Photoshop machine

[ApocolypticTampon]

Well the wife saw the build for our son and asked me what it would take for me to build her something better than her 1.6ghz toshiba laptop which she currently does photoshop on for web banners. I have to piece this together over several weeks of paychecks but should be able to find some deals like i did on the PSU.

Corsair TX750 $90 at newegg after discounts
ASUS 24x dvd burner
16gb Corsair Vengance low profile 1600mhz
Adobe Photoshop CS6 (preorder)

Yet to buy:
ASUS P8Z77-V PRO LGA
Intel Core i7-3770(K) edit
2x Crucial m4 128gb ssd's for raid 0
ASUS VS229H-P 21.5" IPS monitor
Windows 7 Pro

Case still open but probably will use the same that i built the son in, the Rosewill blackhawk
Video card: none to start with. just to get the machine running. will go SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition OC later so i can use this as a backup wow machine

[llDemonll]

photoshop machine doesn't need SSD's, so you can save a bunch going with a western digital caviar black or spinpoint f3

get a 7870 card, not a 7770

get a 650w PSU, 750w is overkill

motherboard is way overkill unless you buy a K series processor. if you don't buy a 3770k get something like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131834 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157302

win 7 home premium OEM will be fine unless you specifically need professional to be able to join a domain

[ApocolypticTampon]

Actually the SSD will help PS because of the speed of the scratch file.

Yes, I am getting the K, i did not realize i forgot to put it in the spec.

The PSU was on sale, PSU''s don't run a full power unless load dictates it. Also, as with an engine, you don't want to rev it up and leave it just under the redline 24/7 you don't want to do that with a psu either (heat, derogation, instability, a few factors) i dont mind spending a few dollars on a little more psu.

[Drunkenvalley]

Personally would've gone for the OCZ ZT 550 or 650. Those are around the same pricepoint as the TX 750, but are completely modular. Sure makes cable work more enjoyable. And while not pushing your PSU to the max constantly is ideal, you won't find Photoshop to be very demanding at lower resolutions.

That said, working in Photoshop is a mixed bag. If it's just web-content @ 72 DPI then just integrated graphics is sufficient, and the biggest leap in speed would be a high quality hard drive or SSD so shit doesn't take long to load and save, etc. Currently running Photoshop off a 256 GB SSD, an i5 2500k and integrated graphics here personally, and I can't tell a lick of difference from when I had a good graphics card in the machine.

[ApocolypticTampon]

Although the primary usage is Photoshop, I also may have to use it as a backup WoW machine.

And for the 3rd time, the PSU was on SALE

Edit:
And i just remembered, the wife needs the pro win7 because sometimes her boss asks her to get in the back side of their servers for SEO, Banners, Photo submision, etc.

[Neteyes]

Although the primary usage is Photoshop, I also may have to use it as a backup WoW machine.

And for the 3rd time, the PSU was on SALE

Edit:
And i just remembered, the wife needs the pro win7 because sometimes her boss asks her to get in the back side of their servers for SEO, Banners, Photo submision, etc.

So basically she's working with graphics at a place that does not provide any software, or means to access their servers? I hope it's worth it in the end paying for photoshop and all that :P

[Ailthas]

Actually the SSD will help PS because of the speed of the scratch file.

Photoshop's scratch file is a little like Window's swap file. I might be completely off base here, but I would be hesitant to place the scratch file on it due to all the writes.

[Drunkenvalley]

Although the primary usage is Photoshop, I also may have to use it as a backup WoW machine.

I'd suggest a GTX 460 or something for that. You really don't need a lot of power to run WoW at decent settings, since most of it is CPU bound.

[ApocolypticTampon]

So basically she's working with graphics at a place that does not provide any software, or means to access their servers? I hope it's worth it in the end paying for photoshop and all that :P

Her boss provided years ago CS3. It is her decision to get CS6 (her boss covered the upgrade difference)

She accesses the servers from our house just fine with her current laptop with Vista Ult.

She also does banner work , photo work on the side from time to time for friends / family. She also looks at it as a creative outlet. edit: and it keeps her out of my hair when i get on WoW.

She does get paid for the time she is logged when doing work related tasks.

---------- Post added 2012-05-04 at 08:38 PM ----------

I'd suggest a GTX 460 or something for that. You really don't need a lot of power to run WoW at decent settings, since most of it is CPU bound.

The 4xx series of Nvidia cards have to be some of the hottest running in the last decade. I will stick with AMD, The Sapphire 7770 1Ghz OC (1.15ghz) is only $150-ish at newegg.

[ApocolypticTampon]

UPDATE:

SSD: Crucial M4 256gb (got it for 199)
Case: Corsair 500R Black

Thursday I will order the Win7 Pro 64bit and the Sapphire 7770 1.15ghz Video card.

Next Thursday i will order the P8Z77-V Pro and the 2700k (since either the IB is out of stock or more than i care to get gouged for)

[Drunkenvalley]

The 4xx series of Nvidia cards have to be some of the hottest running in the last decade. I will stick with AMD, The Sapphire 7770 1Ghz OC (1.15ghz) is only $150-ish at newegg.

Yes, thank you for providing previously unknown information.* The HD 7770 is a good card tho.
*That's sarcasm

As far as processor goes, I don't think you'll be seeing much benefit out of a 2700k. This is speaking from my experience with Photoshop, but the 2500k processors I've used have hardly been tested much when working with the sort of resolutions that're relevant for your wife.

[Deleted]

The whole computer is a gigantic overkill for photoshopping, maybe divert some cash to bigger monitor and high quality pen tablet.

And why on earth are you making these posts, you're not even asking anything and basically keep telling what you've done or going to do regardless of opinions in here...

You know what, I'm going to build a GTX 690 SLI rig with all bells and whistles, want me to report every step here?

[llDemonll]

Why are you ordering a 2700K with a Z77 mobo? Either get a Z68 or get an Ivy Bridge CPU

[Drunkenvalley]

Why are you ordering a 2700K with a Z77 mobo? Either get a Z68 or get an Ivy Bridge CPU

...Why? Z77 is compatible with Sandy and Ivy Bridge, Z68 is compatible with both with a BIOS update. Dun' see the problem, particularly when the Z77 board offers better features for diagnostics, as well as a few small improved bits and pieces over the place.

Though then again, he's going for the Asus P8xxx boards. I'd have gone with AsRock Z77 Extreme4 or Asus Maximus Gene V or w/e it's called, and a small handful of increasingly expensive boards, which features the debug LED and various emergency-buttons.

[llDemonll]

i was more thinking that he could save a bunch of money going with a z68 instead. asrock z68 extreme3 is about $100 less than the z77 v-pro he's looking at

[Drunkenvalley]

i was more thinking that he could save a bunch of money going with a z68 instead. asrock z68 extreme3 is about $100 less than the z77 v-pro he's looking at

Oh, that motherboard is one I'll have to keep an eye on. It's almost twenty bucks cheaper than AsRock's Z77 Extreme4, while seeming to carry most if not all of the same features...

[noteworthynerd]

At this point, I think it is pertinent to ask: Do you actually have a question, ApocolypticTampon? You've been given great advice in this thread, but you've ignored or rebuked all of it.

This forum is meant for asking build questions, not making build statements.