Posted by Bob Wyatt on September 14, 2013 at 11:09 AM
Folks,
I have searched on here and thru other sites and am looking for middle of the road reccomendations about building anew computer. The more I read the more confused I become. I have built my last three machines but the newest one is almost 5 years old. I know I will go Intel. I also know I am going to go with two SSD for the OS/apps and for the scratch disc. Using an SSD to save output files does not seem too important to me as I do not work in high volumes or really large files(*as yet*).
What I am looking for is something to open CS6/CC fast and to be able to work on an image in a reasonable amount of time when running some of the filters that take quite a while on my five year old machine.
Going with Win 7 and 64 bit to make use of as much RAM as I can pack into the MOBO. I do not need tons of bells and whistles on the MOBO, lots of SATA and USB 3 ports though.
I guess also a middle of the pack graphics card...I will not play games just edit images and perhaps some video.
My budget is around 1500 max but hoping for closer to 1000.
All help appreciated in advance my brothers and sisters...
Bob
Posted by David Graham on September 14, 2013 at 12:28 PM
Best...absolutely the best advice I can pass on is:
CONTACT PUGET SYSTEMS and have some extended chats with one of their representatives. They can work with you and, within your envisioned budget, assure you the most efficient use of your available funds to assemble the system that will best meet your stated needs. you'll get a great education and work with exceptionally competent guidance and be assured you'll not be pressured by someone trying to up-sell you!
Best decision in photography I ever made was to upgrade to a Puget computer!
best,
Dave Graham
East River, SD
Best...absolutely the best advice I can pass on is: CONTACT PUGET SYSTEMS and have some extended chats with one of their representatives.
Most definitely! I have two Puget computers; a laptop and an Obsidian Workstation. Puget's customer service and tech support are top drawer.
Bob, you do not need an SSD for scratch disk. SSD's have no moving parts, so if you use your primary drive as a scratch disk (I do) you won't see a performance hit. Also, If you have a goodly amount of RAM, say 8 to 32GB, you'll rarely, if ever, hit the PS scratch disk.
So, in my opinion, rather than spending money on a second SSD, use those funds to add internal storage for your archived files. I keep my 'working' files on my 240 GB SSD along with my OS and programs. Archived files are stored on either of two 500 GB Western Digital Caviar HD's. Everything is backed up to a 1 TB external SATA HDD for my Obsidian machine.
Just to give you an idea of performance: I can open CS6 in about 4 seconds. A 1 GB psd file on the SSD will open about 7-8 seconds. I have 16 GB of RAM.
Puget Systems will be an excellent bet. I can confirm everything David says about them.
--P
Posted by John Mumaw on September 14, 2013 at 2:59 PM
"Puget Systems will be an excellent bet. Best decision in photography I ever made was to upgrade to a Puget computer!
All well and good, but did you see his budget before you made these endorsements?
All well and good, but did you see his budget before you made these endorsements?
Yes.
Even though Puget Systems is a boutique system integrator and their prices are higher than your average consumer machine, they go the extra mile as far as qualifying, in house, all the parts they use. They keep extensive data on hardware failure rates, and items that don't meet their standards are removed from their offerings. This kind of attention to detail ensures that the hardware they put in your machine will work, and the also ensures compatibility.
Additionally, you get personalized service from people who know their stuff. Their tech support folks are top notch. They don't work from a script: They analyze what's going on and offer steps to fix the problem and/or connect directly to your computer to see what's happening. When you call them, for either tech support or a purchase, you speak with a real person in short order; no wading through endless menus. If you send them an e-mail you'll get a prompt reply, often with an hour, sometimes less. Try this with Dell, HP, Adobe, or...
Puget exhaustively tests and benchmarks every machine they sell. If something is not right, they fix it before it's shipped. Also, they do not install any crapware; only the OS and any programs you authorize them to install for you.
So, to my mind, paying a bit more for the 'intangibles' along with a lifetime tech support and labor warranty makes a lot sense. And, as David said, they will work with you to get a machine within your budget.
Ultimately, Bob will have to decide whether to go with Puget, or not. I will say this though: My next machine will be purchased from them--no question about it.
--P
Posted by Peter Cross on September 15, 2013 at 12:20 PM
I got a machine from them earlier this summer and can second what the others have said. Based on what I paid, I think your budget is doable. It will depend on how yours spec's out.
Just following up, here, but what did you decide for your new machine?
--P
Posted by Bob Wyatt on September 26, 2013 at 6:55 PM
Think I will build it...putting a list together now. I will check back with you guys in a few weeks. I noted that HP is coming out with a line of computers and monitors aimed towards peeps like us....I will take a look at their specs also I guess.
I wish you well with building your own box. You might want to check out Anandtech for reviews on hardware, such as; cases, mother boards, video cards, cooling hardware, SSD's and HDD's. They also have reviews on monitors and machines from Dell, HP, etc..
Have fun, and let know how it goes.
--P
Posted by David Bostedo on October 9, 2013 at 4:46 PM
Tom's Harware is another good site for reviews, instruction, and help. Good luck! (And feel free to ask questions here too, of course.)
Posted by Bob Wyatt on December 24, 2013 at 1:21 PM
Update on the new computer..after a very long and hard fight with myself I am biting the bullet and going with a custom box from Puget......it is about 400-500 more than if I built it......but thinking about 100%USA tech support instead of me.....and knowing the inside of the box is going to be very nice looking.......and having them install the OS and lots of other goodies for me.......
AAnyway I am guessing in less than two weeks I can run a Guassian blur on my 5DMkII files in seconds instead of several minutes and that will be so nice
Good deal, Bob! You will be astonished at the performance.
Would it be possible for you to post your configuration specs here so that others review them?
Here's an article from the Puget site that may be of help when you do the migration process of your data to the new machine. There are other articles on their 'Online Guides' page that may be of interest, as well.
Here is what I went with. I felt like the video GPU was not a big factor in my build but that RAM and SSD was so I spent my money there......
Asus Z87-A
DBM0CS046126 Motherboard
Intel Core i7 4770K 3.5GHz Quad Core 8MB 84W
2L321383A0815 CPU
4 x Kingston DDR3-1600 8GB
Ram
Asus Geforce GTX 660 2GB Direct CU II OC
D6C0YZ214169 Video Card
Onboard Sound
Sound Card
SYBA SATA/eSATA II (3.0Gb/s) PCI-Express card
Controllers
Asus USB-N13 Wireless 802.11b/g/n USB Adapter
D8IAN6001940 Networking
Western Digital Black 1TB SATA 6Gb/s
WCC3F0511832 Hard Drive
Additional Information: Secondary drive.
Intel 335 240GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5inch SSD
CVKI25130001240DGN Hard Drive
Additional Information: Primary drive.
Asus 12x Blu-ray Player SATA (black)
D5D0CF137005 CD / DVD Rom
Antec P183 V3 (Gunmetal Finish)
Case
Antec TruePower New Series 650W Power Supply
TP120710298159 Power Supply
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 CPU Cooler
CPU Cooling
Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound Upgrade
Additional Cooling
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM SP1
Operating System
NVIDIA Bundle: Splinter Cell + Assassins Creed IV [with NVIDIA GTX 660 or better only]
Software: Games
Warranty: Lifetime Labor and Tech Support, 1 Year Parts
Warranty
Dropbox
Software: Courtesy Install
Chrome
Software: Courtesy Install
CCleaner
Software: Courtesy Install
Microsoft Security Essentials (Antivirus)
Software: Courtesy Install
Firefox
Software: Courtesy Install
Flash
Software: Courtesy Install
Google Earth
Software: Courtesy Install
iTunes
Software: Courtesy Install
Skype
Software: Courtesy Install
Windows Live Mail
Software: Courtesy Install
7Zip
Software: Courtesy Install
Spotify
Software: Courtesy Install
NVIDIA Geforce Experience
Software: Courtesy Install
I thought MAYBE I would do more video and in that case a more expensive Quadro based card was in order but I then thought...naw....
I believe I will have the machine by the end of next week. It has been 5 years on this machine and it was by no means a screamer when I built it back in the day.
I def pushed way past my initial budget but what the heck...
This looks like a really nice machine, Bob. It should make short work of Photoshop files, and, with the amount of RAM you have, PS likely won't need to hit the scratch disk. With the case and motherboard you chose, you'll have room for expansion and more drives, should you need them.
Enjoy!
--P
Posted by Bob Wyatt on January 7, 2014 at 11:55 PM
ITS ON THE TRUCK!! Maybe by Friday..certainly by Monday!
Posted by Bob Wyatt on January 11, 2014 at 9:05 PM
Puget systems desktop arrived last night. Packaging is world class. Documentation above average. Chose an Antec case for it's low noise. I can only hear a BIOS beep and a hard drive barely clicking when I hit the power button...no fan noise. Bootup to desktop around 20 seconds. I first hardwired into my gateway and dl and installed CC Bridge, Photoshop, and Lightroom...about 35 minutes...installation another 20 minutes....but when I clicked on Photoshop iTtook less than TWO SECONDS to load!! Have not done any work yet but I can not imagine I will not be happy. Thanks for pushing me in this direction folks.
Posted by David Bostedo on January 12, 2014 at 9:23 PM
Discussion
16 repliesI have searched on here and thru other sites and am looking for middle of the road reccomendations about building anew computer. The more I read the more confused I become. I have built my last three machines but the newest one is almost 5 years old. I know I will go Intel. I also know I am going to go with two SSD for the OS/apps and for the scratch disc. Using an SSD to save output files does not seem too important to me as I do not work in high volumes or really large files(*as yet*).
What I am looking for is something to open CS6/CC fast and to be able to work on an image in a reasonable amount of time when running some of the filters that take quite a while on my five year old machine.
Going with Win 7 and 64 bit to make use of as much RAM as I can pack into the MOBO. I do not need tons of bells and whistles on the MOBO, lots of SATA and USB 3 ports though.
I guess also a middle of the pack graphics card...I will not play games just edit images and perhaps some video.
My budget is around 1500 max but hoping for closer to 1000.
All help appreciated in advance my brothers and sisters...
Bob
CONTACT PUGET SYSTEMS and have some extended chats with one of their representatives. They can work with you and, within your envisioned budget, assure you the most efficient use of your available funds to assemble the system that will best meet your stated needs. you'll get a great education and work with exceptionally competent guidance and be assured you'll not be pressured by someone trying to up-sell you!
Best decision in photography I ever made was to upgrade to a Puget computer!
best,
Dave Graham
East River, SD
Most definitely! I have two Puget computers; a laptop and an Obsidian Workstation. Puget's customer service and tech support are top drawer.
Bob, you do not need an SSD for scratch disk. SSD's have no moving parts, so if you use your primary drive as a scratch disk (I do) you won't see a performance hit. Also, If you have a goodly amount of RAM, say 8 to 32GB, you'll rarely, if ever, hit the PS scratch disk.
So, in my opinion, rather than spending money on a second SSD, use those funds to add internal storage for your archived files. I keep my 'working' files on my 240 GB SSD along with my OS and programs. Archived files are stored on either of two 500 GB Western Digital Caviar HD's. Everything is backed up to a 1 TB external SATA HDD for my Obsidian machine.
Just to give you an idea of performance: I can open CS6 in about 4 seconds. A 1 GB psd file on the SSD will open about 7-8 seconds. I have 16 GB of RAM.
Puget Systems will be an excellent bet. I can confirm everything David says about them.
--P
Yes.
Even though Puget Systems is a boutique system integrator and their prices are higher than your average consumer machine, they go the extra mile as far as qualifying, in house, all the parts they use. They keep extensive data on hardware failure rates, and items that don't meet their standards are removed from their offerings. This kind of attention to detail ensures that the hardware they put in your machine will work, and the also ensures compatibility.
Additionally, you get personalized service from people who know their stuff. Their tech support folks are top notch. They don't work from a script: They analyze what's going on and offer steps to fix the problem and/or connect directly to your computer to see what's happening. When you call them, for either tech support or a purchase, you speak with a real person in short order; no wading through endless menus. If you send them an e-mail you'll get a prompt reply, often with an hour, sometimes less. Try this with Dell, HP, Adobe, or...
Puget exhaustively tests and benchmarks every machine they sell. If something is not right, they fix it before it's shipped. Also, they do not install any crapware; only the OS and any programs you authorize them to install for you.
So, to my mind, paying a bit more for the 'intangibles' along with a lifetime tech support and labor warranty makes a lot sense. And, as David said, they will work with you to get a machine within your budget.
Ultimately, Bob will have to decide whether to go with Puget, or not. I will say this though: My next machine will be purchased from them--no question about it.
--P
Just following up, here, but what did you decide for your new machine?
--P
I wish you well with building your own box. You might want to check out Anandtech for reviews on hardware, such as; cases, mother boards, video cards, cooling hardware, SSD's and HDD's. They also have reviews on monitors and machines from Dell, HP, etc..
Have fun, and let know how it goes.
--P
AAnyway I am guessing in less than two weeks I can run a Guassian blur on my 5DMkII files in seconds instead of several minutes and that will be so nice
Would it be possible for you to post your configuration specs here so that others review them?
Here's an article from the Puget site that may be of help when you do the migration process of your data to the new machine. There are other articles on their 'Online Guides' page that may be of interest, as well.
Have fun with your new machine!
--P
Here is what I went with. I felt like the video GPU was not a big factor in my build but that RAM and SSD was so I spent my money there......
Asus Z87-A
DBM0CS046126 Motherboard
Intel Core i7 4770K 3.5GHz Quad Core 8MB 84W
2L321383A0815 CPU
4 x Kingston DDR3-1600 8GB
Ram
Asus Geforce GTX 660 2GB Direct CU II OC
D6C0YZ214169 Video Card
Onboard Sound
Sound Card
SYBA SATA/eSATA II (3.0Gb/s) PCI-Express card
Controllers
Asus USB-N13 Wireless 802.11b/g/n USB Adapter
D8IAN6001940 Networking
Western Digital Black 1TB SATA 6Gb/s
WCC3F0511832 Hard Drive
Additional Information: Secondary drive.
Intel 335 240GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5inch SSD
CVKI25130001240DGN Hard Drive
Additional Information: Primary drive.
Asus 12x Blu-ray Player SATA (black)
D5D0CF137005 CD / DVD Rom
Antec P183 V3 (Gunmetal Finish)
Case
Antec TruePower New Series 650W Power Supply
TP120710298159 Power Supply
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 CPU Cooler
CPU Cooling
Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound Upgrade
Additional Cooling
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM SP1
Operating System
NVIDIA Bundle: Splinter Cell + Assassins Creed IV [with NVIDIA GTX 660 or better only]
Software: Games
Warranty: Lifetime Labor and Tech Support, 1 Year Parts
Warranty
Dropbox
Software: Courtesy Install
Chrome
Software: Courtesy Install
CCleaner
Software: Courtesy Install
Microsoft Security Essentials (Antivirus)
Software: Courtesy Install
Firefox
Software: Courtesy Install
Flash
Software: Courtesy Install
Google Earth
Software: Courtesy Install
iTunes
Software: Courtesy Install
Skype
Software: Courtesy Install
Windows Live Mail
Software: Courtesy Install
7Zip
Software: Courtesy Install
Spotify
Software: Courtesy Install
NVIDIA Geforce Experience
Software: Courtesy Install
I thought MAYBE I would do more video and in that case a more expensive Quadro based card was in order but I then thought...naw....
I believe I will have the machine by the end of next week. It has been 5 years on this machine and it was by no means a screamer when I built it back in the day.
I def pushed way past my initial budget but what the heck...
Bob
Bob
Enjoy!
--P