It was time to take a deep gulp and bite the bullet

[JBW]

below are the components of what I hope will be my new desktop. Way more expensive than I hoped but way less than buying from B&H and then paying duty and shipping. Robert is a local computer store owner who we have known for years and he based this on what Dave (one of our moderators) thought was a pretty good build.

[Glenn P]

Nice. You're going to make a lot of people jealous.

I hope you've got it protected from the power grid with a UPS.

[paintingwithlight]

If it's your first time with an SSD you will love it. I used to think that faster bus speeds and CPU speed resulted in better "performance." For me "performance" is the faster import of files and opening of apps - in this case, the performance increase in going to an SSD was phenomenal!

Michael

[John 2]

I don't know whether you normally build your own but You won't regret it Brian. I got so fed up with the poor service dished out by national retailers that I bit the bullet a few years ago and never looked back. You're not building to a retail price and therefore probably use better quality components and you will have customed your design to match your needs. Looks good - enjoy.

[DanK]

I want to second Glenn's suggestion of an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). A good one will both provide surge protection and give you a few minutes to shut down safely in the event of a power failure. This is the one I use on my machine. I haven't needed it often, but I have had a few power failures, and this let me save my work.

[rpcrowe]

I might research a faster CPU either a such as an I-7.

Although 16 Gigs of RAM might be perfectly suitable; if I were building, AI would have 32 Gigs of RAM.

I basically chose the components of my new (within the last year) computer and it really makes Photoshop CC work fast and never freeze up like it used to do with my old computer.

[JBW]

Note to the moderators: none of these relies showed up in my email?

Over here we plug things into a voltage regulator because of power surges as well as a UPS. I would go with a faster CU if I could afford it an d with 32 gb of ram if I could afford it. Net year for more ram. Capture 1 states that 8 gb of ram is a minimum so 16 should be pretty good. They also say that a quad core is needed but they aren't particular about speed.

I agree about the frustrations of buying off the shelf and we are building expandibility right into this one from day one.

And now as I thank you I shall only add that once I post this i am going to my email and give the go ahead. In 2 to 4 weeks we shall see how it works

[Dukatum]

I don't think he needs to worry with an i-7, not if the main purpose is image editing. Most modern software make use of the GPU to provide real-time feedback to edits now. The GPU is going to be a nice benefit for this.

But the most important thing of all this, is ensuring you have a good screen that's calibrated.

[JBW]

I don't think he needs to worry with an i-7, not if the main purpose is image editing. Most modern software make use of the GPU to provide real-time feedback to edits now. The GPU is going to be a nice benefit for this.

But the most important thing of all this, is ensuring you have a good screen that's calibrated.

That is not going to happen in the near future. Two reasons, availability and cost. I do calibrate.

[John 2]

No, a fast processor is not the most critical element. What matters is memory, a fast system disc and a GPU that won't be overloaded when it is shared. All three are well catered for. The only other thought from me might have been to suggest a passive graphics card purely to cut down on noise but that is a nicety and not essential.

[JBW]

No, a fast processor is not the most critical element. What matters is memory, a fast system disc and a GPU that won't be overloaded when it is shared. All three are well catered for. The only other thought from me might have been to suggest a passive graphics card purely to cut down on noise but that is a nicety and not essential.

Yearly upgrades will cater to the niceties

[Black Pearl]

That looks like a really solid and good performing choice. The i5 is a great choice and will serve you well while 16GB of RAM is more than acceptable and should you want more in the future easy enough to add as fund become available.

Have fun

[JBW]

That looks like a really solid and good performing choice. The i5 is a great choice and will serve you well while 16GB of RAM is more than acceptable and should you want more in the future easy enough to add as fund become available.

Have fun

I think I shall

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Brian,

FWIW, my thoughts on my decisions after running it for almost a couple of months ...

I am happy with 16 GB RAM, it very rarely gets to 80% in use and is usually in the range of 20-40%, 60% + with many files open in PS CC. When I had 6 GB, it regularly hit 85-90% in use, with consequent paging to HDD. The only surprise was that having ordered 2666 RAM (and that is what is fitted), I find it runs at 2133 - although the supplier says it will speed up to 2666 if it needs to, but runs slower when it doesn't (presumably to save heat build up), I have not tried to 'push it' to prove a point.

They gave me an i5 7600 and over-clocked it to approx. 4 GHz, which it runs at almost constantly, regardless of processor 'load', unlike my previous i3, which used to go up and down in frequency all the time (e.g. 2 - 3 GHz). So that speed increase, apparently, for PS CC, is more relevant than the number of cores, made the need for an i7 for me a non-issue.

Although I could, I haven't investigated the BIOS about either of these clocking aspects (RAM or i5) - "if it ain't broke ..." applies

The SSD does make one heck of a difference
So far; I am only using 83 GB* of my 500 GB SSD, so I probably could have saved a bit and gone with an SSD in the 250 GB area, as you have specified. * Documents, Videos and Images not being edited are kept on HDD.

Good luck with the build, Dave

[JBW]

Hi Brian,

FWIW, my thoughts on my decisions after running it for almost a couple of months ...

I am happy with 16 GB RAM, it very rarely gets to 80% in use and is usually in the range of 20-40%, 60% + with many files open in PS CC. When I had 6 GB, it regularly hit 85-90% in use, with consequent paging to HDD. The only surprise was that having ordered 2666 RAM (and that is what is fitted), I find it runs at 2133 - although the supplier says it will speed up to 2666 if it needs to, but runs slower when it doesn't (presumably to save heat build up), I have not tried to 'push it' to prove a point.

They gave me an i5 7600 and over-clocked it to approx. 4 GHz, which it runs at almost constantly, regardless of processor 'load', unlike my previous i3, which used to go up and down in frequency all the time (e.g. 2 - 3 GHz). So that speed increase, apparently, for PS CC, is more relevant than the number of cores, made the need for an i7 for me a non-issue.

Although I could, I haven't investigated the BIOS about either of these clocking aspects (RAM or i5) - "if it ain't broke ..." applies

The SSD does make one heck of a difference
So far; I am only using 83 GB* of my 500 GB SSD, so I probably could have saved a bit and gone with an SSD in the 250 GB area, as you have specified. * Documents, Videos and Images not being edited are kept on HDD.

Good luck with the build, Dave

Thanks, Between the quad core, the ram and ssd I think things will run a lot better.