Pc build for cs4

[Dynastic]

I've been using cs3 on a 5-year old Dell P4's both at work and at home and have been experiencing increasingly poor performance. I'd like to make the move to CS4 and Windows 7. I have some experience building a few gaming computers with my son. Since I need to build 2 new systems (work and home) I would like to keep it around $2,000 total for both but can be flexible if it adds future upgrade value.
Also, I would like to be able to upgrade in the future for video editing and gaming when the additional funds are available.
I process in excess of 25.000 images per year that take up about 500 gb of space that are replicated on four external usb hard drives via windows sync. I need to run dual monitors, Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium, Logmein for monitoring 25 company work stations, many(15-20) simultaneous web pages, Office apps, etc.
One of my main issues currently is that Logmein remote control freezes when I have Bridge and CS3 running. I was thinking my GPU is inadequate although Logmein support suggests that I may need to disable a remote video driver.
Suggestions on Cases, power suplies, memory, MOBO/CPU combo's, hard drive configuration specific to CS4, GPU's and 32-bit vs 64-bit OS would be much appreciated.

Looking forward to the genius's here at TW for their help. Thanks, John.

 

[belial2k]

I've now built several CS4 specific systems for customers with the following basic specs (specific products vary according to pricing);

DVD burner $27
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289
Case and PSU $57
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121002
CPU and MB $345
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.290328
HDD $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152175
Memory $160
2x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303
Video $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131180

total budget editing machine for $724

possible upgrades to consider
CPU cooler $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&Tpk=hyper%20plus
Gaming Video Card $155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150436

If you go beyond this on the video card you will need to upgrade the PSU also.
Another upgrade to consider is the case of your choice. I like the HeC cases because of the btx design which lowers temps with stock coolers.

 

[sonic-boom]

What kind of budget are you on?(THIS IS IMPORTANT) That PSU is junk, its actually about 300watts until it blows up. Gigabyte or Asus mobo only. Spinpoint f3 or Seagate 7200.12 HDD only, that green is horribly slow. You want a i7-920 build for upgradeability.
64bit Win 7

 

[belial2k]

He stated $2000 for two machines...the power supply included is alright, not great...but it really will have no stress with that build. The same case is available without PSU, but for this sort of build the included PSU is fine. The only advantage the x58 platform has currently is 12gb of ram instead of 8gb. The HDD will be slightly slower with boot and load times, but it maximizes his gb/$ ratio, and still offers good performance. On a cost no object build I would make different recs, but I was trying to maximize performance to $$$ ratio for the OP since two machines will be kind of tight on his budget.
Ideally for a CS4 I would like to add a SSD, Blu ray burner, ect. ect. But when you need two builds and two Windows 7 OS for $2000 some compromises must be made.

 

[Dynastic]

Thanks for the replies. I'd really don't want to skimp too much so I came up with the following. Let me know if you see any issues with this.

Case 79.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129057

PSU $90

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001&cm_re=ocz_600w-_-17-341-001-_-Product

DVD Burner $27

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

MOBO $150

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131404&cm_re=asus-_-13-131-404-_-Product

CPU $279

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202&cm_re=i7-920-_-19-115-202-_-Product

Memory $160

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303

GPU $125

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125273&cm_re=gv-n96tsl-_-14-125-273-_-Product

HDD $70

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320

Total $981

I know I have to add the cost of the OS but that puts me around $100 over the original budget which is ok if this will provide significantly better performance.

I had originally wanted to have a WD Velociraptor or SSD for the boot and programs and 2x1TB mirrored for my images, but that puts me well over budget. I can always add those a few months down the road.

Will I have any issues moving the OS to a new drive? Thanks

 

[Dynastic]

with rebates it actually comes to $912 with the shipping, so with the OS I'm almost right on budget

 

[batuchka]

So this $2k for both machines need not include LCDs in em?

 

[Dynastic]

will reuse all my peripherals for now

 

[Dynastic]

I do product photography for an e commerce site so my thinking has always been that I don't need pro grade monitors. I want to see my images as the consumer would and I don't have the need to print. Would this be accurate?

 

[batuchka]

Perhaps the i7 with the addition of a 60GB SSD for the video editing rig and a Phenom/Athlon 2 with something like a HD 5850 for the gaming rig? At what resolution are games to be played on?

 

[Dynastic]

both machines will be used primarily for cs4 and I hope to get into video editing shortly, also on both rigs. Gaming is probably a pipe dream for the home pc as I have little free time but I'd like the ability. No idea on resolution, have a suggestion?

 

[belial2k]

The MB and CPU are not compatible in your build above. You have to use either a 1366 MB with the 920 CPU or a 860 CPU with the 1156 MB....
Unless you plan on upgrading video card that power supply is WAY overkill for the rest of the build. You could easily run that system (even overclocked) with an average 400W power supply.
I wouldn't spend that much on a 9600gt...it is about the equivalent of a 4670, which you can get for around $65. If you want to spend that much on an Nvidia card look at the 250 GTS.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%201305520548%20106793024&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=PRICE
The differences in modern HDD performance is fairly minuscule, so often its best to go for price per GB and reliability.