PC for pro photographer

[heyheybooboo]

Kuma X2 7750 / Asus 790gx Combo Deal: $227

WD Caviar 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB: $69
Should work well for capture/scratch

WD Caviar Green 1TB 32MB Cache: $138
Storage/Backup hard drive - the Black would be a little faster but costs $25 more

Will you be using the Raptor as your OS/Apps drive?

2 X GeIL Black Dragon 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800: $100
4-4-4-12 @ 2v - on Asus QVL list - - - this G.Skill is $25 more

I'd try to reuse your case or buy local if you can to avoid shipping charges. This is around $550 - I'll leave the video up to you. The 790gx IGP will wipe the floor with that 5200 and can push 2 monitors (1 digital - 1 analog) so you could snag this Asus 19-inch LCD for $150 for your toolbars.

You could even add an Asus Radeon HD 3450 ($38) and run hybrid Crossfire with the IGP (and push 4 monitors if you wish ...)

And a Phenom II x4 upgrade would look really good when the prices come down a bit more ....

 

[imported_Francois]

I am almost ready to order you; will see that my budget is now much more
I will be using the 2 HDD in RAID0.

The RAM and the extra Fan on my list are not available anymore, do you have
any other recommendation?

Case- Antec Sonata III 500W Power Supply Included- $150 CAD
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P...x?Item=N82E16811129024

Optical Drive- Pioneer 216- $32 CAD
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P...x?Item=N82E16827129032

CPU- INtel i7 920- $350 CAD
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P...x?Item=N82E16819115202

Mobo- Gigabyte GA EX58 - $250 CAD
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P...x?Item=N82E16813128375

RAM- G.Skill 6 GB- $139 CAD
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P...x?Item=N82E16820231223

HDD-OS Western Digital 640- $88 CAD
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P...x?Item=N82E16822136218

HDD-Scratch Western Digital 640- $88 CAD
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P...x?Item=N82E16822136218

Video Card- EVGA 9600GT-$132 CAD
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P...x?Item=N82E16814130424

Extra Case Fan- Scythe S-Flex SFF21G 120mm Case Fan - $18 CAD
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P...x?Item=N82E16835185065

CPU Cooler- Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm "Core Contact Freezer" - $48 CAD
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P...x?Item=N82E16835207004

 

[GuitarDaddy]

That looks good, that's a top of the line photo rig

Just noticed you said you would use the hdd's in raid0, that won't work if you plan to use one for OS and one for a seperate scratch drive. An type raid array is essentially a single drive. I wouldn't recomend raid in your situation unless you want to buy more drives.

 

[imported_Francois]

Why would you not recommend RAID0? Don't worry about the OS and stratch, that was my mistake.
I usually make my backups on external HDD's by hand (no software) but in the future I would like
to use something more reliable. Any suggestion?

 

[wjgollatz]

I am not familiar with enough specific motherboard and memory, but from my research on how to optimize Nikon Capture NX 2 because its the only RAW editor I use, its speed can be degraded by having a slow FSB, and slow data transfers from hard drives.

You would want a motherboard, CPU and RAM that gives you the best speed you can afford for the FSB.
It will be better to have SATA drives. On drive for RAW images, and another drive for output, especially for any batch jobs.

 

[RebateMonger]

Just checking....

Do you have a backup system in place? Preferably an automated one. Either local, on your network, or on the Internet?

If not, I suggest spending money on that before anything else. If you already do, then back to your regularly scheduled broadcast.

 

[imported_Francois]

RebateMonger, do you have a recommendation for an automated backup system? I do everything by hand now
on external Lacie HDD's.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: Francois
RebateMonger, do you have a recommendation for an automated backup system? I do everything by hand now on external Lacie HDD's.

The easiest automated system is Windows Home Server. It's particularly good if you have more than one PC in your home or business, since it'll back up all of them and monitor backup success.
Microsoft's Windows Home Server site directed at photographers.

You can buy or build one. Any six-year-old PC is adequate for building one. If you choose to STORE your photos on it, you can enable drive redundancy. But I'd still keep a Lacie around for making secondary backups. I wouldn't trust any single drive or array of drives with anything really important.

 

[kyotousa]

I am in the same shoe as op. However, I am an amateur photographer.
Also, I probably won't buy the rig till September after Diablo 3 come out and that will be the only game I play. By the way, I really want to run with passive cooling on my CPU & graphic card.

So, I have a few questions
1. Is there a difference between Phonem & Intel quad in term of RAW file editing?
2. Does AMD chip still suffer high heat issue?

I am either gonna go with phonem quad 3.0ghz or wait for the 65watts Q9550.

 

[imported_Francois]

Thank you RebateM.

Sorry, I can't help you Kyotousa.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

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