$1200 photographer workstation

Mitsos77 · Sep 18, 2013

Hello all,

I am looking into building my first PC in order to enjoy my photos with a NEC 27" IPS monitor. This will be used as a workstation so need the system to be reliable and expandable in terms of internal hard drive space (my photos are ~25MB each so drives fill up quickly). My main use is Lightroom and a bit of Photoshop.

I have put this system together. Can you please provide some feedback? I wouldn't mind going a bit lower spec and closer to $1000. Also can you please let me know whether I need the graphics card or not? My monitor takes DVD-I input.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1F6md

Thanks!

TeodoI7 · Sep 18, 2013

You should save some money on that motherboard since you dont have a K version that motherboard is overkill.

Mitsos77 · Sep 18, 2013

I forgot to mention that I also have a drobo for external storage and also doing backup on cloud.

Teodo regarding the motherboard do you think i should go with the A version?

envy14tpe · Sep 18, 2013

Get at least a 180GB SSD and do not touch Green HDDs..get Blue. Save some money on that case.

TeodoI7 · Sep 18, 2013

yeah the A version from what ive heard is a very good motherboard!

Mitsos77 · Sep 18, 2013

Thank you. Can you please tell me whether or not I need a graphics card? I am confused as in whether the motherboard comes with one and what kind of outputs it has.

ps3hacker12 · Sep 18, 2013

What about an LGA2011 based system? Since the i7-4820K costs less than the 4770k. I checked online through Asrock and they say boards on sale now should come preflashed updated BIOSes.

This is just an Idea, nothing more really:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4820K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($318.94 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme3 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($199.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.68 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.82 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Tempest 210 ATX Mid Tower Case ($52.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($11.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $1127.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-18 12:08 EDT-0400)

Lightroom doesn't take advantage of OpenCL or CUDA does it?

DragonChase · Sep 18, 2013

The build in this post (mine) is very adequate at video and images, i do images of 2gb+ daily in photoshop and cant even notice that i have filled my ram with 8GB of workload.

Mitsos77 · Sep 18, 2013

Adobe software are notorious for not using multiple cores effectively therefore core speed is more important than number of cores. I have never run into the 4820 processor before. Is this something new?

I am thinking of staying away from overclocking for increased reliability and also because this is my first build. I bet this system will be a lot faster than my old laptop.

envy14tpe · Sep 18, 2013

I don't do high end Photoshop but surely a i7 + 640 + 2x8GB will be fast as hell. If possible get 1866 instead of 1600, but I think that GPU is enough. And yes you do need a GPU.

Mitsos77 · Sep 18, 2013

Great advise guys. Anything else I should look into? I am currently watching videos on how to build a PC.

envy14tpe · Sep 18, 2013

I'd do this instead. Faster RAM, more SSD, faster HDD, quieter case and modular PSU.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1F8kX

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($294.97 @ Outlet PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($135.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($119.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($176.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 650 2GB Video Card ($123.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($11.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $1171.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

Mitsos77 · Sep 18, 2013

I just looked at what a modular psu is and I am definitely going to go for that. Since its a first build I am trying to make things as easy and as idiot proof as possible.

TeodoI7 · Sep 18, 2013

A modular PSU will make cable management really easy just make sure you buy one from XFX/Corsair/Seasonic you dont want one with bad quality perhaps cooler master

envy14tpe · Sep 18, 2013

Mitsos77 :

You won't regret modular but you could have regrets about non-modular PSUs.

Mitsos77 · Sep 18, 2013

I really like this setup!

envy14tpe · Sep 18, 2013

Mitsos77 :

Your first build was decent. I just added a bigger and faster SSD and found some other major improvements. I use Photoshop but non professional and I'm in awe what a GPU + SSD + CPU can do.

$1200 photographer workstation

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