Smaller Photoshop Build

[kungfookenny]

I wanted to put toghether a comp. that was small but still had enought kick to work with large format/high res. photoshop files. What do you guys think? It's been a while since I've built one.

Case: Inwin Microatx - 300W (13.2" x 5.6" x 12.0")
Cpu: Intel Q6600
Mobo: Intel G33 micro atx
Ram: 8gb g.Skill ddr2 800
Hdd: 2 x 160gb 7200rpm 2.5" (one main, other for scratch)
Hdd Mount: Fit both hdd in 3.5" bay
Gpu: EVGA 8600GT 256mb
DVD: Sony 8x DVDR Slim drive
DVD mount: something like this (slim+3.5" mount in 5.25"bay). may add a card reader later.
Cpu cooler: Coolermaster AquaGate Viva - Liquid cooling
OS: Vista Home Premium 64bit (oem)

TOTAL: ~1584

Case: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811108061
Cpu: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115017
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813121315
Ram: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820231122
Hdd: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822145180
Hdd mount: http://www.buy.com/prod/cru-datapor...-enclosure-2-x-2-5-9/q/loc/101/204217811.html
Gpu: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130085
DVD: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827152073
DVD mount: http://www.startech.com/Product/ItemDetail.aspx?productid=SLIMCDFDCAGE&c=US
CPU cooler: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835103017
OS: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16832116204

 

[aadamszc]

8GB? Are you doing something that is super memory intensive? I can't think of any game or application that would preform substantially better with 8GB as opposed to 4Gb.

I would also very much suggest getting a PSU of it's own. I'm sure others will post the link(to the tiered PSU listing) because I can't right now.

Do you do any games? Or will it pretty much be photoshop all day, every day?

 

[dawgma]

8GB? Are you doing something that is super memory intensive? I can't think of any game or application that would preform substantially better with 8GB as opposed to 4Gb.

Graphic design and media editing in general can only benefit from large quantities of RAM. I am a designer myself and the biggest regret I have about the new system that I built was that I only used 4GB of RAM.

You see, Photoshop loves to cache as much information as it can... imported pictures, every layer, every filter, every history state. This data adds up FAST. I've had scratch sizes upwards of 60GB. And over 100GB is not unheard of. When you are no longer working from RAM (i.e. your scratch data spills over to a regular hard drive) there is a serious performance hit. SERIOUS. You can still work in Photoshop, but it is painfully slow compared to when all the data was cached in RAM.

kungfookenny, If you are a REAL graphic designer, and you work with high resolution stock photography, RAW files, and large high resolution print documents and you also do a lot of masking and compositing, then I would say DEFINITELY get 8GB of RAM. If you occasionally just edit your digital photos for fun... or do web page composites or small stuff like that, then you don't need anywhere near that RAM.

However, if you are a professional, then not only would I recommend that you max out your motherboard with system memory, but you also look at getting a 32GB Solid State drive to be your dedicated scratch drive. Solid State drives have very low access times, and when you are editing photos this is MUCH more important than fast transfer rates. If you got yourself 8GB of RAM, and a 32GB Solid State drive you would have top notch Photoshop performance all the time. Also, a little warning, the solid state drive will be expensive (between $250 - $400 depending on manufacturer) and you can only get it in a 2.5" form factor right now. But it is still a SATA connection.

You don't need a Quad core processor for a Photoshop machine. Honestly... a low cost dual core is FINE. I love performance as much as the next guy, but you can really save some money here. It's totally not worth it.

Also, a high end graphics card is completely unnecessary for Photoshop. It will not give you performance gains.

When I look at your build I see someone who might be a gamer. If you are serious about Photoshop then drop the quad core, reduce the graphics card, fill up on RAM, and buy a dedicated 32GB Solid State scratch disk.

With the money that you save from the dual core and lower end gfx card, I would recommend enhancing your data storage arrangement. This would be ideal:

OS: 1x 7200 RPM drive (or 1 x 10,000 RPM Raptor)
Scratch: 1 x 32GB Solid State Drive (like from Samsung)
Data: 2 x 7200 RPM RAID0
Backup: 1 x External HD

hope this helps.

 

[the411]

everything looks good but the stuff aadamszc said
and the water cooling sytem.

do you really need water cooling? from the looks of your mobo choice, you're not overclocking.
and that liquid cooling system doesnt seem to work nicely with cpu's.
look at these reviews:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/01/31/cooler_master_aquagate_viva/4
http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/cooling/aquaviva/index_5.shtml
it ran hotter than air cooling.

 

[dawgma]

I just looked at the prices of your CPU and GFX card... much lower than I expected. The GFX card is reasonably priced and I would get it. But you can still save $100 by dropping the quad core.

Also... make sure your OS is 64-bit. Otherwise Windows will not recognize more than 3GB of your RAM.

 

[kungfookenny]

Yes, that helps alot. It won't be used for much, if any, games.

Basically the card has dual dvi and plan on at least a couple of monitors. I wasn't sure if I should drop the cash on a solid state at this point but it sounds like it's worth it anyway.

I'm still taking classed currently (the end is near), but the projects (mostly print right now) are eating RAM like nobody's business. Editing them (filters, smudge tool, etc.) are swamping the cpus we're using too. Photoshop seems to be the main hog, but of course Illustrator and Indesign have there moments too. I would put in 16gb of ram if I could, but getting something mac pro is a bit out of my range right now.

As far as the watercooling goes, I was thinking it might free up some room around the cpu for air flow since the case is so small. I guess it might not help, though, if the cpu ends up running hotter any ways.

I'll try looking for another psu too.

Thanks again everyone.