exerda
18th of June 2009 (Thu), 13:52
It's been a while since I last built my own system, and my current photo editing laptop is getting too old (6 years) and has been maxed-out upgrade-wise. Now that I've got a 50D, I want to upgrade from Photoshop CS2->CS4 to be able to do ACR raw conversion in Photoshop, vs. having to go through Lightroom 2 (which is a bit of a dog on my laptop) or DPP first.
I don't think it's going to work, loading CS4 onto my laptop, given how Lightroom 2 chugs along (CS2 runs fine, though working with 16-bit PSDs from the 50D via Lightroom, some of the operations can be rather slow).
So, I'm spec'ing out something new, preferably $1k or so in price if I buy the system new, or $750 if I buy parts. But given it's been so long since I bought new or built a system, I wanted to get an idea as to the fundamentals I'll need.
I'm aiming for at least 4GB of RAM, if not 6. No clue on video card requirements; I've got a few sitting around which are probably too out-of-date (pulled from 2-3 year old systems). I expect SATA and eSATA drive control won't be a problem; my photos are currently on an array of 1TB quad-interface external drives, so it's not like the system needs a massive internal drive (nor do I want one).
Processor--I've no clue what to go with. Nor motherboards. I'd prefer a low-power, EnergyStar power supply, small chassis, etc., if that contributes to motherboard requirements.
OS isn't an issue (or cost), but I want to avoid Vista--meaning the beta of Windows 7 or a downgrade to either Windows Server 2k3 or XP Pro (more likely the latter).
If Dell makes anything suitable (not sure that they do), I've got a Dell Preferred account with a 7% discount via my office, and probably have various Dell coupons sitting around.
Thoughts?
I don't think it's going to work, loading CS4 onto my laptop, given how Lightroom 2 chugs along (CS2 runs fine, though working with 16-bit PSDs from the 50D via Lightroom, some of the operations can be rather slow).
So, I'm spec'ing out something new, preferably $1k or so in price if I buy the system new, or $750 if I buy parts. But given it's been so long since I bought new or built a system, I wanted to get an idea as to the fundamentals I'll need.
I'm aiming for at least 4GB of RAM, if not 6. No clue on video card requirements; I've got a few sitting around which are probably too out-of-date (pulled from 2-3 year old systems). I expect SATA and eSATA drive control won't be a problem; my photos are currently on an array of 1TB quad-interface external drives, so it's not like the system needs a massive internal drive (nor do I want one).
Processor--I've no clue what to go with. Nor motherboards. I'd prefer a low-power, EnergyStar power supply, small chassis, etc., if that contributes to motherboard requirements.
OS isn't an issue (or cost), but I want to avoid Vista--meaning the beta of Windows 7 or a downgrade to either Windows Server 2k3 or XP Pro (more likely the latter).
If Dell makes anything suitable (not sure that they do), I've got a Dell Preferred account with a 7% discount via my office, and probably have various Dell coupons sitting around.
Thoughts?