Building a PC for Graphic Design for a friend

[nemix]

Hi my friend is just starting out with graphic design and I am trying to piece together a computer for her. She'll most likely be using the Adobe program suite: photoshop, after effects, etc...

Anyways my question to you all is what is the best way to spend your money on building a PC? For example is it worth it to buy a graphics card since 3D rendering and FPS aren't of importance or will the onboard graphics suffice?

I personally figure that a decent quad core processor along with some speedy ram will make do since multi-tasking will be of importance considering her projects will entail running multiple, memory intense, applications.

I'm currently working on a build and will post here for critique. Thanks

 

[Drenlin]

You'll want a newer graphics card, because many editing programs (including all of Adobe's) can use the graphics card for processing...not just rendering. It speeds things up considerably, and enables some otherwise inaccessible features.

However, you don't need a particularly powerful one unless you're working on insanely massive files. If it's an AMD rig with an HD4200/HD4250/HD4290 for the graphics chip, it should be ok. Otherwise, I'd grab one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102877

 

[nemix]

CPU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103706 $95.99

MB- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131406 $79.99

RAM- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277 $109.99

PS- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003 $64.99

HDD- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 $74.99

CASE- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147112 $29.99

Disk Drive- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 $22.99

Couple notes: i chose to forgo the GPU (probably a mistake), I already have win7 OS

 

[nemix]

You'll want a newer graphics card, because many editing programs (including all of Adobe's) can use the graphics card for processing...not just rendering. It speeds things up considerably, and enables some otherwise inaccessible features.

However, you don't need a particularly powerful one unless you're working on insanely massive files. If it's an AMD rig with an HD4200/HD4250/HD4290 for the graphics chip, it should be ok. Otherwise, I'd grab one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102877

ah thx for the reply just read this. So you're suggesting that the GPU will definitely increase performance. My only question then is what is the right combo of mobo/GPU to maximize price per performance? Unfortunetly I am really trying to keep the build under $600.

 

[Drenlin]

For $600, the one you built is about as good as it gets. The motherboard has an integrated HD4200, which is capable of doing what I was talking about. That build will be just fine. The only thing I would change would be to grab the Athlon II x4 635. It's only $4 more, but is a bit more powerful and has a newer stepping:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103702


Also, Samsung has a 1TB drive for $5 more, and a fast 500GB drive for $55:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

Any of them, your WD included, would be a good choice.

 

[nemix]

Ah thank you very much for the insight. I've never actually built a PC before just cruzed forums here and there so I personally don't really know what I am looking for. TBH I was simply going off of what seemed best off new egg

Anyways thanks again for the insight!

 

[nemix]

For $600, the one you built is about as good as it gets. The motherboard has an integrated HD4200, which is capable of doing what I was talking about. That build will be just fine. The only thing I would change would be to grab the Athlon II x4 635. It's only $4 more, but is a bit more powerful and has a newer stepping:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103702


Also, Samsung has a 1TB drive for $5 more, and a fast 500GB drive for $55:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

Any of them, your WD included, would be a good choice.

I wasn't concerned about HDD size because I imagine at some point she will be getting an external to take to class and what not. I figure anything at least 500GB will suffice.
edit: that 500gb HDD for $55 is actually probably a better fit than the WD one.

 

[bomberboysk]

I'd change a few things about that build, make it slightly more cost effective:
Case, you can get a better case from CM refurbished for similar prices:
http://cmstore.coolermaster-usa.com/index.php?cPath=18_37_19

Mobo, for the uses you described, this board would suit just as well at a lower cost:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138182

HDD, right now a 750gb 7200.12 from seagate can be had for $69.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148445

And, i'm not really a fan of the asus ODD's, i've had higher than average failure rates with them, this sony is very nice and has a combo deal with an OCZ power supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.418937

 

[Drenlin]

edit: ^ The rosewill case has free shipping...it'll be $10-$20 cheaper than anything form the CM store. And why a Biostar mobo? The only solid caps are the ones in the power section...which is where it counts I guess, but still.


Other than that...well done, sir. :good:

Ah thank you very much for the insight. I've never actually built a PC before just cruzed forums here and there so I personally don't really know what I am looking for. TBH I was simply going off of what seemed best off new egg

Anyways thanks again for the insight!

No problem

You know, for someone who doesn't know what they're looking for, you were VERY close to what everyone would have recommended. :good:

One more thing I found- If you want to save a bit on the PSU, this Corsair 400W is $50 with a $20 MIR and free shipping. It would still be plenty powerful, and would save about $30:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

 

[bomberboysk]

edit: ^ The rosewill case has free shipping...it'll be $10-$20 cheaper than anything form the CM store. And why a Biostar mobo? The only solid caps are the ones in the power section...which is where it counts I guess, but still.


Other than that...well done, sir. :good:




No problem

You know, for someone who doesn't know what they're looking for, you were VERY close to what everyone would have recommended. :good:

One more thing I found- If you want to save a bit on the PSU, this Corsair 400W is $50 with a $20 MIR and free shipping. It would still be plenty powerful, and would save about $30:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

Whoops, forgot to add this to my post, was gonna say you could save the money by going with that mobo, and then using it towards a true Phenom II X4 with full cache:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...656&cm_re=phenom_II_X4-_-19-103-656-_-Product

As far as the case, whoops again, i guess CM doesnt have their free shipping going anymore(now its only free shipping on CSX products).

That PSU is great value for money with that rebate:good:

As far as solid caps....i feel that in all but the most vital areas, its somewhat of a marketing gimmick as a quality electrolytic will do just as well, and would rather the money be put into more important areas of the board(except once you get into enthusiast/higher end boards, where solid caps should be expected). The only real advantage to a solid cap is longer life..

 

[nemix]

I can only speculate here, but are small name brand motherboards sufficient? I don't care so much about out right performance but stability is of the utmost importance considering it isn't my PC and any troubleshooting could cause serious problems for the user (she by no means is a computer wiz).

What I am getting at is I would rather pay a little extra for stability and reliability and give up a little performance.

 

[bomberboysk]

I can only speculate here, but are small name brand motherboards sufficient? I don't care so much about out right performance but stability is of the utmost importance considering it isn't my PC and any troubleshooting could cause serious problems for the user (she by no means is a computer wiz).

What I am getting at is I would rather pay a little extra for stability and reliability and give up a little performance.

Biostar has been putting out boards for quite some time, and asus has good budget boards as well. Any decently reputable board from manufacturers such as Asus, ECS, Gigabyte, Biostar, Foxconn, MSI, Supermicro, etc. would be suitable.

If you decide to go with either the 450/400W corsair power supplies, this is another good deal on an optical drive/motherboard combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.418259

 

[nemix]

I really spoke too soon. After reading your post I looked up Biostar and found that yes they have a rather good history. So in that case I will probably follow your suggestion and go for the phenom instead of the athlon as the extra cache will definitely help with the memory intense applications she'll most likely be running.

 

[bomberboysk]

I really spoke too soon. After reading your post I looked up Biostar and found that yes they have a rather good history. So in that case I will probably follow your suggestion and go for the phenom instead of the athlon as the extra cache will definitely help with the memory intense applications she'll most likely be running.

Yeah, not sure if you've heard about some of the triple core phenoms and such being able to unlock into quads and such, but that was all because of a mistaken discovery by biostar

 

[blazin8556]

I really spoke too soon. After reading your post I looked up Biostar and found that yes they have a rather good history. So in that case I will probably follow your suggestion and go for the phenom instead of the athlon as the extra cache will definitely help with the memory intense applications she'll most likely be running.

i must be the only one with a lame one then. in my opinion they are not that great. but i have 2. one of which i have never booted. i would think the others would be great. but like i said i probably just got a lame one.

 

[nemix]

Yeah, not sure if you've heard about some of the triple core phenoms and such being able to unlock into quads and such, but that was all because of a mistaken discovery by biostar

wow haha nice I had no idea? Could you elaborate on the technology though? How do you get a quad core out of a triple core?

 

[Gabe63]

You'll want a newer graphics card, because many editing programs (including all of Adobe's) can use the graphics card for processing...not just rendering. It speeds things up considerably, and enables some otherwise inaccessible features.

However, you don't need a particularly powerful one unless you're working on insanely massive files. If it's an AMD rig with an HD4200/HD4250/HD4290 for the graphics chip, it should be ok. Otherwise, I'd grab one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102877

Hi Drenlin, help me out.

I just bought Adobe CS5 Extended (have not used it yet). I hear diff stories about GPU's. Does nvidia do something for Adobe Photoshop that ATI does not?

 

[Drenlin]

As far as I know, both ATI and Nvidia cards enable the same features for CS5. It uses OpenGL. There may be some plugins written for CUDA/ATI Stream, though.


You can get a quad-core out of a triple-core, and sometimes even a dual-core, because AMD often will disable a core or two on a Quad. This is done either to meet market demands or because the core was bad. If it's the former situation, then the CPU should unlock into a quad with no problems. If it's the latter, and the core failed a test at the factory, then unlocking it could cause a wide range of problems. It could be as bad as spitting out corrupted/false data or not working at all, or as minor as producing a little too much heat, which would only require a slightly better heat sink to correct.

 

[bomberboysk]

Hi Drenlin, help me out.

I just bought Adobe CS5 Extended (have not used it yet). I hear diff stories about GPU's. Does nvidia do something for Adobe Photoshop that ATI does not?

As far as I know, both ATI and Nvidia cards enable the same features for CS5. It uses OpenGL. There may be some plugins written for CUDA/ATI Stream, though.


You can get a quad-core out of a triple-core, and sometimes even a dual-core, because AMD often will disable a core or two on a Quad. This is done either to meet market demands or because the core was bad. If it's the former situation, then the CPU should unlock into a quad with no problems. If it's the latter, and the core failed a test at the factory, then unlocking it could cause a wide range of problems. It could be as bad as spitting out corrupted/false data or not working at all, or as minor as producing a little too much heat, which would only require a slightly better heat sink to correct.

As far as GPU acceleration, officially adobe products only use OpenCL as you said.

It is all to do with binning, if chips require too much voltage, or are totally non working, then AMD will debin them to become Phenom II X3's or X2's, and you are not guaranteed a working chip any time.

The feature was first found out when engineers at biostar accidentally used an old microcode version for ACC, and when ACC was enabled it was found to unlock some chips.