Advice on new system

[ttyndall]

Hello,
It has been 10 years since I built a computer and obviously components have changed.
I need to build a new system to use for work and primarily photography. Photoshop and Lightroom especially. Need a lot of memory.
I am not versed on the solid state drives. Would like to have two 2 or 3 tb drives. One for backup.
Is there anyone that could help recommend the components for a system without breaking the bank that will work properly with Photoshop and similar products?
I would like to stay around $1200.

I did read a post where a user had to go to Corsair memory, a Corsair power supply and a Corsair water cooler HF50, and an ATI Firepro 9700 to make everything compatible with Photoshop and Lightroom.
I am open to advice and suggestions.
Thanks, Ted

 

[inzone]

AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4100WMGUSBX
$119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103996

2X Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$169.99 X2 = $339.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148834

ASUS M5A99X EVO AM3+ AMD 990X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
$149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131754

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL10D-16GBXL
$149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231489

SeaSonic M12II 750 SS-750AM 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Semi-modular Power Supply
$129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151107

ATI 100-505605 FirePro V5800 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 CrossFire Supported Workstation Video Card
$379.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195097

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068

LG CD/DVD Burner 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black IDE Model GH22NP21 - OEM
$21.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136222

Total = $1346.92 I hope this don't break the bank but you can always take out what you don't want and put in something else.

 

[andrewcarr]

There isn't much difference between memory so any I recommend getting two of these for 16GB of ram.

Motherboard- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131759
Ram x2- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570
Case- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
Processor- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
Cooler- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
PSU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017
Hard Drive x2- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145475
Video Card- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195097
CD/DVD Burner- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Total is also a bit over but you can shave off some money if needed. Comes to $1348.51 with shipping and before $40 in rebates.
This should be better than any AMD processor set up and if you want to save $100 you can go with the i5-2500k- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Do you need a sound card? Do you use any professional audio software?
Please fill this out so we can answer these questions.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

 

[kajabla]

Inzone, that PSU is WAY overkill for any single card.
Intel processors are still better.

 

[andrewcarr]

PSU I chose is on sale for $40 after rebate its a steal. For modular 600w.

 

[g-unit1111]

I did read a post where a user had to go to Corsair memory, a Corsair power supply and a Corsair water cooler HF50, and an ATI Firepro 9700 to make everything compatible with Photoshop and Lightroom.
I am open to advice and suggestions.
Thanks, Ted

Really??? You can get by on Photoshop with wayyyyyyyyy less. The Firepros are good cards but they're ridiculously expensive and the comparable gamer card will work just fine - the software's not that picky. You definitely don't need a closed block like the H50 to get by and it's certainly not going to care which PSU you use.

Do you need a sound card? Do you use any professional audio software?
Please fill this out so we can answer these questions.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ild-advice

You don't need a sound card period when the built in audio on your motherboard will work just fine. If you're using advanced video editing programs and that sort of thing that's a different story altogether.

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119068

I've used both the Centurion 5 and the HAF 912 and I've come to the conclusion that the HAF 912 is a far superior product for the same money. The Centurion 5 has a lot of plastic parts that are very cheaply made and will break off easily - the "completely toolless" chassis that's advertised is far from it.

The build that inzone put together is an excellent choice - the Zambezi/FX/whatever CPU will last you a long time with very minimal upgrades. Although I wouldn't recommend 2 2TB hard drives with the prices the way they are right now - just go with one and then use an SSD as your primary storage device. You can and definitely should add more drives when they come down in price. If you have to get a backup device now I'd suggest going with a blu ray burner - you can get one easily for less than $70 right now and they're just as good as they were a year ago.

 

[andrewcarr]

My cousin is in movie animation sound at Pixar don't know what he is in but some computers DO need sound cards. Secondly is my build that bad? I would jump on an i5 or i7 system over the FX any day. I would actually buy a Phenom ll X4 955 over that processor.

 

[ttyndall]

Thanks everyone. This will definately keep me busy tomorrow researching everything ya'll have recommended.

 

[g-unit1111]

My cousin is in movie animation sound at Pixar don't know what he is in but some computers DO need sound cards.

I don't think it's as much the computer as the audio equipment it will be hooked up to. You may have to research that some but it all depends on the multi-channel aspects of your sound equipment. Most motherboards will handle 5.1 and 7.1 without any problems but if you need anything beyond that you will need a sound card.

Secondly is my build that bad? I would jump on an i5 or i7 system over the FX any day. I would actually buy a Phenom ll X4 955 over that processor.

In my opinion the FX got a bad rap initially because of all the threads and cores it uses (especially the 81xx) there's no software that can take advantage of it yet. Even hex core CPUs - both AMD and Intel are kind of useless (YET) because there's nothing that can take advantage of that technology yet.

 

[andrewcarr]

They will improve on windows 8 and I know that but for now the best are the intels.
The performance per core actually decreased from the Phenom ll processors because they need to be utilized properly through new programming. But still going on performance now i5 is even better.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8150-zambezi-bulldozer-990fx,3043-17.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8150-zambezi-bulldozer-990fx,3043-24.html

 

[g-unit1111]

They will improve on windows 8 and I know that but for now the best are the intels.

I have an AMD system and an Intel system and I actually like them both equally. Each one has different uses (AMD for games/movies/music, etc, Intel for work/school) - it all depends on what you want to use it for and what hardware you pair it with.

The performance per core actually decreased from the Phenom ll processors because they need to be utilized properly through new programming.

And that's why the software is always one or two generations behind the hardware. No matter what the programmers are just beginning to take advantage of quad core technology, soon they'll be able to take advantage of hex and octo-core technology, and so on and so forth. It's just a matter of time.

 

[aspleme]

A few points. First off, Intel is going to be way better for what he's doing. There is no way the FX chip, especially the low end 4100, stands up to the i2500K.

A note on Hard Drives: Photoshop will definitely benefit from being installed on an SSD. I would advise getting an SSD (preferably Intel, if you can afford it) large enough for Windows and a few of your highly used programs. You will be amazed at the difference it will make. As for your storage, I can't say this strongly enough, hold off for a while if you can. Magnetic Hard Drives are way too expensive right now, but they should be going down in a few months (though some suggest they won't fully stabilize for a whole year). If you buy now, you will spend far more on storage than you should have to.

 

[g-unit1111]

A few points. First off, Intel is going to be way better for what he's doing. There is no way the FX chip, especially the low end 4100, stands up to the i2500K.

I actually agree with this - for CS5 you definitely need an Intel. And if you can squeeze the 2600K in your budget this is one where I'd actually recommend it over the 2500K since a lot of CS5 programs and plug-ins actually do take advantage of hyperthreading.

A note on Hard Drives: Photoshop will definitely benefit from being installed on an SSD. I would advise getting an SSD (preferably Intel, if you can afford it) large enough for Windows and a few of your highly used programs. You will be amazed at the difference it will make. As for your storage, I can't say this strongly enough, hold off for a while if you can.

Anything benefits more from being installed on an SSD. The biggest lag factor in any PC build - now, then, future is going to be the primary HD. I was an SSD naysayer until I picked up a Crucial M4 on a Newegg shocker deal and now I'm completely sold.

I also agree about holding off - getting 2 TB hard drives right now will seriously kill your budget as they're $300 a piece. If you really need a backup drive either go external (which is what I do) or get a BD-R burner (also what I do).

Magnetic Hard Drives are way too expensive right now, but they should be going down in a few months (though some suggest they won't fully stabilize for a whole year). If you buy now, you will spend far more on storage than you should have to.

Yeah and the sad thing is the people at Seagate right now are acting like they just don't care about it either. :lol:

 

[andrewcarr]

I found 2 TB drives for only 110 each so thats why I recommended them in the build I showed him.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145475
One 240 GB should be sufficient for now though.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227727