New Toy for Nik

NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
edited November 8, 2010 in Digital Darkroom
Thanks to Joel's help, I was able to finally dot the tees and cross the eyes;-) on the system specifics, and I expect the new shiny box to arrive soon. :barb

Here are the essentials:

CASE: Coolermaster HAF-X Gaming Full Tower Case w/ 1x230mm Red LED Fan, 1x200mm Fans, 2xFront USB 3.0 Port

CD: Samsung SH-B123L 12X BLU-RAY Player & DVDRW Combo

CPU: Intel(R) Core™ i7-970 3.20 GHz 12M Intel Smart Cache LGA1366
OVERCLOCK: Ultimate OC (Ultimate Overclock 30% or more)

HDD: 120GB Corsair Force 120 Gaming MLC Solid State Disk

RAM: 24GB (4GBx6) DDR3/1600MHz Triple Channel Memory Module

MOTHERBOARD: * (3-Way SLI Support) GigaByte GA-X58A-UD7 Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Ultra Durable™3 Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 24 Phase Power ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Dolby Audio, Dual GbLAN, USB3.0, 2 x SATA-III RAID, 4 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI

VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 1.2GB 16X PCIe Video Card (EVGA Superclocked)

The rest is on par: liquid cooling, super quiet, etc.

I plan to add second video card and more HDDs later: for now I have all HDDs I need already and don't need 2d video yet.

:ivar
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"May the f/stop be with you!"

Comments

  • ThatCanonGuyThatCanonGuy Registered Users Posts: 1,778 Major grins
    edited November 6, 2010
    eek7.gif

    Why didn't you get a hassie H4D instead?rolleyes1.gif

    But seriously, I think you're going to need more HD space, I'm assuming you have external ones already. But I would go at least 500GB.

    Windows 7?
  • SamSam Registered Users Posts: 7,419 Major grins
    edited November 6, 2010
    Yowser!!

    That be one fast puppy! You don't have to share, but if your willing...what would such a beast set one back?

    OH, and ENJOY!

    Sam
    www.samlinvillephotography.com
  • John MuellerJohn Mueller Registered Users Posts: 2,555 Major grins
    edited November 6, 2010
    Most $ in Solid State drive & RAM ?
    My Smuggy

    Cincinnati Smug Leader
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited November 6, 2010
    ThatCanonGuy wrote: »
    eek7.gif

    Why didn't you get a hassie H4D instead?rolleyes1.gif

    But seriously, I think you're going to need more HD space, I'm assuming you have external ones already. But I would go at least 500GB.

    Windows 7?

    Hassie: lol.

    HDD: I have decent 2x2Tb (purchased this year) in my old machine with enough free space still left, so I'll simply move them to a new machine. SSD is PURELY for apps. I had a nice experience with 80Gb SSD in my laptop, so I hope 120Gb should be ok for a while, especially considering I don't use too many apps: CS5, Office 2010, Visual Studio 2010 - that's about it. And considering the expansion capabilities of the motherboard and the case, if I run out of space it should be no problem to add a few more...
    Same with the video card. I got one for now, but once I procure a larger monitor (I'm at 27" now, but I'm thinking 30"+) I'll add another one - they often require two for maximum performance.

    OS: Windows7x64 Ultimate
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited November 6, 2010
    Sam wrote: »
    Yowser!!

    That be one fast puppy! You don't have to share, but if your willing...what would such a beast set one back?

    OH, and ENJOY!

    Sam

    Thanks Sam!

    The price tag before taxes and shipping was $3,573.

    I pretty much went for "-1" approach on most components: if you count the current top of the line component as 0, I went for the next best thing.
    E.g. the best CPU they have is i7 980X Extreme Edition 3.33Ghz.
    I got i7 970 3.2Ghz (which saved me $170), and with $50 overclocking package I still got more than 4.0Ghz
    Similar with SSD, RAM, Video.

    Well, in some minor cases it was "0", as in the best they had ;-) mwink.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited November 6, 2010
    John Mueller wrote: »
    Most $ in Solid State drive & RAM ?
    Hi John!
    Uhm, I'd say: CPU, RAM, Video, SSD, cooling/case, m/b, etc... - in that order...

    Here's a link for the saved configuration:
    http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1CRWGP

    The only thing is - it will expire in a few days ne_nau.gif
    So feast your eyes now, while it is still active... deal.gifwink
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • SamSam Registered Users Posts: 7,419 Major grins
    edited November 6, 2010
    Thanks Nikolai,

    You got good bang for the buck. I just wanted to compare to my Mac Pro I bought last year.

    I think you saved about 15% and have a faster machine.

    Not that I am unhappy about my Mac. :D

    One item you may want to consider is a UPS. The other day we had a brief power outage and from a computer standpoint, my system never blinked.

    I can lose power and never know it.

    Sam
    www.samlinvillephotography.com
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited November 6, 2010
    Sam wrote: »
    Thanks Nikolai,

    You got good bang for the buck. I just wanted to compare to my Mac Pro I bought last year.

    I think you saved about 15% and have a faster machine.

    Not that I am unhappy about my Mac. :D

    One item you may want to consider is a UPS. The other day we had a brief power outage and from a computer standpoint, my system never blinked.

    I can lose power and never know it.

    Sam

    I don't even want to imagine how much a similar mac system would cost (not that I'd use it even it was a gift). eek7.gif

    UPS: just like with HDDs, I already have it. Actually, I have two, 750 and 500. Have them for 6 years now, saved my @ss more than once. But I would have to upgrade to 1000+, since this boy is juice-hungry (950w powerbox). I simply don't want to pay shipping on a heavy battery. Local office supplies/electronics stores (Fry's, Best Buy, Office Max, Office Depot, Staples) have them in abundance, so this is not going to be a problem.
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • angevin1angevin1 Registered Users Posts: 3,403 Major grins
    edited November 7, 2010
    Nikolai wrote: »
    Hassie: lol.

    HDD: I have decent 2x2Tb (purchased this year) in my old machine with enough free space still left, so I'll simply move them to a new machine. SSD is PURELY for apps. I had a nice experience with 80Gb SSD in my laptop, so I hope 120Gb should be ok for a while, especially considering I don't use too many apps: CS5, Office 2010, Visual Studio 2010 - that's about it. And considering the expansion capabilities of the motherboard and the case, if I run out of space it should be no problem to add a few more...
    Same with the video card. I got one for now, but once I procure a larger monitor (I'm at 27" now, but I'm thinking 30"+) I'll add another one - they often require two for maximum performance.

    OS: Windows7x64 Ultimate
    Congrats on the new system Nik! What a beast!

    SSD: 160GB; I have one on my Desktop and have all sorts of S__T loaded onto it: Canon Software, Adobe Prod Prem, virusware, Mozilla,on and on...Partition cost me 11GB, the rest about 45GB, so I keep about 100GB free. Plenty of room!

    Not to worry over the Card vs. RAm, 24 GB: Oh yeah!
    tom wise
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited November 7, 2010
    angevin1 wrote: »
    Congrats on the new system Nik! What a beast!

    SSD: 160GB; I have one on my Desktop and have all sorts of S__T loaded onto it: Canon Software, Adobe Prod Prem, virusware, Mozilla,on and on...Partition cost me 11GB, the rest about 45GB, so I keep about 100GB free. Plenty of room!

    Not to worry over the Card vs. RAm, 24 GB: Oh yeah!

    Thanks Tom!
    Mine SSD is 120, but I still think there should be plenty even for swap/scratch file (not that I count for much swapping :-)
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • angevin1angevin1 Registered Users Posts: 3,403 Major grins
    edited November 7, 2010
    Nikolai wrote: »
    Thanks Tom!
    Mine SSD is 120, but I still think there should be plenty even for swap/scratch file (not that I count for much swapping :-)


    There is! Many folks are bothered by the small amount of room on them...Not me!! It's like a dragster with a small tank...The speed is well worth it. Obviously you understand you can output files wherever you'd like, and keep that SSD a Mean/Clean R/W machine!

    Nice system!
    tom wise
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited November 7, 2010
    angevin1 wrote: »
    There is! Many folks are bothered by the small amount of room on them...Not me!! It's like a dragster with a small tank...The speed is well worth it. Obviously you understand you can output files wherever you'd like, and keep that SSD a Mean/Clean R/W machine!

    Nice system!

    Yeah, that's my intention. It's a purely system/apps drive, the data is somewhere else.
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,940 moderator
    edited November 7, 2010
    I'm always surprised by the buyers of the "biggest and fastest". In so many cases, the better deal is one or two back from the top.

    Nicely done Nik.
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited November 7, 2010
    ian408 wrote: »
    I'm always surprised by the buyers of the "biggest and fastest". In so many cases, the better deal is one or two back from the top.

    Nicely done Nik.

    Thanks Ian!
    Yeah, I wanted to do that for a year or so, but I was struggling with configuring a "no-bottleneck/no-overhead" system, where all the components would play nicely with each other, providing an overall good performance.
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • angevin1angevin1 Registered Users Posts: 3,403 Major grins
    edited November 8, 2010
    Nikolai wrote: »
    Thanks Ian!
    Yeah, I wanted to do that for a year or so, but I was struggling with configuring a "no-bottleneck/no-overhead" system, where all the components would play nicely with each other, providing an overall good performance.


    Yeah, that sounds about right. It'd take that long to navigate thru the hyperbole and figure-out what is and isn't worth having. Take your choice of Graphics cards. Good choice and the same I'd choose if I ever went back to Nvidia. After having spent the grand on my present Quadro FX solution (non-solution), I'd say it may take me awhile to ever think of them in "magic-light"!
    tom wise
  • kdogkdog Administrators Posts: 11,681 moderator
    edited November 8, 2010
    It's going to be really interesting seeing how fast this does big image manipulations, Nik. If it's as fast I as hope it is, I'm gonna get the same thing. nod.gif
    Moderator of Landscapes forum
    Link to my Smugmug site
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited November 8, 2010
    kdog wrote: »
    It's going to be really interesting seeing how fast this does big image manipulations, Nik. If it's as fast I as hope it is, I'm gonna get the same thing. nod.gif

    Me too, man, me too! I have a few multi frame series from our shootouts (like 17-portrait-frames panos), it would be intersting to see how much time would it take to get that baby out.

    In the mean time, if anybody have thier own idea of a performance-requiring operations in PS - bring them on, then we'll have a test cases suit to compare different systems...deal.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • kdogkdog Administrators Posts: 11,681 moderator
    edited November 8, 2010
    We actually have a thread on that topic here, Nik. http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=34794

    You can also google "photoshop computer benchmarking", or something similar.
    Moderator of Landscapes forum
    Link to my Smugmug site
  • Awais YaqubAwais Yaqub Registered Users Posts: 10,572 Major grins
    edited November 8, 2010
    I think you should now put chain on your computer... with those specifications it can go wild anytime and run away lol

    congrats!
    Thine is the beauty of light; mine is the song of fire. Thy beauty exalts the heart; my song inspires the soul. Allama Iqbal

    My Gallery
  • RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,962 moderator
    edited November 8, 2010
    Nikolai wrote: »
    In the mean time, if anybody have thier own idea of a performance-requiring operations in PS - bring them on, then we'll have a test cases suit to compare different systems...deal.gif
    Climate simulation? Protein folding? rolleyes1.gif

    Congrats on the new system. Ought to be a screamer.
    My Pics
  • W.W. WebsterW.W. Webster Registered Users Posts: 3,204 Major grins
    edited November 8, 2010
    Nikolai wrote: »
    I expect the new shiny box to arrive soon.
    Some assembly required, batteries not included! :D
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  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited November 8, 2010
    kdog wrote: »
    We actually have a thread on that topic here, Nik. http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=34794

    You can also google "photoshop computer benchmarking", or something similar.

    Ah cool, thanks, I'll check it out!thumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited November 8, 2010
    Awais Yaqub wrote: »
    I think you should now put chain on your computer... with those specifications it can go wild anytime and run away lol

    congrats!

    Thanks! I may come up with a picture of that box locked up in chans and a padlock rolleyes1.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited November 8, 2010
    Richard wrote: »
    Climate simulation? Protein folding? rolleyes1.gif

    Congrats on the new system. Ought to be a screamer.

    Do you have a PS Action for those? ;-) mwink.gif
    Thanks!thumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
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