to how big the budget is, how big a screen, etc. Without knowing how many $$ can be allocated, or other preferences, we could keep throwing around different configurations all week ...

**Kym** · 14-05-2009, 4:52pm

Originally Posted by Invictus

LOL CypherOz you had to go for the bling factor in that big one didn't you

If you going to build a $18k system - you want it to bling!

That said - we have multi TB databases here at work on a big SAN with bit 64bit servers making it all happen.
Looks boring as in the data centre - but when you join across 400 million rows and you don't need to go for coffee while it does that - its cool.

**JM Tran** · 14-05-2009, 4:59pm

does one's photography skills match the insane pricings listed above? LOL

until u are running a busy photographic studio with a full time staff contingent who are constantly cranking out videos for wedding films and processing photos constantly for big ad campaigns - opening RAW and TIFF files from Hasselblad H3Ds at 500mb an image, then anything over 1.5k is overkill for home use, honestly

build your own from MSY - best value for money, u save money from the lack of service hahaha

remember this, expensive computers and expensive camera gears does not maketh a good photographer - just tools to help you, still up to the user in the end

**rossco** · 14-05-2009, 8:57pm

wow guys, i was thinking a good solid system for home not world domination from my office. I guess ultimate system was not the best title for the thread. Some great advice there though and lots of stuff for me to study, thanks heaps to all.

**Kym** · 14-05-2009, 9:09pm

Originally Posted by JM Tran

build your own from MSY - best value for money, u save money from the lack of service hahaha

Unless you have more than clue I strongly recommend you pay the $70 build fee and get MSY to build the system.

**DanNG** · 14-05-2009, 9:31pm

i7 920, 6gb of ram, 120gb SSD drive for OS/app's. Vista 64-bit, then fit the rest of the components to your budget. Monitor - NEC 2490WUXI

Personally I'd prefer a slower mac... had a crazy PC but it gave me the shits.

**arthurking83** · 14-05-2009, 9:44pm

Originally Posted by wallywoo333

wow guys, i was thinking a good solid system for home not world domination from my office. I guess ultimate system was not the best title for the thread. Some great advice there though and lots of stuff for me to study, thanks heaps to all.

It's always best to start from the top and then work your way down!

Hmmm.... world domination from the comfort of your desk chair!!??

$17K sounds pretty cheap then

**JM Tran** · 15-05-2009, 1:31am

Originally Posted by Kym

Unless you have more than clue I strongly recommend you pay the $70 build fee and get MSY to build the system.

I think u misunderstood what I wrote, it doesnt necessarily mean putting individual parts together and screwing it in place - it can also mean picking out an individual orders list and parts u want, instead of going by the pre-selected computer options available.

I sure as hell didnt need to put individual pistons and camshafts in when I was 'building' up my car, but I serviced and tweaked things to suit me - hence, the OP can do the same too with a computer

and the build fee is a no brainer for anyone, rather let MSY put it together and let them take the blame if anything goes wrong, than have someone with zero comp knowledge trying to fit an AGP video card into a PCI-E slot

**jjphoto** · 15-05-2009, 9:10am

The problems with these threads is that they are usually obsolete by the time you've read the first few replies!

The single biggest difference in performance will come from using a 64 bit OS, as long as the software you intend using is OK with that.

JJ

**Kym** · 15-05-2009, 9:16am

Originally Posted by JM Tran

I think u misunderstood what I wrote, it doesnt necessarily mean putting individual parts together and screwing it in place - it can also mean picking out an individual orders list and parts u want, instead of going by the pre-selected computer options available. <snip>

Ok.
When people say build a PC they usually mean exactly that... Case, PSU, MOBO+mounting, CPU, GPU, Cooling, Disks, Memory etc.
Which is easy enough if you have time and experience; but getting it built is usually (and for most AP members) the better way to go.

**oldfart** · 15-05-2009, 10:21am

Sorry the ultimate Photo Processing Computer would be something like a Cray XT5M with Quadro option.

But I bags not paying for it.

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