Photoshop / Photo Editing PC

[bbeck787]

Building a lower budget Photoshop PC for my sister who is getting heavy into photography. Her current set up is an older Dell notebook that barely gets the job done for her photoshop needs.

I'm looking to keep it under $500. No need for an OS or Photoshop (already have a legit copy of both)

She wants to maximum of HDD space so I was thinking 500 GB and up 1TB if possible.

Let me know what you think. Thanks in advance.

[Khalil]

Low budget machine will lag and run very slow with any kind of photoshop use. You need to raise your thinking to about $800-900

[XenaWP]

I disagree with Khalil.

Photoshop runs nicely with 4 GB of RAM and even a basic dual core processor like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115206

A single DVD-RW, decent case and power supply, and minimal ATI graphic board such as the ASUS 3450 or 4350, and a budget Asus motherboard.

Find one of the recommended budget build lists here, and substitute the gaming GPU for the one I mention above.

I've built 2 photoshop pc's ... what you want is do-able.

[Masaki 7-11]

Below is a build list for a good performance computer under $500:

LITE-ON 22X DVD Writer Black IDE Model iHAP422-98 LightScribe Support - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106328
$28.99

Antec Three Hundred + BP430 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 430W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129065
$99.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136283
$79.99

ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131398
$99.99

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231179
$77.99

AMD Phenom II X3 710 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor Model HDX710WFGIBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103648
$99.00

Subtotal: $485.95

[XenaWP]

Nice Masaki. I don't usually think of AMD, but that should do just as well as a basic Intel dual core, if not better.

[Khalil]

Originally Posted by XenaWP I disagree with Khalil. Photoshop runs nicely with 4 GB of RAM and even a basic dual core processor like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115206 A single DVD-RW, decent case and power supply, and minimal ATI graphic board such as the ASUS 3450 or 4350, and a budget Asus motherboard. Find one of the recommended budget build lists here, and substitute the gaming GPU for the one I mention above. I've built 2 photoshop pc's ... what you want is do-able.

You can disagree all you want, fact is Photoshop is very demanding, if you just want to use basic features on it then any computer will work after it takes 30 minutes to load.
If someone wants to get heavily into Photoshop as the OP said his sister was doing then they need more computer and I recommend a core 2 duo processor for that task over AMD and I am a huge AMD fan.

[XenaWP]

Khalil, I USE Photoshop, in my job and at home. For more than "basic features." Move on, you really don't know what you're talking about here.

[XenaWP]

Here are some useful suggestions on Photoshop performance:

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/401/kb401088.html

[Khalil]

Originally Posted by XenaWP Khalil, I USE Photoshop, in my job and at home. For more than "basic features." Move on, you really don't know what you're talking about here.

I build at least 5 machines a month for professionals who use Photoshop, many are photographers. I have 2 people who work for me full time at my graphics design company I own doing graphics for signs, brochures, posters and billboards who use Photoshop CS4, Magix, Xara, Coreldraw Graphics X4 and many others.
That link you posted shows minimum requirements, in the real world, you need a good amount of cache with lots of memory. If Adobe listed what it really took to run their software smooth they would lose more than half of their sales.
If you have an issue with my thread on the general forum, keep it there, don't come here where guys like me take the time to give valuable advice and disrespect us.

[jdeb]

If you look at my signature, this is the best photo shop PC I have had. Buying it today would be around 800.00 to 900.00. Although I primarily use GIMP, I use Photoshop as well, this system by far out performs my previous e2160, 945 board. That would be in the 400 range.

Everything renders quickly and I am able to multi task good. The card I have is over kill but I just can't seem to part with my 8800 gt (discontinued), I love it.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by Khalil Low budget machine will lag and run very slow with any kind of photoshop use. You need to raise your thinking to about $800-900

I would agree, I have been there and done that. Even my current system could be a little faster at stock speed but it is way better than what I used to have. I use the #2 quick boost setting when I am doing my artwork and it runs great...

I had a MAC for art but I sold recently, that thing was very nice.

[XenaWP]

Originally Posted by Khalil I build at least 5 machines a month for professionals who use Photoshop, many are photographers. I have 2 people who work for me full time at my graphics design company I own doing graphics for signs, brochures, posters and billboards who use Photoshop CS4, Magix, Xara, Coreldraw Graphics X4 and many others. That link you posted shows minimum requirements, in the real world, you need a good amount of cache with lots of memory. If Adobe listed what it really took to run their software smooth they would lose more than half of their sales. If you have an issue with my thread on the general forum, keep it there, don't come here where guys like me take the time to give valuable advice and disrespect us.

If you would take the time to read the original post, you would see that we are not talking about a professional photographer. Someone who only has $500-$600 to spend can build a PC that will run Photoshop with acceptable performance. OF COURSE it is not going to be a high performance system. No one can build a high performance system for any purpose, other than plain web surfing, for that price.

"Valuable advice" is only valuable if it addresses the actual question. Yours did not.

If someone showed up here and said they were a professional photographer and wanted a $500 PC, I'd give entirely different advice.

The functional points to consider are putting the money into RAM, not the video card. A good capacity HDD is important, as PS uses scratch space extensively. Dual cores will help performance.

[glc]

Stop the sniping - RIGHT NOW.

- Admin -

[Khalil]

Building a lower budget Photoshop PC for my sister who is getting heavy into photography

She wants to maximum of HDD space so I was thinking 500 GB and up 1TB if possible

I wonder who is not reading the original posts, hmm. To tell someone a $500 computer is going to work heavily on Photography projects with lots of storage space is irresponsible.


To the OP, you can listen to professionals and get the right advise, or you can waste $500 of your sister's money and get a laggy choppy machine when running photoshop.

Here is a low budget build I recommend for photoshop that will work very well with minimal lag.

http://www.newegg.com/Shopping/Shopp...82E16819115037 $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131295 $119
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820134641 $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814195077 $133
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151072 $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106328 $29
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119161 $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136284 $95
$696.00

[XenaWP]

Professional what, Khalil? I am a technical writer and use Photoshop almost daily in my work writing and illustrating manuals. You do what?

The mobo you recommend is overkill (floppy disk drive, IDE support ... why?) The graphic board is ridiculous for a Photoshop build. Photoshop has NO USE for GPU power. It is a 2-D application. Kingston RAM is ok, but I would go with Corsair myself. The other choices ... meh. Each can be replaced with a lower cost alternative.

[vtfanmv5]

This is entertaining. And it will probably never end because Khalil must always be right.

[Khalil]

Originally Posted by vtfanmv5 And it will probably never end because Khalil must always be right.

On occasion I was wrong and I admited it, so your statement is out of line.
Hard to debate with someone who is clueless. I enjoy debating someone like Masaki as he is very intellegent and at least reads good articles to support his argument.
Done here. It is up to the OP to make the decision now!

[vtfanmv5]

It's not your place to decide what is out of line. You give valuable advice here, but are often downright rude to other well-meaning members of the site.

[Khalil]

Originally Posted by vtfanmv5 It's not your place to tell me that I'm out of line. You give valuable advice here, but are often downright rude to other well-meaning members of the site.

It is my place when you speak of me, this debate had nothing to do with you. If I am rude that is what we have admins for, they can always PM me about it.
If you think I am rude, simply don't ask me for advice or read my posts.

[vtfanmv5]

You have already shown in this thread that you apparently don't respect the admins' opinions much.

[Khalil]

Nah, I have a lot of respect for glc and he knows it, way before you even knew this site existed he took the time to help me out with many issues as I was starting, this is why I take the time to post here and help people.
I think the majority here appreciate my advice and support to this site. So thanks for the kind words.

[XenaWP]

This actually isn't about you Khalil.

Here are components which will do the job and save money:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119148
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136359
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121310
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231166
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131329
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115056

Add whatever DVDRW pleases you, I like Samsung, others like LiteOn. I've pounded the heck out of a Samsung for over a year without a hiccup.

You can add OEM WinXP and still be under $600, I believe.

[XenaWP]

I also recommend a second external drive (soon, if not right away) ... same size and specs, to make an image backup of the HDD. You MUST have a good backup of the photos, and a second HDD (external) is a good way to do it.

[Khalil]

For the OP.
When I started my graphics business a year ago, I hired 2 guys and built them 2 computers with AMD 5400 Dual cores and onboard video. They both suggested to stick to onboard video.
Soon after they both started coming to me with lag issues when working on large projects, I am not an expert myself on Photoshop or most software for that matter, I am a hardware guy.
The first thing I tried was putting in a regular video card, I think it was an Nvidia 7600GT, I had a few of those at the time. It helped in a very minimal way.
The machines already had 4 gigs of memory so there was nowhere to go with RAM since we are using 32 bit OS.
I decided to upgrade the system and used P5Q series motherboard and an Intel E8200, immidiately my guys reported a huge jump in performance but still at times they had a heck of a time opening very large projects.
I added a second hard drive and moved all the data to it and again, a huge performance boost. I later decided to add workstation video cards, just like the one I suggested. Now the machines run extremely well and I rarely ever hear of lag. Both machines are hooked up to 2 24" monitors.
I hope this helps you out.

ps. whatever you decide to buy, always defragment your hard drive(s) Photoshop seems to work much better that way.

[glc]

What part of "RIGHT NOW" don't you understand?

Official warnings issued to Khalil, Xena, and Vtfan - rule 2 violations.

Flaming and Harassment The moderator staff will not tolerate flaming, childish name-calling or other types of personal attacks on the forum. All members, as adults, are expected to be able to have civil discussions at all times, regardless of whether they agree or not. In the event a moderator steps into a thread to stop flaming, all members are expected to stop.

[Khalil]

My appologies to the forum.

[Wickedfn4u]

I am looking to build a system also but have set my budget higher and demand more. I am a professional photographer shooting raw and using Capture One for my darkroom functions and using PS3 to do my work in. I will be opening large numbers of files for my posters and my current HP just crashes. I also do some (not professional just family stuff) HD video work not a lot of editing but getting off the camera, adding some audio and burning to disk. So I want power and speed. I have TB of external drives and 5 or 6 500's sata drives empty laying around. My best friend works at MS so software is not an issue just the hardware side.

I know there are many options which brings about many opinions so respect ideas. I have a Fry's close or can mail order from newegg or is there someplace better. This would be my first DIY but I have no problem opening my case to add stuff so this should not be that hard. My big gap would be choke points, don't want 400 hp being put to the ground on 13" snow tires if you get my comparison.

OH budget 600-900 with no HD or monitor

Thanks a bunch.

TC

[Khalil]

Please start your own thread, it would be easier for us to help you that way.
Thanks and welcome to pcmech forums.

[Wickedfn4u]

Why would you start another thread for the same question just different budget as this would also aid the OP in options if they decide to upgrade or increase some areas.

[glc]

It's called personalized assistance.

- Admin -