HELP!! Computer? What should I have?

[HOCKEYSTOP]

First a little background. I am working full time and going to school. I start a digital photography class on Saturday and I am very excited. I currently have two laptops and a desk top. I want to replace my OLD Dell desk top with a new one. I will be using my 20" LCD widescreen monitor along with my wireless keybord and mouse along with a 500gig external HD.

What should I be looking for in a new computer? I don't want to build it myself. I would like to go into Frys or go to the DELL website or somthing like that. I will be using Photoshop and mabie Lightroom. I also don't want to spend an arm and a leg for the a new computer, somthing around $400 - $600 if possible. My plan is to have a Smugmug account set up and selling photos by the end of the year. I hope this is enough info. If not I will add more when questions come up.

[toxic]

Without going into extremely specific detail, you'll want a 64-bit OS and at least 4GB of RAM (more is better, especially on Windows), a dedicated graphics card, and a decent processor. I don't believe photo editing requires much graphics card power, so you won't need anything fancy in that category. For a processor...I doubt you'll be getting a quad-core at that price, so let's just say cache size is more important than clock speed. A high-speed (10,000rpm+) hard drive will help, but 7200rpm I think will be fine.

The bulk of your money should be spent on the monitor, assuming yours isn't up to the task already. If you work exclusively in sRGB, you can probably get away with a good TN panel (you'll have to read around to find out which ones are worth it), otherwise you'll need at least PVA or ideally IPS. IPS panels are usually given away by a 178 degree viewing angle and slow reponse times (16ms?). Tack on a hardware calibrator on top. While I'm at it, I recommend i1Display over Huey or Spyder.

[bank5]

If you want your computer anytime soon, I would recommend going any other place than Dell. I just had a pretty bad experience with Dell. My order kept getting delayed and when they finally sent it (6 weeks later), they sent the wrong thing.

[Tallking]

If you want your computer anytime soon, I would recommend going any other place than Dell. I just had a pretty bad experience with Dell. My order kept getting delayed and when they finally sent it (6 weeks later), they sent the wrong thing.

Dell is a mixed bag. I've had very good and very bad from them. You might check their "Dell Outlet" for refurbished machines. These are NOT old used machines, but rather, repaired returns. I've had three Dell refurbs, and you definitely get lots of computer for the money, AND you don't wait weeks for your machine to be built and shipped. OTOH, Dell's support went down the toilet long ago. You should check out any machine you get from them, new or refurb, rigorously within the return period, because if you go one day past the window, you will be f----d.

Get as much processor power and RAM as you can. I find that even my "high powered" M4300 workstation notebook gets overwhelmed with many of my photo processing tasks. Might be the Dell, or it might just be the PITA Windows XP. . .

[gorgon2k]

the only thing I got out of all of that was that you spelled "maybe" mabie!

[themadman]

You may want to ask in the Computer section of these forums.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=129

With that said, I think you can get a decent computer if you are willing to up your price to $700. Quad core, 4GB ram, all that jazz =)

[griptape]

So maybe this is a dumb question... but why don't you want to build it yourself? If you can plug a power cord into a wall, you can build a PC. It's just a matter of plugging in about 12 cords. My build for next month: AMD Phenom II quad core, 8GB RAM, ASUS motherboard with Dual PCI-E, new 750W power supply, and an extra terabyte HDD, and keeping the case and Nvidia 8800 (and a few terabytes of HDD's) from my last build, and for $700 I get everything I want, and nothing I don't. The same system is going to cost you around $1800 from Dell.

[themadman]

So maybe this is a dumb question... but why don't you want to build it yourself? If you can plug a power cord into a wall, you can build a PC. It's just a matter of plugging in about 12 cords. My build for next month: AMD Phenom II quad core, 8GB RAM, ASUS motherboard with Dual PCI-E, new 750W power supply, and an extra terabyte HDD, and keeping the case and Nvidia 8800 (and a few terabytes of HDD's) from my last build, and for $700 I get everything I want, and nothing I don't. The same system is going to cost you around $1800 from Dell.

I am all for building your own computers, I have built TONS. But many folks are not comfortable. To be honest, it is not as simple as plugging in a bunch of cords. It requires finding compatible hardware, which may be easy for you, but is not necessarily easy for everyone. If you buy a computer from a manufacturer, you always have someone to go to if something goes wrong. If you build it yourself, you have to fix it yourself =)

DIY is a great way to save money, but for many people it can be time consuming, full of anxiety, and frustrating.

[griptape]

I am all for building your own computers, I have built TONS. But many folks are not comfortable. To be honest, it is not as simple as plugging in a bunch of cords. It requires finding compatible hardware

If I buy a socket AM3 motherboard that takes 240 pin RAM, then I know I need a socket AM3 processor and 240 pin RAM. That's as easy as "my camera takes CF cards, I should buy CF cards" in my opinion. I do agree that it's nice to have a vendor to hand it over to if something randomly goes wrong, but they're using the same manufacturers (or lesser) in their parts, and charging a huge mark up just because they have a case with a Dell logo on it. A PC is nothing more than:

Case
Power Supply
Motherboard
Processor
RAM
GFX/Sound Card (if your motherboard isn't sufficient for your needs)
Hard Drive
Optical Drive

And all of those things literally plug in with a cord. But again, I can understand how it's nice to have a warranty on the whole machine rather than separate warranties on each individual part if something goes wrong. But it's really MUCH easier to build your own machine than most people make it out to be.

[toxic]

If I buy a socket AM3 motherboard that takes 240 pin RAM, then I know I need a socket AM3 processor and 240 pin RAM. That's as easy as "my camera takes CF cards, I should buy CF cards" in my opinion.

Most people don't know what a motherboard socket is. They don't know the difference between one AMD or Intel processor and another. There are all sorts of RAM, different technology, different clock speeds, different latencies, etc. And there's still all the obscure specifications for the motherboard, processor, power supply, hard drive, and graphics card. Throwing together what looks like will work is not a recipe for reliability. Buying the cheapest parts because you don't understand why the other options are more expensive isn't, either. Finally, putting it together isn't a simple task for someone who's never done it before and who doesn't know how to handle the parts properly.

The OP has stated he wants to get a prebuilt one. Respect that. Pushing him to build one is just as annoying as insisting everyone should buy a Mac.

[griptape]

Fair enough, but it's worth learning. If I put the amount of money I would have blown buying name brand PC's Vs. building my own over the last two decades into my 401K, I would retire quite comfortably. In my opinion, a day or two looking up terms on google is well worth several hundred to a thousand dollars.

What it all comes down to is the fact that the "name brand" computer you are buying DOES NOT manufacture its own parts. Dell doesn't manufacture RAM, motherboards, or any other PC component. They're buying parts from the lowest bidder, from manufacturers you can buy from, and passing the mark up on to you.

I don't mean to be argumentative, but if you can tell why a 17-55 IS is better than a 18-55 IS, you can tell why faster RAM is better than slower RAM. Post work is part of modern photography, it's not rocket science. If you want to pay for things you'll never use on top of the mark up for the plastic logo glued to the case, then be my guest. If you want to pay a fair price for everything you want, then take a few hours to educate yourself.

[DStanic]

i would recommend going to a good local computer shop and have them build you a custom machine rather then a Dell.

Whatever you get, I'd recommend 4gb of RAM (what I'm currently running, and planning on going higher). I build my computer this summer and put in a Intel quad core processor (Q8400) which is 2.66ghz. There are the i7s and stuff out now but they were alot more money. I'm not all up to date with the terminology but there are good AMD CPU alternatives as well. Without the hard drives/DVD-ROM drives I built my whole computer for a hair over $600 Canadian.

[basroil]

i would recommend going to a good local computer shop and have them build you a custom machine rather then a Dell.

Unless they will warranty it for you, bad idea. Parts go bad, and sometimes they go bad quickly. At least 1 year warranty is recommended for all computers, after that, it's up to you, but generally it'll be about the same as buying a better replacement yourself.

First a little background. I am working full time and going to school. I start a digital photography class on Saturday and I am very excited. I currently have two laptops and a desk top. I want to replace my OLD Dell desk top with a new one. I will be using my 20" LCD widescreen monitor along with my wireless keybord and mouse along with a 500gig external HD.

What should I be looking for in a new computer? I don't want to build it myself. I would like to go into Frys or go to the DELL website or somthing like that. I will be using Photoshop and mabie Lightroom. I also don't want to spend an arm and a leg for the a new computer, somthing around $400 - $600 if possible. My plan is to have a Smugmug account set up and selling photos by the end of the year. I hope this is enough info. If not I will add more when questions come up.

If you have a keyboard, mouse, and monitor already, build your own, if you ever played with legos, this is just as fun and easy.

Recommended specs:
Core i5 600 series processor
4gb-8gb ram
500gb (or larger) 7200RPM hdd (not green drive)
350W+ PSU
Your old case (if it's a standard atx/micro atx case, 75% of dell cases are micro ATX)
Skip the graphics (half the new chips have integrated graphics, the rest can use integrated on the motherboards)

You can get parts at newegg.com or other places, and newegg actually has bare bone systems.

I highly suggest staying away from AMD chips unless you absolutely need to stay under $500 or want to play GPU bounded games only). Intel just released Core i3/i5 chips at reasonable prices, and motherboards are now about the same as an equally featured Core 2 motherboard.

As for the "dell buys from lowest bidder" thing, not quite true. All of their bidders are well known companies anyway. My i7 tower mobo is foxconn, my core 2 quad tower mobo is asus. The hdds are seagate raid drives for i7, WD caviar blue for core 2. I've had memory from samsung, corsair, and crucial. Yes, they get cheap parts, but only because they buy bulk. The quality is the same as what you would be getting in retail packages. I can bet you most other companies are the same.

EDIT:
So maybe this is a dumb question... but why don't you want to build it yourself? If you can plug a power cord into a wall, you can build a PC. It's just a matter of plugging in about 12 cords. My build for next month: AMD Phenom II quad core, 8GB RAM, ASUS motherboard with Dual PCI-E, new 750W power supply, and an extra terabyte HDD, and keeping the case and Nvidia 8800 (and a few terabytes of HDD's) from my last build, and for $700 I get everything I want, and nothing I don't. The same system is going to cost you around $1800 from Dell.
No, that system will cost you maybe $800 from dell (after getting more ram from newegg), including three year warranty with on site service. Yes, you'll have to swap out the PSU if you want SLI, but OP isn't going to be spending $600 on a GPU, in fact, he doesn't need a GPU at all. Not everyone needs the best of the best, sometimes they just need the best thing for their need. OP's need is high speed CPU and medium amounts of RAM, after all, photoshop isn't GPU accelerated (though interface supports opengl acceleration, even integrated graphics are more than enough)

[griptape]

You can get parts at newegg.com or other places, and newegg actually has bare bone systems...

I highly suggest staying away from AMD chips unless you absolutely need to stay under $500 or want to play GPU bounded games only)...

As for the "dell buys from lowest bidder" thing, not quite true...
I pretty much agree with everything you said. Newegg's bare bone kits are great deals if you're looking for a first PC build. My parts dollars have been going to newegg for about a decade now, and I've never had a bad experience.

I keep going back and forth on the AMD chip, and I may go with Pentium before I actually click the "Place Order" button. I wouldn't call myself an AMD fanboy, but I do like the product. The last time I bought a Pentium chip for myself was probably 2003. They leapfrog each other so often that I'm more concerned about the socket not going obsolete before my next upgrade. But I'm very seriously considering going back to Intel.

And you're right, Dell isn't buying crap parts from some random maker, but they're certainly not better parts than you would buy yourself, and you definitely pay for dell to screw it into the case for you.

Having said all of that, I do know a couple people who have bought from www.cyberpowerpc.com and been happy with their systems. They're extremely customizable, and it's a much more fair markup than a Dell system. I couldn't tell you about customer service one way or another if something goes wrong though.

[basroil]

I keep going back and forth on the AMD chip, and I may go with Pentium before I actually click the "Place Order" button. I wouldn't call myself an AMD fanboy, but I do like the product. The last time I bought a Pentium chip for myself was probably 2003. They leapfrog each other so often that I'm more concerned about the socket not going obsolete before my next upgrade. But I'm very seriously considering going back to Intel.

And you're right, Dell isn't buying crap parts from some random maker, but they're certainly not better parts than you would buy yourself, and you definitely pay for dell to screw it into the case for you.


Intel wise, you don't need to upgrade the CPU as often. Hell, the q6600 (three years old now) is as fast as the fastest phenom II in CS4. If you go with i3/i5/i7 800, you are buying into the newest socket from intel. The last one (LGA 775) lasted for about 5 years before they moved on. Again, in OP's case, his budget it too small to worry about upgrades (other than memory, hdd, and maybe a graphics card), so he should get the best he can right now (intel chips are faster, and much faster in many cases).

And Dell prices aren't necessarily worse than buying it yourself. In fact, I bought my i7 920 system from them because it was much cheaper than buying the parts myself at the time. At that time, all motherboards were more or less gaming oriented, with SLI/crossfire, billion ports of each type except esata, and worst of all, all in the $400+ range. Adding another $300 for the CPU, $250 for ram, and $200 for HDDs, $150 for the 4850, $100 for case and psu, my system would run about $1400 total. I got it for around $1500 including a 24" monitor and three years on site/part replacement (already had to use it when the 4850's fan broke, and this was an ati built model, so could have happened anyway). Just adding in the monitor meant the system was cheaper from dell than home built ;)

[griptape]

Crap, now I'm gonna have to shop more.

[Poe]

I am also beginning to think about buying a new desktop or building a custom desktop for editing photos (LR/PS). I'd like user opinions on which route I should go. Here's what I'm thinking:

Apple 27" iMac (i5 or i7). Should I go for one over the other? Should I wait until this yellow-tinged monitor issue gets fixed?

or

PC w/ i5-750 Lynnfield
4 to 8 GB DDR3 RAM
Win 7

or

PC w/ i7-920/940 Bloomfield (is the 940 worth the extra $200?)
6 GB DDR3 RAM
Win 7

I'll probably put in some WD HDDs. Not sure what size yet. At minimum 500 GB. Would probably go larger, e.g. 1 TB or more. Any reasons to have multiple drives or a RAID setup? Any motherboard recommendations or ones I should stay away from?

[basroil]

I am also beginning to think about buying a new desktop or building a custom desktop for editing photos (LR/PS). I'd like user opinions on which route I should go. Here's what I'm thinking:

Apple 27" iMac (i5 or i7). Should I go for one over the other? Should I wait until this yellow-tinged monitor issue gets fixed?

or

PC w/ i5-750 Lynnfield
4 to 8 GB DDR3 RAM
Win 7

or

PC w/ i7-920/940 Bloomfield (is the 940 worth the extra $200?)
6 GB DDR3 RAM
Win 7

I'll probably put in some WD HDDs. Not sure what size yet. At minimum 500 GB. Would probably go larger, e.g. 1 TB or more. Any reasons to have multiple drives or a RAID setup? Any motherboard recommendations or ones I should stay away from?


You do realize that you are stating three systems in three price ranges right? :rolleyes:

Forget the mac, unless you have CS4, it'll cost you half a computer to crossgrade (even with cs4 it'll cost you half a hard disk).

Forget the i5 750 if you have enough money to think about a 940.

Forget the 940, it's just an overclocked 920.

That leaves you with either an i7 860 or i7 920, and if you get a decent case, psu, cooling, and mobo, you can overclock 20% without much issue. That will be more than fast enough for most people.

[Poe]

You do realize that you are stating three systems in three price ranges right? :rolleyes:

Yup.

Forget the mac, unless you have CS4, it'll cost you half a computer to crossgrade (even with cs4 it'll cost you half a hard disk).

My brother bought CS4 for his mac and we discussed splitting the cost/sharing. Only thing is I haven't purchased an apple computer yet.

What do you mean that CS4 will cost half a hard disk?

Forget the i5 750 if you have enough money to think about a 940.

This is my budget conscious option. Tomshardware had a nice article on overclocking the i5-750.

Forget the 940, it's just an overclocked 920.

That leaves you with either an i7 860 or i7 920, and if you get a decent case, psu, cooling, and mobo, you can overclock 20% without much issue. That will be more than fast enough for most people.

The 800 series can't use tri-channel memory though. The 900 series would be more of performance splurge. Are you suggesting that the 950/960 is also an overclocked 920?

[basroil]

Yup.



My brother bought CS4 for his mac and we discussed splitting the cost/sharing. Only thing is I haven't purchased an apple computer yet.

What do you mean that CS4 will cost half a hard disk?



This is my budget conscience option. Tomshardware had a nice article on overclocking the i5-750.



The 800 series can't use tri-channel memory though. The 900 series would be more of performance splurge. Are you suggesting that the 950/960 is also an overclocked 920?

You do realize CS4 comes with only one license right? You can only have the software open on one computer at a time.

And if you have to crossgrade, there is a fee involved, that fee amounts to about half a medium sized hdd.

As for overclocking a 750, that's useful ONLY for gaming. For photo/video, more threads = better performance. For games, you need a dual core processor and high clock speed, no more than that.

As for 920 clones, all 900 series chips ending in 0 are just 920s with higher base clock (i.e. overclocked 920). All 900 series chips ending in 5 are unrestricted 920s (50% faster qpi, unlocked multipliers, etc). This isn't new actually, all intel chips are the same. You have different chips (i5 750, i7 860, i7 920, core 2 q8200, core 2 e8200) and then different clock speeds (i.e. 940 and up, q8300 and up, e8300 and up) that are just binned chips (sorted by quality, good 920 chips become the 950, lesser ones 940, even lower ones 920, but often intel is too good at producing chips an actually locks down otherwise excellent samples to keep prices high for the other types)

[Poe]

You do realize CS4 comes with only one license right? You can only have the software open on one computer at a time.

And if you have to crossgrade, there is a fee involved, that fee amounts to about half a medium sized hdd.

My bro said his license allows up to 3 computers. I would not be crossgrading his OS X CS4 to windows. I would get CS4 for windows separately, if I don't go down the apple path.

[Poe]

As for overclocking a 750, that's useful ONLY for gaming. For photo/video, more threads = better performance. For games, you need a dual core processor and high clock speed, no more than that.

If I read this (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i5-750-efficiency,2500-3.html) right, based on their overclocking results they were able to get improved performance while still maintaining the functionality of multiple cores for programs that use multiple threads(e.g. LR/PS), as well as higher speeds for when only one or two cores are needed (games).

[basroil]

My bro said his license allows up to 3 computers. I would not be crossgrading his OS X CS4 to windows. I would get CS4 for windows separately, if I don't go down the apple path.

Your "bro" is mis-stating the license. CS4 is like LR2, 2 computers (or three, perhaps CS4 was more than cs3, can't remember), ONE license, hence one computer at a time may use it, even if it's installed in more than one.

If I read this (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i5-750-efficiency,2500-3.html) right, based on their overclocking results they were able to get improved performance while still maintaining the functionality of multiple cores for programs that use multiple threads(e.g. LR/PS), as well as higher speeds for when only one or two cores are needed (games).

No, you did not read it correctly. The actual way to read it is as such:
i5 750 overclocked is that much faster than the stock speed. But it still doesn't hold a candle against a, i7 at a slightly slower clock speed. in multithreaded operations. The thing is, LR2 will use 100% of available threads for batching and previews. That means if you have 2 threads, it will be twice as fast as 1 thread. 4 threads is twice as fast as 2 threads, 8 threads is twice as fast as 4 threads. In reality, HT threads aren't perfect, so you're looking at 25-50% increase in performance rather than 100%. That means you need to clock your i5 750 to 3.5gh just to start matching the performance of a stock speed i7 860. If you OC'ed the i7 860 to 3.2gh (perfectly doable with stock cooler), and ran a program that is HT optimized (photoshop has been since pentium 4 days), you're looking at close to a 4-4.8GH overclock before the i5 750 can match the performance. That is just not worth it, the cooling systems required would cost more than just getting the damn i7 860

[Poe]

Your "bro" is mis-stating the license. CS4 is like LR2, 2 computers (or three, perhaps CS4 was more than cs3, can't remember), ONE license, hence one computer at a time may use it, even if it's installed in more than one.

How does adobe know if more than one computer is using the license?



No, you did not read it correctly. The actual way to read it is as such:
i5 750 overclocked is that much faster than the stock speed. But it still doesn't hold a candle against a, i7 at a slightly slower clock speed. in multithreaded operations. The thing is, LR2 will use 100% of available threads for batching and previews. That means if you have 2 threads, it will be twice as fast as 1 thread. 4 threads is twice as fast as 2 threads, 8 threads is twice as fast as 4 threads. In reality, HT threads aren't perfect, so you're looking at 25-50% increase in performance rather than 100%. That means you need to clock your i5 750 to 3.5gh just to start matching the performance of a stock speed i7 860. If you OC'ed the i7 860 to 3.2gh (perfectly doable with stock cooler), and ran a program that is HT optimized (photoshop has been since pentium 4 days), you're looking at close to a 4-4.8GH overclock before the i5 750 can match the performance. That is just not worth it, the cooling systems required would cost more than just getting the damn i7 860

Are cores different than threads?

[basroil]

How does adobe know if more than one computer is using the license?





Are cores different than threads?

1) Maybe, depending on what you do. And if you are using it on more than one computer, it's the same as just pirating the program.

2) Yes, very, very different. A core is self sufficient (but would work poorly without the rest of the parts shared with other cores), while a thread (processor) is a dependent part of a core. Can't really say much more without going into things that don't matter. More or less, every core can process at least one thread at a time. The more threads per core, the slower each thread will be processed, but because multiple threads can be processed at the same time, the net result is an increase in performance.

[Poe]

1) Maybe, depending on what you do. And if you are using it on more than one computer, it's the same as just pirating the program.

Well, it seems to me that if I'm not conntected to an internet connection, adobe would have no way of knowing if my brother and I were using the license at the same time.

2) Yes, very, very different. A core is self sufficient (but would work poorly without the rest of the parts shared with other cores), while a thread (processor) is a dependent part of a core. Can't really say much more without going into things that don't matter. More or less, every core can process at least one thread at a time. The more threads per core, the slower each thread will be processed, but because multiple threads can be processed at the same time, the net result is an increase in performance.

The i5-750 and the i7-920 each have 4 cores, but do they have a different number of allowable threads per core?

[wlescall]

You are unlikely to find anyone advocating any type of piracy (except on talk like a pirate day).

Other options for the Mac platform include Pixelmator (http://www.pixelmator.com/) or Photoshop Elements.

[Poe]

You are unlikely to find anyone advocating any type of piracy (except on talk like a pirate day).

Other options for the Mac platform include Pixelmator (http://www.pixelmator.com/) or Photoshop Elements.

I wasn't trying to find someone to advocate piracy.

[Poe]

No, you did not read it correctly. The actual way to read it is as such:
i5 750 overclocked is that much faster than the stock speed. But it still doesn't hold a candle against a, i7 at a slightly slower clock speed. in multithreaded operations. The thing is, LR2 will use 100% of available threads for batching and previews. That means if you have 2 threads, it will be twice as fast as 1 thread. 4 threads is twice as fast as 2 threads, 8 threads is twice as fast as 4 threads. In reality, HT threads aren't perfect, so you're looking at 25-50% increase in performance rather than 100%. That means you need to clock your i5 750 to 3.5gh just to start matching the performance of a stock speed i7 860. If you OC'ed the i7 860 to 3.2gh (perfectly doable with stock cooler), and ran a program that is HT optimized (photoshop has been since pentium 4 days), you're looking at close to a 4-4.8GH overclock before the i5 750 can match the performance. That is just not worth it, the cooling systems required would cost more than just getting the damn i7 860

Would LR/PS take advantage of a dual CPU setup (e.g. using 2 Intel's Xeon CPUs for getting a total of 8 cores)?

[basroil]

Would LR/PS take advantage of a dual CPU setup (e.g. using 2 Intel's Xeon CPUs for getting a total of 8 cores)?

Yes and no. Yes, LR2 works fine with dual xeon nahelem (8 core, 16 thread) and will max out those threads if your disks are fast enough (with that much processing power, you need an SSD or RAID5/6 solution). Haven't head of anyone trying it with a four way 6 core opteron system (24 cores total), but wouldn't be surprised if it worked out just fine. But no, you won't get a mac to max out LR2. You need Windows (XP, Vista, or 7) to allow LR2 to use all threads. Luckily, you can install windows on a mac pro, or you can purchase non-apple branded computers that offer two or even four way (two way max with nahelem xeons, four way with certain other xeons and opterons)


The i5-750 and the i7-920 each have 4 cores, but do they have a different number of allowable threads per core?
Of course... go read up on processors in hothardware or tomshardware. Hell, even Intel's website should provide enough info.

[Poe]

Yes and no. Yes, LR2 works fine with dual xeon nahelem (8 core, 16 thread) and will max out those threads if your disks are fast enough (with that much processing power, you need an SSD or RAID5/6 solution). Haven't head of anyone trying it with a four way 6 core opteron system (24 cores total), but wouldn't be surprised if it worked out just fine. But no, you won't get a mac to max out LR2. You need Windows (XP, Vista, or 7) to allow LR2 to use all threads. Luckily, you can install windows on a mac pro, or you can purchase non-apple branded computers that offer two or even four way (two way max with nahelem xeons, four way with certain other xeons and opterons)


Of course... go read up on processors in hothardware or tomshardware. Hell, even Intel's website should provide enough info.

I just skimmed a wikipedia article about intel processors because I was confused as to why there were nahelem xeons and bloomfield xeons on newegg and what the difference was. I found a nice chart that showed the number of threads on the i5/i7 processors.

That i7-920 is looking like a mighty fine processor. But two Nahelem 5520s would be sick! Would two 5520s be faster than say the i7-975 extreme? I think when priced with mobos the two would be close but based on our discussion so far, I would think the extra cores would be more beneficial for photo editing. Do you think it's too early to buy into triple channel DDR3 ram? Should I wait for prices to come down?

[basroil]

I just skimmed a wikipedia article about intel processors because I was confused as to why there were nahelem xeons and bloomfield xeons on newegg and what the difference was. I found a nice chart that showed the number of threads on the i5/i7 processors.

That i7-920 is looking like a mighty fine processor. But two Nahelem 5520s would be sick! Would two 5520s be faster than say the i7-975 extreme? I think when priced with mobos the two would be close but based on our discussion so far, I would think the extra cores would be more beneficial for photo editing. Do you think it's too early to buy into triple channel DDR3 ram? Should I wait for prices to come down?

Yes, two 5520 can be faster than one 920 overlocked to 3.4gh. But only for things that can actually use those extra threads. For everything else, they are slower. Of course, with the money spent on two 5520, you could buy an i7 computer, not just the processors. For batching, LR2 is multithreaded, for editing it is not. Some parts of photoshop are multithreaded, most of it is no.

As for tri-channel vs dual channel, you do realize that the actual ram is exactly the same right? You can buy three dual channel packages, two tri channel packages, or six individual sticks and it wouldn't make a difference. DDR3 memory has and will continue to drop in price, but then again so does everything else.

[Poe]

Yes, two 5520 can be faster than one 920 overlocked to 3.4gh. But only for things that can actually use those extra threads. For everything else, they are slower. Of course, with the money spent on two 5520, you could buy an i7 computer, not just the processors. For batching, LR2 is multithreaded, for editing it is not. Some parts of photoshop are multithreaded, most of it is no.

When you import photos, is that a batch process? If so, I don't run many batch processes other than importing photos from the memory card. I mostly edit photos individually. Does that mean I should reconsider the number of threads I need?

As for tri-channel vs dual channel, you do realize that the actual ram is exactly the same right? You can buy three dual channel packages, two tri channel packages, or six individual sticks and it wouldn't make a difference. DDR3 memory has and will continue to drop in price, but then again so does everything else.

I got the impression that dual channel and tri-channel were different since the LGA 1156 mobos could only support dual channel while the LGA 1366 mobos supported tri-channel.

[basroil]

When you import photos, is that a batch process? If so, I don't run many batch processes other than importing photos from the memory card. I mostly edit photos individually. Does that mean I should reconsider the number of threads I need?



I got the impression that dual channel and tri-channel were different since the LGA 1156 mobos could only support dual channel while the LGA 1366 mobos supported tri-channel.

Batching is exporting photos, running actions, etc. Importing is disk limited, 99% of the time it's the reader you are using/ memory card itself.

And forget about dual vs tri-channel, you don't need to know what they are or what is better. All you need to care about is ram type and speed, DDR3 1333 is the most common type out there for new intel processors, and you need to use DDR3 memory with these processors.

[57hardtop]

OK...now can someone help answer OP's original question? Not everyone is a computer tech...there must be some pc's out there that people can buy "off the shelf" that aren't a complete waste of money and are capable of some speedy photo editing in CS4 and/or Lightroom...maybe not in the $500 range, but surely around $700-$800 range :confused:

basroil...anything?...please?? :D

[basroil]

OK...now can someone help answer OP's original question? Not everyone is a computer tech...there must be some pc's out there that people can buy "off the shelf" that aren't a complete waste of money and are capable of some speedy photo editing in CS4 and/or Lightroom...maybe not in the $500 range, but surely around $700-$800 range :confused:

basroil...anything?...please?? :D

Dell 8000 series.

EDIT: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dxcwnn1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=studio-xps-8100 Just click on the i7 860 upgrade. You can add more memory later when the budget isn't as strict.

[57hardtop]

Dell 8000 series.

EDIT: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dxcwnn1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=studio-xps-8100 Just click on the i7 860 upgrade. You can add more memory later when the budget isn't as strict.

yes...thank you basroil!!! :D
one more question...any downsides to Window 7 Home Premium instead of Windows 7 Professional...or Ultimate? (I know, I should search, but thought maybe you could give it to me in a nutshell ;))

[basroil]

yes...thank you basroil!!! :D
one more question...any downsides to Window 7 Home Premium instead of Windows 7 Professional...or Ultimate? (I know, I should search, but thought maybe you could give it to me in a nutshell ;))

Unless you want to use XP mode or remote login, none really. XP mode can be useful for some older programs, but CS3/CS4/LR(2/3) work 100% in w7 anyway, and haven't heard of any issues with programs as old as photoshop 7.0. Remote login is something only for more experienced users, I use it to access my home network, but you need to know what you are doing or else you can leave networks open to attack, or have it not work at all anyway.

[57hardtop]

Unless you want to use XP mode or remote login, none really. XP mode can be useful for some older programs, but CS3/CS4/LR(2/3) work 100% in w7 anyway, and haven't heard of any issues with programs as old as photoshop 7.0. Remote login is something only for more experienced users, I use it to access my home network, but you need to know what you are doing or else you can leave networks open to attack, or have it not work at all anyway.

Doesn't sound like I'd need either of those options...so I guess Home Premium it will be...I was worried it was like the XP home version compared to the pro...thanks again :D