What PC should I but now? High End

[kirbinster]

So its time to upgrade. What would anyone suggest here as far as a processor, and memory for a system to run Lightroom and Photoshop (and lots of non photo stuff) on Windows 7 64bit?

What is the difference between an Intel i5 and an i7 and how much difference does the speed of the processor make once you are in these quad core units. Also I am talking about triple channel ram, is there much value in going from 6 to 12 gigs?

[NikS]

Well, all depends on what else you're going to do with your PC. Basically i run photoshop on my core2duo, 4gb ram macbook pro, and i'm quite pleased with performance.
For i5 vs i7 - basically two biggest differences are support for triple channel RAM in i7, and double channel in i5, and hyper-threading. Hyper-threading is a technology used to simulate more cores than actually exist on the processor. All i7 proccesors are quad-cores, but actually appear in windows as eight cores. And only dual-core i5's have this feature, while quad-cores do not.
So basically - i5 is a mainstream processor, while someone using multi-thread applications(photoshop being such) on regular basis would benefit more from i7.

[kirbinster]

Thanks that was some very detailed and valuable info. I was looking at benchmarks on line and did not see much difference between the i5 and i7 so was leaning towards the i5, but your info is suggesting I go with the i7. I like to get a good machine and keep it 3 to 5 years, so it sounds like the best bet to go with the faster one.

[Shokinen]

The difference between i5 and i7 is nice on paper but without tight tweeking, you wont get the performance they get in benchmarks. I've been working in IT field long enough to understand these guys tweak it all day long to get the best run possible. Just like taking a picture !

Ultimately, your budget will decide what to buy but you won't see much difference between the 2. Don't get me wrong, you'll see a little one in games, and maybe during intensive request in PS, but not if you are browsing while listen music. My point is don't break your back to get the i7. The i5 is a very good processor and you don't need DDR3 /300$ motherboard to support it.

Nikon body are still "fairly low" in Megapixel compare to Canon (except the D3s hehehe) so in a sense it's easier on a computer. My current setup is: Intel i7 930, 6GB Ram (3 x 2GB), ATI 4850 and I don't even use the full 6GB. Even when I export my pictures with Lighrooom in the background, listen to music and playing World of Warcraft @ 1900x1200 at the same time. So yeah... it is powerfull. Windows7 - 64bit is a must. Otherwise it would be like drinving a Porche in a school zone. The new OS is smart enough to assign services to other cores when some are too busy.

I'm a gamer first, then a photographer. That's why I chose the i7. Otherwise I would have gone with the i5. Most of us are amateurs afterall

[NikS]

Today's price differences between i5 and not highest end i7 aren't that big.
For example check out this machine. Very good package imho, and the price is quite right.

[Shokinen]

Yeah, you'll save money if you go with PC compagny but I'm a geek and still build my computers from scratch

[kirbinster]

Interesting, almost the same specs as one I was looking at on their site yesterday:

Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit edit
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-930 quad-core [2.8GHz, 1MB L2 + 8MB shared L3 cache] edit
Memory FREE UPGRADE! 9GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [5 DIMMs] from 8GB edit
Hard drive 3TB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s - two 1.5TB hard drives edit
Graphics card 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 [DVI, HDMI, VGA] edit
Primary optical drive LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive edit
Networking Integrated 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) Ethernet, No wireless LAN edit
Front Productivity Ports 15-in-1 memory card reader, 1 USB, 1394, audio, video (for TV Tuner) edit
TV & entertainment experience TV tuner, ATSC-NTSC with PVR, remote edit
Sound Card Integrated 7.1 channel sound with front audio ports edit
Speakers No speakers edit
Keyboard and Mouse HP deluxe wireless keyboard & wireless mouse edit
Office software Microsoft(R) Works 9.0 edit
Security software Norton Internet Security(TM) 2010 - 15 month edit


I have a 4 year old HP now, but have been told to avoid them now as they are using junk components. Mine has an ASUS MB and quality components, but they have gone away from that I am told.

If I build myself, what MB would you suggest? What about disk drives? I have heard some say to stay away from the 1.0 and 1.5TB drives, but I need lots of storage. Right now I have a pair of 300gig drives in the machine along with a slot for an HP Personal media drive of which I have a 500gig always in the machine. I have four external drives hanging off the machine on USB and Firewire (two 1TB, one 1.5TB and one 750gig). I would like to avoid all these drives hanging on the new system.

[NikS]

Well, i wouldn't call them junk. After all, HP pc's holding biggest share of the market, for me it's some indication of quality. Most likely there's an Gigabyte or MSI MB inside.

If you choose to build your own system - Asus P6T is a quite good MB for i7, and it's about 250$. As for HDDs - personally i didn't encounter, neither heard of any particular issues with 1-1.5TB drives.

I'd still purchase a system from a brand, with customizing few details, than build my own.

[Shokinen]

Motherboard: Asus P6T.
There is many sub-models all with different tweaks. The plain one suited my need.

As for drive, Solid State Memory combine with a NAS drive. That`s the perfect setup imo. SSM is quite fast (similar to 2 x 15k rpm drive in raid0...) but expensive over 32GB so you`ll need extra storage. 32GB is enough for your Operating System and you save all your files on your Network Access Storage.

I'm currently using a D-Link DNS-323 NAS drive with 2 x 1TB drive and I love it. Make sure your network is configure / supporting gigabyte otherwise it`s slow. I dump all my raw there. Llightroom is creating virtual copied so I never touch the original file. Plus, the NAS drive is doing Raid1 (mirroring) so I never have to do a backup because both disk have the same information. Lighroom catalogs have to be save localy (LR doesn`t support catalogues saved on a network drive) but all the pictures can be saved elsewhere.

I didn`t go for a SSM drive in my current machine because I was busting my budget. I'm using a 1.5T WD Black. But some day….

[Shokinen]

Originally Posted by NikS

If you choose to build your own system - Asus P6T is a quite good MB for i7, and it's about 250$.

Didn't realized you replied before I did. Looks like we are on the same page hehehe.