Please help 1st custom build: Photography, editing, and business mutli-tasking for my real job.

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mccallum23

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Hello! I am looking for a complete walk through on suggestions for a build that will do many things and have respectable longevity. I just do not know where to draw the line. Budget is reasonably flexible, would love to see it under 2K and really, if I would love to hit 1500.00 range, would make it even more in my budget, if functionality is not compromised.
What I do: -#1 I own a Hallmark shop and run all my invoices and records with my pc. Just lots of documents and files mostly for accounting purposes and bill payment. I use a Neat Desk to capture all documents. Eventually, would like to be able to view security cameras from work with my pc, once they are installed but this is not currently a priority, this year. Need to be able to pull up simple documents when the phone rings for a vendor with out crashing my photo editing programs, or freezing the pc up. I run my social media postings also while working, editing, and doing all at once, often.
#2 I have tens of thousands of photos, currently many on an external hard drive, due to the larger files sizes. I shoot raw and fine jpeg concurrently. Many of my finished files are huge. I do art shows, juried events, and sell my photography/digital finished products. Using Photoshop CS5 64 bit (needing to update), Bridge, occ Lightroom, and often Paint Shop Pro current edition and Painter. If I apply too many layers, I lose my work and have a crash.
#3 I already have monitor, an NEC MultiSync P241w and an Epson Pro Printer 3800(getting out dated but it works!) , need to have great graphics card so the calibration between the three is accurate. I am not a professional, but an aspiring amateur who has good luck in selling some pieces, winning awards, and love to play with my photos alot, althewhile working on my real work.....
#4 Speed is important, growth, or having the right first build is where I need help!!
#5 Burner drive to create discs with larger photo sizes would be lovely. I do light video editing. Also want to be able to play DVDs and burn.
#6 Memory to multi task important, as I usually run my editing to use up to 75% thinking it would run better?
--Looking to stay with Windows 7-8.1, been on XP so long, I have no opinion on these.

Help, my pc mother board has a glitch, and besides I was running on XP and need to move on.....Need guidance asap to get my work files back online before all my invoices are overdue! I am sure my hard drive is fine, and I have a mirror image of my last backup to put on a new build. Also, my photo files were also all backed up on an external drive, thank Goodness!

Thanks, and sorry for the wordy post and any expedited assistance!
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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I'm not going to give a specific list, but for your #2:

Factor in backup solutions into the build price.

I use a lot of the same software as you. Lightroom, Paintshop Pro, etc, etc. Shooting RAW and JPEG.
Just as a guideline, I have the i5-3570k, 16GB RAM, a couple SSD's, and have never seen a slowdown in operation.
 
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numanator

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This build may suit your needs, though I am not an expert at the video editing builds

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($30.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($146.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($499.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($22.95 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro (OEM) (64-bit) ($138.64 @ Amazon)
Total: $1769.49
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-08 12:32 EDT-0400)

-CPU- i7 is what you will want for sure
-Mobo- you can probably save some money here, I simply prefer higher quality hardware, there are some pretty good mobos in the $130 range, also I am assuming you will not be overclocking your cpu so you could go for the i7-4770 (no k) and a H87 motherboard chipset rather than the z87 chipset which would be cheaper. I do feel that the higher end z87 chipset boards are better quality than the h87 boards
-Storage- Put a 250gb SSD for your operating system and core applications + other items you may want to load faster. Also a 2 TB hardrive for file storage, this can be easily increased or lowered to 1 or 4 tb depending on your needs.
-graphics card- gtx 780 is considered a gaming card, however workstation cards are a few hundred $$ more and should get you similar performance. This is the one item I am least sure about, but from what I have looked up this card would get you the most performace per $ without breaking the bank.
-Case- Any case with good airflow would work, the fractal R4 is supposed to be a pretty quiet case but this is a personal choice
- Power Supply- a good quality 650w will run this system, i recommend seasonic as they make some of the best
 
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mccallum23

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Thanks for the quick response, I have lots to consider and appreciation your sharing the expertise.
 
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mccallum23

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numanator, thanks for working up a list for me to work off of, this is where I needed to start. I like what you have suggested and have some questions.....
I am interested in learning more about the overclocking and have been trying to learn what are the advantages for editing, or even how this works and how you engage in the process, and what would I gain- not to mention at what expense to my build? I do agree with the Z87 recommendation but which one are you quoting? I see several listed but they are upwards toward $900?? and yes to the i7-4770K vs the no K, (are these recommended over Nvidias?) I have read Nvidias work better with Photoshop, but this was compared against AMDs in an article. On memory, how much more to go ahead and make it 24gb? And on the graphics card, please share some of the cost differences and performance, if you would. I do not know what you are comparing to when you mention the workstation card...... Best for editing and my NEC monitor?
Finally (I think) where do I get all these and someone to put the build together? How much should I pay for the build? I built my own once, but that was 15 years ago, 3 pcs ago and I have no interest in doing so again.......lol. Thanks so much for your help! Sue
 
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numanator

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No problem!

For overclocking: this is essentially running your processor (cpu) at a higher speed than what it was set for by the factory. Overclocking your cpu generates more heat and consumes more power but you can get more processing power out of your hardware. So in order to overclock, you would need a good CPU cooler and a good power supply (the one i put in the link is sufficient for overclocking). The cooler i listed in the build would be ok for a small overclock but is mainly used to keep temperatures down in general. A good cooler for overclocking is about $100.

For some more general info on overclocking see this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclocking-guide-part-1,1379.html

So for z87 motherboards, the one i linked in the build is pretty good but I personally would not spend more than $200 on a motherboard. Either go for the one I linked or go for the Asus Maximus Hero for about $200. I doubt you would notice the difference between the 2 though, the more expensive ones just allow for better/more stable overclocking and have a few more features.

For the i7-4770k vs no k- the only difference is that the k version can be overclocked (OC) while the non-k version cannot. Similarly the Z87 motherboards allow you to OC the CPU but the H87 Motherboards do not.

As for the Nvidia vs AMD discussion, i believe you are referring to the graphics card (since nvidia does not make cpus). The graphics card (GPU) I put into the build is the Nvidia GTX 780 with the EVGA coolers. Esentially Nvidia makes the basic graphics card and EVGA made/put together the fans and provides warranty support. There are certain programs that function better on Nvidia cards and others that work better on AMD GPUs.

For the memory, boosting it up to 24gb would probably be best with a set of 2x4gb ram sticks. You always want to get your ram in pairs since running ram sticks in dual channel mode gives you better performance by about 13% compared to a single stick (the actual performance boost varies but is typically between 10%-15%). So the best option for getting up to 24gb ram would be to have the 2x8gb ram posted above and another 2x4gb ram. Normally you want to have ram with the same speed/maker to try to avoid errors caused by using different ram. 2x4gb ram would be about $60-80 more.

Best place to get it built would be a local computer shop. Online stores and such cost more and have limited part availability. A local shop will probably cost you about $100-200 to build but depends on the shop.
 
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g-unit1111

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Based on those criteria here's what I would suggest:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($52.49 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($349.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($142.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($23.52 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Best Buy)
Total: $1521.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-08 14:24 EDT-0400)

Slightly over budget but should handle everything you need.
 
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mccallum23

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Thanks for the information! My husband is wondering about the functional difference on the video card, what about the 750, or the 770 that g-unit recommended? Much difference in functions?
And I think I am not going to worry about the OC, so would the no "k' version and h87 function just the same if no OC needed? and how would these things change your suggested list of part prices? Also, what about a 1T instead of the 2T, would I really notice? I do wish to do the 24gb of memory from the get go......maybe these changes would not alter the functioning much, but bring the price down??
Thanks again, Sue
 
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USAFRet

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I'd consider 32GB RAM instead of 24. 4 x 8 GB sticks.
An H87 motherboard will not be a drawback.
 
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numanator

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Made a few changes.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($294.50 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($30.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus H87-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($100.00 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($339.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($100.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro (OEM) (64-bit) ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1599.36
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-08 15:20 EDT-0400)

After reading up a bit, it looks like the gtx 770 or even the 760 would be able to take care of your needs. The best option would be a workstation card but those are pretty darn expensive.

-Changed to 32gb ram (this would be more stable than 24gb since we are keeping the ram sticks the same)
-dropped HDD to 1tb
- changed to no overclock

You can remove the cpu cooler but i prefer the aftermarket cooler to the stock cooler that comes with the i7 cpu.
 
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numanator

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As for the difference between the gtx 750, 760, 770, and 780 they are ordered from least to most powerful. Functionally for photoshop, you want your graphics card to accelerate your rendering while the cpu carries most of the load. Unfortunately finding data on video card performance for vdeo editing software is pretty difficult so I cant really figure out how much of a difference each card would make (most of the data is in reference to video games, which put a majority of the load on the graphics card typically).
 
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mccallum23

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Thanks so VERY much for you help! Been out of doing my own stuff for so long, but considering putting it together. By the way, if I went for a 1.5 T storage do you think I would really need it? And if so, which one would you recommend? I promise, this was my last question! I also appreciate everyone's suggestions very much!

Best, Sue
 
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mccallum23

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Thank you SO very much for taking the time to help me out. With you help, Numerators, and everyone else's I believe I almost have everything ready to order and get my life put back together! Thanks again for your assistance, the site here is wonderful for resourceful help and knowledge!
Sue
 
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USAFRet

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Good luck! (and don't forget the backups)
 
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numanator

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As to how much storage you will need, that all depends on how many files and of what type you are keeping. For my needs 1 TB is enough and I keep extra media on an external 1 TB. If you plan to have a lot of large files (like HD videos) then you may eat up that 1 tb pretty quickly. If you are unsure about if you will need more space or not, it is pretty easy to add another hardrive after in addition to the SSD and HDD especially since the motherboard supports 8 SATA connections (SATA is the connection used for hard drives and disc drives).

I would stick with the 1tb and add on in the future as needed. Also as USAFRet mentioned, it might be a good idea to setup a backup hardrive. In this case setting up a second 1TB hardrive in raid 1 would help (raid 1 mirrors the drive so both drives would have the exact same data).
 
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USAFRet

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RAID 1 is not a backup. Yes, it faithfully mirrors data across two or more dries. It also faithfully mirrors accidental deletions, viruses, corruption.
Any business that uses a RAID 1 also has a valid backup scenario.
 
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numanator

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Hmm, good to know. I personally don't have experience setting up a backup for a business.

What sort of setup would you recommend for backing up data in this situation?
 
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USAFRet

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There's basically 3 levels of stuff you need to ensure safety of
OS
OS + applications
Data

OS
Once a particular PC gets its OS, I make an image
Save that image on a different drive.

OS + applications
Once the basic software stack is installed, also make an image of that.
Save it to that other drive

Now take that drive offline.
In case of major drive fail, you can restore just the OS, or the whole software stack.
Maybe update those images once a month.
I also have all the original install disks and serial numbers/activation keys as an absolute fallback point.

Data
This is the only stuff that cannot be easily replaced. I can't go back to last year and retake a pic of my grandson.

So....using one of the several applications, copy whichever folders on a schedule.
Currently, I'm using SyncBack Free.
Free, and once you get the schedule set up, it's all hands-off. It just does it.
Point it at a source and target, and whatever is changed or new gets copied over to the target.

My current schedule is this:
Every 12 hours, copy to another drive in the PC. Noon and midnight.
Every 24 hours, copy to an external drive attached to another PC. Every night at 3 AM.
Remember, we're just copying data. Music, pictures, database files....stuff that actually changes.

If I were doing this for a business, I'd add another drive, and keep one offsite. Rotate that external thing weekly.
 
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numanator

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Learned something new today. Thanks!
 
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mccallum23

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Thanks very much, to both of you. I do have Acronis for backups in an external drive. I will be more faithful in rotating the imaging from now on, thanks! Sue
 
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mccallum23

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Hello,
Just one final inquiry...are there any other cases you could recommend that would have the usb ports off the top? Really would prefer them lower as my unit will sit on top pf my desk for access and the ports would be more hidden if they were lower. Not a big issue, just thought with so many hundreds available, you might have some knowledge to go with the build, which I love, btw. Thanks in advance, once more!
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Well there's a couple of things I would need to know before I start suggesting cases:

- How much you want to spend
- Form factor (ATX mid tower, ATX full tower, mATX, mITX, etc)
- How many drive bays you need
- Whether or not you want a side panel or front door
 
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