Good Desktop Recommendation??

[richflores1]

I'm in the process of building a desktop from dell and need something that will run smoothly with Photoshop, hundreds of thousands of raw images,lightroom, and sony vegas studio or adobe premier... I am not going for a 64bit system due to compatiability issues so i will keep it in the 32bit but and depating whether going with a core 2 extreme or a quad core xeon. Does anyone have any recommendations?
thanks
RICH

[marshdesign]

at least 3 gb of memory if not 4 thats the juice that keeps the machine running.
I would go with Quad core xeon

[richflores1]

Awesome, thanks for the reply, i have it built with 4gb ram for whichever system i choose, just debating on the processor really. because of my budget i will onyl be able to go with a 256mb nvidia quadro fx570. Will that be good for graphics?
any more recommendations??

[richflores1]

I am also pricing this out with the Quad Core Xeon 2.0... Will a 2nd processor be overkill??? or will 1 quad core 2.0 suffice?

[mojoprime]

if you're not going to run anything 64-bit, then probably the second chip will be overkill for you. by the way, those quad xeon chips are 64-bit, but you would need to run the 64-bit version of vista or XP. one the biggest benefits for going 64-bit is going beyond the 4gb ram limit of 32-bit. OSX is a 64-bit operating system, which is why you see a lot of MacPro users with 8gb or more of ram.

[richflores1]

like anyone, i just want the best i can get without hurting my pocket. on the other hand, i can run 32bit on those chips as well as 64bit, i confirmed it with dell. i think cs3 and or vegas studio will have issues with 64bit, i know that office 2007 has some issues. So i want to stay away from the 64 bit for now. if i were to choose just 1 quad core xeon 2.0 it'll only save me 200 bucks. Not sure if its worth getting the other processor though, is it actually worth it. I just want the system to run as soomthly as the imacs in their stores, lol... although i dont think the demo store macs have more than 4gb of ram!

[mojoprime]

you'd be surprised. sometimes, in order to "sell" the machine more, the display model might be jacked up a little. ram, as cheap as it is, would be a good place to start.

yes, your operating system dictates which mode you're in -- whether it's configured to take advantage of 64-bit or not -- but i think you're getting lost on this 64/32 bit thing. i'm saying, if you want photoshop to be smooth as silk, get as much ram as you can, and the fastest processor you can afford. but if you have another processor, yes, it'll help but i would think ram would help more with CS3 applications.

so, if you want my advice, i'd say max out the ram, and if it's only 200 bucks more for another processor and you can afford it, go for it. but if you could get a faster single processor (that's dual or quad core) that might end up being a better choice.

[richflores1]

Yea because these are 32bit systems i'll be maxing out the Ram at 4GB. What setup to people normally run here. I currently have a Pentium D with 2GB ram and thats its max. And for example when im working with lightroom its pretty darn slow especially when exporting them applying actions in photoshop... i think ill be able to go for a short jog while things are working!!!

[mojoprime]

most folks are going to tell you to buy the most machine you can afford. mac vs pc? that's been done to death. buy the one you're most comfortable with, or the one you have the software licenses for. buy a big hard disk and a secondary smaller one to use for a scratch disk (and leave it empty), all the ram you can, a mid-range to higher video card, a good monitor, a calibrator and an external drive for back ups.

instant studio. oh yeah, you'll need a large format (up to 13 x 19 or so) printer.

well, not exactly instant, but you get my drift.

[richflores1]

yea definitely, awesome thanks for the replys, ill let you guys kno how it goes. in the mean time if anyone else has any more recommendations or current setups, please post them...
Thanks

[mojoprime]

i've got a mac, so if you're looking for PCs someone else will have to help. though i am running XP on my mac...

[richflores1]

What processors r u running, memory, and applications?

[mojoprime]

2 x 3ghz, 6gb ram, 4 x 750gb storage (1 apps, 1 files, 1 windoze, 1 scratch), nvidia 8800gt, cs 3, office 2008, half a million fonts, canon 8800f, canon ip5000, epson r1800, 22" and 19" monitors, eye1display2 calibrator

[steve2112]

I understand peopel want all the fastest latest greatest stuff but at home i run core 2 duo 8400 with about 3 gigs of ram. I have no problems with cs3 at all with vista home premium. It slowed down a little in photoshop when i was editing a 600 meg photo and applying a color efex filter. Slowed it down for about 1 minute. I got a soda and realized if i spent anymore that what i did it would have been unnoticable the change. Now if i was doing heavy video or music editing thats different. Basic graphic design doesn't need fast fast stuff.

my 2 cents

steve

[doubting_thomas]

If I recall, the CS3 is 32 bit, and there is no 64 bit version available. It was
designed to run on dual processors, but not in the same way that 64 bit
processing does. I can see the benefit on the Windows side as I recently
upgraded to an AMD 64x2 Dual. I've only run CS3 on my current MacPro so I can't compare.

[Silence04]

CS4 will be 64bit compatible, but for Vista only.

[mojoprime]

true. the bastards. actually, i think it was probably something apple did, but you could never get a real honest call on that.

watch. quark will make a 64-bit version first.

[doubting_thomas]

CS4 will be 64bit compatible, but for Vista only.

Figures

[urstwile]

I think Adobe's putting the burden of that on Apple.

[richflores1]

Thanks everyone for your inputs. This is what i ended up getting:
2x Quad Core Xeon Processors 2.00GHz 2x6MB L2 Cache1333MHz(Total 8 Cores)
4GB DDR2 ECC 667 Ram
20" Ultrasharp DVI Widescreen
19" Ulltrasharp DVI
250gb hd
500gb external firewire WDbook HD
256mb nvidia quadro dual dvi
OS: Windows vista Business edition

I will mainly be using photoshop and lightroom on this setup, and as of right now its very very fast... Then again i had a pentium D with 2gb of ram so there is an extreme noticable difference...
Thanks again and if anyone has any questions feel free to ask...

[craft_graphics]

I would suggest buying a mac... They make things Sooo much easier... I know this doesn't help you in anyway... just thought I'd throw it in there...

[AdamR]

Thanks everyone for your inputs. This is what i ended up getting:
2x Quad Core Xeon Processors 2.00GHz 2x6MB L2 Cache1333MHz(Total 8 Cores)
4GB DDR2 ECC 667 Ram
20" Ultrasharp DVI Widescreen
19" Ulltrasharp DVI
250gb hd
500gb external firewire WDbook HD
256mb nvidia quadro dual dvi
OS: Windows vista Business edition

I will mainly be using photoshop and lightroom on this setup, and as of right now its very very fast... Then again i had a pentium D with 2gb of ram so there is an extreme noticable difference...
Thanks again and if anyone has any questions feel free to ask...
That's extremely overkill for Photoshop.

You'll never utilize that processor to it's fullest extent & the RAM is subpar (4GB of fine, the fact that isn't even 800MHz concerns me, because they probably gave you shit RAM at a really high cost). 512MB of VRAM probably would have been nice for the dualscreen setup, but the resolution shouldn't be too large so it shouldn't be that bad.

Dunno how much you paid but I'm sure it was way higher than you needed to.

As for the whole buy a Mac thing; don't buy it. Way overpriced (you could build your own machine for 30% less with the same specs as a Mac; not that you need anything that powerful to run PS regardless) & the only "advantage" you get really is to be able to use their OS which I can't stand personally.

And it still baffles me to this day why people buy a Mac to put Windows on it lol

[garricks]

Adam, dude, we don't really do Mac vs. PC wars here. :)

[AdamR]

Sorry. Wasn't trying to start an argument or anything, but I'm not basing anything off opinion at all. It's been laid out plenty of times. You can build yourself a PC for ~30% less than actually buying a Mac at the same specifications.

Obviously that isn't advantageous for everyone, seeing as how not everyone is cut out to build their own machine, however it still may have been a viable option for this guy/future people looking for a new computer reading through the thread.

When it comes down to it though, I just say why spend that much more money on a Mac when the only thing you get in return is the Mac OS. I don't personally like it; but many people do. So that's all good. I just find it to be a bit of a humurous contradition though when you see people go "Mac just works, no viruses, etc" and they go and put Windows on it...

Just my $0.02 on buying a new computer though.

[doubting_thomas]

Don't start it...

I knew there was a whiff of dead horse in here tonight.

[Red Kittie Kat]

You tell em Thomas :p

Adam you are new ... but this has been a battered and beaten topic more times than we care to remember so we don't allow it anymore.

Just wanted to mention it so you don't think we are Pro PC or Pro Mac .. they both serve their purpose and we leave it at that.


;)


Congrats on the new system rich!! :)

[richflores1]

That's extremely overkill for Photoshop.

You'll never utilize that processor to it's fullest extent & the RAM is subpar (4GB of fine, the fact that isn't even 800MHz concerns me, because they probably gave you shit RAM at a really high cost). 512MB of VRAM probably would have been nice for the dualscreen setup, but the resolution shouldn't be too large so it shouldn't be that bad.

Dunno how much you paid but I'm sure it was way higher than you needed to.


It may be overkill for Photoshop but while running Photoshop along with Lightroom and 3-5mb photos, I find it extremely fast and accurate processing. Reason I got this setup was that I received a 30% discount from dell knocking off almost a grand at final cost, so I couldn't turn the offer down.