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Final Build Review $1250 Photo Editing Build

2K views 80 replies 12 participants last post by  ITAngel 
#1 ·
Ok guys, I would like your take on this system I am currently getting ready to purchase the parts but before I do need peoples review about it.

-Budget Setup-
Current System Setup 1.0

SystemBuild1.0.pdf 307k .pdf file


Main goal, 27" monitor or 2x 23" monitors, Fast processor for multi-tasking and faster system speed ram + ssd. Can you guys build something more solid over what I got? I know is not the strongest in most area but it seems very well rounded. What is your take on this? Following applications will be running are Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, and Premiere CC.

Trying to stay within $1000.00 but if we have to jump upto $1200.00 it would be ok.

I would need everything for this system except keyboard, mouse and speakers. Thanks everyone! Will be doing the purchase here in the next few days after my final review with you guys.
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#3 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Techie007 View Post

Your link goes to a generic "Shopping Cart" page, which, in my case, is empty. So I can't see any of the parts in your build.
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Np let me post it, Thanks for the heads up.
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I added a pdf file of the cart in newegg. Let me know if is working for ya.
 
#5 ·
$610 After rebates for these core components , great prices on the mobo, psu and the ultra sharp monitor- very helpful with photo editing.
 
#6 ·
I suggest you change your selection of ram, that team Vulcan stuff is a bug problem waiting to happen (so I've heard). But yeah you're probably going to want to go with corsair or Kingston ram and though it might be $20 more and it wont match the color of the mobo (unless you go black) it'll be so much better!
 
#7 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheHommander View Post

I suggest you change your selection of ram, that team Vulcan stuff is a bug problem waiting to happen (so I've heard). But yeah you're probably going to want to go with corsair or Kingston ram and though it might be $20 more and it wont match the color of the mobo (unless you go black) it'll be so much better!
True base on my experience I have two systems with Team ram in them and they OC and work just fine. No problems what so ever yet but I will keep what you said in mind just in case.
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#9 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by cssorkinman View Post

$610 After rebates for these core components , great prices on the mobo, psu and the ultra sharp monitor- very helpful with photo editing.
I agree with everything that cssorkinman has suggested - especially the Dell monitor. If you want to video and photo editing, the UltraSharp series always appears at the top of the recommendation lists. Relatively to other quality screens they're pretty good value too.

The only other thing i would look at is the SSD. I've not read enough about Mushkin to know if they're a quality product or not, but i guess what else plays into that reasoning is that they're not as popular as some other brands.

I would recommend this Samsung 840 EVO or the Intel 335 Series. I have the Intel's predecessor in my rig.
 
#10 ·
should I stick with an APU or go for an FX-6300 CPU instead?
 
#11 ·
What camera do you use? You will fill that 1 TB up quick. I have filled up a 2tb in about a year. Then you need another for backup, either manually copying or RAID.

I run 8x2gb Ram and when Photoshop and Lightroom are running, it does run out of memory while patching 20 shot panoramas. But it should be good for just single picture editing.

I mainly edit on ARK
 
#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ikem View Post

What camera do you use? You will fill that 1 TB up quick. I have filled up a 2tb in about a year. Then you need another for backup, either manually copying or RAID.

I run 8x2gb Ram and when Photoshop and Lightroom are running, it does run out of memory while patching 20 shot panoramas. But it should be good for just single picture editing.

I mainly edit on ARK
My friend she will be using the computer, I myself have server setups and systems at home since I do mainly networking. She wants to start doing local photography work and she is planning on purchasing the external Raid hdd setups, plus she has a cloud account were the system will be backed up. Other than that she has a subscription to Adobe CC for Photoshop, Lightroom etc... So, having large hdd on the computer is not necessary.
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ITAngel View Post

My friend she will be using the computer, I myself have server setups and systems at home since I do mainly networking. She wants to start doing local photography work and she is planning on purchasing the external Raid hdd setups, plus she has a cloud account were the system will be backed up. Other than that she has a subscription to Adobe CC for Photoshop, Lightroom etc... So, having large hdd on the computer is not necessary.
well at least she has an idea for large storage. I have local copies of PS and LR so I don't know how the CC versions work.
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ITAngel View Post

should I stick with an APU or go for an FX-6300 CPU instead?
Will games every be played on that system? If yes, get the FX CPU and a good GPU. Otherwise, the APU will be just fine.
 
#15 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by FastMHz View Post

Will games every be played on that system? If yes, get the FX CPU and a good GPU. Otherwise, the APU will be just fine.
I dout games will be played on that system. I was thinking more of FX 6 core+ for multitasking. If the APU will be fine then for Photo and Video I will go with that.
 
#16 ·
Some things, more generic.
Colour is more important than speed with photo. Make sure that monitor is tuned for colour not speed.

I would still get 2 or more more HDD for raid 1 or 5 or 10. Back up is important. Even if 1TB is ok, having triple redundant back up is good.

Will she video edit? if so, are you sure you want AMD CPU for this? Either way, you need more CUDAs. The APU will not be enough for video editing. at all. I am not so sure about stills, stills suck up the rams. She will add 2 more sticks as soon as she can.

Have Luck and good fun.

Kip
 
#17 ·
Her mainly focus currently is Photography using Photoshop and Lightroom. She might get into Video editing but been thinking that she might want another box just for that alone. If we are only focusing on Photography will the APU work fine?

I do audio and video editing on my machine but i have a FX-8150 and seems to do just fine for what I need it.
 
#18 ·
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/28Wxz
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/28Wxz/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/28Wxz/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($149.99 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($137.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($61.25 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($220.66 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VE247H 23.6" Monitor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1019.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-26 10:59 EST-0500)

heatsink 60usd
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835220047&Tpk=heligon%20he%2001
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by PontiacGTX View Post

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/28Wxz
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/28Wxz/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/28Wxz/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($149.99 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($137.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($61.25 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($220.66 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VE247H 23.6" Monitor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1019.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-26 10:59 EST-0500)

heatsink 60usd
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835220047&Tpk=heligon%20he%2001
Nice setup my friend. Thanks!
 
#20 ·
That is a nice build. But, if she will ever do video: Swap the ATI card for an Nvidia. Cuda is king there. That ATI is a great gamer and miner, and a good deal, but not for video editing.

And at that price, put in 2 HDD, it will help. Even with other options. Back up your back ups.
 
#21 ·
What's the largest file size that will be worked with?

If big files are being created with lots of layers, and lots of big raw images involved, the most important performance metric will come from having enough system RAM. a 1GB photoshop file will need about 20GB of free memory to "work in" without going to scratch disks.
 
#22 ·
Ok so I have $1250 as the max amount to build this system. I am getting the memory to 32GB DDR3 1866 base on what is the best price for it. I am only using Newegg and Amazon Prime for this.

What should be the minimum CPU that should be use for Video Editing? Just curious.

What is the minimum GeForce video card that I should grab?
 
#23 ·
Well, I used to edit standard def video on a 400mhz G3 just fine (that's a single core BTW
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). Wasn't ideal but it worked.

http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Adobe-Premiere-Pro-CC-Professional-GPU-Acceleration-502/

I don't see a particular favoritism to a GPU platform in Premiere CC, so I don't see that there's a reason it "has" to be a Gforce card.

http://blogs.adobe.com/premierepro/2013/05/improved-gpu-support-in-adobe-premiere-pro-cc.html

^^^
Note the above, there is no longer any reason it has to be an NV card for Premiere if it is version CC. Adobe appears to be moving in a direction that will work pretty well on both GPU platforms.

I would not buy into Nvidia at this time personally. The world is moving OpenCL, and Nvidia architecture is still optimized around the CUDA framework.

If there is a "minimum" hardware requirement to edit video or perform image manipulation, it is VERY low. Think about it... Half the country is walking around with a portable video toaster in their pockets or backpacks. you can edit HD video an a freakin iPAD [ http://www.apple.com/ios/imovie/ ] or Laptop. Additional hardware performance is just a convenience to improve productivity.

If it were me, building a max value AMD media workstation, I would either use an A10 APU, or move straight to the FX-8320-FX-8350 + HD7770-HD7950 territory. For image editing only, anything beyond the HD7770 is not going to return much performance but HD7870s are often only $50 more so it's sort of an "obvious" jump considering how much of a leap in core configuration that buys [like double] (which underutilized or not, leaves room to grow into as software improves). For video editing, the "sky" is the limit on potential gains from GPU hardware under some circumstances, but there are other cases where it does not scale well.. so YMMV and there are obvious "value" stopping points. I would probably "stop" where the CPU and GPU are around the same price to maximize the performance/$ value.

A Lot of the functions in photoshop are still not taking advantage of multiple cores very well. Intel IPC advantages will typically win here if either is compared with equal GPUs, but realistically speaking image editing can be done pretty well on almost any hardware. Having enough RAM to "fit" the project size is the main factor that will bring a project screeching to a halt if it goes to the scratch disk (or system swap space). A Pentium G3220+HD6670 would be very comparable in performance to an A10 in photoshop CS6 or CC. If I were building a photoshop specific rig, and wanted to move up beyond the performance of an A10 or G3220+HD6670, then I would steer the build towards Intel, because an i5, i7[quad], E3, or E5[quad] paired with an HD7770 is going to be faster on average than a similarly configured AMD system with high end FX chips.

If I were building a system that is leaning more towards the optimization of Premeire pro performance [maximum value], then the FX-8320 and FX-8350 would absolutely command deserving attention in their respective price points as Premiere is very well optimized for multiple threads and scales well on AMDs new architecture, taking very good advantage of the high integer instruction throughput. One would have to move to a 6 core (or higher) Intel system at significantly higher cost to appreciate noteworthy gains above what AMD can offer for ~$150-200. Having seen the variability of GPU performance scaling depending on conditions (the project), I think that again, the CPU/GPU investment should be similar, (don't spend more than double the value of one of these, on the other).

Regards,
Eric
 
#24 ·
Ok, having a hard time making this build better for the max of $1250.00. What you guys think on what I have and how can I improve on this build? Is still lacking not having the 1TH HDD I wanted in it too.

FXSystemBuild001.pdf 276k .pdf file
 

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#25 ·
WoW "mdocod" nice post. Dang is very hard the main focus here will be Photoshop imaging, just want to make sure if she wants to video editing she has the power to do so without buying a new pc. What would be a good balance to achieve both?

Actually main lets focus only on the Photography, I doubt she will be doing professional video editing any time soon since her main focus is Photography right now.

Is an Intel Core i5-4670 Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core more than enough for photo editing?
 
#26 ·
hey mdocod I found the old post you gave me with deep details I will use that as a guide. Thanks!

If this going to be a Photoshop system I am torn between the FX and the APU-10 =/ Seems for the money we might get more but not sure yet.
 
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