# Help me build a Photoshop/Photo editing PC



## Goshko (Nov 15, 2013)

Hi Guys,

So I want to make myself a nice PC for photo editing and photoshop ... 99% of it's use will be photo/video editing ... the other 1% will be for browsing.

My budget is between 800$-1100$.

I currently have a monitor, a mouse and a keyboard but I need to buy an OS.

Thank you,


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## micropage7 (Nov 15, 2013)

what about intel i5 4570 with 8 or 16 gb ram with asrock Z87 Extreme4


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## Goshko (Nov 15, 2013)

For sure im getting a 256gb ssd and a minimum of 16gb of 1600 ram. 

I need a cpu/mobo and gpu combo!


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## RCoon (Nov 15, 2013)

Goshko said:


> For sure im getting a 256gb ssd and a minimum of 16gb of 1600 ram.
> 
> I need a cpu/mobo and gpu combo!



Plan on overclocking?

If no:
H87 MoBo + 4770

If yes:
Z87 MoBo + 4770K

GPU is entirely your choice, Photoshop is more interested in your processor and RAM.


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## Goshko (Nov 15, 2013)

Nope no overclocking in mind! 
Thanks!


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## RCoon (Nov 15, 2013)

I'll make a list and then leave it to you to customise, and other people will interject with pricing options:

i7 4770
H87 MoBo of your choice
16GB 1600Mhz RAM (2 x 8GB sticks)
550-600w Bronze Rated PSU
Generic ATX Case, I can't account for your personal taste, but something like a Source 210 would do
Samsung 240GB EVO SSD
WD/Seagate 1TB 3.5" HDD
Generic DVD Drive if you need it
GPU of some sort, dependant upon whether you feel the need to play manshoot games


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## Goshko (Nov 15, 2013)

No games will be played on this system at all !
Do you think I really need a dedicated GPU ? 
If so, what would you recommend for about 100$ ?


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## RCoon (Nov 15, 2013)

Goshko said:


> No games will be played on this system at all !
> Do you think I really need a dedicated GPU ?
> If so, what would you recommend for about 100$ ?



I guess you dont, but it's always nice to have one available. Something like an R7 250 or a GT 640 are around $100 I think, but they aren't necessary.


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## Nordic (Nov 15, 2013)

What video editors do you use? Some video editors make use of cuda or open cl, in which case a gpu would benefit you.


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## RCoon (Nov 15, 2013)

james888 said:


> What video editors do you use? Some video editors make use of cuda or open cl, in which case a gpu would benefit you.



Just a quick picture to backup your statement, but I'm only aware of GPU acceleration in Vegas 12 (as that's what I use in conjuction with GPU Acceleration at work)


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## MxPhenom 216 (Nov 15, 2013)

Calling Mailman. One who knows the ins and out of photoshop far more than anyone else on this forum.


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## RCoon (Nov 15, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Calling Mailman. One who knows the ins and out of photoshop far more than anyone else on this forum.



Photoshop uses OpenCL & OpenGL for filters and that's about it, I recall having this conversation with him myself not long ago. Like he said to me, if you're having to accelerate hundreds of filters, you're probably doing it wrong.


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## Nordic (Nov 15, 2013)

Photoshop itself will use a gpu too. Specifically open CL. Only for certain features though.
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/979969


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## Fourstaff (Nov 15, 2013)

Hmm


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## buildzoid (Nov 15, 2013)

If you paid 1150$ you could get:
4930K 
Cooler Master Hyper 212
16GB ram
R7 240
500W PSU
ASUS P9X79 Mobo
1TB HDD
el cheapo case(or go without one and you fit in the 1100$ budget).


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## v12dock (Nov 15, 2013)

Might want to check out workstation graphics cards, they support 30bit color


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## Frick (Nov 15, 2013)

buildzoid said:


> If you paid 1150$ you could get:
> 4930K
> Cooler Master Hyper 212
> 16GB ram
> ...



He wants an SSD, and does not plan on overclocking.


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## buildzoid (Nov 15, 2013)

Frick said:


> He wants an SSD, and does not plan on overclocking.


I didn't pick the 4930K because of OCing but because it's the cheapest Hexa core availble and as such will burn through anything multi threaded 30-50% faster than a 4770K.
BTW I find SSDs totally overrated and I used many machines with them and never saw the appeal other than BF3 load times.


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## Sasqui (Nov 15, 2013)

buildzoid said:


> BTW I find SSDs totally overrated and I used many machines with them and never saw the appeal other than BF3 load times.



Try loading a 20GB .TIF file.


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## Fourstaff (Nov 16, 2013)

So how do we squeeze a hexa core AND an SSD in... 

Would help greatly if OP tells us where his nearest shops are.


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## Nordic (Nov 16, 2013)

Fourstaff said:


> So how do we squeeze a hexa core AND an SSD in...
> 
> Would help greatly if OP tells us where his nearest shops are.



Only way I can see that happening is a used hexacore.


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## Goshko (Jun 3, 2014)

Hey guys ... so here's an update (sorry for the delay, persone I was building this for was low on budget at the time but is ready now).

I am from canada btw so newegg.ca and ncix.com is primarily where I will be buying the parts.

Here's what I am thinking of getting.

Qty.Product DescriptionSavingsTotal Price
1




Rosewill Blackbone Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811147023
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$49.99
$39.99
1




Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822236339
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$69.99
1




ASUS GT640-2GD3 GeForce GT 640 2GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
Item #: N82E16814121643
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
-$5.00 Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$114.99
$109.99
1




SeaSonic S12II 430B 430W ATX12V V2.3/EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817151074
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$25.00 Instant
$79.99
$54.99
1




G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL10D-16GBXL
Item #: N82E16820231489
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
-$5.00 Instant
$169.99
$164.99
1




MSI H87-G43 LGA 1150 Intel H87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX High Performance CF Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813130697
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$119.99
$109.99
1




Intel Core i7-4770 Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770
Item #: N82E16819116900
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$338.99
$328.99
1




Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120 mm PWM Fan
Item #: N82E16835103099
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$34.99
1




SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Item #: N82E16820147193
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
-$25.00 Instant
$249.99
$224.99
Subtotal:$1,138.91


What do you guys think ?


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## TRWOV (Jun 3, 2014)

HD4000 (the 4770's IGP) supports OpenCL: https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/accelerate-performance-using-opencl-with-intel-hd-graphics

If you want to spend some more on more meaningful stuff (like another 16GB set of RAM) you could skip the GT640


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## manofthem (Jun 3, 2014)

The 840 Pro is beautiful ssd, but you could save a little with the 840 Evo
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147248&cm_re=840_evo-_-20-147-248-_-Product


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## Goshko (Jun 3, 2014)

TRWOV said:


> HD4000 (the 4770's IGP) supports OpenCL: https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/accelerate-performance-using-opencl-with-intel-hd-graphics
> 
> If you want to spend some more on more meaningful stuff (like another 16GB set of RAM) you could skip the GT640


Well I thought a GPU could help with video editing ?


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## Aquinus (Jun 3, 2014)

v12dock said:


> Might want to check out workstation graphics cards, they support 30bit color



Take this recommendation seriously. If you're doing only 2D work (image manipulation and video), a workstation card may be better suited to your needs and very well might provide a better 2D experience along with deep color support and such. For what you're doing, you wouldn't need anything too powerful but most consumer cards don't tend to like giving you control over higher color depths beyond 8-bits per color (or 24bit + alpha, 32-bit).

I only say this if the computer will be doing zero gaming whatsoever.


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## pigulici (Jun 3, 2014)

From my experience, on 2D in last Photoshop CC, on desktop(your case), I see/find amd video cards are better than nvidia, and I see some speed from 128b to 256b on vga, also you will need some storage too, a 5400rpm big hdd will do the job, I make 5-10gb of file data per day when work in Photoshop, and put the Ps temp file on ssd too(I make it a 50gb partition just for that), and I think 8GB ram it will be enough if don't have file larger than 1.5gb, so try to buy a Samsung 512gb, now I work from my laptop in PS CC...


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## TRWOV (Jun 3, 2014)

Goshko said:


> Well I thought a GPU could help with video editing ?


Yes, but the HD4000 on the 4770 already supports OpenCL and OpenGL so if your intent is to accelerate Photoshop filters you don't actually _*require* _a discrete GPU. The HD4000 should fully support the Mercury GE, just make sure to allocate at least 512MB for the HD4000's VRAM.

If you're doing this in some professional capacity look into workstation GPUs (Firepro, Quadro) like v12 and Aquinus said. Of course that also means that you should have a matching 30bit monitor too. Not much sense into getting a Firepro for a run of the mill TN 1080p panel.


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