BUDGET RANGE:
$1000 before rebates. I could reluctantly stretch to $1200
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT:
Regular raw photo editing with Lightroom and Photoshop CS4
Regular software development with Visual Studio 2008 and Eclipse
Minimal video editing with Adobe Premiere. Probably 3 times a year, with consumer camcorder. I just need the system to be usable enough.
PARTS NOT REQUIRED:
Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS:
Newegg
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
USA
PARTS PREFERENCES:
Intel CPU
OVERCLOCKING:
No
SLI OR CROSSFIRE:
No
MONITOR RESOLUTION:
Have one already. Currently set at 1280x1024
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Thanks in advance. I built my first system about 7 years ago, crashed last year, and been using laptop (vista, AMD64 AthlonX2, 1 Gig RAM) with an external monitor.
I chose the Xigmatek because I like the design, however, Antec Three Hundred or COOLER MASTER RC-690 will do fine as well.
Decent motherboard.
Socket 1336, more power (Arrh, Arrh, Arrh!) and supports triple channel.
El Cheapo video card but you don't need more.
G.SKILL, good price/performance ratio.
F3 = teh w1n
DVD Burner, do you actually need one?
450W should be enough.
I chose the Xigmatek because I like the design, however, Antec Three Hundred or COOLER MASTER RC-690 will do fine as well.
Decent motherboard.
Socket 1336, more power (Arrh, Arrh, Arrh!) and supports triple channel.
El Cheapo video card but you don't need more.
G.SKILL, good price/performance ratio.
F3 = teh w1n
DVD Burner, do you actually need one?
450W should be enough.
Also keep in mind that more and more Adobe products are using compatible graphics cards for accelerated rendering - zooming/panning/etc - and that the utilization of these resources will only increase. If you're going to be stitching large images together, this can really improve the feel of your overall workflow, specially zoomed in 1:1, looking for blemishes, sensor dust, etc.
------------------------------AMD PhenomII 940 BE/CPNS 9500 - DFI LP DK 790FX - 4*2GB Patriot DDR2 800 - 2 x VisionTek HD3870 - PC P&C Silencer 610 - WD RaptorX - BenQ FP241W - CM Stacker 830 Evo - Razer Death Adder & Tarantula - Wacom Intuos 4 Medium
Reply to WhyFi
Certainly, but all those gimmicks don't really tax the graphic card that much. As long as it supports Shader 3.0 and OpenCL 2.0 it should be running smoothly.
The CPU does all of the final calculations at this point, but a GPU handling the "gimmicks" makes for a much less tedious experience if you're busy with your post processing for hours at a time.
Side note - have you downloaded the LR3 beta?
------------------------------AMD PhenomII 940 BE/CPNS 9500 - DFI LP DK 790FX - 4*2GB Patriot DDR2 800 - 2 x VisionTek HD3870 - PC P&C Silencer 610 - WD RaptorX - BenQ FP241W - CM Stacker 830 Evo - Razer Death Adder & Tarantula - Wacom Intuos 4 Medium
Reply to WhyFi