HIGH end Graphics PC

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vidoprof

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
468
Need advice on what to get (TOTAL BUILD) on a High end graphics.

I work only (NOT GAMING AT ALL ON THIS RIG) Photoshop CS3 and other photography related software.

I am working with 1+ gig files and need a TON of Storage space for backups and backups of those backups.

I am looking to spend MAX $3k. I have the monitors so I need everything else and I mean everything. I have a backup rig that is a Q6600 with 4 gigs of Ram, but it honestly just doesn't seem fast enough. Going through my files (using BreezeBrowser) and using CS3 at the same time and things take a little long to render any kind of filters and such.

Any suggestions? Needs to be XP Pro NOT 64.

I was thinking along the lines of
Q9700
4 Gigs ram (what kind and brand)?

Case (I like my other case Antec 900)
I need storage room for the HD's
What HD's and how do I setup the RAID (should I go RAID) array.
Raid controller? Onboard ok?
Sound (onboard is fine with me, unless the processor has to do work and then I will buy an external sound card)

Thanks
Ryan


BTW is there anywhere online that could build this for me and I get a warranty on it? I don't want to go through to Dell they don't have enough Hard drive options for me.
 
I've been hearing good things about AVA and other boutiques. I'm sure somebody can assist you on that, I believe that they can overclock for you and it'll be under warranty, but that's just my guess.
 
What's your Q6600 config like? In particular, the HD part. AFAIK, Photoshop gets a boost if you use a fast HD, like a Raptor 10K as your main drive, then you need one drive for the scratc disc and another one for PS cache. There is definately a specific hard drive configuration to get optimal PS results.
 
Seems kind of pointless for you to get 4gigs of memory if you will not be using a 64 bit OS.
 
crashthenet44 said:
Seems kind of pointless for you to get 4gigs of memory if you will not be using a 64 bit OS.
Click to expand...

It means that he will most likely be able to squeeze out 3 gigs and a bit, instead of being limited to just three gigabytes. Putting in four gigs is the way to get the most ram possible for his configuration with a 32 bit OS. It would be more of a waste if he was putting in 8 gigs, but with four gigs very little gets unused.

You cannot use a 64 bit os? Do you have programs that will not on on windows xp 64?
 
Well not really since I can "see" 3 gigs of it and since RAM is SOO cheap nowadays I don't really see not having 4 gigs. I just don't have the software for 64 and I don't want to worry about drivers issues and anything else. I just know XP is stable.

I will have to look into that Drive config you are talking about. I understand what you are saying and Maybe that is all I need to do, but with file sizes at 1 gig sometimes it's just slow when doing a simple cutout using a filter.

So any suggestions on the Processor and heatsink and fan and anything else? Will a E8400 be better, or should I go with the QX9700 (for the price of course) for the extra money?

Thanks guys
Ryan
 
Yeah i can use a little more than 3 gigs 3.15 actually so that is why the 4 gigs
 
if you think a q6600 with 4g of ram is "slow", you're not going to get much better unless you increase your hd speed or go to a 64-bit enviroment and go with 8g of ram. I'd strongly suggest trying xp 64-bit and more ram before sinking lots of money into a new system.

I'd suggest you buy a pair of raptor 150's, one for OS/photoshop exe, and 1 for scratch directory. Or raid them together with raid-0 -- not sure which would be faster, honestly. Or go with a 15k scsi/sas setup. Oh, and onboard raid is okay, but not the best solution.. buying a good sata raid controller would be the best.

Then if you need tons of room, get a few 750's or 1tb drives for just dumping data on, but work off the raptors.

I figure you could just spend like $300-400 and try to increase your current speed, than dropping several thousand for not much more % increase.
 
Thanks Flint. I might try that. I just have to figure out HOW to do that is all. :)

I guess I probably need to reformat everything and start over here and use the FAST drives for the OS and then the other Fast drive for the scratch disk. Maybe get a 32gig SSD or bigger even for the scratch disk, and then another for the OS maybe?

I am looking into RAID controllers now. Any suggestions?

So getting the 3ghz vs 2.4 is not going to get me much of an increase huh?

Good to know.

Thanks
Ryan

p.s. I might be having RAM issues too cause every once in a while I get a BSOD that relates to RAM (can't remember the BSOD though right now) and I did the memory testing for HOURS and nothing seems wrong according to the testing.
 
BTW.. I might be just GETTING a new machine anyways. SO suggestions?

Where should I contact to build it all. I did my machine, but would rather just pay someone now (unless it's that much cheaper to do it myself)

Ryan
 
You could also OC your 2.4 to over 3.0. But your main bottleneck is your hard drive.
 
vidoprof said:
BTW.. I might be just GETTING a new machine anyways. SO suggestions?

Where should I contact to build it all. I did my machine, but would rather just pay someone now (unless it's that much cheaper to do it myself)

Ryan
Click to expand...

Shop around at Velocity Micro, Maingear, Puget, and... ok, I'm forgetting one or more, but whatever. Then price out what the system would cost if you built it yourself. Then figure out how long it would take to build it, and don't forget to add in some extra hours for the surprises you might find. Then figure out if the price difference is worth saving, or just to have someone go through all the "trouble" for you. Though, to most of us, its no "trouble" at all. ;)
 
Well it looks like none of those places offer any sort of multiple HD configurations on their websites. I will have to call them, but I went to MainGear and Velocity and man they are WAY overpriced for what you get.

I guess that's why you guys all build them yourselves huh?

:)


So Eng where do I start? Is the QX6850 worth it over the E8500 for the price? I won't game and Photoshop does utlize more than 2 cores (I don't think). Should I opt for a QX9700?

Thanks
ryan
 
vidoprof said:
BTW is there anywhere online that could build this for me and I get a warranty on it? I don't want to go through to Dell they don't have enough Hard drive options for me.
Click to expand...

You really need to go to http://www.avadirect.com. They have the largest selection of parts and the lowest price among the boutique vendors, and their service is also very good. If you want to start with a configuration, try the CUSTOM COMPUTER, Core™2 DDR2 Performance Series System. That config has up to five hard drives. You can also just call them up, speak with Joe or Misha, and tell them what you need.

Seriously, you won't regret checking them out. Note that the options available in a web site configuration can depend on which one you start with, so calling them might just be easier when you have a lot of requirements.
 
Specs on the Q6600:

1. Antec 900 case
2. Q6600
3. Gigabyte P35-DS3L
4. 4 gig OZ ram
5. 1x 40gig 7200.7 samsung drive (boot / OS)
6. 1x 500 gig 7200.10 drive (data) and it's also my scratch disk for PS CS3
7. 1x750 gig (data)
8. 7600gt video card (didn't think I needed anything more since I don't game at all)
9. DVD burner
10. Artic Freezer Pro

I think I need to upgrade the boot drive and possibly add another drive that is just for a scratch disk for PS.

Ryan

Thoughts on what to do now?
 
Eng,

Since I have no idea on how to "read" those graphs I guess I am shooting in the dark. :)

What would you consider FAST? I am still leaning on getting a completely new rig anyways (I might give this one to my business partner that does a LITTLE Photoshop so he has a nicer desktop to work on) to use for Photoshop and get it tip top with all the backups in place and the drives working properly.

I guess I definitely need to figure out how to load XP with the SATA drivers too in order to increase the performance.

THanks
Ryan
 
With >1gb files you're probably are being limited by the RAM. Going to XP64 and 8gb and then spending any extra money on replacing anything incompatible (which is likely nothing) is my recommendation. If you have enough RAM, the hard drive speed will barely matter except for initial loading because the system won't have to constantly switch data between the HD and RAM.
 
Is the Q6600 cpu in this setup overclocked? You can get some boost from here. If you go to 64bit O/S you can can take advantage of the increased RAM above 4gb. You can do this for your existing Q6600 setup: Upgrade your O/S to 64 bit Vista, O/C your CPU if it's not overlclocked, upgrade you RAM to 8gigs. See how this works out for you.


vidoprof said:
Specs on the Q6600:

1. Antec 900 case
2. Q6600
3. Gigabyte P35-DS3L
4. 4 gig OZ ram
5. 1x 40gig 7200.7 samsung drive (boot / OS)
6. 1x 500 gig 7200.10 drive (data) and it's also my scratch disk for PS CS3
7. 1x750 gig (data)
8. 7600gt video card (didn't think I needed anything more since I don't game at all)
9. DVD burner
10. Artic Freezer Pro

I think I need to upgrade the boot drive and possibly add another drive that is just for a scratch disk for PS.

Ryan

Thoughts on what to do now?
Click to expand...
 
I really don't WANT to overclock it since this computer will house my data for my business (which is online photography) and if it goes down I am down for a few days (not an option). I didn't think overclocking would get me THAT much of a difference and it would definitely make me worry.

I will have to look into going with 64bit OS for sure now. I just don't like Vista (but it might have to go that route).

I will also be going with better drives now. I am going to start a new thread since this one just took a little differnt turn.

Any other suggestions are welcomed.

Ryan
 
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