the ultimate computer for photo processing

[rossco]

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]

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]

thats great thank you very much

[Kym]

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]

Ultimate computer? That leaves the door open for possibilities

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

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]

Ultimate computer? That leaves the door open for possibilities

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

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]

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]

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