Spec. Me a new custom built editing PC ***UPDATE*** Started the build

MWHCVT

MWHCVT

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Name
Matthew
Edit My Images
Yes
Kay as per the title I'm in the market for a new editing computer, as per the title please don't waste the electrons on suggesting mac as I've simply no interest in them for those that like and use them then fair play but they're just not for me :thumbs:

What I want, well it must be lighting fast ;) and I want it to be able to run two displays I'm thinking of putting in an SSD for the operating system so what I'm looking for is specifications, and suggested components etc, may also look at a twin processor set up :thumbs: also suggestions on the best displays to buy would be great, and any other components worth considering such as maybe a graphics tablet ???

So come on chaps and chapesses hit me up with your suggestions and rough costs

Matt
MWHCVT
 
Tried and tested config (except I have not run this off 2 screens yet)

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 430 BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3820 (3.6GHz) 10MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® SABERTOOTH X79: SOCKET 2011, R.O.G
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPERX GENESIS QUAD-DDR3 2133MHz X.M.P(4 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 650 Ti - DVI, HDMI, VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
3rd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
4th Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
RAID
RAID 1 (MIRRORED VOLUME - 2 x same size & model HDD / SSD) (£9)
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
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI CARD (£16)
USB Options
2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI-EX CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8 Standard Edition 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 60 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 2010 Professional Edition
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 12 NOON) (£19)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days

£1476 incl delivery

Lightning quick

1 SSD runs the operating system
2nd SSD is for a scratchpad
HDDs are raided

Graphics tablet next purchase
 
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Overclock or stock speeds? Either an i5 overclocked with 16+GB memory or a hex core i7 if money is no object.

Really need a budget as I could build you something for £500 + monitors or >£1500 + monitors....
 
Displays: either 2 x 24" or 2 x 27", depending on budget. You can't go far wrong with Dell U2xxxx displays.

Personally, with £1500 for the PC, I'd go with decent silent PSU (Corsair AX series), i5-3570K overclocked as far as the cooler can handle, Nofan CR-95C Pearl Black passive cooler, 16G or 32G memory, something like a Fractal Define R4 case, silent NVidia GPU (there are some 640s out there passive), 128G SSD for boot, 256G SSD for data/scratch and 1TB+ general storage drive. If you organise this well internally, you would get a completely passive yet very fast PC - although you are spending quite a lot on making it silent.

The only way of going significantly faster today is with one of the hex core i7-39xx processors, but that's a shed load more heat to dissipate and unless you are stressing all cores a lot very often, probably isn't worth it....
 
may be of some help

Display monitor you can't go wrong with a IPS screen far far better than any other type
Link

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&...vpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_30m86ompp7_b

I went for the Dell Ultrasharp U2312HM 23 inch IPS LED Monitor which is big enough for me

OK why the IPS sceen and why is it better? without going into tech details what is important (at least to me) is from whatever angle you look at the sceen it doesn't alter

This youtube video explains and shows exactly what I am saying
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWXcNlh85Ps

Do you intend to do your own build of buy a shop built one? I went for the self build as my son has built several so left it up to him .

WE went for the Intel i7 processor as well on an Asus P8Z77-V motherboard ( this has 4 x usb3 ports and 2 x usb ports and will run 2 monitors)

and a Lian Li PC-K9b case. this case has straight through cooling vents (ie back and front) those on the side case wall divert the flow somewhat
On the processor we used a Gelid Tranquillo REV2 heatpipe silent fan and 3 Scythe gentle Typhon 1450 rpm cooling fans throughout, we upgraded them from the ones that came with the case

Cooling is as important as any other component so do pay careful attention to it.
we used the 1 GB MSI GTX 560TI twin frozen card as I am not into gaming so that is fast enough for me.

Power is from a 750w Corsair pro series gold AX750 PU
16GB Corsair DDR3 Ram vengence blue

Added a 1tb hard drive with a 1.5 tb second hard drive.

Edimax EW-7612P 300mbps wirless card
Sound card I used an Asus Xonar DX/XD 7.1 PCI-E

I already had Windows 7 professional so not included in totoal price

With a few other bits and pieces such as internal cable -paste- keyboard mouse and sharkoon mouse mat etc the total cost was £1180 without windows program or monitor.

Build time 3/4 hours it took my son

You do save on build costs if you build your own ( I have to be honest and I didn't have a clue) .

The research for the components was the biggest headache as I was determined to get parts suitable for photo/ video work, and that took weeks comparing this component against that-deciding on one then rejecting it for various reasons. it didn't help as when ordering my son was and still is in Brazil

Comparing Glen's spec against mine it isn't a bad price ready built although it has parts I didn't want, its pure personal choice as to what you add. Having had a quick look at his component prices it looks a really good deal.

I then added Creative Inspire T10 speakers and Sennheiser HD210 enclosed headphones (stop wife complaining about the niose when she is trying to sleep) I highly recommend them.

Worth finding out what the running temperature is before buying as the cooler the better.

One thing we did notice was the component prices varing and day by day being upgraded so what you might want one day is no longer available the next.

Realspeed
 
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realspeed said:
may be of some help

Display monitor you can't go wrong with a IPS screen far far better than any other type
Link

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&...vpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_30m86ompp7_b

I went for the Dell Ultrasharp U2312HM 23 inch IPS LED Monitor which is big enough for me

OK why the IPS sceen and why is it better? without going into tech details what is important (at least to me) is from whatever angle you look at the sceen it doesn't alter

This youtube video explains and shows exactly what I am saying
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWXcNlh85Ps

Do you intend to do your own build of buy a shop built one? I went for the self build as my son has built several so left it up to him .

WE went for the Intel i7 processor as well on an Asus P8Z77-V motherboard ( this has 4 x usb3 ports and 2 x usb ports and will run 2 monitors)

and a Lian Li PC-K9b case. this case has straight through cooling vents (ie back and front) those on the side case wall divert the flow somewhat
On the processor we used a Gelid Tranquillo REV2 heatpipe silent fan and 3 Scythe gentle Typhon 1450 rpm cooling fans.

Cooling is as important as any other component so do pay careful attention to it.
we used the 1 GB MSI GTX 560TI twin frozen card as I am not into gaming so that is fast enough for me.

Power is from a 750w Corsair pro series gold AX750 PU
8GB Corsair DDR3 Ram

Added a 1tb hard drive with a 1.5 tb second hard drive.

Sound card I used an Asus Xonar DX/XD 7.1 PCI-E

With a few other bits and pieces such as internal cable -paste etc the total cost was £1180 without windows program or monitor
Click to expand...

It's my intention to go with a self build while when I say self build, it will be build by my cousin not me, as I'm a complete fwit when it comes to this type of thing but I want to get a PC that is built for what I want and not clogged up with all the rubbish that any shop brought machines, I also want to know what is inside the box building to future proof it and that if and when upgrades are need it can be done with ease :D


That said, I'll apologise if I don't respond individually right not, this thread is for me to get some great ideas together and then come back with questions on them once I've got a little bit more of an idea :thumbs:
 
Pretty basic stuff really, first reply has it nailed pretty much.

1x High quality PSU (Never skimp, most important component, I go for Corsair AX series)
1x Good mid-range motherboard (you don't need all the bells and whistles that the top-end gaming gimmick boards have)
1x Beefiest Intel i5/i7 processor you can get your mitts on
16GB+ DDR3 RAM
1x 120GB+ 500/500 SSD for OS and apps
1x 120GB+ SSD for scratch
2x Big HDDs in Raid 1 (at least) for storage. (Alternatively price in a separate NAS/DAS)

Add monitors/peripherals to taste. Graphics cards not a requirement for just photo editing, the integrated graphics on the CPU are sufficient for a little light gaming. You can just slot in a monster GPU if you want to do some serious gaming or have some specific requirements that can take advantage of a GPU.

I'd go with Windows 8 for performance and improved explorer features + multi monitor support.
 
mid_gen said:
Pretty basic stuff really, first reply has it nailed pretty much.

1x High quality PSU (Never skimp, most important component, I go for Corsair AX series)
1x Good mid-range motherboard (you don't need all the bells and whistles that the top-end gaming gimmick boards have)
1x Beefiest Intel i5/i7 processor you can get your mitts on
16GB+ DDR3 RAM
1x 120GB+ 500/500 SSD for OS and apps
1x 120GB+ SSD for scratch
2x Big HDDs in Raid 1 (at least) for storage. (Alternatively price in a separate NAS/DAS)

Add monitors/peripherals to taste. Graphics cards not a requirement for just photo editing, the integrated graphics on the CPU are sufficient for a little light gaming. You can just slot in a monster GPU if you want to do some serious gaming or have some specific requirements that can take advantage of a GPU.

I'd go with Windows 8 for performance and improved explorer features + multi monitor support.
Click to expand...

That's interesting about the graphics card, if not having a dedicated graphics hard how would that affect running on multiple displays??

Also what benefits are there to Win8 over Win7?? Which ever one I'd be running 64bit home premium
 
pretty much what everyone else has said, an i5 or i7 depending on budget but you wont notice that much difference. 16gb memory, SSD for OS and scratch/lightroom lib.

the i processors do have good integrated graphics performance, youd have to see whether it would support twin screens at the resolution you need. otherwise a cheap addon GPU should do the job.
 
The Intel HD4000 graphics on the CPU is plenty to drive two displays (it's not to shabby for a few games eithers).

You should be able to use the DVI and HDMI ports on the motherboard as your two outputs.
 
MWHCVT said:
So a couple of these really would be the order of the day display wise then :D

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-U2711-Ultrasharp-Premier-Widescreen/dp/B003A4H17S
Click to expand...

I've got one, it is a nice monitor. But if I was looking for the best displays, then I would be suggest looking towards Eizo or NEC (a bit cheaper I believe). I'd get one of them as the primary monitor - for colour accuracy and so on. Then get a cheaper but still decent secondary monitor, like a Dell. Personally I think the monitor is the most important part of the PC for a photographer so that's where I'd suggest splashing the cash first.
 
mid_gen said:
The Intel HD4000 graphics on the CPU is plenty to drive two displays (it's not to shabby for a few games eithers).

You should be able to use the DVI and HDMI ports on the motherboard as your two outputs.
Click to expand...

Rod.F said:
I've got one, it is a nice monitor. But if I was looking for the best displays, then I would be suggest looking towards Eizo or NEC (a bit cheaper I believe). I'd get one of them as the primary monitor - for colour accuracy and so on. Then get a cheaper but still decent secondary monitor, like a Dell. Personally I think the monitor is the most important part of the PC for a photographer so that's where I'd suggest splashing the cash first.
Click to expand...

neil_g said:
on the flip side, there isnt much point having a kick ass screen and a hugely underpowered computer :)
Click to expand...

This is all very interesting :thumbs:
 
mid_gen said:
The Intel HD4000 graphics on the CPU is plenty to drive two displays (it's not to shabby for a few games eithers).

You should be able to use the DVI and HDMI ports on the motherboard as your two outputs.
Click to expand...
You need to be careful on resolutions then. For example, this is the Asus P8Z77 specs:

Asus said:
Multi-VGA output support : HDMI/DVI/RGB/DisplayPort ports
- Supports HDMI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz
- Supports DVI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz
Click to expand...

Whilst this would work OK for the 24" Dell monitors, you'd be seriously compromising a pair of 27" monitors (that are 2560 x 1440 each). i.e. you'd be worse off with 2x 27" than 2 x 24" in that case.
 
with 2x 27" monitors a computer and printer all on the same desk you might just be able to squeak in the mouse and keyboard. Do you really want over 4ft of monitor to look at?

realspeed
 
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realspeed said:
with 2x 27" monitors a computer and printer all on the same desk you might just be able to squeak in the mouse and keyboard. Do you really want over 4ft of monitor to look at?

realspeed
Click to expand...

Oh yeah I do :D I have a habit of doing many different things at once, it will be very good to not have to switch between screens and have everything I need up on screen, and as I run a Epson R1800 that beast has never been on my computer desk ;)
 
I have 2 x 24" monitors, a laptop and laser printer on my desk (and a 15" monitor for video testing).

I'm thinking of upgrading to 2 x 27" monitors in a couple of months. Not sure what I'll do with the 24" - maybe have 3 or 4 screens here. Never too much monitor space....
 
At least all your's are the same size. I have one smaller than the other. :(
 
Watching this thread with interest as I hope to be buying a similarly spec'd machine in the not to distant future :)

Don't really need 2x24" monitors, one 24" Dell for displaying the images and probably a smaller (15"/17") for the "toolbox" of lightroom will do me fine.

I was only going to go for 1 SSD but now I'm considering 2 plus a 2TB HDD with another 2TB drive that I'm already using as a backup.

Maybe this thread is going to cost me some more money :lol:
 
MWHCVT said:
So a couple of these really would be the order of the day display wise then :D

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-U2711-Ultrasharp-Premier-Widescreen/dp/B003A4H17S
Click to expand...

Or the U2713 model, which is LED backlit so a lot thinner, uses less power and puts out a heck of a lot less heat. Also has less of a problem with the AG coating...


Personally unless you're using two 27" 2560x1440 screens I'd ignore a dedicated GPU. You don't need it unless you plan on doing a lot of video processing and you'll produce a lot less heat if you use the integrated GFX.

Also have you thought of noise? Computer noise is one of my pet hates, it's why I ended up building an i5, 16GB system in a completely silent case. Might not be massively specced but it's totally silent...
 
arad85 said:
You need to be careful on resolutions then. For example, this is the Asus P8Z77 specs:



Whilst this would work OK for the 24" Dell monitors, you'd be seriously compromising a pair of 27" monitors (that are 2560 x 1440 each). i.e. you'd be worse off with 2x 27" than 2 x 24" in that case.
Click to expand...

Yep, you'll want a motherboard with either Displayport or twin DVI port for anything over 1920x1200. The integrated graphics (with the right MB connections) can run a single 27/30" monitor or two 24" monitors. If you want two 27/30" monitors then you will need to buy a dedicated card, although the cheapest one with the above connections will probably do...

realspeed said:
with 2x 27" monitors a computer and printer all on the same desk you might just be able to squeak in the mouse and keyboard. Do you really want over 4ft of monitor to look at?

realspeed
Click to expand...

Ever used a setup like that...? ;)

On a serious note though I use twin 30" monitors at work (5120x1600 total resolution) and it is epic (although practically impossible to get desktop backgrounds big enough to go over both...) however I would never use a setup like that at home, a single 27" 2560x1440 is plenty big enough.:)
 
I suppose with twin monitors you can have one for each eye.:lol::lol::lol: :nuts:

Realspeed
 
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I thought it was time to revisit this thread since the build has this weekend just started

News to start for now and mainly on a fiscally modivated basis I've only brought a single monitor with the intention of adding the second in the next 3 months :thumbs: so where to start:

Case: Antec LanBoy Air

Internally I have put:

Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G43
Processor: Intel i7-3770 3.4GHz can be overclocked to 4.6
Graphics Card: 3GB Radeon HD7950
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 4x4Gb
SSD: 1x256Gb Samsung 840 Pro Series S-ATA
HDD: 1x3Tb Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm SATA3 64Mb Hot Swap-able
Cooling: Zalman LQ310
Power: XFX 850W Pro

OS: Windows 7 Pro (64bit)

Display: 1 x Dell U2713HM 27 inch

What will change when I've got the time and money

I'll be adding a second SSD, Ram will be swapped out for 4 x 8Gb chip set and a second Dell U2713HM 27 inch
 
this_thread_is_worthless_without_pics_zpscf52a5ea.gif
 
Keith W said:
Of course :D
Click to expand...

Okay not got much to show you but this should keep you happy :D

305860_10200576468406013_1559048483_n.jpg


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There is only 8gb of ram in place in this one but now all 16gb is in place

484637_10200577513552141_1623140292_n.jpg


601783_10200577513992152_700473253_n.jpg


936911_10200577514592167_1305891255_n.jpg
 
My eyes!!!!!
Cable.....mess.....makes.....My....eyes.....bleeeeeeedddddddd!!!!!
 
bastic said:
My eyes!!!!!
Cable.....mess.....makes.....My....eyes.....bleeeeeeedddddddd!!!!!
Click to expand...

Was very much a work in progress at that time, now cables have been made much more organised :D
 
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