PC for Photoshop at 25k!

N

1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? (Stupid answers like 'gaming' or 'office work' will not work. Beexact. Which games? Which applications? Avoid the word 'et cetera.')
Ans: Photoshop, Art & Design, Image Editing, Internet
2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then mention this too.
Ans: 25k.
3. Planning to overclock?
Ans: Have no idea about OC'ing, but if needed then yes.
4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans: Windows 7.
5. How much hard drive spaceis needed?
Ans: 500GB minimum. More if budget permits.
6. Do you want to buy a monitor? If yes, please mention which screen size and resolution do you want. If you already have a monitor and want to reuse it, again mention the size and resolution of monitor you have.
Ans: Need a Monitor. No idea about resolution and all.
7. Which components you DON'T want to buy or which components you already have and plan on reusing?
Ans: I'm so not sure about what NOT to buy. What do you think is not needed for this type of work? I only need what is essential for work and nothing else.
8. When are you planning to buy the system?
Ans: Within a week.
9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
Ans: No never before, but willing to experiment.
10. Where do you live? Are you buying locally? Are you open to buying stuff from online shops if you don't get locally?
Ans: Tamilnadu. It's either from flipkart or locally after comparing the price.
11. Anything else which you would like to say?
Ans: I never had a computer before, and wasn't interested in them at all, so I didn't have the chance to learn much about them but I'm NOT a noob, this is my first pc I'm buying for photoshop and image editing related work. I'll be buying what you guys suggest so please pick the best that comes under my budget, and the thing is I can always upgrade later, just incase if that helps. So that's it guys, thanks in advance...

CPU = AMD 960t 6800
Motherboard = ANY compatible one 5650
RAM =G.Skill Value 4GB DDR3
Optical Drive =Asus DRW-24B3ST
CASE+PSU = |EL CHEAPO
HDD

WD Caviar Blue 500GB 4100

Dell IN2030M 6000

Get an wacom bambo fun/intous also if you can

Get the following:

This should handle your tasks with ease. Its also a good base system imo and gives you good headroom for future upgrades. You can add any sandybridge quadcores or a good gpu if you want to game at some point of time.

@ theserpent

Compare the components you've suggested with op's budget. Are they matching?
Please don't post misleading info mate.

960t + any am3+ board will cost more than 10k alone. Where will you fit the remaining with 25k??

^^ okay.I suggested that.As photoshop sometimes hangs ands it does need a good CPU.
Add a wacom tablet(maybe bamboo one??)-2.5k?

vicky, G620 is pretty weak in Multi-threaded apps due to less cache, missing Turbo Boost function and lack of hyperthreading.
I think Op should go with Phenom II X4 960T @ 6.8K. Although it will overshoot the budget but the gain is also pretty good.

Phenom II X4 960T @ 6.9K
GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-S2P (Rev 3.1) @ 2.6K
Corsair Value Ram 1333 MHz 4GB X 1 DDR3 @ 1.2K
WD Caviar Blue 500GB SATA II @ 4.1K
Acer 20" LED @ 5.6K
Corsair CX 430V2 @ 2.2K
Normal Cabinet w/o SMPS @ 0.8K
LG 22X SATA DVD R/W @ 0.9K

^^ Thats a good config!

Add a low-end AMD Radeon GPU with any configuration lacking GPU. (Extend budget)

Otherwise even picking up an A6-3650 with on-board Radeon HD 6530D graphics is miles better for Photoshop CS6 filters. Despite FM1 won't see any new processors. LGA 1155 won't as well. But hardly anyone upgrades their processor.

Benchmark Results: Photoshop CS6 : Can OpenGL And OpenCL Overhaul Your Photo Editing Experience?

HD 6570 graphic card vs i7-3930K processor.

So he can get an A6-3650 or Add an 6450

N

Wow, that was fast! Thanks for the replies guys.
I thought vicky's list was good as he included a UPS until I saw Cilus's reply lol now I'm even more confused after ico suggested to add a GPU, the thing is guys I'm not familiar with these CPU & Processor names, no clue whatsoever, what you folks choose is what I'll end up buying. @theserpent, man I should thank you so much for letting me know that there's such a thing exist lol
Forgot to add one more thing, my previous budget was 30k but now I have to buy a scanner within that price so I cut down the PC budget to 25k so I can buy a scanner in the balance money as well as save a few bucks. What do you think guys?

^^ only scanner or scanner+printer?

Check this one if it is scanner+printer
Flipkart: HP Deskjet 2050 All-in-One - J510a Printer: Printer

N

Only scanner is what I was told to buy as it scans photos in higher resolution than a scanner with printer. There's gonna be another thread up in scanner section then. Lol

Better stick with 960T and add a lower end GPU like hd 6670 later.

IMO an IPS screen would be a better choice for a monitor for photoshop.

^ But wont that overkill his budget??

Gollum said:
IMO an IPS screen would be a better choice for a monitor for photoshop.

"Let's spend 15K on a monitor when we have 30K overall budget."

What you said is true, but impractical in this case.

Cilus said:
Better stick with 960T and add a lower end GPU like hd 6670 later.

+1 here.

Go for Cilus' config, and add a HD 6670 a couple of months down the line.

He will need a HD monitor if he is working on matte paintings

N

Guys, any specific reason why Phenom II X4 960T over Intel's Core i3 2100 3.1GHz? I heard Intel's processors are great for Photoshop, or is it not true? BTW, I can only find Phenom II X4 965T in Hardware Price list thread, not 960T, was there a typo or something?

IMHO a low budget pc is not good for photoshop unless its for a small photo studio where the only work for ps would be to edit and make passport size photos.
for actual art etc you need a workstation card like quadro, tesla or nvs, a big IPS screen or two [i'd prefer 2], a beefy cpu with at least 8gb ram.
But yeah price would reach 1 lakh in that way lol

^^ Well Quadros are required in 3D modelling.
For Photoshop i fell minimum is around 960t+a GFX card+4 gb ram
For best performance maybe a 6 core:i5+a card+8 gb ram

And sorry but i dont understand the need of

a big IPS screen or two [i'd prefer 2]

?? But two screens for PS?

nokia6600 said:
Guys, any specific reason why Phenom II X4 960T over Intel's Core i3 2100 3.1GHz? I heard Intel's processors are great for Photoshop, or is it not true? BTW, I can only find Phenom II X4 965T in Hardware Price list thread, not 960T, was there a typo or something?

Well your I3 is a Dual Core while 960T is a quad core.So theres a better performance

Photoshop is highly multi-threaded in nature and can utilize all the cores of a multi-core processor. So it can take the advantage of four cores of a 960T. Intel processors are also very good and if you compare it with a quad core Intel i5 2400 processor, Intel is the clear winner. But the CPU will be alone 11K which is not possible to accommodate in your budget.

nokia6600, Hardware Pricelist thread is not updated. All the Phenom models are discontinued by AMD and they're very hard to find now a days. However, Flipkart is having 960T and 970 which are the only Phenom Quad Core available.

N

Thank you so much @Cilus, btw if I go by your specifications and decide to buy an UPS later if not now, can I buy the "Apc 600va" which vicky suggested for his list? @theserpent, any idea where I can look for wacom intous tablet?

@theserpent even I will say IPS screen is Good.. Photoshop works in colors and IPS shows best colors.. Two screens are always desirable if you wish to work in any designing apps.. one for all panels and second for your canvas..

But it's mostly on a personal choice..

@OP you will buy LED at least which is much better then LCD what I am using for Photoshop

.. and buy at least 20inch no lesser then that ... I would prefer Samsung any day.. Best monitors

@nokia6600 sorry to say but for now forget about Intuos.. Intuos cost is equal to your Pc budget.. unless you can increase your budget (2 times).. you can look for bamboo series which are cheaper for passionate people.. Professionally Intuos beats Bamboo..

also buy a GPU, few features are available only if you have GPU..

Most Importantly what type of work do you want to do with this system in Photoshop..

what will be your average resolution of images you will be working on.. ?

Answer this two questions to get much exact recommendations.

N

Mostly work on flex board designs, and I'm not sure about the resolution for now but all of them should be in high quality. Will there be a problem?

Resolution/what type of work you want to do is very important before you buy Hardware..

give you couple of scenarios..

If you are working with just business cards, small banners,brochures, then simple P4(have seen people working on it) or c2D is enough.

If you are into designing high resolution for Bill boards, flex, Raw Images,matte or digital paintings then you might need good system with phenom at least..

See my config.. I use Photoshop on Daily basis. Once I tried to take output of my Design of Banner for Print.. banner was around 5 meters and resolution was around 20K-30K..

I tried lot but my system crashed every time.. then I decreased some quality then I was able to get that output..

PENTIUM4 and C2D is outdated years ago .

N

clmlbx said:
If you are into designing high resolution for Bill boards, flex, Raw Images,matte or digital paintings then you might need good system with phenom at least..

YES! That's exactly the type of work I will be mostly doing on this PC. Moreover he did suggest the Phenom II X4 960T, which is what I'll be buying, so there won't be a problem, right?

Sainatarajan said:
PENTIUM4 and C2D is outdated years ago .

I never suggested to buy that.. I just said it is enough.. and people more precise professionals are using those system presently. Personally seen it..

Just two days ago I had gone for an Interview for post of Web designer.. Work is not even started yet.. furniture's , computers are new .. many computers had not even started.. office was open for just recruitment.

I also had a technical Interview where I saw dual core processors..older then C2D

AND according to my friend (who works in a computer shop) even P3 is used at present time..

M

nokia6600 said:
YES! That's exactly the type of work I will be mostly doing on this PC. Moreover he did suggest the Phenom II X4 960T, which is what I'll be buying, so there won't be a problem, right?

Go with it mate.

Change DVD writer to HP they will cost you same 900 bucks and monitor to samsung B2030 around 5.6k.

1

nokia6600 said:
YES! That's exactly the type of work I will be mostly doing on this PC. Moreover he did suggest the Phenom II X4 960T, which is what I'll be buying, so there won't be a problem, right?

Yes, it would be more than enough for this task. Also don't forget that it has high chance of getting unlocked (with compatible mobo) to 6 core processor. That is an added bonus!

N

Minion, thanks mate. I'm thinking of going with the 20" LED monitor from Samsung. Its good, right? I know I'm crossing the budget but thats the only way... @1manshow, so is this the right board to do that stuff? Btw guys I got a problem now, I planned to install 32 bit OS of Windows then I read somewhere that 32 bit OS cannot utilize the whole 4 GB of RAM but 64 bit can, so is it a wise choice to buy 4 GB RAM when you're going to use 32 bit OS ? I know I'm asking too many dumb questions but thats because I have just begun, so please...

4 gb ram can be utilized fully on 32-bit OS(google it) but individual applications will not be able to use more than 2 gb AFAIK.I would recommend to go with 64-bit OS.
BTW,any reason for giving preference to 32-bit OS???

N

No, no specific reason really. I can go with 64 bit if there's a need to. I just heard there are more games and apps designed to run on 32 bit. So does 2 GB limit for running apps apply for 64 bit as well?

M

kisame said:
4 gb ram can be utilized fully on 32-bit OS(google it) but individual applications will not be able to use more than 2 gb AFAIK.I would recommend to go with 64-bit OS.
BTW,any reason for giving preference to 32-bit OS???

In a 32bit OS you can't use more than 3.25GB of RAM.

Minion said:
In a 32bit OS you can't use more than 3.25GB of RAM.

I am having 5GB of ram and 64bit in 7 OS it is showing 5GB of ram is usable 64bit OS will support upto 32GB of Ram

64bit OS has no such 2GB limit told by kisime.But you need to run 64 bit applications to use more than 3.25GB of RAM.It doesn't mean you can't install 32 bit application you can install them too in 64 bit OS.

nokia6600 said:
Minion, thanks mate. I'm thinking of going with the 20" LED monitor from Samsung. Its good, right?

Yes, I am using it and it got very good reviews over internet.

definetly go for 64bit .,, you can't use 4GB ram in 32bit OS.

Photoshop has 64bit support..so install photoshop 64bit...

Later you might need to add more ram so 64bit is good..

Anyway why do you forget most important thing beside ram is even your processor supports 64bit .. So with 64bit os it will calculate faster.. 32bit is like bottlenecking your processor.

N

@clmlbx, so 64 bit it is! @Minion, 5GB of RAM as in adding additional 1GB with a 4GB RAM on the motherboard? Can I do that with this board too? Btw if I wanted to add one more 500GB HDD at some point of time, how do I do it without replacing the old one? I'm new to this, so it's a mess until I learn the basics. Of course I'm making efforts to google it. Any links from you guys would help too!

you are going with cilus config right..so he suggested "GA-78LMT-S2P" which has just 2 Ram slots supporting 8GB max and according to its suggestion you are gonna buy 4GB single stick.. so you can buy another 4GB stick for second slot..

IMO don't buy 1Gb stick buy 2/4Gb at least

That motherboard has 6 sata port .. two will be used for dvd rom and Hard-disk so you can add another 4 sata..

link below is your motherboard specs
GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket AM3+ - GA-78LMT-S2P (rev. 3.1)

Even I Have the Samsung 20" LED Monitor and its great.

M

nokia6600 said:
@clmlbx, so 64 bit it is! @Minion, 5GB of RAM as in adding additional 1GB with a 4GB RAM on the motherboard? Can I do that with this board too? Btw if I wanted to add one more 500GB HDD at some point of time, how do I do it without replacing the old one? I'm new to this, so it's a mess until I learn the basics. Of course I'm making efforts to google it. Any links from you guys would help too!

I have 4 ram slots 1gb was given by friend for free

so i put it in.Just buy a single 4gb stick.for your harddrive query.

Your board is going to have 6 SATA ports you can use one of them to connect another harddrive.and a power cable from powersupply to harddrive.for detailed explanation see this link
*www.easeus.com/resource/install-sata-hard-drive.htm

Guys there is a phillips 21.5 Inch FULL HD IPS LED monitor up for grabs @ Rs 8k on Prime.. Id definitely reccomend that over any other monitor if budget permits

N

Thanks guys @Minion, clmlbx. @Nerevarine, It's for 9.3k dude!

Guys, I've almost decided to buy everything online from flipkart. There's a problem now, they have only two HP optical drives, one is not yet available and the other is out of stock, what to do? And I couldn't find a cabinet w/o SMPS below 1k, even the cheaper ones comes with SMPS, is it better to have it bought locally? Btw, is this the RAM you guys suggested for me? Corsair DDR3 4 GB (1 x 4 GB) PC RAM (CMV4GX3M1A1333C9) | Ram | Flipkart.com check and confirm please. @ico, I couldn't watch the video you posted until today, yeah I see a huge difference in performance but how much of a change will it make with this processor when a gpu is added?

M

for optical drive get Asus then
See link
Asus DRW-24B3ST Internal Optical Drive | Internal Optical Drive | Flipkart.com

Yes get that corsair ram.

For Case
Try to get it locally.

N

Thank you Minion. I'll be getting a Windows7 copy from a friend this evening, I have asked for 64bit but don't know which edition to go for, Home/Professional or Ultimate?

M

Ultimate or professional but not home.

Go With Ultimate.

N

Sorry for the delay, I couldn't make the purchase till now due to some trouble. I enquired in some computer forums about this specs and they're suggesting me to get a 2x2GB RAM and a more powerful PSU if I tend to add a GPU later so I wont have to replace the PSU as well. Need experts advice on this please?

M

Get single 4GB stick it will allow you to add another ram in future if you need powerful psu go with corsair CX500 v2 or Seasonic s12 520 watts.

N

I have no idea if I need a more powerful one.. Will that 500 watts psu take care of things when I add a gpu later? I certainly don't wanna replace the psu when I make an upgrade just after few months

Corsair CMPSU-600CXV2UK 600 Watts @ 4.2k
Corsair CMPSU-600GUK 600 Watts @ 4.5k
Seasonic S12II-520 520 Watts @ 4.7k
these are too much to future proof your rig :-D

N

Thanks for your reply. The only changes I'll be making to this rig in future is add one more 4gb ram, additional 500gb/1tb hdd and a gpu. I know graphics cards like AMD 6770 can run fine with a corsair 420v but will that power the additional hdd and ram? I don't want to spend extra cash on a higher psu right now if the 420v can pretty much handle my upgrades

N

No one ? Where's that guy with mamooty pic?

M

nokia6600 said:
Thanks for your reply. The only changes I'll be making to this rig in future is add one more 4gb ram, additional 500gb/1tb hdd and a gpu. I know graphics cards like AMD 6770 can run fine with a corsair 420v but will that power the additional hdd and ram? I don't want to spend extra cash on a higher psu right now if the 420v can pretty much handle my upgrades

To be on safer side you could opt for FSP saga 500 watts for 2.3k.

N

Guys, has anyone experienced a better performance in photoshop when OC'd?

***
Guys, I'm in a big dilemma right now.
Someone suggested me to go with Pentium G620 and Asus P8B75-M so I can have room for adding SSD to improve my photoshop performance as this mobo features SATA 6Gbps. And later down the line replace the processor with i5. If I go with 960T + GA 78-LMT-SP I'd probably add another 4GB RAM + GPU and MAYBE a SSD to get better performance related to photoshop work. Not right now but in future. So is it a wise decision to go with phenom 960T or wait some time to save some cash and get the i5 at first so I won't have to replace anything and just add the same upgrades to get even much better results? I'm greatly confused!
Edit: Please share any suggestions you feel that would help/improve my query.

If budget suits you then Intel always beats AMD in Performance means always.. saying by experience.. experience photoshop and many many multilmedia apps user.

N

^ it might take time to save the extra cash man. What do you think about my upgrades that I planned to add later? You think they're worth it?

M

phenom is more suitable. photoshop can utilize multiple cores again if you are going to add AMD GPU it will utilize stream tech similar to CUDA found in nvidia GPU which will further enhance photoshop performance I would say go with phenom 960T.
If you are in doubt I am using phenom X4 945 and its performing very good.

You could add SSD latter it will help in loading application and OS much faster.

Benchmark you find all over net are synthetic in real world you will not find much difference between various processor so get 960T its quad core cheap and future proof.

Spending lot of money in PC is not good since every year you will see new processor new tech.till now I have AMD athlon 2400+ system Iam using it for basic tasks like using MS office,watching movies,listening music and browsing.
I am typing this post from my old PC.

Phenom 960T is the way to go.

nokia6600 said:
^ it might take time to save the extra cash man. What do you think about my upgrades that I planned to add later? You think they're worth it?

that is the Reason I said If budget suits you..

don't at all go for that dual core processor.. even if temporary..

for type of work you are gonna do 4GB is pretty enough.. you might see some lag when you use filters that too is solved with cs6..

I will say you skip SSD if you want to according to budget is not necessary.. obviously it will increase little performance but you won't see any drastic changes..

changes you might see with SSD is windows , Photoshop launches fast.. you can save & open big files very fast.. so you can live without it..

Gpu is very much necessary so do buy it

Bottom line if you can wait and can gather money then go with i5 if not then go with 960T but don't at all go for that Intel dual core processor

N

Thanks for sticking with this thread Sai, Minion and clmlbx. There's few more questions to go:
1.Would it be better a idea to replace the mobo with something better that supports Sata 6Gbps and has the potential to OC this processor?
I know I can't do much with this mobo and stick to stock speed forever.
I need a board with I can try my luck of unlocking extra cores or simply OC it to the max to gain performance... Man I definitely need OC'ing if unlocking the extra cores fail me! It's either unlocking + overclocking or just overclocking. I'll end up getting an after market cooler down the road so need to make sure my mobo is worth it. (user experiences would be appreciated)
About the SSD... I will only add it if it can make a HUGE difference in performance. Otherwise just a gfx card and nothing fancy.
2.Is this board good enough to hold DDR5 cards like 6670/6770 and run forever when there's no OC'ing done to it at all?
I know this has all started to sound boring already but please hold on tight till I get through.. Lol

M

My suggestion is if you can spend get a better board.they will allow you for future upgrades they comes with better VRM,more ports better motherboard components

N

Found one! Lol Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 Motherboard | Motherboard | Flipkart.com I read very good reviews about it's ability to OC like a beast! Does it look good guys? Anyone own one?

Or this one? ASUS M5A88-M Motherboard | Motherboard | Flipkart.com it has on-board graphics as well, can I expect external graphics card like performance on this one?

Go with the Gigabyte GA 970 UD3 . Very good Motherboard .

N

We chose Corsair Value RAM 4GB 1333mhz, can it take full advantage of this board? Replace with higher mhz or it'll do just fine? I'm happy about everything except for one thing, if I could spend this extra money on a processor I could easily have bought 1055T/1075T with cheaper AM3 boards, right? Suggestions for RAM are welcome and mention a few after market coolers for this combo please...

M

skipping on motherboard is not wise get a good mobo Amd phemon 960T is good enough.for ram you can get G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 4 GB
See link
G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 4 GB (1 x 4 GB) PC RAM (F3-12800CL9S-4GBXL) | Ram | Flipkart.com

N

If that's the case here's the final specs
960T
970A UD3
Samsung 20' LED
WD Caviar Blue 500GB
Seasonic 520w
RipjawsX 4GB
HP/Asus Optical Drive
Basic multimedia KB+Mouse
CM Elite 431
Future upgrades:
RipjawsX 4GB
60GB/120GB SSD (MAYBE)
Aftermarket Coolers (as I will OC the life outta this processor if it doesn't unlock at all)
GPU (DDR5 HD 6670/6770 maybe?)
UPS
Couple of more HDD's
LOL, it looks more like a gaming rig now (which I don't mind cuz I'm into gaming as well) and yes I realize it got way out of my budget but still aren't they worth it for photoshop? Btw please recommend a basic multimedia speakers for this rig? Cheaper the better!
Edit: if you feel there's a change needed in my specs to make it perform better I'd be more than happy to hear it so please add your thoughts.

Buy logitech 2.0 speaker for just 300-400 bucks.. best in that price range. am using it.. but you can listen to it in store before buying.. anyway if you are looking 2.1 or so then don't mind ..

Your config is pretty good.. But if you are looking in budget then do check my specs FYI I am running Photoshop Every Day.. Every hour.. It's my job and it is running very well.. JUST for your knowledge..

N

That's what I planned for man, to keep it as low as possible on money but I been hearing bad stuff about 78LMT S2P combined with this processor. What's the point of buying 960t if you can't unlock/overclock, right? Anyway I'll definitely give a second thought about 960T+78LMT S2P after discussing with my mates who I'll be working with.

First of all, don't get confused by the numerous number of replies. Here are some tips for you.

Go for this configuration -

AMD Phenom II X4 960T
Gigabyte GA970A-UD3
Gskill 4GB 1600 MHz
WD Blue 500GB
Seasonic S12II 520
20" Samsung Monitor

>Unlocking the 960T on 970A-UD3 will be a breeze. The only thing which matters is luck. Unlocking is a 50/50 chance for 960T processors. So don't count on your processor to become 6 core as you buy it.

>For future upgrades, a GPU will be more effective than adding an SSD. Do it later.

M

nokia6600 said:
If that's the case here's the final specs
960T
970A UD3
Samsung 20' LED
WD Caviar Blue 500GB
Seasonic 520w
RipjawsX 4GB
HP/Asus Optical Drive
Basic multimedia KB+Mouse
CM Elite 431
Future upgrades:
RipjawsX 4GB
60GB/120GB SSD (MAYBE)
Aftermarket Coolers (as I will OC the life outta this processor if it doesn't unlock at all)
GPU (DDR5 HD 6670/6770 maybe?)
UPS
Couple of more HDD's
LOL, it looks more like a gaming rig now (which I don't mind cuz I'm into gaming as well) and yes I realize it got way out of my budget but still aren't they worth it for photoshop? Btw please recommend a basic multimedia speakers for this rig? Cheaper the better!
Edit: if you feel there's a change needed in my specs to make it perform better I'd be more than happy to hear it so please add your thoughts.

Go ahead mate for your speaker get logitech x 210 for 700 buck.

N

LOL! WTF! The overall cost of everything I listed above reached more than 35k already! (flipkart price wise) Is it REALLY worth it? Lol, my mates are ready to spend 5k extra when they can get better performing workhorse with Intel setup. Nothing has been confirmed yet. I feel like I've created one of the dumbest topic on TDF's pc section. What started with 25k is now at 40k. LOL! But thats because I want the money to be spent wisely. So please lol someone suggest photoshop workhorse for 40k please... Lol

nokia6600 said:
LOL! WTF! The overall cost of everything I listed above reached more than 35k already! (flipkart price wise) Is it REALLY worth it? Lol, my mates are ready to spend 5k extra when they can get better performing workhorse with Intel setup. Nothing has been confirmed yet. I feel like I've created one of the dumbest topic on TDF's pc section. What started with 25k is now at 40k. LOL! But thats because I want the money to be spent wisely. So please lol someone suggest photoshop workhorse for 40k please... Lol

This happens a lot. Flipkart and Local prices fluctuate a lot, and prices are high at some places. Take my example. I started off with 40K budget last month. I was suggested a config worth 47k. I spent around 60k because the prices were quite high in the local stores. Now I do realise that I would have got an i5 2500k based system with that budget, but think again, that would elevate the costs to 70k atleast because the pricing is not same everywhere. So just stick with this config, I'l edit it a little just to lower it down to your budget.

AMD Phenom II X4 960T - 7k
Gigabyte G880GM-USB3 - 4.5k
Normal DDR3 4GB 1333MHz ram - 1k
WD Blue 500GB - 3.8k
Corsair CX430V2 - 2.6k
20" Samsung Monitor - 7k

Total - 25900

The real price may go to 27k, but its worth it. Mild overclocking is possible over this motherboard, although high level overclock+unlocking is pretty much not recommended on this board, although its perfectly possible. A Corsair Cx430V2 will take care of your power requirements provided you dont add a very powerfull graphics later. Rest is all the same.

nokia6600 said:
LOL! WTF! The overall cost of everything I listed above reached more than 35k already! (flipkart price wise) Is it REALLY worth it? Lol, my mates are ready to spend 5k extra when they can get better performing workhorse with Intel setup. Nothing has been confirmed yet. I feel like I've created one of the dumbest topic on TDF's pc section. What started with 25k is now at 40k. LOL! But thats because I want the money to be spent wisely. So please lol someone suggest photoshop workhorse for 40k please... Lol

Now I would really say .. relax and take week off. and then decide what is max you an spend.. and make that final just final budget, if you compare it with best for Photoshop then budget will go insane..

To reduce the price you can forget overclocking.. and do buy Good atleast 500W PSU as it will be needed for good graphic card and all your possible future upgrades.. and also buy branded say either corsair or kingston ram atleast..

above config looks good to me with just going 500W PSU rather then 430.. you can check tagan PSU which are cheaper then corsair..

IMO 30K is minimum needed... as even that config will go as he has not included DVD-writer and cabinet.. both of them are gonna cost around 2.5K

N

Ok, this is my planned AMD setup
960T - 6891
970A UD3 - 6572
Samsung S20B300B - 6912
WD Blue 500GB - 4072
NZXT Source Elite 210 - 2600
SS S12II 520W - 4658
RipjawsX 4GB - 1788
DVD Drive - 1200
Lenovo M6811 - 615
Multimedia KB - 500
total 35808
However, after going through various threads I read in a topic where a member has bought :-
I5 2400 - 11000
Intel DH67CL - 5300
Corsair 4GB - 1275
SG Barracuda 1TB - 5000
Corsair CX430 - 2875
DVD Drive - 1075
AOC 21.5 LED - 8490
total 35015
It would reach 39k with the same cabinet and KB+Mouse or 1.5k less if I go with Samsung 20' monitor.
I understand I5 2400 can't be OC'd but it can still outperform 960T in real life, right? The AOC Monitor is full HD, so will there be a huge difference in PS? And what are pros of 1600mhz RAM over 1333mhz? (RipjawsX from AMD setup to Corsair in Intel setup)
I plan to keep this rig for atleast 4 years, so have to choose the best right now. I been reading on FX 8120 for a while, will it make sense to replace 960T with 8120 and go with it? After all PS is the main purpose of this rig, gaming is secondary.

M

You are buying PC for photoshop right then no need to go with intel price difference is huge go with amd, better spend on good monitor.That doesn't mean AMD are poor performer in real world you will not find any difference between and i5 and 960T so opt for cheapest.

You should opt for full HD IPS panel they are accurate with colors.
for your guide see this link
Best Monitor for Photography

Corsair ram is 1333 Mhz while ripjaw is 1600 Mhz low latency performance ram.

You can't use 1600 mhz ram with intel i5.It support upto 1333 mhz.

Don't go for FX 8120 since it will increase your budget and they are power hungry too.

N

Ok so which is better? Single 8GB RAM stick or two 4 GB's? Two as in adding additional 4 GB down the road, when I have the money.

^^ IMO.A single 8 gb is better.
Correct me if im wrong

Two is better performance wise..

Two same ram modules.

theserpent said:
^^ IMO.A single 8 gb is better.
Correct me if im wrong

Higher latency when the RAM stick size increases. This means slightly lower performance.

Plus, using 2 * 4 GB RAM means running in Dual Channel which means higher bandwidth.

2 * 4GB is better.

N

Thanks for the replies guys.
I now have more to consider after increasing the budget.
1. 960T+970A UD3+aftermarket cooler
I'll have an option to upgrade the processor with Piledriver when more performance is needed, say after 2/2.5yrs, and hopefully not replace the custom cooler.
2. i5 2400 + DH67CL B3
I shouldn't have to worry about upgrades, aftermarket coolers, totally hassle free, but can it run PS 24/7 with no hiccups for say 4yrs?
3. FX 8120+970A UD3
Get an aftermarket cooler couple of months later and never look back?
I can stretch the budget to fit in any one of the 3 setup from above.
Share your opinions please..
Btw, I have taken IPS monitor into consideration.
Need suggestions on this please :-
Full HD monitor for best photoshop experience below 10k?
Cheapest IPS monitor?
P.S: I'm trying to put in best of things to make this a one time purchase, that's why it took me over a month of time with the increasing budget. I'll settle at once within a couple of days.

M

Get 960T combo.AMD processor now runs cooler than Intel processor so no need to worry about heating issue.and it can run 24/7 too.
I don't know why people have such a huge trust over Intel.If you are going with 960T config. you are saving around 5k you can get a AMD 5670 GPU for 4k will help in photo shop and also invest in after market cooler.
FX 8120 provide good performance but they are not consistent and they are power hungry too.
For eIPS monitor search Internet.

N

^yeah, i'm kinda settling towards the 960t to keep the prices down now. So i'll have the option to upgrade to piledriver with this mobo in future, when i need more performance.
Guys can you please mention a few computer shops in chennai to look for these components at lowest price possible? I'll be checking out the monitors too.

M

look for lg they have few IPS panel monitor.

N

They offered me 1055t for 7.4k. Should i take that instead?

M

yes, get it.