Please advise on budget for basic desktop PC

[Staxxx]

Hello. I wondered, since many of you have such a good IT background, whether you can give me a ball-park idea of the price that I may have to pay for a desktop PC for the specific purpose of running and housing my photography editing software. I recently bought a good IPS screen for editing and instead of connecting my laptop to it each time (Vaio Z1) I was thinking it may be more sensible to migrate my software to a dedicated PC. The programs are quite intensive (Adobe Photoshop CS6 and Nik Collection) although the number of photographs are miniscule at the moment. One of the cameras I use produces 40-80 mb photographs as standard so I have to think of a reasonable amount of storage, say 500GB.
Any advise on graphic cards (more for colour fidelity rather than speed etc.) would also be useful.
Eventually I would like to have this built, with a simple DVD writer (only for use to load software easily), a wi-fi connection (as Photoshop requires this I believe) and a few USB and an HDMI in/outputs. I will not be using this PC probably for anything else other than perhaps the odd download.
Thanks for your help. You can PM me if it is easier to speak about this.
I will be sourcing this in Bangalore.

 

[prosenjit]

it can be done within 20k..25k..
maybe less if you are open to used gear

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

built-in wifi is uncommon on desktop machines, although they will all come with built-in wired networking. A USB wifi dongle can easily be added, if you cannot run a cable to your modem/router. We just got one to replace a failed internal wifi on an old laptop: Rs850 IIRC.

The current state, performance, and costs of motherboards and processors is something that I hope not to need to check out for another couple of years so, sorry, can't help with that.

 

[Suppu]

check these


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Discover ur Laptop Desktop Computer. Select PC by Specs, Price, Brand. Price-list Info system by Bangalore-Computers

 

[Shivam]

( Mods : Can this tread be moved to 'General Lounge' ? )

For photography requirements, first you have to decide the kind of files you will be working on. I work on raw and tiff files and so for me high ram was important. I use a 64bit OS so as to support the ram. My OS, photoediting programs are on a SSD and hard-disks are used for storage of files. I have multiple hard-disks to keep Back-Ups. There is no disk drive but I do have a USB DVD-writer which I share between various computers and netbooks whenever needed (which is usually once or twice a year). I use an external CF card reader connected by USB.

For the monitor, more important than buying a good panel is accurately calibrating it. I suggest that you buy 'Spyder' for this purpose which in my opinion is one of the best calibrating device available for photography related use.

Another good accessory that I find very useful while working on photographs is 'Bamboo' pen tablet (Wacom).

pm me your budget and the system components / accessories that you own and I can try to help you out.

 

[malvai]

Staxx, why con thou go for a MacBook Pro?
I have mine with a 512 gb SSD, 16 gb ram. I use it for my photography touch ups (I run an ad agency) plus it also doubles up for editing the corporate AVs. And basic sound edits. Been using the mac for 3 years and I upgrade only once in 2 years.

Works like a charm.

 

[nshankar]

+1 to above.

Computer with SSD for OS and NAS for storage. Card reader to load images straight from camera's memory card. Monitor calibration - I use spyder3.

P.S. :- If budget is not a constraint, Mac recommended.

 

[Staxxx]

Thank you all for your expeditious advice.
Yes, budget is an issue so the Mac was out of my choices. I have just spent so much already on the IPS monitor, software and extra camera. I will definitely look into buying Spyder for sure as everyone does mention that calibrating the monitor is essential.
I also work in RAW and Tiff files. I use 64-bit CS6 among other programs. I like the idea of putting the software on SSD and using an HDD for the data storage. I will look into getting a build in that way.
The router is in the same room as the desktop is likely to be, although the run of wire from one end to the other end will be about around 8 metres. Will that cause an issue?
I was thinking of getting a quad core 5i as I believe Photoshop 64 bit is much faster on quad core. Is that a fact or will I be able to get away with the 3rd gen core 3i machine please? The other alternative was an AMD A-10 machine. Any suggestions - keeping in mind I do want to keep it simple and inexpensive. 20-25k sounds perfect.
I will also look into a Bamboo pen, which I assume I can get easily here in Bangalore?
Thanks once again for the guidance.

 

[malvai]

Staxx then go for quad core i7. Have 16 gb ram and a beefier graphics card....

 

[malvai]

Also, ditch the bamboo pen and SSD for now. Buy those later...

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Although I've never done much graphic work (and only very amateurish when I have) I've used two Wacom tablets. In fact, I used to use a Wacom tablet+mouse combination full time, only picking up the "pen" when needed.

My impression of "bamboo" is that it did not come anywhere near the quality of the older tablet I used. On this basis, I'd say that the bamboo might be ok for occasional dabblers like me, but for professional, or even serious, work, I'd really recommend trying to spend the much higher cost of their higher models.

Staxxx, if I remember right, Cat-5 (that's when I got retired from the industry) ethernet runs can be up to 100m, so 8 is nothing. I guess you can buy 8m flyleads! wifi is good, and pretty reliable, but wired, so long as nobody does anything silly with the cable, will always just work and is so much easier when it comes to changing equipment at either end.

 

[Shivam]

You can get the cheapest graphic card that you can find which supports your monitor's resolution. None of the photo editing programs depend on graphic card. All of them need a good processor. i7 is a good choice.

(Photoshop is trying to incorporate some use of graphics card but it is in infancy, very minimal and frequently fails. The program then falls back to main processor for everything.)

I have not used any other pens except bamboo and compared to a conventional mouse it is very useful for working on photos. I do agree that you can postpone buying this and SSD for the time being. When you opt to buy it in future, do check the higher models too. I bought bamboo since it was in my budget.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

I bought bamboo since it was in my budget.

Last time around, so did I.

the cheapest graphic card that you can find which supports your monitor's resolution.

Is that all that is required? Will it not affect the display? Is it only video/gaming for which more money must be spent?

Sorry to piggy-back the thread with these questions. For obscure reasons to do with driver support and newer Linux kernels, I need to buy a graphics card sometime. I only occasionally watch video and I never play games.

 

[Staxxx]

No problem Thad. I am thankful that it is a useful thread for others as well...

 

[Shivam]

Last time around, so did I.
Is that all that is required? Will it not affect the display? Is it only video/gaming for which more money must be spent?

Sorry to piggy-back the thread with these questions. For obscure reasons to do with driver support and newer Linux kernels, I need to buy a graphics card sometime. I only occasionally watch video and I never play games.

If you never play games then you don't need a high end graphics card. Just make sure to get a graphics card that supports your monitor's maximum resolution and has the output that you require (hdmi/dvi etc)

 

[Santy]

I am not advising expensive GPU but with CS6, the developers have made sure that some features make good use of the graphic card.

Photoshop CS6 GPU FAQ

Mercury Graphics Engine

The Mercury Graphics Engine (MGE) represents features that use video card processor, or GPU, acceleration. In Photoshop CS6, this new engine delivers near-instant results when editing with key tools such as Liquify, Warp, Lighting Effects, and the Oil Paint filter. The new MGE delivers unprecedented responsiveness for a fluid feel as you work.


MGE requires a supported video card and updated driver. If you do not have a supported card, performance is degraded. In most cases, the acceleration is lost and the feature runs in the normal CPU mode. However, there are some features that don't work without a supported video card.

 

[malvai]

+1 to the above... CS6 does make use of the graphics card... I have just one machine without a graphics card and when, in a pinch we use it, we can experience the difference....

 

[Shivam]

+1 to the above... CS6 does make use of the graphics card... I have just one machine without a graphics card and when, in a pinch we use it, we can experience the difference....

I have got a few systems running CS6 but with no high end graphics card. One of the systems has a high end graphics card but we don't feel the difference while working. Only the system with high end graphics card is set-up to be used with CS6. Others simply depend on the processor.
Our work however consists of only images (raw and tiff) and no videos or games at all.

If you are feeling the difference then your work must be very very heavily depending on 3D graphics / use of pressure brushes. Those are the only components that make use of graphics card in the present version of photoshop.

If still you opt for a high end graphics card, another thing to keep in mind is to choose a graphics card that is supported by CS6. A lot of cards are not.

I still say to opt for a good processor and high ram for photos. CS6 is implementing use of graphics card but is still limited. All the other photo editing softwares use only cpu power.

 

[Staxxx]

I will only be working on still images (RAW and Tiff) and possibly using about 2% of CS6's full capacities. I do like Nik, a new acquisition, which is a lot of fun and amazingly versatile - both for its B&W program (Silver Efex pro) as well as its colour filter add in (Colour Efex Pro).
After some thought this is the build I was thinking about:
Intel Core i5-3570 CPU (do not need overclocking)
Original Intel or Asus motherboard (or Gigabyte or MSI)
16 gb (2x8Gb) DDR3 2133mHz Corsair Vengence RAM
500W PSU (Corsair) - is this enough or 600/650 better?
4 USB ports (two in front, two in back)/two DVI
HDMI (back)
Samsung 128 Mb SSD Boot Drive
1Tb HDD (WD Caviar Green)
Card reader (multi)
Coolmaster Cabinet
Logitech keyboard and mouse
I will also need to hardwire the machine to my router (8m Cat5 cable)

However the costing is working out about 38k plus 5.5% VAT. And that is without Windows Ultimate 64 bit (any suggestions where I can get this pls - not asli)? This is a configuration without a graphics card. Should I perhaps drop the SSD. I can wait a few minutes for my program to load up there is no hurry as it is just a hobby.

Any idea of which mobo to get pls?

Thank you.

 

[Staxxx]

I can save Rs 2,000 if I go to the core i5-3470 processor, which should be enough.
I can save Rs 6,500 without the SSD.
Any other ideas please?