What concerns should I have?

[InletBill]

While I have been around computers since the days of punch cards and paper tape I have never built my own. My plans are to do so in the near future.

I am not a gamer but I do do a lot of photo editing using photo editing programs such as Adobe Photoshop Elements, Lightroom, Photomatix, etc (some of which can be memory hogs depending on what you are doing).

Given the above, what concerns should I particularly address when researching parts for my build?

Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.

Bill

[AMGrbaowska]

Ok, I found out when I joined this forum that when building a comp you do need to be semi-picky about parts, I thought I could just throw together some cheap parts and they would work the same as name brand. Now, Im not saying that you need to get all the most expensive stuff, but you do need to look out for certain crap brands that will give you a bad product and/or bad customer service, you don't want to get an awesome video card have it break and then nobody wants to talk to you about replacement. In the different subforums in the Hardware section there are many lists of recommended brands.
Second, Im sure there are many great sites to look for parts on around, but I mainly use Newegg, it is a very good site. If you want people to make a build list and/or recommend parts, there are hundreds of really talented builders on this site that can help you, just give us your budget and any specifics you want and Im sure someone will whip something up that can at least give you an idea.
Third, you need to know how to actually build the comp, there are many good tutorials, this is a good one: How to Build a PC

[Force Flow]

Botom line, quality in parts is paramount. Don't skimp out or you'll be paying for it later.

[Spools]

The only thing I'll add to this is that even though you should be purchasing quality components, the price for building your own can still be well below a branded model.

If you give us your budget, we'd be happy to make some suggestions.

[JohnMerlino]

If you are using Photoshop CS4, you better pay very careful attention to the kind of video card you purchase. Certain nvidia graphic cards cause redraw issues when using the paint brush, when scrolling, when zooming, among other things. In fact, the program becomes really intolerable. The culprit is the fact that the new Photoshop CS4 uses OpenGL graphics, namely for its 3D features, regardless of whether you use 3D or not, and certain graphic cards don't suite well with the technology updated from the previous version of Photoshop. However, Illustrator, InDesign, and Flash Pro aren't affected.

[Force Flow]

Originally Posted by Spools the price for building your own can still be well below a branded model..

Not quite true. If you're building a high-end system, then yes, it's cheaper. If you want just a basic PC for surfing and email, pre-built is cheaper (remember, you also have to account for the price of a monitor, keyboard, mouse and O/S)

[InletBill]

Originally Posted by JohnMerlino If you are using Photoshop CS4, you better pay very careful attention to the kind of video card you purchase. Certain nvidia graphic cards cause redraw issues when using the paint brush, when scrolling, when zooming, among other things. In fact, the program becomes really intolerable. The culprit is the fact that the new Photoshop CS4 uses OpenGL graphics, namely for its 3D features, regardless of whether you use 3D or not, and certain graphic cards don't suite well with the technology updated from the previous version of Photoshop. However, Illustrator, InDesign, and Flash Pro aren't affected.

Thanks, John. So how do I know which cards would or would not have that problem? What is it I would look for in a product description or tech specs that would clue me in?

[Force Flow]

ATI and matrox cards have historically treaded 2D graphics very well (photoshop is *mostly* 2D, with the exception of some special features introduced in CS4).

nVidia's 2D quality has always been lacking.

You won't really find that distinction listed out in product specs.

[jdeb]

Here is a link of tested graphic cards for Photoshop CS4...


http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/405/kb405711.html

Some GPU-accelerated features require graphics support for Shader Model 3.0 and OpenGL 2.0

here is one that can handle it at a reasonable price...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102719

p45 chipset motherboard... Asus or Gigabyte

dual or quad core cpu... quad is better for large multi tasking operations

minimum 4 gigs of 800 or 1066 ram.. corsair, muskin, or gskill

sata 32mb cache hard drive, 500gb to 1tb, Western Digital "black"

Khalil is a member here and he can give you the recommended AMD setup...

[InletBill]

Thanks, guys! I understand and appreciate your educating me. Maybe Mr Khalil will come along


Thanks again all
Bill

[InletBill]

or maybe not

[Khalil]

Sorry somehow i missed your request.
An AMD Phenom II 720 if you can find one will do extremely well for you with Photoshop.
This motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131397
4GB DDR3 1066 memory, Corsair, Crucial or Kingston.
a 32MB Cache hard drive like the WD black will be great.

[InletBill]

Originally Posted by Khalil Sorry somehow i missed your request. An AMD Phenom II 720 if you can find one will do extremely well for you with Photoshop. This motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131397 4GB DDR3 1066 memory, Corsair, Crucial or Kingston. a 32MB Cache hard drive like the WD black will be great.

Thanks! I was already looking at that MB. What video card would you (or anyone else) suggest to go along with it? Maybe this?

While we are at it, I'll need a multi-card reader. Any brands better than others?

Thanks again!
Bill

[Khalil]

Card readers for the most part are crap. I like external USB card readers like this one, i find them to fail a lot less than the ones that go in the case and attach to the motherboard.
The ATI 3800 series video cards are now obsolete. The ATI 4850 would be a much better choice howeve if you have no plans of gaming with this computer this ATI 100 Video card is your best bet

[jwhitt12879]

Personally I would build a Core i7 system no matter what i was doing. With photo editing if you can go with dual monitors.

[nocturnx]

What kind of budget are you looking at for the build?

[InletBill]

Originally Posted by nocturnx What kind of budget are you looking at for the build?

While I can't say "the sky's the limit" I don't mind paying a little more for something that's going to benefit me.


Based on what you guys have told me and what I've seen you tell others, I've come up with the following. Would appreciate any critique!

Case – Antec Three Hundred Illusion
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129066

PSU – Cooler Master Silent Pro 600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817171036

MoBo – ASUS M4A77TD Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131397

CPU – AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103649

Video Card – ATI 100-505514
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814195049

IHD – WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136284

RAM – Kingston KVR1066D3K2/4GR (times 2)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820134786

CD/DVD burner – Sony Optiarc Black AD-7240S-0B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118030


Thanks!
Bill

[jdeb]

Nice job

I would go with this power supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151056

I am not a huge fan of Kingston memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148150

[Khalil]

Great choices Bill and Jdeb's suggestion regarding the power supply is spot on! Sea Sonic pretty much are best of the best when it comes to power supplies.

[InletBill]

Will I need "thermal paste" with these --


MoBo – ASUS M4A77TD Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131397

CPU – AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103649

Thanks!
Bill

[glc]

Retail boxed processors come with a heatsink/fan assembly and thermal interface material.