Computer for processing photos and gaming

DaelpixPhotography

DaelpixPhotography

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David
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I've had an XboxOne on preorder for a while and keep thinking against the idea of owning another one.

I'm curious if I should spend my money on a good computer for image processing and gaming. But the thing is that I have no idea about computers and their components.

So what would people do in this situation?

Ideally I want to become a photographer who sells photos (yes I know this is difficult if you don't know what you're doing).


Typing this out seems to be a waste of time and I may just buy the XboxOne console.

BUT

Please tell me what components you would recomment. I would buy a computer from PCSpecialist as my dad has had no problems buying 2 computers from them.
 
Budget below £1000.

Keyboard needed

Mouse not needed but if I was serious about gaming, then I would buy a gaming mouse, or just use an Xbox 360 controller. (I'd play games like COD: Ghosts and Minecraft)

Latest Photoshop wanted.
Monitor needed 22" ?
Speakers (surround sound?)

Windows 7 (home)
 
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Dael_Pix said:
Budget below £1000.

Keyboard needed

Mouse not needed but if I was serious about gaming, then I would buy a gaming mouse, or just use an Xbox 360 controller.

Latest Photoshop wanted.
Monitor needed 22" ?
Speakers (surround sound?)

Windows 7 (home)
Click to expand...

photoshop cs6 will nuke about £300-350 straight off the bat..
 
I really want to do something in photography but unsure how to do it and have a job in it.
 
i would do a bit of research on processing software and what exactly youre going to want to do with it. photoshop is probably what i would class as a massive editing tool, whereas you have lightroom which has quite a lot but not all of the same editing features with cataloging built in.

as for hardware, both processing and gaming youd probably be fine with an i5 quad core, at least 8gb preferably 16gb (especially if you do go for PS) memory, an SSD for OS and maybe a second for PS scratch and/or LR catalogue and a decent amount of storage (remember to budget for backups).

which leaves graphics card, which depending on how serious you want to get with gaming can completely blow your budget. personally i run an ATI based 7850 (which runs the lates COD and BF3 with no bother) which if needed can be modded to run at 7950 spec.
 
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I'm in no rush to buy a new PC just yet. I'm starting to look at pc bundles though and researching stuff
 
neil_g said:
photoshop cs6 will nuke about £300-350 straight off the bat..
Click to expand...

£300 ?? Surely it must be £600 ? Or am I missing something here?



Considering this setup

Note: I'll be changing the Processor Cooling to a Titan Super Quiet 22dBA Cooler)

Case PCS TRAIL-BREAKER 7206B BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4670 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® Z87M-PLUS: m-ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6.0, XFIRE
Memory (RAM) 8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card 3GB AMD RADEON™ R9 280X - DVI, HDMI, DP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable 1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve

Monitor AOC 21.5" WIDESCREEN LED TFT - 1920 x 1080, 5MS, D-Sub, DVI-D
 
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What's that going to set you back?

Dael_Pix said:
£300 ?? Surely it must be £600 ? Or am I missing something here?



Considering this setup

Note: I'll be changing the Processor Cooling to a Titan Super Quiet 22dBA Cooler)

Case PCS TRAIL-BREAKER 7206B BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4670 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® Z87M-PLUS: m-ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6.0, XFIRE
Memory (RAM) 8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card 3GB AMD RADEON™ R9 280X - DVI, HDMI, DP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable 1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve

Monitor AOC 21.5" WIDESCREEN LED TFT - 1920 x 1080, 5MS, D-Sub, DVI-D
Click to expand...
 
I looked at the website and you only get 2 things for free. 2 things isn't enough for me. When Bullguard is up, I might revert to AVG which is what I have on my family's computer
 
What are you needing more than the "2 things free"? Just because it has more "things" doesn't mean it is a better av system.

AVG was bloatware the last time I tried it (a few years ago, but most say the same in comments these days).
 
well the power supply is vastly under the power you need for that set up. Memory wants to be doubled to 16gb cs6 loves memory no ssd drive, which are much faster than standard hdd.
 
arad85 said:
What are you needing more than the "2 things free"? Just because it has more "things" doesn't mean it is a better av system.

AVG was bloatware the last time I tried it (a few years ago, but most say the same in comments these days).
Click to expand...

What he said.

diamonddog said:
well the power supply is vastly under the power you need for that set up. Memory wants to be doubled to 16gb cs6 loves memory no ssd drive, which are much faster than standard hdd.
Click to expand...

Psu is fine, there's a myth surrounding wattage that higher is better which stems from people blowing up cheap psu which don't put out the rated power.
 
I know very little about this subject, but your computer spec/budget for £975? - I recall mine was about £1100. There were similar spec ones to my pc for about your budget,I guess this PC would cost that now... I bought mine as a spec for Gaming off the shelf, with no messing about. If I start dabble, I have to learn everything to make sure I do not make a mistake so I just ordered a stock system...

You sound a lot more computer savvy than me so apologies....

I have an i7 16GB ram (upgradeable to 32GB) 1 or 2 TB drive, GE-Force graphics card - it copes with everything so far - it is just a HP PC from PC World.

For a Mac the spec I wanted it was too expensive vs how much I need it to perform these tasks.
It came with a monitor that is 22" and a fairly good wire free key board and mouse for work - unfortunately it does not have a solid state drive
but no issues with speed so far and room for improvement...
Although not a huge fan of windows 8.

I am not a computer wizard, I just do a bit of computer editing and some website stuff but I would think it would be as demanding as editing photos?
I had issues when I changed cameras hence buying this PC - I use a go-pro 3 black edition, capable of capturing ultra-wide 1440p 48fps, 1080p 60 fps and 720p 120 fps video and 12MP photos at a rate of 30 photos per second. 4k etc....

Most low end kit wont like it. As I add music, crop,add titles etc... it seems to shares all this information from its location until it is rendered into a finish project, the editing almost seems to work like live streaming if that is the correct term. I must admit in my case the -video editing- software makes a difference the one I use renders much quicker than some...

As for speakers again depends I guess... seems expensive to get good quality if you look at video editing forums. They advise apparently rather than waste money on cheap or average surround sound - or a bad quality bass speaker - it is better to get a pair of high quality speakers.
I can confirm, I use quite cheap ones with the widest frequency range, so they have a tweeter and slightly larger speaker and they are still not great - the more Audio layers I use the more they struggle, sometimes it seems better to use head phones. I think speakers will be my next consideration. I need to look into this more.

I guess the biggest limitation is cost, for me it's only a small part of my interests, if I did more paid work - I'd buy the best kit available assuming it would be a good investment.
 
arad85 said:
What are you needing more than the "2 things free"? Just because it has more "things" doesn't mean it is a better av system.

AVG was bloatware the last time I tried it (a few years ago, but most say the same in comments these days).
Click to expand...

Nope AVG is perfectly fine. Its the best antivirus we've had! Don't trust what people say.

diamonddog said:
well the power supply is vastly under the power you need for that set up. Memory wants to be doubled to 16gb cs6 loves memory no ssd drive, which are much faster than standard hdd.
Click to expand...

I don't need any more RAM at the moment.

petersmart said:
Wouldn't you be better off with an SSD for the OS and the 1Tb HDD as the second drive?
Click to expand...

No. I'm not interested in more memory - But saying that I do not know how big pc games are. So I may have to install something at some point.
 
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I agree with Pete actually if my memory is correct, solid state drives are reported to be used more for the speed by professional editors ( video editing forum)... I don't use one but it was available on the next model up as it had both types...
-I do run an external 1TB drive too as back up too - I am told quite a few people back up to second drive..

My PC copes now but it is one reason for the upgrade, pauses even little ones make the blood boil when you have possibly a hundred or so of them in a short space of time....

I'm out of my depth with it all, I do my research and my kit works for me. I use AVG too I suspect it's not the best but it does the job. It seems you know what you want and are knowledgeable enough to sort it, so good luck with the new venture.
 
diamonddog said:
well the power supply is vastly under the power you need for that set up. Memory wants to be doubled to 16gb cs6 loves memory no ssd drive, which are much faster than standard hdd.
Click to expand...


Maximum power is 499W
 
I'd have two drives, one for programmes (preferably an SSD) and one for storage. Particularly if you're using it for photo processing. I use three on my desktop - an SSD for the OS, photo and video processing software; a 500Gb for other software (most games don't really need an SSD); a 1Tb for files.

I wouldn't skimp on the processor (i5 or i7 - both should be within your budget) or the SSD to start with - but a lot of the rest can be incrementally upgraded very easily (graphics card, RAM, HDD).
 
Dael_Pix said:
Nope AVG is perfectly fine. Its the best antivirus we've had! Don't trust what people say.
Click to expand...
I used to use AVG and then with 8 it turned into bloatware. It may have changed, but I'm not inclined to try it again as I'm perfectly happy with Avast TBH and recommend that when people ask. Your choice though ;)

As to PSU, Corsair VS is their budget line. No real reviews I can find, but definitely going to be better than any MaxiPowerVMaxTripleBluNeon 1300W PSU you'll get. It should be OK with the graphics card, but it is not 80 plus certified which means it is less efficient and will get warm under load. http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page447.htm is a great page comparing PSUs.... Also, you need to check on Haswell compatability (Haswell is very low power in power conserving stages and might trip the PSU - see: http://www.corsair.com/us/blog/haswell-compatibility-with-corsair-power-supplies)

I'd second peoples recommendation of SSD for boot drive and I'd prefer to get a better monitor (Dell 23/24" U series IPS screen at the minimum).

Also consider how you will back this system up.
 
Avast picked up a load of malware avg missed when I installed it. Read into that what you want.

Also another +1 for ssd boot/programs. 256 should do and not break the bank.
 
neil_g said:
Avast picked up a load of malware avg missed when I installed it. Read into that what you want.

Also another +1 for ssd boot/programs. 256 should do and not break the bank.
Click to expand...

I'll buy one IF I feel the need to.
 
Why ask for advice and reject every suggestion? Seems odd. SSD and additional RAM are both targeted at your own requirement for image editting.

Although, to be fair, you did highlight this could be a waste off everyones time in the opening post. Just get the playbox, or whatever.. ..
 
I bought my current pc from Overclockers. My first one was from pcspecialist, it was a good pc but the psu was a cheap no-name job. I changed it for a Corsair because i've had a cheap psu fail on me before and it took out the motherboard.

Dinopc is also worth looking at. I helped someone buy a pc from there a couple of years ago.


When I bought my current pc a few years ago, I couldn't find any other company that could beat my pc for value for money. You can get cheap pcs on ebay but they scrimp on cheap RAM , cheap power supplies and hard drives.

AVG did turn into bloatware. I know this because when I removed it from a couple of laptops, they were much faster.
 
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I've been considering it today and I think I may have to buy an SSD at some point. Not in a rush though.
 
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