New build for photoshop and audio production. Advice please.


Recommended Posts

Greetings to one and all.

I would appreciate your

advice on a new build.

I have a 1800? budget.

The system is primarily for photoshop usage. Working on big scanned negative files of about 350mb size without layers. Also for pro audio production.

I'd like a system that has at let.st 32gb of Ram.

I'm pretty open on anything else.

Look forward to hearing from you.

post-425673-0-02121300-1325966850_thumb.

Welcome to Neowin!

I am sure someone with more time will spec you a build, but just a few questions.

Does the budget include monitor?

How do you feel about overclocking. Is that something that you will do/ might consider/ won't do it?

Welcome to Neowin!

I am sure someone with more time will spec you a build, but just a few questions.

Does the budget include monitor?

How do you feel about overclocking. Is that something that you will do/ might consider/ won't do it?

Greetings. Budget does not include a monitor. Yes I am keen on overclocking :)

Can't say anything else then **** about this pc in positive way :D

http://www.ebay.com/...em=160712343845

Above build I chose for ya includes:

-Cooler Master Elite 310 (Mid Tower)

-3 x 120mm Blue LED Cooler Master Sickleflow High Performance Fans>eyecandy

-12" Blue Cold Cathode Neon Lighting->eyecandy

-[FREE] Overclock Processor up to 10%

-Level 2 Iron Tundra Liquid Cooling (UV blue colored)

-ASUS P8Z68-V LX [VGA DVI HDMI] SATA 6Gb/s USB3 {4 DDR3 Slots}

-16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1333MHz

-Nvidia Geforce GTX 560 Ti 1GB (Min. 600 Watt Power Supply)

-Standard 600 Watt, more isn't really needed if you don't add anything else

-1TB 7200 RPM

-Fan-Less Aluminum Silent Hard Drive Cooler with Heatpipes

-NZX Sentry 2 Touch Screen Fan Controller & Temperature Display->TOYS :D

-Internal Wireless N 300Mbps->was forgotten at first :p

-ASUS Xonar DX 7.1->Sound is important in your case

-Life-time U.S. based technical support and customer service by our own in-house technicians

-Standard 3 Years Parts and Labor

And best part of it is: you don't have to build it, some kind of chinese will do it for ya ^^

You can also add custom body paintings if ya like ;)

The software I'll be using us all 64bit hence 32gb. Would this not be useful when working with huge files?

It won't, I've been using extreme pc's with 32gb memory and haven't been able to get past 13/14gb(took me quite some work to get even close to that)

The software I'll be using us all 64bit hence 32gb. Would this not be useful when working with huge files?

I totally agree with you, large files can even push 32gb especially in Photoshop. I would also recommend an Nvidia GPU as they support CUDA acceleration.

I recommend an Intel Quad Core CPU. Fastest one you can afford (K variety for overclocking). An i7 would be best if budget allows.

I totally agree with you, large files can even push 32gb especially in Photoshop. I would also recommend an Nvidia GPU as they support CUDA acceleration.

I recommend an Intel Quad Core CPU. Fastest one you can afford (K variety for overclocking). An i7 would be best if budget allows.

I'm all about the six core i7. I'm looking for a good ssd drive, possibly around 240gb. Water Cooling is an option as I'm keen to o/c!

I totally agree with you, large files can even push 32gb especially in Photoshop. I would also recommend an Nvidia GPU as they support CUDA acceleration.

I recommend an Intel Quad Core CPU. Fastest one you can afford (K variety for overclocking). An i7 would be best if budget allows.

If you got a nvidia videocard(I chose the best in above build) photoshop will use 90% of the time cuda and won't pass even 12gb...

I'm all about the six core i7. I'm looking for a good ssd drive, possibly around 240gb. Water Cooling is an option as I'm keen to o/c!

ssd of such size is very expensive, same build as before but with ssd: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150732957551

as you see it pushed the prize with nearly 300 usd O.o

Looks like you will be getting yourself a powerful system.

This will need a good and stable PSU, and for this reason I would stay away from pre-built systems unless you can be sure that the PSU is a quality one.

i7 2700K would be a good choice overall for CPU.

Only other option I would see is going i7 extreme (socket 2011). Price would go up by quite a bit though.

Here is an example of a build:

i7 3930K - 500

Asus X79 mobo - 220

Corsair AX-750 PSU - 150

Case - 100

HDD 2TB - 150

Nvidia GTX560 Ti 448 core edition - 240

Quad channel RAM 16GB - 90

TOTAL = 1450 GBP (I think) Aproximate prices I took from overclockers.co.uk

That should give you 350 for sound card and SSD. I know there is less RAM that you wanted but 32 GB quad channel RAM is way overpriced.

You can save 50+ by going regular GTX 560 Ti.

Same build with i7 2700K would save you close to 300 on CPU and mobo. But someone smarter then me should tell you if it is worth getting i7 3930 based on applications you will be using.

Thanks HyBry

I'm definitely not going for a pre built system. I already have a soundcard so the question is, on what can I spend the rest of the money on? :)

I would like 32gb of Ram as I'm going 6x9 format with some new work so I'll need it for the huge scanned negatives I'll be working on :)

Thanks HyBry

I'm definitely not going for a pre built system. I already have a soundcard so the question is, on what can I spend the rest of the money on? :)

I would like 32gb of Ram as I'm going 6x9 format with some new work so I'll need it for the huge scanned negatives I'll be working on :)

That is good.

I assume you have all the other 'attachements' as well (keyboard/mouse/etc.) so there won't be any money spent on that.

A 256GB SSD will set you back close to 300. I have not read up on this, so I won't be able to recommend any, just to make sure it is SATA III compatible for best speeds.

As for memory there are couple of options out there i can see. From what I can see on scan.co.uk 32GB quad channel (4 sticks) memory is 220+. (if you go i7 3930K then you would need quad channel, but for i7 2700K dual channel. In reality you will most likely end up with at least 4 memory sticks either way)

16GB quad channel (4 sticks) can be had for around 80-90. Option is to get two of these sets. You will have 8 memory sticks in system. Not sure if this is a bad thing, but just something to keep in mind, and need to make sure motherboard is up for it.

I am sure if you shop around you will find a good deal.

I don't think there is anything special about quad channel, just 4 identical memory sticks as it is with dual channel. This means if you can find a good deal on 16GB dual channel (2 sticks) that should work as well with i7 3930K.

Also there is question of cooling. If you decide to overclock then decent aftermarket cooling would be advisable. There is Corsair H-series closed loop water coolers, or for the same or lower price you can get a good air cooler, Noctua makes some good and quiet ones.

If there is more money you want to spend you can always get a better case or better GPU.

As for cases I like Silverstone/ Fractal design/ Corair cases.

I need some makes and models please dear friends :)

Silverstone RV03 case

Seasonic X-760 PSU or Corsair AX650 - 650W should be OK for you, and it is cheaper. 750W is on an safe side (EDIT: read up a bit and it looks like unless you do a heavy overclock then 650W will should be plenty.)

ASUS P9X79 mobo

GPU brand mostly does not matter, as the card itself is the same. It is warranty and customer support that is different.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • WACUP 1.99.51.24568 Preview by Razvan Serea WACUP (WinAmp Community Update Project) is a modern, enhanced version of the classic Winamp music player, designed for better stability, performance, and compatibility. Built for Windows, WACUP retains the familiar Winamp interface while adding 64-bit support, bug fixes, and new features like improved audio format support, customizable skins, and optimized playlist management. Unlike bloated alternatives, WACUP focuses on lightweight performance and regular updates, making it the best choice for fans of the classic Winamp experience. Basically, if you miss the good old days of Winamp and want a modern upgrade that doesn’t mess things up, WACUP is for you! WACUP key features: Classic Winamp Feel – Keeps the familiar interface and functionality. Bug Fixes & Stability – Fixes old Winamp issues and improves performance. 64-Bit Support – Works better on modern systems. More Formats & Plugins – Supports additional audio formats and third-party plugins. Customizable UI – Skins and tweaks for a personalized look. Better Library Management – Improved playlists, media organization, and search. No Bloat – Focuses on performance without unnecessary extras. Regular Updates – Community-driven development with new features and fixes. WACUP 1.99.51.24568 Preview changelog: Fixed a deadlock seen from the recent crash reports when doing some of the drag + drop actions within the media library window Fixed a loading crash seen related to a problem with some of the artwork cache image files being restored which should now be better handled allowing for the bad image to be removed without it failing Fixed a deadlock seen from the recent crash reports when the internal metadata cache clearing is triggered which could block the main ui thread for too long with this now being moved to a background thread Fixed some performance issues with some of the methods related to determining artwork support which mainly affected the local library import / refresh (this is still slower for some compared to other players because there's more data & artwork aspects being checked for which means doing more processing on a single file despite the best of attempts to reduce duplicate / heavy processing where possible) Fixed a crash with the JTFE based missing files hotkey which no one seems to have used for an age for this to appear (maybe it's time to seriously consider stripping out features that aren't being used) Fixed how some of the file types which use extra information to reference their sub-songs is handled which was preventing some from being correctly resolved back to their base file (noticed fixing above) Fixed an issue with the handling of files with underscores in their filepath which wasn't being correctly handled causing some of the filename to be lost when shown as the title if title reading is delayed Fixed a few things that might be behind NotSoDirect not being stable for some setups though am still not certain that the changes done for this are going to fully resolve the problem from the crash reports Fixed the OS toast handling when there's no prior shortcut in the OS start menu to now create the shortcut (needed to allow the yes/no buttons for the new build / post-release toast) to be done as a hidden one so it's less likely to cause annoyance for those not wanting to see it whilst still allowing this less than ideal OS api implementation requirement to be met to avoid toasts without the needed buttons Fixed a regression when moving from taglib1 to taglib2 which broke some of the handling in place to allow for external programs to still access files when wacup has a held open cached instance of the file Everything else Updated cppwinrt (gen_win10shell.dll) to 3.0.260520.1 (26 May 2026) Updated libcurl (libcurl.dll) to 8.2.1 (24 Jun 2026) Updated Monkey's Audio (in_ape.dll) to 13.15 (28 Jun 2026) Updated mpg123 (mpg123.dll) to 1.33.6 (6 Jun 2026) Updated OpenSSL (libcurl.dll) to 3.5.7 (9 Jun 2026) Updated pugixml to 1.16 (16 Jun 2026) Updated taglib (tag2.dll) to 2.3.0 (11 May 2026) Updated vgmstream (in_vgmstream.dll) to the latest Git commit from 28 Jun 2026 Download: WACUP 64-bit | 9.6 MB (Freeware) Download: WACUP 32-bit View: WACUP Website | Screenshots Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • "over a thousand engineering hours" and started selling it but could not take a couple of minuets to send an AI email to ask permission. What an expensive lesson.
    • just tested it yesterday, a simple page with autoloading ADS takes 60mb....just 1 page for 60 megabytes.   poor people with a limited internet never will visit neolose
    • Tor Browser 15.0.17 by Razvan Serea Protect your privacy. Defend yourself against network surveillance and traffic analysis. Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet. The Tor software protects you by bouncing your communications around a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all around the world: it prevents somebody from watching your Internet connection and learning what sites you visit, it prevents the sites you visit from learning your physical location, and it lets you access sites which are blocked. The Tor Browser Bundle lets you use Tor on Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux without needing to install any software. It can run off a USB flash drive, comes with a pre-configured web browser to protect your anonymity, and is self-contained. Tor Browser 15.0.17 changelog: All Platforms Updated Tor to 0.4.9.11 Updated NoScript to 13.6.25.1984 Build System / All Platforms Bug tor-browser-build#41821: Update gpg subkeys for boklm Bug tor-browser-build#41827: Update morgan's keychain with renewed key Download: Tor Browser (64-bit) | Tor Browser (32-bit) | 109.0 MB (Open Source) View: Tor Browser Website | Other Operating Systems Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
  • Recent Achievements

    • Reacting Well
      Wakeen1966 earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Rookie
      Almohandis went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Apprentice
      jahara21 went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • Reacting Well
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      530
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      266
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      148
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      99
    5. 5
      macoman
      56
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!