Options
Great desktop specs for photo editing?
photochaos
Registered Users Posts: 17 Big grins
Hi all,
I'm getting ready to buy a new desktop computer, as the larger files of the Canon 5D Mark ii are putting too much of a burden on my current computer. All my software is Windows-based, so I'd rather stick to Windows machines--unless the short-term monetary cost and learning curve are worth the switch.
What are the specs you would recommend for intense photo editing of ~25MB RAW files? If you could build your dream machine for less than, say, $5,000, what would it be? Monitor recommendations are welcome too.
Thank you!
Marcelo
P.S.: I read the postings for the last month and could only find one on laptop (not desktop) recommendations. Please forgive me if I'm posting an FAQ!
I'm getting ready to buy a new desktop computer, as the larger files of the Canon 5D Mark ii are putting too much of a burden on my current computer. All my software is Windows-based, so I'd rather stick to Windows machines--unless the short-term monetary cost and learning curve are worth the switch.
What are the specs you would recommend for intense photo editing of ~25MB RAW files? If you could build your dream machine for less than, say, $5,000, what would it be? Monitor recommendations are welcome too.
Thank you!
Marcelo
P.S.: I read the postings for the last month and could only find one on laptop (not desktop) recommendations. Please forgive me if I'm posting an FAQ!
0
Comments
I moved this to the "Digital Darkroom Gear" forum where I think you will find the best audience.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
Thank you!
If you can wait a few months they will most likely update the line with the best new Intel quad core Processors.
Last rumor I heard was mid-late March.
When Apple switched to intel processors a while back, they effectively let windows users into the hardware.
You can run all your current windows software natively, with full power and no new software costs.
Not trying to start a mac vs pc thread, but it remains a viable option if you can wait a month or 2.
For a monitor I just dropped $620 on the HP LP2475w, read a lot of good stuff about them.
Good quality unit and they still manage to come out in the lower price range of 24" the 1920x1200 IPS models.
I also like the fact it will pivot 90 degrees for vertical edits.
Speculation link on the new Intel/MacPro stuff:
http://www.macrumors.com/2009/02/02/mac-pro-suitable-xeon-nehalem-processors-due-march-29th/
In depth HP LP2475w review:
http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2008/review-hp-lp2475w.html
Avoid entanglement of dog with wheel spokes. - Old Honda Manual
--
If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies,
jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears. -- Glenn Clark
[FONT=georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif][/FONT]
You need a strong processor, lots of memory, and a dedicated, modern video card with a reasonable amount of memory.
First, start with your preference: Brand name or self-built. You will save $$ with self-built, but will take much more time. Assuming Brand...well choose one. I prefer Dell, and I prefer buying from the Outlet, where you can get really good deals.
Processor: Go with a Core 2 Duo chip 2GHz or higher. Or choose a quad core, which offers newer architectures, but at the moment doesn't really outperfom dual core just yet. Someday it will (my preference is quad core, due to the potential).
Then memory: go for at minimum 2GB, preferentially 4GB. More is a waste on 32bit OS like XP or Vista. You can do more if you choose 64bit. My recommendation is that you buy 1GB or 2GB chips, leaving two slots free for memory upgrades.
After that, choose a computer that provides an Nvidia or ATI graphics card, 256MB memory or better. Do NOT buy a machine with Intel graphics embedded.
Get any hard drive size you need. Don't worry too much about this when buying the machine, as adding hard drives is dirt simple, and you likely want a stash of external one's anyway, to support a robust backup/safety net.
Finally the monitor. If you are willing to spend $500, get a 24" or better IPS monitor and do not compromise on anything less. IPS monitors are well worth the $$. Search Dgrin for discussions on this.
An example here:
Dell XPS 420 (high end for Dell): Quad 2 Core 2330, 2x 500GB Sata hard drive, 256MB ATI card, 6GB memory, and a DVD/RW: $949
http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/topics/global.aspx/arb/online/en/InventorySearch?c=us&cs=22&l=en&lob=DIM&MODEL_DESC=XPS%20420&s=dfh
Get the new i7 Intel chip. It's MUCH faster at nearly everything than the dual core or older quad cores.
6GB of the new tri-channel memory for starters, if you can afford it go for 12GB and not have to worry about any more.
3 or 4 1TB drives (internal)
dual DVD drives, maybe one that plays or plays/writes blu-ray.
A good video card or two depending on how many monitors you want to run or if you're interested in playing video games.
If no gaming then something like the ATI 4850 is a good mid range card.
A couple of 24" monitors if you've got the room. A nice 17" printer maybe.
You could do this (just priced one out from Avadirect. Without monitor(s) and 4TB storage, 12gb ram, i7 920 $2130. So with a couple of 24" monitors it would be about $3000.
Gene
Marcelo,
I am faced with the same issue, and have decided on a Mac Pro. Contrary to some of the posts $5,000 is a reasonable budget.
I currently have a Windows machine, but the good news is Adobe will swap out your Windows license for a Mac license at no charge.
As mentioned you can run both the Windows, and the Mac operating at the same time, so that means you can keep all your windows programs, until you upgrade, and you can use the Mac for all your photo processing.
Mac pro Quad core base price is $2700, then you need to add storage (terabytes), and back up storage, plus RAM. I plan on 10 GB. Some additional software? Sales Tax? Budget high, and you won't be surprised, or budget like the government, but do remember they have an unlimited amount of funds.
The good news is the Mac has a 64 bit OS, and Photoshop can access all the memory you can stuff into the Mac. (32 GB if ya got a mind to) The current version of Light Room is a 64 bit program which can take advantage of the Mac.
I start to shake, and get queasy when I contemplate 64 bit Vista.
Sam
Hey, I'm using Vista Ultimate 64 over here and it's running way better than I have ever been able to get XP Home or XP Pro to run. I used to hate Vista too, until I got my hands on the 64 bit version of it. It's like night and day compared to the 32 bit version.
My system which I built back in November of 2008:
- Antec 300 case
- Asus P5Q motherboard
- Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 @ 2.50 ghz (which hopefully will get upgraded to a Q9550 or Q9650 come summertime, I couldn't afford those at the time of building)
- 4gb G.Skill ddr2-1000 ram
- 500gb and a 640gb Seagate 7200.11 hard drives
- Evga GeForce 9800gt 512mb dual-slot cooler
- LG dual layer dvd burner
- OCZ StealthXstream 500W power supply
- Xigmatek S1283-DT aftermarket heatsink and fan
- Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal paste
All of this set me back around $650 CAD or so back in November and then I spent 2 hours or so assembling and installing Vista Ultimate 64 on it. It's been working like a charm ever since.
Also, just so you know, the P5Q can handle up to 16gb of ddr2 ram.
I also have the e5200 running at stock speed right now but have overclocked it up to 3.9ghz just to see how fast I could get it to go. I expect that I could get a usable everyday overclock in the neighborhood of 3.6-3.7ghz. That's not too shabby for a $95 CAD processor.
Not allowed to enter Henry's alone anymore...
Kyle Derkachenko Photography
- Get a very good CPU - probably the Intel i7 / Quad Core. Is it worth buying the latest generation, several hundreds of dollars more than the previous one (e.g., 3.2 vs. 2.9GHz)?
- Get plenty of RAM - from a minimum of 4GB to 6GB or even 12GB. How much is too much (in the sense of no making any significant difference in photo editing speed while perhaps having a couple other applications open)?
- (necessary due to the previous point) Get a 64-bit operating system
- Get a good graphics card. However, you didn't suggest getting one of the best graphics cards. Would its power go to waste with mostly photo edition?
- Get plenty of hard disk storage--probably 4TB--and backup. How fast? 7200RPM? 16 or 32MB of buffer? Does it make a big difference for photo editing?
- Get a very good monitor (IPS; 24" or larger; possibly two monitors) - I see that some of you also posted in the monitor thread at http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=111744. Any comments on the self-calibrating monitors that I believe NEC (among others?) sells?
I also appreciate the comments on the new MacPro that should come in the next few months, the Mac vs. Vista-64 bit operating systems, and Avadirect as a custom PC supplier (I didn't know about them).
Any tablet recommendations?
Thank you for your very valuable suggestions!
Marcelo
thermaltake soprano RS case
xfx geforce 8200 motherboard
OCZ Dual Channel 2048MB PC8500 DDR2 1066MHz Nvidia SLI-Ready EPP Memory
amd athlon 64 x2 5000+ 2.6ghz cpu
thermaltake 92mm tr2-r1 cpu cooler
seagate 250gb sata "c drive"
1- masscool 120mm case fan (case came with one...so I have 2 case fans to keep it cool)
total price with shipping and all was right at $400......but then there are the mail in rebates amounting to just a tad over $100......I priced similar pc around town and on the net.....I was looking at 500 - 1500 for retail to custom built...either way I got a 1 yr warranty....my way most items have 3 to 5 yr warranties..........
everything camefrom tiger direct.....except the 120mm fan and it came from outlet pc ($3 for the fan)......I am going to order 1 round eide cable from them to replace the flat cable that came with motherboard.
currently i am running a hp vectra 400 plll / w 512mb ram 1ghz........i am hoping the new pc will scream.......I am getting read to order a couple of 1.5tb internals for working drives and another 250gb for a scratch disk.....then I have to find enuff money for a new 24" monitor and a cheap monitor (19-22") for my tool pallettes...........
I have only worked off 1 small acer tablet.....not a true tablet.....it was a note book with a rotating lid/screen.......worked well with the pen supplied with it....but it was only a 10" model and I hated the size..........
www.fastcatstudio.com
www.fastcatstudio.net - blog
In my opinion: No. The Core2Duo have tons of horsepower. Despite what you may think, photo editing does not take the highest end. Video and rendering, as well as the most extreme games do. If you think you will be doing 1080p video editing and rendering, then that would suggest a different class of PC. (expensive)
The amount of memory that you can use depends on the OS and the machine. In general, 32bit OS can not use more than 3-4GB of RAM. For Windows XP or Vista, it tops out at 3GB, beyond that and the OS doesnt make use of it. However, 64bit OS can make use of the added memory, but I dont know what the specific advantages are beyond say 8MB, where things start to get extremely expensive for memory. Also, there are hardware limits as well, for example, my iMac can only physically support 3GB RAM (and no this is not the slots in the machine). I recommend starting with no more than 8GB, as you can always add more later if it becomes a limit. Beyond this and you are buying bigger chips,which are expensive. Realistically, 4GB is a large amount, so weigh the costs here.
Most of the 'best' graphics cards are oriented to the gamers, and focused on huge framerates, physics and shading, and not especially optimized for photo editing. I do not think Photoshop and others have special drivers for these cards. However, the commercial CAD cards may offer some benefit (Quadra and the like), though these are often very expensive, and really dedicated to CAD and Scientific visualization. I recommend going with a middle of the road, 256MB card, ATI or Nvidia.
Since hard drives can be easily added at any time, getting this in your initial purchase isnt really necessary. And, you are going to want a solid backup strategy, so having multiple, smaller portable hard drives gives you options to make multiple backups and store them offsite. A huge harddrive is tough to backup. As for speed, faster is better, but I haven't found a difference in 7200 and 10,000 drives, though I do find a difference in 5400 and 7200 drives. However, having fast connections is really the important limiting factor here: your internal drive will be SATA, any externals should be Firewire or fast USB (I havent seen a difference in FW 400 and USB).
for photo editing, basically I touch the harddrive 2 maybe 3 times: 1)when importing, 2) when saving a file, and 3) if I am using a HD for a Photoshop scratch disk. I find that the connection speed is most important in 1) and 2) above, as a FW800 disk can suck down 1000 images faster than a FW400 disk. As a scratch disk, it isnt so clear, but I use internal SATA out of convenience more than anything (so I dont forget to mount the disk first in the case of an external)
This is where you should focus your budget. IPS monitors are not hard to find, just pricey. Get one, you will never regret it.
If you are putting a Mac Pro in the pool, consider it strongly, and no need to wait for the 'next' one, as the current are plenty powerful. In my opinion, Mac OSX does more with the memory and hardware than does Windows, so any reasonable spec Mac Pro is going to be more than sufficient for what you are doing. Check out the refurbs on Apple's website.
No. too many compromises to get the tablet format. Not worth it. [edit: assumed you meant tablet PC...perhaps misunderstood and you meant tablet input device]
Wacom Bamboo, all the way. AMAZING results. and not very expensive.
I would never go into LR or PS using a mouse, trackball or any such device.....I MUST have my tablet (4x6" working area) and pen.....they just make everything so much easier.....much much much easier................
I see all sorts of brands....but I have stuck with wacom due to it being the industry leader from my searches.......
AWESOME! I upgraded from a very good 19" LCD monitor that was 4 years old and I cannot tell you just how big the difference is.
My computer handles everything I have thrown at it so far:
EX38-DS4 Gigabyte Board
Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 3gHz overclocked to 3.6gHz
8gb of DDR2 PC1000 RAM overclocked (can't remember how much but not a lot)
5 x 7200 hard drives internal (1.8 TB)
MSI 8800GTS 512 (overclocked a bit)
Computer hardware never stands still but you can try to build in a years obsolescence. My next purchase will be the 300gb Velociraptor as my OS drive. I will get that when Windows 7 launches later this year (maybe).
Good luck in your search.
Olympus E420 with 14-42 and 50-200SWD.
I've heard that WD's newest Caviar Black series 1TB drive is just as fast as the Velociraptor (when in use, read/write that sort of thing) but for half the price and over 3 times the storage space.
Not allowed to enter Henry's alone anymore...
Kyle Derkachenko Photography
I'll give another nod to tigerdirect who get my business most of the time confusor issues pop up or that need to upgrade starts really itching.
Looks like something that would make editing easier.:D
I have no experience or knowledge of this device (other than what I just saw at Wacom's site).....so any input would be appreciated.
Here's the thread I started asking for feedback on tablets and editing:
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=114537
Marcelo
JUST AVERY SLIGHT HIJACK.......This machine screams.....the splash screens come up and are gone so fast it is dizzying.......when cliking on a topic here....the page has changed before the mouse/trackball finishes cliking.....gotta load lr2 and ps.....I am gonna go ahead a put 2 gb more of ram ......in 32bit it will support (and allow use of) upto 4gb......when ready it should accept the newest AMD Phenom 64bit processor also.........
For less than $300 (after rebates) I have no complaints....will be installing 3 hitachi 1tb drives nextweek as my working and back up drives for photos only.
Now gotta do wire routing to clean it all up.
Intel Q9550 OC'd to 3.1GHz
8GB DDR1066 RAM
Vista 64.
The 5D2 forced me to upgrade to 8gb of ram, when using Lightroom 2 64 to work with the RAW files.
Even with 8GB of ram, Lightroom still requires periodic restarting to free up resources. My guess is that LR2 x64 has some resource issues, but if you are planning on using it and the 5D2, RAM RAM RAM!
Right now, your best bet is the CoreI7, and as much ram as you can afford (at least 8,12 if possible).
The base model i7, the 940, outperforms the current gen Core 2 Quad chips, for the same price, while taking advantage of newer bus architecture.
Removing all the nerdspeak--you get better bang for your buck.
I would recommend a decent 3D graphics card, as more and more editing programs are starting to utilize them.
Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 40D
16-35L II, 50F1.4, 50 Macro, 24-105L, 100 Macro
Canon 580EXII, Sigma 500DG ST
Blackrapid RS4
photos.aballs.com
I know it's been a while since you posted this (only about 2 years), but I wanted to let you know how helpful it was to me. I'm only a hobbyist and in no way interested in taking my creative interest in a professional direction but I still needed a new computer for photo editing. Because it has been so long since your post, this is what I decided was the best on a budget:
HP Pavilion p6650z customizable Desktop PC
- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
- AMD Athlon(TM) X4 635 quad-core processor [2.9GHz, 2MB L2, up to 4000MHz bus]
- FREE UPGRADE! 4GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [2 DIMMs] from 3GB
- FREE UPGRADE! 640GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive from 320GB
- No additional office software
- No additional security software
- 512MB ATI Radeon HD 5450 [DVI, HDMI, VGA adapter]
- No speakers
- LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
- Wireless-N LAN card
- 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, audio
- No TV Tuner
- Integrated sound
- HP USB keyboard and optical mouse
This will only set me back 549.99. If you have any suggestions please let me know.Here is a review vs the lowest Intel Core i3, where the i3 does come out better:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/122?vs=118
The i5 is better still, but starting to get expensive. You just need to weigh price vs performance and make your decision.
Oh and just my humble opinion, and I respect HP for lots of stuff, but laptops and PCs are not one of them. I have had terrible luck with HP laptops, and have sworn off of them, and made a vow to tell others. Just keeping my promise to myself here.
Everything else in a computer is, as we geeks call it, "Cake".
When looking to do any kind of processing whether it be photo's or video's you will want as much CPU and RAM as you can afford. It also helps to have a video card with at least 640MB RAM (1G is preferred for higher end editing).
Personally, I am a fan of ATI's video cards. Both in my Window 7 and OSX machines, I've yet to have an issue with anything (photo or gaming software).
http://ericmontgomery.smugmug.com/
Camera
Canon Powershot G6
Technology
iMac 27" | 2.93Ghz Quad-Core Intel i7 | 16GB 1333 DDR3 | SL 10.6.5
iPhone 4 | 16GB | iOS 4.2.1
iPad | 16GB | iOS 4.2.1
...and a plethora of other computers and OSs