Photoshop Computer Build - Comments Requested

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timschroepfer

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Sep 23, 2013
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Hi All-

I am building a Photoshop/ CC machine and I would love your feedback on the system spec'd below. I have been away from building my own machines for the last 5 years or so as I have been buying laptops so your advice is greatly appreciated.

Processor: Intel i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz
MB: Asus z87-Pro
Ram: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (2 x8Gb) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) - It's on Asus QVL
Graphics: Asus HD7850-DC2-2GD5-V2 Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
Primary Drive: WD Black Caviar Wd1002FAEX 1Tb SATA III
Scratch Disk: WD Black Caviar Wd1002FAEX 1Tb SATA III
Storage Disks: WD Black Caviar Wd1002FAEX 1Tb SATA III (2 qty)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced
Power Supply: Rosewill CAPTSTONE-750 watt
CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER Eisberg 240L Prestige RL-EB24-16FK-R1 CPU Cooler
Operating System: Win7 Pro SP1 64bit

I'm on the fence about a SSD for the boot disk and the scratch disk. It adds about $300 more to the build. I also think that the Asus HD7850 is overkill for the graphics card. I don't play games on the computer - other than occasionally so perhaps that is a place to save. I am looking to run most of the standard apps surrounding Photoshop. I probably won't be editing video though I might stitch some larger panoramas.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Tim
 
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Cool in regards to the 1T better than 2+T... perhaps maybe a while ago but you're listing the best on the market and from experience the Caviar Black run flawlessly. Currently running two 1.5T for storage and it's been 3 years... they also come with a 5 year warranty and personally I'd have no hesitation to go 2 3 and 4T with that product.
At the time I went for the larger size because they as I recall above 1T were faster buffer to host... just my memory of it however and to confirm if that's still true you'll have to check it on their site.

Enjoy the new rig when it's all done :)
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Pibee

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Sep 21, 2013
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Look's good where you might want to have a look is on the choices of graphics card. Essentially what you've listed is a gaming card and if you're principal interest is graphics then you probably should research the Nvidia Quatro series that are specifically designed for graphic applications. The advantage comes from the drivers being specifically tailored for graphics applications as the quatro series are certified by the graphic program manufacturers.

Depends mostly on just what you'll be doing, if games count you don't really want a Quatro but if they don't and instead photos, 3d and video are what you are doing by all means it's a meaningful consideration to make.
 
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k1114

k1114

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May 2, 2010
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There should be no reason why any $1k+ pc doesn't have a ssd. Even a single 120gb ssd will fit the os and the entire adobe suite and still be half free space. A single ssd will also be better performance than 2 hdds even acting as os+scratch. A 1tb scratch disk probably isn't necessary. Unless you have like 10gb of ps files open, then maybe you do but then again 16gb ram wouldn't be enough for that. For storage, bigger hdds are cheaper than multiple smaller drives. Being just storage, performance isn't too much of an issue. To stay around the same price, you can go with 2x128gb ssd as os and scratch and a 2 or 3tb hdd for storage.

If you have a 10 bit monitor, then you should get a workstation card to take advantage of it. Otherwise there is no difference for photoshop. There isn't really a performance increase above a cheaper 7750. Premiere or after effects is a different story but you don't seem like you are going to use them. As for the other components, I have to ask, why the big case, psu, expensive mobo, ram, and cooler? I see you want to leave room for upgrade but this looks like a gaming build ready for 2x7970.
 
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timschroepfer

Honorable
Sep 23, 2013
2
0
10,510


Hi All-

Thanks for the responses. I'm going with a 256GB SSD for the primary drive and then a 128GB scratch disk. ill then use a standard 1TB HDD for storage. My concern is that drives over 1TB tend to fail more frequently than a 1TB drive. Is that true?

I looked at the Quadro cards and 500 is a lot to send on a graphics card since I am not running any of the more scientific programs or have a 10 bit monitor.

I went with the 7850 as I read a number of reports of problems with Adobe and the 7750. as for the case, I like to keep things cool and have plenty of room - it sits under my desk so not a big deal. Photoshop will use the ram, i'm getting pressure at the adobe forum to add an additional 16GB to make it 32 - which I think is overkill. As for the MB - I have always bought ASUS. I like the quality and feature set.
 
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Pibee

Honorable
Sep 21, 2013
255
0
10,860
Cool in regards to the 1T better than 2+T... perhaps maybe a while ago but you're listing the best on the market and from experience the Caviar Black run flawlessly. Currently running two 1.5T for storage and it's been 3 years... they also come with a 5 year warranty and personally I'd have no hesitation to go 2 3 and 4T with that product.
At the time I went for the larger size because they as I recall above 1T were faster buffer to host... just my memory of it however and to confirm if that's still true you'll have to check it on their site.

Enjoy the new rig when it's all done :)
 
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k1114

k1114

Titan
May 2, 2010
14,240
93
75,540
Larger hdds won't fail more frequently and are better performance. Quadros are not $500, the k600 is $160 and that's not even the lowest. But I see no reason for you to go with one. The 7750 has no issues with adobe. The ram is $50 more than ram of the same exact spec, even then the corsair vengeance if you want to keep big heatsinks. You could go with a z87-a. Changing just the ram and mobo is no performance difference, and that's $100 saved. Change the psu to a 650w which is still enough for 2x7850 or down to a 450w if you will never have multiple gpus. The seasonic g650 is gold, modular, and saves you $20. You'll also be in a better efficiency range. You can still go with another good sized case like a 500r and save another $50. The 932 just has extra room on top for a custom loop which you aren't doing.
 
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