Looking for a computer build that can efficiently run Photoshop 3D.

[urbanemp]

Hello!
I'm still a novice when it comes to choosing parts for PC's and what not, and my friend has asked me to build them a computer that can effectively run Photoshop 3D.
Their budget on the computer is around $600~$700 Dollars.

My questions involving this are, what kind of parts am I looking for in specific? I don't know if I'm suppose to get a good Graphic's card to run Photoshop 3D or if there's a different type of video card I'm looking for.

I'll appreciate any and all help when it comes to building this computer, since I'm a little lost and I don't want to end up having her purchase the wrong components.

(Also, if this is in the wrong section I apologize for the inconvenience.)

 

[X79]

Truth is, I think it's hard to put something together that'll run Photoshop

without a hitch, for that budget. So if you could go up to a little over 1k $

then something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card ($159.19 @ NCIX US)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Raidmax 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1101.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-26 12:44 EDT-0400)

Might be feasible...


If you really must stay under 1k then...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3330 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G41 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Athena Power CA-GSB01DA (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($27.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Plus 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $785.13
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-26 12:47 EDT-0400)

Ideally you want a core with HyperThreading (HT). Core i7's have that you see...

Basically CPUs, the Central Processing Unit, has various cores. Things run on these cores.

Well a program like PhotoShop can benefit from multiple cores. An i5 and i7 both have 4 (quad)

cores, but the i7 actually has 8, because HT adds an additional 4 virtual cores. Thus things run more

smoothly. It's not that you can't run PhotoShop without though... It's just nice.

Note that a display isn't included in the build, but that you'd do good to not go below a 1200 x 1080p resolution display.


If I try to really keep things low then...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($117.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D3V Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Momentus 750GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.32 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GT 620 2GB Video Card ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $717.21
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-26 13:07 EDT-0400)

You get a Full HD screen too. So you could subtract that, if you already have a screen.

 

[urbanemp]

Truth is, I think it's hard to put something together that'll run Photoshop

without a hitch, for that budget. So if you could go up to a little over 1k $

then something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card ($159.19 @ NCIX US)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Raidmax 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1101.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-26 12:44 EDT-0400)

Might be feasible...


If you really must stay under 1k then...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3330 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G41 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Athena Power CA-GSB01DA (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($27.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Plus 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $785.13
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-26 12:47 EDT-0400)

Ideally you want a core with HyperThreading (HT). Core i7's have that you see...

Basically CPUs, the Central Processing Unit, has various cores. Things run on these cores.

Well a program like PhotoShop can benefit from multiple cores. An i5 and i7 both have 4 (quad)

cores, but the i7 actually has 8, because HT adds an additional 4 virtual cores. Thus things run more

smoothly. It's not that you can't run PhotoShop without though... It's just nice.

Note that a display isn't included in the build, but that you'd do good to not go below a 1200 x 1080p resolution display.


If I try to really keep things low then...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($117.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D3V Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Momentus 750GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.32 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GT 620 2GB Video Card ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $717.21
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-26 13:07 EDT-0400)

You get a Full HD screen too. So you could subtract that, if you already have a screen.

Thanks for the builds, X79!

I have a question about the Second one you posted, if she happened to also be interested in playing games, would the GPU you've added also be able to handle it? (Games like Guild War 2, for example.)

 

[X79]

You're very welcome.

The GPU in the second build would destroy Guild Wars 2.

It's the GPU in the last build that would buckle, if anything.

Replace the case in the second build with this:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-rc922mkkn1gp

Or something similar.

 

[urbanemp]

You're very welcome.

The GPU in the second build would destroy Guild Wars 2.

It's the GPU in the last build that would buckle, if anything.

Replace the case in the second build with this:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-rc922mkkn1gp

Or something similar.

Haha, that's great!
Just a few more questions before I go with this build, if you don't mind.

Are the 3D Animation programs such as Maya and MAX affected by this GPU? Will they be in anyway hindered by it or will they run just fine?

Thanks again for the help.

 

[X79]

Well to my knowledge such heavy-lifting programs make use of what's called OpenCL.

Again, excuse me, but to my knowledge OpenCL is about allowing such programs to take

advantage of the computational power that the GPU brings to the table. Thus while I don't guarantee

things will always be really fast, I think that if things aren't too crazy, that the program should run

fine. But that's also why it's such a luxury to have a CPU which has that HT I mentioned, since then

at least the CPU is pretty powerful. If we do some research, we can find the requirements for Maya 2014:


System requirements for Autodesk® Maya® 2014

Maya 2014 is supported on the following 64-bit operating systems and at a minimum requires a system with the following 64-bit hardware:

Windows® 8 Professional edition, Windows® 7 Professional edition, Apple® Mac OS® X 10.7.x or 10.8.x, Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® 6.2 W S, or Fedora™ 14 Linux operating system
64-bit Intel or AMD multi-core processor
4 GB of RAM minimum (8 GB recommended)
2 GB of free disk space for installation
Microsoft® Internet Explorer®, Apple® Safari®, or Mozilla® Firefox® web browser
3-button mouse


Remember these are the minimum requirements. So far our system checks everything, WITH the exception

of having either Windows 7 or 8 PROFESSIONAL. You can find the complete information here (on previous installments too):

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=15458252&linkID=9242258

For 3ds Max it's much the same drill:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=15458146&linkID=9241177

I found this nice little tool too:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/syscert?id=18844534&siteID=123112

If you input 3ds Max in that tool and then graphics, you'll see their recommendations:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/syscert?siteID=123112&id=18844534&results=1&stype=graphic&product_group=6&release=2014&os=32768&manuf=1&opt=1

However all those GPUs are very expensive. I at least know the GTX 690 to be very expensive.

Though if you select "All" then it's perhaps a little more re-assuring, with GPUs "worse" than the ones we chose

in the 1st and 2nd build:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/syscert?siteID=123112&id=18844534&results=1&stype=graphic&product_group=6&release=2014&os=32768&manuf=1&opt=0

And again, you're welcome mate.

 

[urbanemp]

snip

Well thanks again for all the help. I'm going to be using your second build since it's fairly cheap but powerful.
And you said to replace the case on it right?

 

[X79]

No worries. Ask away.

Yes replace the case with something from a more well-known brand.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-rc430kwn1

Cooler Master is a reputable Brand. So is Silverstone, NZXT, Antec and such.

I can't remember, but did you need a screen, keyboard and mouse too?

 

[urbanemp]

No worries. Ask away.

Yes replace the case with something from a more well-known brand.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-rc430kwn1

Cooler Master is a reputable Brand. So is Silverstone, NZXT, Antec and such.

I can't remember, but did you need a screen, keyboard and mouse too?

Oh sorry for the late reply, I do need a screen, keyboard and mouse.
Where do you recommend I get these from?

 

[X79]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($60.55 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair XMS 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($96.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7750 4GB Video Card ($90.42 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($32.50 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Rosewill RK-201 Wired Standard Keyboard ($5.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: V7 M30P10-7N Wired Optical Mouse ($4.30 @ Amazon)
Total: $749.69
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-31 14:29 EDT-0400)

Here's the whole deal, within your budget.

You get a (technically) quad-core i3 processor.

Lots of RAM.

A GPU which can most likely lend its computing power to help make things faster.

A full-HD, IPS and LED screen at 23".

A standard keyboard.

A standard mouse.

1TB of storage and finally a case which looks decent.

 

[daffa-apriza34]

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2nHuD) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2nHuD/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2nHuD/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-4300 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd4300wmhkbox) | $94.99 @ Newegg
**CPU Cooler** | [Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2) | $29.98 @ OutletPC
**Motherboard** | [Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-m5a78lmusb3) | $54.99 @ Microcenter
**Memory** | [G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f314900cl9d8gbsr) | $68.00 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex) | $59.98 @ OutletPC
**Video Card** | [Asus Radeon HD 7790 1GB Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-hd7790dc2oc1gd5) | $112.98 @ SuperBiiz
**Case** | [Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/silverstone-case-ps08b) | $34.99 @ Newegg
**Power Supply** | [Cooler Master i500 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-power-supply-rs500acaab1us) | $34.99 @ Newegg
**Optical Drive** | [Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas) | $19.98 @ OutletPC
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-gfc02050) | $88.98 @ OutletPC
**Monitor** | [AOC i2267Fw 60Hz 22.0" Monitor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/aoc-monitor-i2267fw) | $129.99 @ Amazon
**Keyboard** | [Gigabyte Force K3 Wired Gaming Keyboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-keyboard-gkforcek3) | $19.99 @ Microcenter
**Mouse** | [Gigabyte GM-FORCE M7 Wired Optical Mouse](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-mouse-gmforcem7) | $14.99 @ Microcenter
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $764.83
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-21 07:49 EST-0500 |

Sure this build is a little bit more expensive than X79' build, but this build has more performance and better cooling in case you want to overclock. I include windows 7 because it has better compatibility than windows 8, but you're free to decide between 8 and 7.

 

[enjoiskaterguy]

In general it is very difficult to get Photoshop to run smoothly 100% of the time. X79 made some good points. Also something you need is a workstation graphics card. These are optimized with specialized drivers to perform functions that gaming graphics cards aren't designed to do...but they are very expensive. The AMD FIREPRO W7000 and the Nvidia Quadro 4000 are great for their price. Check those out if you have some spending cash.

Also Photoshop is notorious for eating up RAM so I'd recommend having atleast 16gb of ram @ 1333mhz.