Need ideas for $5500 budget

I

INTELCRAZY

banned
Okay, yes, the budget is a bit big, this is for a business. This biz does LOTS of photoshopping work, as we are a photo biz. I want to see what you guys think.... Future proof, as they want a new monitor. And my idea was to run (duplicated) dual monitors, one for the customer to look at and one for the person behind the computer. Ppl...like to look at their pix:rolleyes:. Anyway, I just slapped this together, I need your ideas though....

QX6850
EVGA 680i
Dual EVGA 8800GTX
Antec Quattro 850W
Acer 24" Monitor for employee, Acer 22" Monitor for customer
G Skill 4Gb(2x2Gb) RAM
4x WD SE16 750Gb HDD's
Antec P180B

What do you think? WIDE OPEN FOR SUGGESTIONS

Thanks
 
The GTX is a fine card.. but as the budget is so large you may want to consider an Actual workstation card. Unfortunately I don't have much knowledge regarding them.

Are they doing any other Graphical tasks? Cause if it's just photoshop, then I'm not sure a workstation card would be appropriate, i'll let someone else chime in on that. :\
 
You dont need an 8800gtx for a non-gaming computer. Get a decent workstation card, 4 low timing 1GB ram, and nice aftermarket heatsinks for the CPU and GPU, low noise fans and stuff.
 
heyman421 said:
that's a waste and a shame
Click to expand...

Why, b/c you don't own a business that has the clientele to use/need such a thing? This will be no toy.... I asked for advice, in the assumption that in would be positive and helpful, not 'mud-slinging', a waste?

hermeslyre said:
The GTX is a fine card.. but as the budget is so large you may want to consider an Actual workstation card. Unfortunately I don't have much knowledge regarding them.

Are they doing any other Graphical tasks? Cause if it's just photoshop, then I'm not sure a workstation card would be appropriate, i'll let someone else chime in on that. :\
Click to expand...

skidude said:
If it's for a business go with a workstation card I say.
Click to expand...

Guys, I, at first, considered a workstation card, should I? Basically, Photoshop, some internet work, Photoshow, Office..... Stuff that an ordinary business would carry out + Photoshop.... Plz ignore the repercussion before, some ppl don't know how to run a business without ordinary stuff:rolleyes:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133173
 
INTELCRAZY said:
Guys, I, at first, considered a workstation card, should I? Basically, Photoshop, some internet work, Photoshow, Office..... Stuff that an ordinary business would carry out + Photoshop.... Plz ignore the repercussion before, some ppl don't know how to run a business without ordinary stuff:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

For the things you mentioned, a workstation card such as a FireGL or QuadroFX would work out much better for the company. The card you provided a link for has only 128-bit memory, I'd rather go with this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102488

Get them a nice pair of big LCD monitors as well, and look into investing into some big 10k RPM hard drives with the extra cash.
 
Last edited:
skidude said:
For the things you mentioned, a workstation card such as a FireGL or QuadroFX would work out much better for the company. The card you provided a link for has only 128-bit memory, I'd rather go with this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102488

Get them a nice pair of big LCD monitors as well, and look into investing into some big 10k RPM hard drives with the extra cash.
Click to expand...

I will get that more than likely.... Definitely, big LCD's 24".... 10K RPM isn't needed....
 
You'll probably want a Quad Core, So im going to get you a pretty good workstation build.

ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131142

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Kentsfield 2.66GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115027

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231110

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136131

LIAN LI PC-65B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112040

ASUS Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135146

XFX PVT80GGHE4 GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported HDCP Video Card - Retail x 2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150172

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102007

LG L245WP-BN Black 24" 8ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 500 cd/m2 1000:1 Built in Speakers - Retail x 2
Windows Vista Certified

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005089

OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 - 240 V - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002

Creative Inspire P7800 90 Watts 7.1 Speaker - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836116153

Lol, That will be a good build
 
ComputerGuru64x2 said:
You'll probably want a Quad Core, So im going to get you a pretty good workstation build.

ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131142

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Kentsfield 2.66GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115027

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231110

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136131

LIAN LI PC-65B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112040

ASUS Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135146

XFX PVT80GGHE4 GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported HDCP Video Card - Retail x 2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150172

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102007

LG L245WP-BN Black 24" 8ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 500 cd/m2 1000:1 Built in Speakers - Retail x 2
Windows Vista Certified

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005089

OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 - 240 V - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002

Creative Inspire P7800 90 Watts 7.1 Speaker - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836116153

Lol, That will be a good build
Click to expand...

I had a QX6850, I don't need sound.... This is serious gfx work, I prefer Antec & Corsair PSU's... I appreciate the help greatly, just read the first post....:)
 
You might consider a mac pro using 2 xeon cpu's. I am not a mac boy, but for photoshop work it's one of the best things going.

Mac Pro
Part Number: Z0D8
One 16x SuperDrive
Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse - U.S. English
500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
Accessory kit
Two 2.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
8GB (8 x 1GB) ram
250GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
Mac OS X - U.S. English
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB (single-link DVI/dual-link DVI)

2 Apple Cinema Display (20" flat panel)
Part Number: M9177LL/A

Cart Subtotal: $5,426.00
Free Shipping: $0.00
Estimated Tax*: Not found

Estimated Total: $5,426.00

Or configure your own at
http://store.apple.com/AppleStore/WebObjects/BizCustom.woa/9084006/wa/PSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=A3116844&node=home/desktop/mac_pro&wosid=Ws6YfJtfFFRX2F98rbL1v4GPq0q
 
Last edited:
paratwa said:
Basics,

You need the fastest processor you can get.

You need a scratch disk hard drive, seperate from your system hard drive. Photoshop needs tons of ram, and if it runs out it goes to a scratch disk. Use a 160 gig Western Digital raptor 10,000 rpm drive for ONLY the scratch disk, nothing else on it.

Use a 500 gig or larger HD for your main drive.

Video card with dual DVI outputs with at least 512 of on board ram.

As much ram as your operating system will use. 3 gigs for XP and 4gigs for vista. Both 32 bit OS. Or you could go with the 64 bit OS and increase to 8 gigs or so. Not sure about that last part though.

You can get away with onboard audio and lan card.

A case that runs very cool.


You might consider a mac pro using 2 xeon cpu's. I am not a mac boy, but for photoshop work it's one of the best things going.

Mac Pro
Part Number: Z0D8
One 16x SuperDrive
Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse - U.S. English
500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
Accessory kit
Two 2.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
8GB (8 x 1GB) ram
250GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
Mac OS X - U.S. English
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB (single-link DVI/dual-link DVI)

2 Apple Cinema Display (20" flat panel)
Part Number: M9177LL/A

Cart Subtotal: $5,426.00
Free Shipping: $0.00
Estimated Tax*: Not found

Estimated Total: $5,426.00

Or configure your own at
http://store.apple.com/AppleStore/WebObjects/BizCustom.woa/9084006/wa/PSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=A3116844&node=home/desktop/mac_pro&wosid=Ws6YfJtfFFRX2F98rbL1v4GPq0q
Click to expand...



And....Yeah, we all are Mac-Haters....
 
Well for photoshop work, they are the best and fastest thing going. So don't knock it. Adobe even recommends them for using CS2. But then again, we know Adobe's background.
 
paratwa said:
Well for photoshop work, they are the best and fastest thing going. So don't knock it. Adobe even recommends them for using CS2. But then again, we know Adobe's background.
Click to expand...

Did I knock them? I said "We are all Mac-Haters" Does Adobe recommend for CS3?
 
paratwa said:
Mac Pro
Part Number: Z0D8
One 16x SuperDrive
Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse - U.S. English
500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
Accessory kit
Two 2.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
8GB (8 x 1GB) ram
250GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
Mac OS X - U.S. English
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB (single-link DVI/dual-link DVI)
Click to expand...

The graphics card on that is terrible.
 
Photography work get a Mac Pro dual Xeon Desktop.

CS3
Aperture


How do I know this would be the way to go? I support several graphics labs at work and our graphic design department for the whole school system, and guess what they run off of, Macs. My friends that work at MMG world wide and they are a huge advertising firm, they use Macs. Another friend of mine works for a different advertising firm (I forget the name, but he works in the old TW building down town) and they are a mostly mac environment. Colleges run their graphic design departments off of Macs. My old co-worker who works IT for a fashion design company, runs mostly Macs.

For 5000 dollars there really isn't a better machine, and if it is for a business building it is dumb for several reasons.

1) The warranty sucks, and you have to deal with everyone on a individual basis. With Apple, Dell, IBM, whatever, you can have the part over nighted to you.

2) Companies support their product for the product's life. However, if you build a computer with consumer parts that part is probably no longer made with in a year, and thus it will take longer to RMA that part and get a replacement.

3) If they have a warranty then the repair is on that company and not you.

Building computers for a business is never really a good idea. We are getting burned right now at my work for some dual AMD athlon systems that are just out of warranty (4 yrs old) and I can't get parts for them anymore. So if one breaks I am pretty much screwed. Plus their motherboard is AGP, which you can't even buy anymore so I am forced to upgrade the whole system if I even try to part one together. If you buy from Apple, Dell, IBM, etc you can get parts for years. I can still order parts from Apple for the CRT iMacs and those are all like 5 or more years old now.
 
skidude said:
The graphics card on that is terrible.
Click to expand...

Graphics cards have little or nothing to do with photography work, its all RAM and CPU. There is no real time rendering to deal with like in gaming or in 3D modeling, like autocad, 3Dsmax or maya.
 
skidude said:
The graphics card on that is terrible.
Click to expand...

I saw that, I can hate on Mac more than I can that vid card... I hear ppl saying, that their Mac does graphics better, HOW!? With a POS 7300? And, don't say I have never been around Macs, my stepdad is a graphic design artist, he designed Cracker Barrel's website, ALL of the Texas Motoring magazines, he made prepaid phone card designs for Drift(mostly Verizon), and he has made some of CompUSA's promotional magazines all on a G4. I have seen what work a Mac can do, I see no difference from a PC. Maybe the fancy interface on a Mac gives the designer inspiration. I have thought about buying a Mac Mini and a Macbook, not b/c they are better than PC, b/c I want to learn more about them.
 
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