Dual processor better for Photoshop work?

[jOhO]

wah lau stress :sweat: :sweat:

ok the concensus i got here and in private is that dual processor not that necessary, and xeons definitely not necessary. check.

and quite a few have mentioned AMD (thanx bluestrike) so i'll have a look in that camp too. basically i dun have a preference. actually i hate computers, i just want it to work, i no need to continually "zheng" one.. :bsmilie:

keep the discussion alive guys, great learning for me thanx!! ahha

oh keh heng, good point u have there, alrite let's set the budget to $2k, box only.

most common work to be done on new system:
- converting of NEF files of maximum 20mb to 90mb 16bit TIFFs very occasionally, but mostly to JPGs
- working with 4 - 12mp jpg files with at most 20 layers in ps
- occasional graphic design work with freehand. (everything is in paths so actually this is not a big deal)

 

[ortega]

wah lau stress :sweat: :sweat:

actually i hate computers, i just want it to work, i no need to continually "zheng" one.. :bsmilie:

like that then, get a mac lor

 

[theRBK]

at least 8k

if you can get the parts...top range parts not always available...and don't even talk of those monitors...1ds2 kind of price, each...

wah lau stress :sweat: :sweat:

no need stress... just need to know requirements and budget... ask for ultimate comp will get ultimate price... ask for best value, get best price...

can try:

- Asus A8N-E with Athlon64 X2 4200+ .. $925
- Corsair pc3200 RAM 1GB x2pcs ......... $332
- WD Raptor 32GB x2pcs .................... $378
- Leadtek PX6600LE 256MB ................ $169
- Antec True Power 430W .................. $140
- some casing you like ....................... $~100
.............................................total $2044

if you want can get cheaper and still good casing, just may not be as pretty ...all parts quote from SimLim price lists, mileage may vary

 

[Bluestrike]

if you can get the parts...top range parts not always available...and don't even talk of those monitors...1ds2 kind of price, each...


no need stress... just need to know requirements and budget... ask for ultimate comp will get ultimate price... ask for best value, get best price...

can try:

- Asus A8N-E with Athlon64 X2 4200+ .. $925
- Corsair pc3200 RAM 1GB x2pcs ......... $332
- WD Raptor 32GB x2pcs .................... $378
- Leadtek PX6600LE 256MB ................ $169
- Antec True Power 430W .................. $140
- some casing you like ....................... $~100
.............................................total $2044

if you want can get cheaper and still good casing, just may not be as pretty ...all parts quote from SimLim price lists, mileage may vary

good choice there on the parts listing but I feel that instead of the Raptors, I rather get 3x 80GB HDD. In term of speed wise, it may be faster but the price you pay for that... hmmm

anyway, it up to the buyer.

 

[Big Kahuna]

can try:

- Asus A8N-E with Athlon64 X2 4200+ .. $925
- Corsair pc3200 RAM 1GB x2pcs ......... $332
- WD Raptor 32GB x2pcs .................... $378
- Leadtek PX6600LE 256MB ................ $169
- Antec True Power 430W .................. $140
- some casing you like ....................... $~100
.............................................total $2044

:thumbsup: I second this + a good CPU cooler like those Thermalright or Ninja.......it will not break your bank and if it doesn't meet your requirement.....demote this to a general purpose or gaming PC and buy a new set 6 mths later There is always something faster, bigger and cheaper down the road :lovegrin:

 

[kahheng]

if you can get the parts...top range parts not always available...and don't even talk of those monitors...1ds2 kind of price, each...


no need stress... just need to know requirements and budget... ask for ultimate comp will get ultimate price... ask for best value, get best price...

can try:

- Asus A8N-E with Athlon64 X2 4200+ .. $925
- Corsair pc3200 RAM 1GB x2pcs ......... $332
- WD Raptor 32GB x2pcs .................... $378
- Leadtek PX6600LE 256MB ................ $169
- Antec True Power 430W .................. $140
- some casing you like ....................... $~100
.............................................total $2044

if you want can get cheaper and still good casing, just may not be as pretty ...all parts quote from SimLim price lists, mileage may vary

Just my opinion: I really don't see a point going with the Raptors. I'd want storage, as much as I can get for the money. The reason why I don't think the Raptors are relevant is because:

1. Most files he'll work on in PS (which will be the most resource intensive app) will load entirely into memory anyway.

2. It's too easy to fill up a 36 gig drive these days

The Raptors are no doubt fast (I even use one myself) but not necessary IMO.

I'd see if I can wing 2x 200gig drives (7200rpm) within the budget. Personally, I didn't have a good experience with my Antec True Power PSU last time. I'd rather go with a Tagan 480W. (Even the 420W model for a basic box like this is workable - the Tagan 420W will deliver more current than the TruePower 430 for just $10 more).

I like the x2 suggestion. Personally I think it's a waste not to go with a dual core if you have the opportunity to build a new box at this time. Photoshop will benefit tremendously from it, as will general system stability/operability.

2 gigs of RAM is a good minimum.

 

[theRBK]

Just my opinion: I really don't see a point going with the Raptors. I'd want storage, as much as I can get for the money.

Personally, I didn't have a good experience with my Antec True Power PSU last time. I'd rather go with a Tagan 480W. (Even the 420W model for a basic box like this is workable - the Tagan 420W will deliver more current than the TruePower 430 for just $10 more).

I like the x2 suggestion. Personally I think it's a waste not to go with a dual core if you have the opportunity to build a new box at this time. Photoshop will benefit tremendously from it, as will general system stability/operability.

2 gigs of RAM is a good minimum.

I actually agree with you on the hard disk capacity thing, all things being equal or ceteris paribus (as my former Econs lecturer would put it )... except that in the first post, it was mentioned that archiving would be done in a seperate unit... that's why I thought to maximise speed instead of capacity...more bang for the buck

Don't have personal experience with Tagan PSUs but heard that they are good... just thought Antec Truepower series would be safe/reasonably priced option... me, I'm actually using a Verudium that claims to have lifetime warranty, whatever that means :think:

 

[2100]

Yo bro,

BTW, Photoshop CS has 2 gig RAM ceiling, so don't go more than that.

I don't think for the type of work/app you/we do a dual processor is worth the price/performance ratio (Speaking from experience with 8-way massively load balanced). Invest in a "backup computer", so that you burn your DVDs, reply email, while the other computer batch process in CS. This backup computer can mirror your "RAW jpgs" in case something cocks up. For the main computer, the essential thing is reliability, so invest in RAID 5 if possible. HDDs nowadays are .... sigh.

You will thank your lucky stars with your backup PC when your main fails. And to ensure minimal fuss, image the main PC C partition with Norton Ghost or something, so that you can restore the OS + CS and all the stuff fast. Then just patch it up.

Am sure a lot of IT gurus here can further advise (always the case with digital cams nowadays :bsmilie: ). 7 years ago I used to admin a 2-million server farm, now i am totally lost. :bsmilie:

 

[yklim]

Dun think u need to go for Xeon lah... it's more for server.

Maybe investing on Dual-Core processor is good enough.
SCSI is good to have... give it's faster transfer speed. Maybe you can consider running RAID... hee hee.. is case of HDD crash ma...
For RAM, no need to get ECC... won't need it unless u run server... If u willing to spend $$, get the low-latency one... :thumbsup: good enough... 2GB ram should be good enough.

One more important thing is dun save on casing and power supply... good things dun come cheap.

 

[kahheng]

Yo bro,

BTW, Photoshop CS has 2 gig RAM ceiling, so don't go more than that. :bsmilie:

There's useful information about Photoshop and RAM here.

With only 2 gigs of RAM, even if you're using CS or 7.01, you won't be able to tap all 2 gigs of course because part of it goes to Windows and other what-have-you-apps. If you have more than 2 gigs installed, you can actually get Photoshop to tap up to 2 gigs. So installing more than 2 gigs of physical memory makes sense if you need it and can afford it.

CS2 can use up to 3 gigs of RAM with the right boot switch. See the article. Especially take note of Adobe's point that more RAM is always a good thing when dealing with extremely large files even with the RAM limits inherent in each flavour of Photoshop.

 

[Big Kahuna]

Don't have personal experience with Tagan PSUs but heard that they are good... just thought Antec Truepower series would be safe/reasonably priced option... me, I'm actually using a Verudium that claims to have lifetime warranty, whatever that means :think:

I have a Tagan 380W on my Intel & a 430W Velidium on my AMD platform...erm...both are equally quite and both system are stable.......so I can't really tell which one is better than the other since I am not a hardcore overclockers.....but Tagan seems to sell at higher price.....But I think the key is whether a PSU is certified true power......and if it can supply enought juice to the system continuosly......a stable PSU would keep me peace of mind and concentrate on other things :thumbsup:

 

[jOhO]

if you can get the parts...top range parts not always available...and don't even talk of those monitors...1ds2 kind of price, each...


no need stress... just need to know requirements and budget... ask for ultimate comp will get ultimate price... ask for best value, get best price...

can try:

- Asus A8N-E with Athlon64 X2 4200+ .. $925
- Corsair pc3200 RAM 1GB x2pcs ......... $332
- WD Raptor 32GB x2pcs .................... $378
- Leadtek PX6600LE 256MB ................ $169
- Antec True Power 430W .................. $140
- some casing you like ....................... $~100
.............................................total $2044

if you want can get cheaper and still good casing, just may not be as pretty ...all parts quote from SimLim price lists, mileage may vary

this looks ok.. the X2 is the model or do u mean dual? ehehhe sorree i newbie :bsmilie:

anyway still very blur.. will decide soon. :sweat:

 

[Zplus]

this looks ok.. the X2 is the model or do u mean dual? ehehhe sorree i newbie :bsmilie:

anyway still very blur.. will decide soon. :sweat:

AMD Athlon64 X2 is the range of the CPU by AMD with dual core. 4200+ is one of the speed rating for that range. Dual core means that each single physical CPU actually contains 2 CPU cores inside. You get 2 processors connected internally => very low latency, on one single chip. Your motherboard just needs to plug in one CPU but you get effectively 2 since there's 2 inside.

 

[user12343]

thanks kahheng,

can i then say that on a > 2GB system, i can explicitly get rid of the huge pagefile XP has created?

There's useful information about Photoshop and RAM here.

With only 2 gigs of RAM, even if you're using CS or 7.01, you won't be able to tap all 2 gigs of course because part of it goes to Windows and other what-have-you-apps. If you have more than 2 gigs installed, you can actually get Photoshop to tap up to 2 gigs. So installing more than 2 gigs of physical memory makes sense if you need it and can afford it.

CS2 can use up to 3 gigs of RAM with the right boot switch. See the article. Especially take note of Adobe's point that more RAM is always a good thing when dealing with extremely large files even with the RAM limits inherent in each flavour of Photoshop.

 

[Ola]

Just my 2 cents worth

Processor
For photo/video editing, go for Intel instead of AMD. AMD rate their processor base on closest Intel processor performance. AMD 3200+ may not be better than Intel P4-3 GHz in photo/video editing enviroment. This is due to AMD processor running at a slower clock speed. Intel biggest problem is HEAT. This is base on personal experience

Hard Disk
Go for SCSI if possible as it does not require CPU cycle for I/O operation. It has it own processor to handle the I/O but generally it cost much more.
IDE/SATA disk will eat into your CPU cycle time and can actually cause your system to semem "hang" during heavy I/O operation but it is the cheaper option.
Recommanded configuration for Hard Disk
OS (Mirror - to reduce down time)
Scratch Disk (seperate disk, RAID 0 if possible for fast read/write access)
Data (RAID 5 - for data protection)
Good to have different controller for each.

Memory
1GB is minimum as Windows XP will require 512MB to run smoothly
2GB is recommanded (Create a 256/512MB RAM drive for temporary files)
4GB is max/best for most DIY PC or workstation (Create a 256/512MB RAM drive for temporary files and set Windows XP to run without paging file)
You can also tweak certain Windows XP memory parameter to optimize the system.
Generally ECC RAM is not required as it will have a minor impact on memory performance.

 

[user12343]

i know in the good old days of DOS, you can put a statement in the config.sys, "devicehigh = c:\windows\ramdrive.sys XXX YYY ZZZ" before windows boots up.

how to go about creating a ramdrive under win XP?

Just my 2 cents worth

Processor
For photo/video editing, go for Intel instead of AMD. AMD rate their processor base on closest Intel processor performance. AMD 3200+ may not be better than Intel P4-3 GHz in photo/video editing enviroment. This is due to AMD processor running at a slower clock speed. Intel biggest problem is HEAT. This is base on personal experience

Hard Disk
Go for SCSI if possible as it does not require CPU cycle for I/O operation. It has it own processor to handle the I/O but generally it cost much more.
IDE/SATA disk will eat into your CPU cycle time and can actually cause your system to semem "hang" during heavy I/O operation but it is the cheaper option.
Recommanded configuration for Hard Disk
OS (Mirror - to reduce down time)
Scratch Disk (seperate disk, RAID 0 if possible for fast read/write access)
Data (RAID 5 - for data protection)
Good to have different controller for each.

Memory
1GB is minimum as Windows XP will require 512MB to run smoothly
2GB is recommanded (Create a 256/512MB RAM drive for temporary files)
4GB is max/best for most DIY PC or workstation (Create a 256/512MB RAM drive for temporary files and set Windows XP to run without paging file)
You can also tweak certain Windows XP memory parameter to optimize the system.
Generally ECC RAM is not required as it will have a minor impact on memory performance.

 

[CYRN]

Wah I tot you're only looking for a chair :sweat:

Anyway.. a bit of my view here... if you are not a tech inclined guy... try not to DIY. Or even get it pieced together by a friend. I bought from Dell myself, after trying to tweak my own system.

You need to have your budget first... how much? The guys here are recommending specs that are dream machines.

If you are only looking for a workstation for PS, nothig beats Mac. Then again on the other side of the fence, intel does have more raw processing powerthat are required for rendering photos.

Since our work will depend, I recommend stability rather than trying for the bleeding edge specs.

I only strongly recommend that you get a good spec'ed graphic card for 2D graphics with plenty of onboard RAM. You might like to try PCI-x cards in this case.

For RAM requirements, it boils down to how you actually do your PS. If you are the kind that open many files at the same time or uses many layers and keeps long history. You'll need more RAM upwards of 1G or more. If you only open 1 pic and dun use much layers, then 1G would actually suffice.

Remember, the more RAM you have, you actually need 2 to 4 x of unfragmented free hard-disk space on your fastest HDD.

 

[bigtummy]

Must be mad using Xeon to run photoshops...

 

[knoxknocks]

this would be my combo

Intel P4 830 3.0GHZ Dual Core + MSI 945P Platinum mobo - $839
3 x PC5400 Corsair DDR2 1GB - $465
2 x Maxtor 16MB SATA2 250GB - $360
MSI NX6600LE 256MB - $177
Sony 16x DVD+R - $89
Verudium Vorte 430W - $119
Casing - $120

Total: $2169

 

[munwai]

hiya..
HWZ has a DIY-guide..
can use this as a sample..
http://www.hardwarezone.com/microsite/diy2006/design.shtml