PC Setup

[notahonda]

I am thinking about buying a decent set up to do my post production photographic work....I am not sure if it is worth while... currently i am working off a laptop dual core 2GB of RAM and 1.8GHz of speed. I guess I was hoping the team could share some info with me hehehe
(1) Has anyone changed their set up since getting in to photography?
(2) if so has that made a difference... i just find photoshop takes too long to open RAW files :)
(3) Whats the current set up right now including monitor size hehe

Any help once again appreciated hehe

[MarkW]

Yes - Twice

Firstly to a fairly heavy duty PC based machine which didn't seem to make a great deal of difference.

Now I use a MacBook Pro (Laptop) and will not go back to PC systems. I do have to use a PC as part of my employment but that only increases my resolve not to go back. Using the MBP is quite faster in terms of Photoshop but then Photoshop is used in a different fashion. I use Nikon transfer to download and change the image to TIFF rather than maintaining the RAW format. The image may or may not have some PP at this point then uploaded into Aperture. Once within the Aperture app, Photoshop is used to for full processing similar to the way Bridge is used.

MacBook Pro - 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo with 4GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM with 23" Mac Cinema Screen.

[Kym]

PC or MAC you need Core 2 and 2GB minimum, 4GB preferred and 1TB disk.
A decent wide monitor (enough vertical depth in pixels)
A 512Mb graphics card is essential.

I use two tools when doing system configs.
1. Whirlpool http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/?tag=rmp_sg
2. MSY for parts an build www.msy.com

Eg.... (Use this as a starting point)
CPU: Intel E8400 S775 $248
Motherboard: MSI P43 Neo-F $98
RAM: 2 x 2GB DDR2-800 $64
HDD: Samsung 320GB 16MB SATAII $64
GPU: 512MB RAEDON HD4850 $204
Case: Antec Three Hundred $89
PSU: Corsair VX-450 $95
Optical Drive: Samsung 22x SATA $27
Monitor: 22" Samsung 2233BW $245 <<< Probably get a better monitor
Speakers: Creative Gigaworks T20 2.0 $75
K/B: Logitech Corded Wave $40
Mouse: Logitech MX 518 $30

Total: $1279
- maybe swap to this: Monitor: 24" Samsung 2433BW $379

Also... buy after 1/7/2009


Starting on July 1, 2009 any new systems purchased will be eligible for the no-charge update. In addition to purchasing the PC after that date, there are three more rules:

* End users must purchase a new PC that is pre-installed with an eligible Windows Vista OS. Retail boxed Vista versions likely won't qualify.
* Your computer must have a valid Windows Vista COA attached.
* The only Windows Vista® versions eligible for the program are Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate. Vista basic users are out of luck.

Oh yeah, there's one more little detail that may be important:
Participation in the program is optional, so it's ultimately up to the OEM that builds your system to allow the upgrade. In all fairness, this has been the case with every other Windows upgrade -- and almost all vendors participate. YOU NEED TO ASK FOR THE UPGRADEABLE VERSION

[phild]

Went from a P4 2.8G with 2G Ram running XP to Vista Ultimate 64bit on a quad core 2.4G processor and 8Gb Ram, loads raw files almost instantaneously. From memory the box without OS cost a bit over $1000. I'm using an ASUS M/B and Video card in a Coolmaster case & PSU.

You can easily open multiplefiles in PS without any noticeable slowdown but you need CS4 to take full advantage of the 64 bit capabilities.

I'm currently running a 22 inch LCD monitor and intend to hook up a second monitor on my system (dual head videcard).

[tangcla]

Got a faster quad-core processor and more RAM. Oh, and two 22" LCDs :D

[notahonda]

yeah i might do the 2 x 22" LCD avenue ...i really enjoy using 2 x LCDs ... as i cant afford a 30"... hehe

[notahonda]

wrong thread

[arthurking83]

hmmmm.. I'm interested in this thread!
I desperately need a new system(more for the added SATA conectors) than anything else.

Kym, is there any real benefit in a quad core vs a dual core?
What about a twin processor.

ATM price is my main concern, and I want to keep a new basic box and screen to $1K, as I'm more interested in a few major camera purchases over th enext six months, and funds are going to be severely limited :(

Are those Samsung screens good to very good at the least?
I'm currently using an old Sony Multiscan(CRT) monitor which I have yet to see bettered by any LCD screen. I want the LCD for use as a secondary screen.

That update thingy/info: is that for the update to Windows 7?
I'm not a fan of Vista, never had been, never will be and would much prefer W2K over Vista.

[Derek-C]

I recently updated my PC .

Went to the local PC shop and he built what I wanted or should say needed.

He new I did photography so gave me plenty of RAM and big graphics card.

Two hard drives ,and what else I don't know

Derek

[Kym]

Kym, is there any real benefit in a quad core vs a dual core?
What about a twin processor.

ATM price is my main concern, and I want to keep a new basic box and screen to $1K, as I'm more interested in a few major camera purchases over the next six months, and funds are going to be severely limited :(

Are those Samsung screens good to very good at the least?
I'm currently using an old Sony Multiscan(CRT) monitor which I have yet to see bettered by any LCD screen. I want the LCD for use as a secondary screen.

That update thingy/info: is that for the update to Windows 7?
I'm not a fan of Vista, never had been, never will be and would much prefer W2K over Vista.

Twin processors will kill your $1000 box option.

Dual vs Quad core - complex question!
Unless software is multi threaded (or you do multiple compute intense jobs at the same time) Quad gives you less performance (at the same chip speed) as there are more bottlenecks in your system (i.e. each core wants access to the memory bus at the same time etc).

Adobe CS4 and Lightroom 2.3 will use Quad core (multi threaded)!

Intel are putting more into Quad these days so Quads can be faster for normal use.
Quad is out performing dual core for performance with the right software.

Sony CRTs are very good. LCD has improved a lot, but a good CRT is better.
The Samsung's are get what you pay for - they are ok.

Yes, the update after July 1 is for Vista > Windows 7. So buy Vista now and get Win7 for free ($10 for disk?) when it comes out.
(Read the fine print above and ask for the option - its not by default - you get a special coupon).
Win 7 is a big improvement over Vista - esp. performance. Also sorted a bunch of UI sillyness.
I'm running Vista SP2 at work and have tried Win 7 RC (or at least our tech support have built some Win 7 systems to play with).
Vista SP2 is not too bad - they have sorted the worst of Vista.

Check the Whirlpool links as a starting point - they save a lot of time.
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/?tag=rmp_sg
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/?tag=rmp_sg_whirlpoolpcs_boxes
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/?tag=rmp_sg_whirlpoolpcs_systems