Thinking about building a computer

[Rockadile]

Hopefully some people here can chime in on computer hardware as I'm out of the loop. I did build one 6yrs ago but it was for gaming but this time it will be for photos.

MB: Need help on this
CPU: Intel i5-2500
RAM: 8GB
GPU: Need help on this
HD: 40GB SSD and 1TB Samsung Spinpoint; one 1TB external HD for backup to keep off-site?
Programs: Window 7 Home, Adobe Lightroom

That's my rough list of what I got so far. I'm just an amateur photographer but I would like to start things right. My budget is $800~ and will try keeping my monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
Is using SSD for OS drive worth it? Good program that will mirror my photos from internal to external HD?

 

[ConradM]

Wait a few months because intel is releasing a new lineup of procs. They will be priced about the same as the sandy bridge procs but will have 7 - 10% increase in performance while using less power.

Other than that your build looks good, for a motherboard look for most anything that is an 1155 socket compatible. I prefer asus brand boards.

Oh and it is worth it to load the OS and some major programs on the SSD, spring for the biggest SSD you can get. You can also get a z68 (chipset) mother board which would allow you to use your SSD as a cache in which case you could stick with a smaller SSD.

 

[bdw7t8]

I've always built my machines around AMD processors, they're quite a bit cheaper and I've always found them very reliable. In fact, I've never had one fail on me. The last computer I built has a factory overclocked, liquid cooled, six core, 4gHz AMD Phenom II 16GB RAM, on an Asus motherboard, Hitachi 2TB Deskstar HDD's, an ATI Saphire Radeon GPU, Samsung optical drives and monitor and some Altec-Lansing speakers. Complete with software it cost me just under $1700 for everything including peripherals. Most of the parts came from NewEgg, and a couple (like the box) from TigerDirect. Had I bought one ready made it would have cost me at least double, and it still wouldn't have been as BA. Oh, I couldn't recommend the Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 more, it's just awesome.

P.S. I highly recommend NewEgg over TigerDirect. Much better customer service and usually a bit cheaper too.

P.P.S. Sorry, didn't see the $800 budget, I'd definitely look for a kit, there are some good ones out there for less, especially if you can reuse speakers, monitor etc. from your old machine. Also, I'd look for one that is upgradable, and will be for a few years, replacing a few components is a lot cheaper than building a whole new machine.

 

[ConradM]

I've always built my machines around AMD processors, they're quite a bit cheaper and I've always found them very reliable. In fact, I've never had one fail on me. The last computer I built has a factory overclocked, liquid cooled, six core, 4gHz AMD Phenom II 16GB RAM, on an Asus motherboard, Hitachi 2TB Deskstar HDD's, an ATI Saphire Radeon GPU, Samsung optical drives and monitor and some Altec-Lansing speakers. Complete with software it cost me just under $1700 for everything including peripherals. Most of the parts came from NewEgg, and a couple (like the box) from TigerDirect. Had I bought one ready made it would have cost me at least double, and it still wouldn't have been as BA. Oh, I couldn't recommend the Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 more, it's just awesome.

P.S. I highly recommend NewEgg over TigerDirect. Much better customer service and usually a bit cheaper too.

P.P.S. Sorry, didn't see the $800 budget, I'd definitely look for a kit, there are some good ones out there for less, especially if you can reuse speakers, monitor etc. from your old machine. Also, I'd look for one that is upgradable, and will be for a few years, replacing a few components is a lot cheaper than building a whole new machine.

AMD pretty much fell out of the CPU war years back. Intel has zero competition now. It's a wonder they're aren't charging an arm and a leg. However, AMD would be a good choice for a low power, low budget build.

 

[KmH]

WTF is 'a procs'. Is that some sort of texting lingo for 'a processor'?

 

[ConradM]

WTF is 'a procs'. Is that some sort of texting lingo for 'a processor'?

:lmao:

 

[Big Mike]

My level of computer knowledge isn't very high, but for editing photos more RAM is always a good idea. It's only the newest versions of Photoshop that can really take advantage of the power in the video card.

Also, if photo editing is one of your main goals, then consider an upgraded monitor. Most flat panel monitors are 'Twisted Neumatic' (TN). They are cheap and good for gaming & movies etc, but not so great for displaying a full range of colors and not great for calibration. Look for an IPS type screen instead. On that point, don't forget to budget for a monitor calibration system.

 

[TheFantasticG]

From my limited experience there isn't much difference building an awesome gaming machine and a photo/video editing machine.

 

[ConradM]

From my limited experience there isn't much difference building an awesome gaming machine and a photo/video editing machine.

I would imagine you need more GPU for a gaming rig. But other than that specs could be identical.

 

[ChefCanon]

Ok so my thoughts on this - As I was in the same dilemma not to long ago.

I was looking to get a nice desktop to look at / edit / etc etc with my pics. The one thing i wanted was a TRUE HD display. Allowing me to see at least 1920x1080. This is going to give you the best idea of how your pics look. Above all else you really want to look at your monitor (what do you have now ?) Something with a fast display - maybe LED - full HD - Nice colors? That is your key component IMO. A nice GPU and Ram will be great if you are editing photos but if you are looking a a distorted photo how can you evening begin to edit that... An option to look at and What I went with is a iMac - Quality machines and their 21.5in goes for ~$1000 (A little over your budget) You can custom build them with a little more umphff but right out of the box they are VERY nice and most importantly... they have a BEAUTIFUL display.

Just my 2 cents - Good luck with w/e you do. Check Newegg they usually have nice combo packs ~600 and a good monitor will be ~(200-300)

 

[TheFantasticG]

I would imagine you need more GPU for a gaming rig. But other than that specs could be identical.

Perhaps. I don't know enough to debate. I knew when I built mine a few months ago I needed graphics resolving power. That's why I went with the ATI Radeon HD 6970. I wanted to stay under $400 for the graphics card. That with the AMD 1100T and 16GB of DDR3 all on an Asus Crosshair V motherboard has made a fantastic photo/video machine. Turns out it also plays Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim like a dream as well (@ ultra high quality my setup doesn't miss a beat).

 

[Big Mike]

From my limited experience there isn't much difference building an awesome gaming machine and a photo/video editing machine.

Well, the way I think of it...the needs really aren't that similar (but the end product is probably similar for either use).
For gaming, you need something that can quickly process and display a constant stream of information. You need the display be able to keep up with the constantly changing game (or whatever) that is on the screen. I believe this is where you want a high end video card.

Photo editing, on the other hand, isn't about a rapidly changing display. Sure, you don't want a display lag when making changes to your image, but it's not a constant, ongoing stream of changes. And before a few years ago, photo editing didn't really tax the video card at all. The latest versions of Photoshop have started to use the RAM available in the video card, but that may only be for things like smooth transitions when zooming in or out.
For photo editing, the CPU and the RAM are much more important than the video card....but with gaming, the video card is a big piece of the puzzle.

I was looking to get a nice desktop to look at / edit / etc etc with my pics. The one thing i wanted was a TRUE HD display. Allowing me to see at least 1920x1080. This is going to give you the best idea of how your pics look. Above all else you really want to look at your monitor (what do you have now ?) Something with a fast display - maybe LED - full HD - Nice colors? That is your key component IMO. A nice GPU and Ram will be great if you are editing photos but if you are looking a a distorted photo how can you evening begin to edit that... An option to look at and What I went with is a iMac - Quality machines and their 21.5in goes for ~$1000 (A little over your budget) You can custom build them with a little more umphff but right out of the box they are VERY nice and most importantly... they have a BEAUTIFUL display.

Don't confuse a 'beautiful' display and one that is ideal for photo editing. As I mentioned above, most monitors these days use TN technology, which is good for general computing, gaming, video etc. They can be pretty bright and can look great. But the problem for photo editing, is that they are not capable of displaying a wide range of colors. If I remember correctly, they can't even fully display sRGB, which has a small color gamut. Something like Adobe RGB or Prophoto RGB is way above that.

Also, there is the issue of calibration. For accurate photo editing, you need to have an accurate display and to do that, you need a calibration system (device plus software). You can calibrate a TN screen, but it's not going to make the display perfect. IPS screens are much better suited for photo editing, and while they are more expensive, some of them have come down in price a lot, in the last few years.

Yet another issue, is where the calibration is applied. A typical (lower end) calibration system will crate a display profile and load that into the computer's video card. So the card is trying to interpret the display info and tweak it for accurate display on the monitor. That's not a perfect system. High end 'photo editing' monitors will have their own Look Up Table, so the calibration profile is loaded right into the monitor, which is a better system for getting accurate display.

That's my understanding anyway. If you want a better explanation, find Garbz.

 

[Village Idiot]

Ok so my thoughts on this - As I was in the same dilemma not to long ago.

I was looking to get a nice desktop to look at / edit / etc etc with my pics. The one thing i wanted was a TRUE HD display. Allowing me to see at least 1920x1080. This is going to give you the best idea of how your pics look. Above all else you really want to look at your monitor (what do you have now ?) Something with a fast display - maybe LED - full HD - Nice colors? That is your key component IMO. A nice GPU and Ram will be great if you are editing photos but if you are looking a a distorted photo how can you evening begin to edit that... An option to look at and What I went with is a iMac - Quality machines and their 21.5in goes for ~$1000 (A little over your budget) You can custom build them with a little more umphff but right out of the box they are VERY nice and most importantly... they have a BEAUTIFUL display.

Just my 2 cents - Good luck with w/e you do. Check Newegg they usually have nice combo packs ~600 and a good monitor will be ~(200-300)

What Mike said...

You want color accuracy consistancy over vibrancy and speed. Most TN panels have quicker response times compared to IPS, but move yourself one direction or an other and the brightness and color tones can shift. IPS monitors usually cost $200-$300 more than an equivalent sized TN. A 27" IPS display can run you over $700. I paid slightly over $1,000 for my 30", but it's touted for having better color accuracy than Apple's 30" once calibrated.

 

[Big Mike]

Aren't apple displays TN?

 

[dwightdegroff]

Many good recommendations here. I'll add my 2 cents.

4 most important criterion for photo editing(imho): processor speed, RAM, storage, color accuracy. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the Intel i5/i7 CPUs in terms of horsepower. Intel cranks out new models all the time... find one that is middle-of-the-pack and go for it. If you're going to be working with multiple hi-res images at once, having lots of RAM is important. I would say that 8 GB would be sufficient, but I certainly wouldn't go any lower. Ample, Redundant storage is important: I wouldn't get less than a 2 TB drive and I would recommend some sort of backup system(photographs are irreplaceable). It doesn't do any good to edit your photographs if the color you see on-screen doesn't reflect "reality". Find a way to calibrate your monitor.

More on storage: Currently there is massive flooding in Thailand, etc. that is causing Hard Drive prices to soar so this is really a terrible time to buy them and it's hard to know whether prices will be going further up or down in the near future. Unless you can wait a long time, buying the drives sooner rather than later would be a good idea.

GPU is not going to be as important as the other components... it certainly won't be the critical factor for image editing. Now, if you were do get into video, that would be another story.


Have fun building your system, it's one of my other hobbies.