Silkmountain wrote:
OK, the age-old question that I can’t seem to find a current and comprehensive answer to…
It’s time to buy a new Windows-based computer (not thinking Mac, but if someone can strongly tout a new Mac running Windows, I’ll listen) and I want one ideally spec’d to run Photoshop CS2 efficiently. I will be working with very large files – 100mb + so it needs to be tricked out so I don’t grow a beard waiting for the system every time I modify the image…
So, can anyone either recommend specific components and minimum specifications or direct me to a vendor or other wise person who is supremely conversant regarding my needs.
Thanks…
Your timing is interesting for me as I just rebuilt my Windows XP Pro box. I had an Intel P4 3.2 GHz Prescott processor that started to become unreliable. OK, it might have been the motherboard, but I had to replace both of them anyway.
I got a AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor because just about everything I read said that AMD is the way to go for dual core. It tends to be faster, cooler, more flexible, and more efficient than Intel’s current dual core offerings. It is faster at a particular price point too. The 3800+ wasn’t quite down to the price point that I wanted, but close enough and way better than its siblings.
If you are building or rebuilding it yourself, watch out for the motherboards for this chip. I first got a EPoX mobo that had good reviews. What I read certainly implied that it worked with the X2, but it didn’t. Not reliably anyway. Moral: Not all Athlon 64 motherboards will work with the X2. I next got the Asus A8R-MVP mobo. It is a huge piece of junk. It is unreliable in almost every way. It freezes and crashes XP. It can’t seem to keep it own clock or FSB speeds constant. Don’t buy this mobo.
I ended up with an MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum motherboard that is great. It’s rock solid stable and more than flexible enough for me. Highly recommended.
My old AGP video card wouldn’t find a place in the new motherboards without AGP slots. So, I had to get a PCI-E graphics card. That ATI X550 level card I got is more than enough for Photoshop. It’s fine or my single 3D game – Bridge Construction Set. It should be fine for the new graphics features in Vista, but we’ll have to see.
I kept my 4 chunks of DDR400 (512MB each) to save money. For reasons that I don’t fully understand, AMD’s spec require that 4 chunks of memory have to have the speed dropped down to 333 MHz. They also drop the timing down to T2, but that really isn’t much of a hit. If you are buying memory, try to get two 1 GB DRAM chunks. Well, maybe; see below. (Yes, you do want 2 GB for Photoshop.)
AMD processors are known for good and easy overclocking. You might want to consider that as a way to get some serious performance for free. You do need a motherboard with a BIOS that will allow you to overclock. You will also need to do some serious research to learn how to do it right.
nVidia based motherboards may be able to use their nTune application to help overclock their boards. It ran on mine, but wouldn’t change the BIOS setting for me. That’s all right, I could do that myself just fine. nTune slowly tests your system to find the max overclocking that you can do. It will even work through crashes. It could save you a ton of time.
I ran nTune on mine. It said I should be able to crank my 2.0 GHz 3800+ up to 2.5 GHz. So, I tried it. A few hours under Prime95 (burn in software) it looked just fine. Actually running some software created one crash. So, I dialed it back to 2.4 GHz. It has been rock solid stable since then.
One of the advantages of the 2.4 GHz speed was that it also overclocked the memory to get it right back to its 400 MHz speed. So, it’s back to running at it’s peak. I don’t have the expensive match pairs, but it works fine in dual channel. I think the crash was because my memory won’t go a bit higher than its rated speed though.
I have all the same drives as before. My system/data drive is a 7200 RPM Seagate that has worked just fine. I do have a WD Raptor 37 GB 10,000 RPM drive that I use for XP’s pagefile AND for Photoshop’s Scratch Disk – only. Even with 2 GB of memory Photoshop seems to always want to use the Scratch Disk. It figure I might as well use a fast one for virtual memory. It really does make a difference.
You may want to go with a RAID 0 setup with your setup or use WD Raptors for data drives. I get some of my panoramic files up over 100 MB and don’t feel the need for faster hard drives. I suppose it would help a bit, but the fast, dual core processor seemed to make much more of a difference.
This is a GREAT computer for Photoshop! I love it! It is WAY faster than my old build. A lot of Photoshop actions that I run in the past would leave me sitting around twiddling my thumbs. Not any more. I now have no time for multi-tasking on or off the computer. I haven’t tried everything, as I don’t normally run everything. I also don’t have a benchmark from before. However, running SiSoftware Sandra Lite 2005.SR3 I get CPU benchmarks that are equal to a X2 4800+.
I never realized how much Photoshop is processor dependent. For a lot of tasks, it is very good with dual core processors too. If you are looking for fast Photoshop, by all means get dual core. Get as fast as you can afford too.
If I had some expensive, matched DDR500 memory in two chunks, I could probably get some more speed out of it. I don’t know how much though and if it would be worth the cost. I’m very happy with my current system and would recommend my configuration to anyone.
One advantage of this new build is that it runs much more efficiently. That means that it runs much cooler too. My old P4 3.2 GHz would run in the low to mid 40s under no pressure. Under any kind of load it would easily get into the low 50s. Once my Zalman CNPS7000-CU heatsink got a coating of dust on it, it would start hitting the 57 C alarm. …and this is a pretty massive and powerful heatsink/fan.
My new build stays right about 32 C under light or no activity. Really cranking it with Prime95 (which I never did on the old P4) gives me a nice 44 C. The alarm on this doesn’t hit until 60 C. I’m using the ThermalTake Silent 938 heatsink/fan. This isn’t the stock one with the 3800+, but it is with its bigger sisters. It isn’t nearly as massive as the Zalman. I’ve read plenty of accounts of people getting a stable 2.4 GHz with the stock heatsink/fan.
Thanks,
Clyde
