Help on a Photoshop Dedicated System

[El_Capitan]

I use a Spyder3 Elite to calibrate my graphics cards (for my monitors). It does a very good job. Definitely something to get along with a graphics card and monitor if details is going to be his thing.

 

I use ViewNX2 and Adobe Photoshop Elements 10. I don't do a whole lot of image editing, mostly video editing, but bulk converting images from RAW to JPG at 4288 x 2848 seems to be done via your CPU and memory. With 3 images being converted, my Load went up to 40%, and they were converted in less than a second. You do not need to go very high in the CPU and memory route unless your friend is going to do a lot of processing, and fast. As far as working on the images, it hardly taxes my CPU, memory, or graphics card.

 

Another thing, I find having a drawing tablet like the Intuos 4 is also very handy in photo editing.

[ir_cow]

 

Another thing, I find having a drawing tablet like the Intuos 4 is also very handy in photo editing.

 

 

really? I can't stand using a tablet for anything but zbrush and digital painting. Mouse of keyboard is much faster for me. maybe because i'm left handed and all the hotkeys for tablets become useless.

[El_Capitan]

really? I can't stand using a tablet for anything but zbrush and digital painting. Mouse of keyboard is much faster for me. maybe because i'm left handed and all the hotkeys for tablets become useless.

Yeah, pretty much what I use it for. I'm also quicker with the keyboard and mouse. However, making small, slow movements with the mouse is a lot harder for me (I constantly redo with a mouse), but not so with a tablet. Of course, I did buy the Medium sized Intuos 4 for like $175 used.

Edited October 5, 2012 by El_Capitan

[vandreadstriker]

Looking at the budget constraints I think that a vanilla 2600 paired with a decent H77M board would be a viable alternative. Certainly opens up a little breathing room for the video card purchase.

 

Alright, I'll do that. Thanks Wev

 

it's always hard to balance what is needed and what is optional.

 

I think information you can take with you when building a dedicated Photoshop / Graphic design rig is that Ram, Monitor and Video card (questionable) matters, everything else can be replaced by X or Y. for today's photos and editing in RAW and using Bridge / Lightroom / Photoshop 16GB is becoming a standard. For color accuracy half the battle is having a good monitor and the rest is dealing with getting those colors to show correctly which generally involves a color calibrator of some type (I recommend X-Rite products). Last up is the video card and usually the only reason to have a pro card (Quadro or FireGL) is along with the monitor and calibrator is support for higher bit-dept and a more accurate LUT (Look up table). That really is a more professional thing to deal with and honestly most artist i know don't even know how to calibrate a monitor and believe what they see is what everyone else sees.

 

I'm sorry, I didn't fully understand all of that.

I'm guessing that he wouldn't need a pro card and color calibrator right now since he has yet to do any 'real' professional work. I'll just let him know that those can come in handy when he's going pro and that it's a good idea to invest on them later on.

For now, like Wev suggested, I'll just get him a vanilla 2600 and a H77M to go with it. Now I think everything is set except for the GPU.. I'll probably see if I can fit a GTX660 in there (since it's even cheaper than a 560Ti..)

 

I use a Spyder3 Elite to calibrate my graphics cards (for my monitors). It does a very good job. Definitely something to get along with a graphics card and monitor if details is going to be his thing.

 

I use ViewNX2 and Adobe Photoshop Elements 10. I don't do a whole lot of image editing, mostly video editing, but bulk converting images from RAW to JPG at 4288 x 2848 seems to be done via your CPU and memory. With 3 images being converted, my Load went up to 40%, and they were converted in less than a second. You do not need to go very high in the CPU and memory route unless your friend is going to do a lot of processing, and fast. As far as working on the images, it hardly taxes my CPU, memory, or graphics card.

 

Another thing, I find having a drawing tablet like the Intuos 4 is also very handy in photo editing.

 

Noted, thanks. I'll tell my friend about the draing tablet.

So I assume that going with a vanilla 2600 and a H77M is more than enough? I'm just not sure whether it'll be enough when my friend decides to take it to the next level, that was the reason of picking the 2500K at first.

 

 

EDIT: Bad Idea.. Just did a quick calculation and a vanilla 2600 + H77M wouldn't cost much less than a 2500K + H77M.

At this rate I might have no choice but to get a 2500K + H77M board and see if I can swap it with a Z77 board in the future..

Edited October 5, 2012 by vandreadstriker

[ir_cow]

don't forget to look at the supported video cards for GPU Acceleration http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/tech-specs.html . If its not on the list you can edit a txt file in the adobe install folder. Anything else not on the list adobe can't help you and is not "guaranteed" to work if you have issues. They do update the list, but slowly.

 

edit: adobe have made it so any card is supported now because tech specs just for photoshop no longer lists cards.

 

 

Edited October 5, 2012 by hornybluecow

[wevsspot]

Van - glad you're getting closer to picking out the hardware you want. I know it can be tough with so many different options. I did want to remind you of a couple things we've already discussed earlier;

 

H77 Chipset = very limited or no overclocking even though you go with an unlocked processor (i.e. 2500K) If your customer decides to upgrade to a P or Z board in the future this probably becomes a moot point

2500K = no hyperthreading

 

P67 / Z68 Chipset = overclocking able

2600 = no overclocking (multiplier locked) but you do get hyperthreading

 

2600K = overclocking able (with compatible chipset) multipliers completely unlocked + hyperthreading

[IVIYTH0S]

Van - glad you're getting closer to picking out the hardware you want. I know it can be tough with so many different options. I did want to remind you of a couple things we've already discussed earlier;

 

H77 Chipset = very limited or no overclocking even though you go with an unlocked processor (i.e. 2500K) If your customer decides to upgrade to a P or Z board in the future this probably becomes a moot point

2500K = no hyperthreading

 

P67 / Z68 = overclocking able

2600 = no overclocking (multiplier locked) but you do get hyperthreading

 

2600K = overclocking able (with compatible chipset) multipliers completely unlocked + hyperthreading

It didn't even dawn on me that the 2500K on the H77M would be a huge waste, might as well go 2500 and H77M if money is that tight but I'd get a 2500K with P67 or something so the unlockable multiplier is actually available

[wevsspot]

Van - I'm going to move you in a little different direction here (based only on budget)

 

Motherboard

ASRock Z77 PRO4-M (1,078,000)

 

CPU

Intel i5 2500K (2,011,625)

 

Memory

Get the 2x8Gb Kit of Patriot you've already chosen - good price (674,000)

 

Power Supply

Silverstone SST-ST60F-ES 600watt (644,875)

 

Case

I wont meddle there (500,000)

 

Monitor

I won't meddle there (2,100,000)

 

SSD

OCZ Vertex 4 128Gb - good price, great performance (1,185,000)

 

Total (8,193,500) without video card

 

GPU

Zotac GTX650 1Gb (1,225,000)

[Fogel]

Nice reel in Wev and good suggestion on parts.

 

Before poor Van here gets caught up in too much graphic design lingo it sounds like his friend is just starting out. So get the solid computer first which should more than handle his needs, then he can research this stuff further he can start adding things (like a color calibrater) as funds and needs become available. If you can buy a solid monitor first that will be the biggest thing as you can keep a really good monitor between builds. Not to mention you want something that is not only nice in color production but easy on the eyes.

 

Best monitor review site that I have found is TFT Central, but it doesn't have a large diversity of products reviewed on it. Think its only 1 guy.

 

 

If he was doing 3D Rendering I would say the 500 series nVidia cards are actually better than the 600 series, but for Photoshop he should be fine either way. Photoshop doesn't really put much load on the graphics card at all. Like Horny said, I would mostly use it to improve the quality of the color reproduction. You shouldn't need a graphics cards with large VRAM unless he is some high texture count on an extremely large file. If he is just starting out with family stuff high end gear isn't needed, just nice.

[vandreadstriker]

don't forget to look at the supported video cards for GPU Acceleration http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/tech-specs.html . If its not on the list you can edit a txt file in the adobe install folder. Anything else not on the list adobe can't help you and is not "guaranteed" to work if you have issues. They do update the list, but slowly.

 

edit: adobe have made it so any card is supported now because tech specs just for photoshop no longer lists cards.

 

 

 

So basically any 5xx and 6xx card would do fine, and if he has CS6, any 6xxxand 7xxx card would be fine too?

 

Van - glad you're getting closer to picking out the hardware you want. I know it can be tough with so many different options. I did want to remind you of a couple things we've already discussed earlier;

 

H77 Chipset = very limited or no overclocking even though you go with an unlocked processor (i.e. 2500K) If your customer decides to upgrade to a P or Z board in the future this probably becomes a moot point

2500K = no hyperthreading

 

P67 / Z68 Chipset = overclocking able

2600 = no overclocking (multiplier locked) but you do get hyperthreading

 

2600K = overclocking able (with compatible chipset) multipliers completely unlocked + hyperthreading

It didn't even dawn on me that the 2500K on the H77M would be a huge waste, might as well go 2500 and H77M if money is that tight but I'd get a 2500K with P67 or something so the unlockable multiplier is actually available

 

Yes I'm well aware of the chipset and SKU differences..

You guys probably missed my 'Edit' part.. The plan was to get him 2500K in case he found some budget in the near future for an upgrade to a Z77 board.

 

EDIT: Bad Idea.. Just did a quick calculation and a vanilla 2600 + H77M wouldn't cost much less than a 2500K + H77M.

At this rate I might have no choice but to get a 2500K + H77M board and see if I can swap it with a Z77 board in the future..

 

Anywho,

 

Van - I'm going to move you in a little different direction here (based only on budget)

 

Motherboard

ASRock Z77 PRO4-M (1,078,000)

 

CPU

Intel i5 2500K (2,011,625)

 

Memory

Get the 2x8Gb Kit of Patriot you've already chosen - good price (674,000)

 

Power Supply

Silverstone SST-ST60F-ES 600watt (644,875)

 

Case

I wont meddle there (500,000)

 

Monitor

I won't meddle there (2,100,000)

 

SSD

OCZ Vertex 4 128Gb - good price, great performance (1,185,000)

 

Total (8,193,500) without video card

 

GPU

Zotac GTX650 1Gb (1,225,000)

 

Great, just what I was looking for! Thank you Wev!

Just wished I can get him a PSU with higher efficiency.. I know 80+ certified is enough but since he's going to bring this system abroad with him, I thought that a highly efficient system could help him with his expenses abroad...

 

Nice reel in Wev and good suggestion on parts.

 

Before poor Van here gets caught up in too much graphic design lingo it sounds like his friend is just starting out. So get the solid computer first which should more than handle his needs, then he can research this stuff further he can start adding things (like a color calibrater) as funds and needs become available. If you can buy a solid monitor first that will be the biggest thing as you can keep a really good monitor between builds. Not to mention you want something that is not only nice in color production but easy on the eyes.

 

Best monitor review site that I have found is TFT Central, but it doesn't have a large diversity of products reviewed on it. Think its only 1 guy.

 

If he was doing 3D Rendering I would say the 500 series nVidia cards are actually better than the 600 series, but for Photoshop he should be fine either way. Photoshop doesn't really put much load on the graphics card at all. Like Horny said, I would mostly use it to improve the quality of the color reproduction. You shouldn't need a graphics cards with large VRAM unless he is some high texture count on an extremely large file. If he is just starting out with family stuff high end gear isn't needed, just nice.

 

Exactly, he's yet to become a 'professional freelancer' (as hornybluecow puts it) so all he'll need for now is one solid system (and my ego as a friend tells me to make him one that could last for years). Colour calibrator, can be added later when he starts to find a use for it.

Thanks for the site! I usually go look at Cnet for monitor reviews but this site appears to also have some reviews on colour calibrators and other monitor accessories as well.

This system is intended purely for editing pictures (touching up, adding this and that, etc.. Pretty much everything you do with Lightroom) but God knows what he'll use this rig for as he gets more talented and grows his interest on this department..

 

 

Thanks a lot guys for the help! I'll update the OP with one final draft of the rig for you guys to comment on (any more suggestions, thoughts, etc) and I'll submit it to my friend for him to approve.

Edited October 6, 2012 by vandreadstriker

[ir_cow]

Glad we could help . Personally I like dell ultrasharp series ( some are better than others ) out of the box it may not be the best but most monitors Arent .Just avoid TN panels , even calibrated they get around 72-5% total RBG range. E-ips is better and very cheap to make so the prices are lower than normal ips .

Edited October 8, 2012 by hornybluecow

[vandreadstriker]

Glad we could help . Personally I like dell ultrasharp series ( some are better than others ) out of the box it may not be the best but most monitors Arent .Just avoid TN panels , even calibrated they get around 72-5% total RBG range. E-ips is better and very cheap to make so the prices are lower than normal ips .

 

Yes, I did some reading prior and also came up with the same thing, which is why I chose that LG monitor. Haven't had any problems with LG and they do last for some years (+ the reviews on that model's siblings are quite good). Regardless, thanks for the advice

 

I submitted it to my friend but he haven't replied anything back to me yet. I suspect he's still on vacation somewhere in Bali.. Lucky Bast..d..