[DaVinciRemodel]

I’m in the market for a new computer. While I know how to use the thing, I don’t know much about how they work or what I need – So I’m tapping you guys for some info. I will have the thing built at a local shop and would like to know what to tell them I need/want.

I’ve decided I will go with a desktop unit. My current laptop hasn’t moved in 3 years.

I currently use:
• Office
• Evernote
• Dropbox
• Itunes
• Adobe Lightroom 5
• Adobe Elements 9
• Home Designer Pro (see Chief Architect below)
• I don’t do any gaming of any sort.

Current Hardware configuration:
• I’m currently hardwired to the router (just a bit faster than wireless)
• I’m currently hardwired to the printer (more reliable)
• I run sound out of the laptop to the stereo.
• I have a 24” monitor/HD TV (see monitors below)
• Wireless mouse and keyboard
• I have a CD/DVD/Blue ray drive that I think I’ve used a few times to read CD’s in.
• I have a SD card slot for moving pictures from the camera.


Will be adding to the new unit:
• Upgrading from Home Designer to full version of Chief Architect.
• I would like to have 2 – 24” monitors – I have no clue what it takes to do this.
• Because I’m so hardwired I will want more USB ports – I currently only have three and occasionally need to unplug things to plug in other things.

Am I missing things?
Am I being short sighted on anything?
Are there parts, manufactures, minimums I should specify for RAM, video, graphics, etc.?

Thanks,

Paul

 

[JBM]

The biggest speed improvement you can do is to get an SSD drive. They are amazing.

 

[Xtrememtnbiker]

The biggest speed improvement you can do is to get an SSD drive. They are amazing.

You can get a small one to save money and load you OS and all your programs onto it but store photos, music, etc on a regular drive. I have a samsung 840pro 128GB. My computer usually boots in 14 sec.

 

[The Coastal Craftsman]

I’m in the market for a new computer. While I know how to use the thing, I don’t know much about how they work or what I need – So I’m tapping you guys for some info. I will have the thing built at a local shop and would like to know what to tell them I need/want.

I’ve decided I will go with a desktop unit. My current laptop hasn’t moved in 3 years.

I currently use:
• Office
• Evernote
• Dropbox
• Itunes
• Adobe Lightroom 5
• Adobe Elements 9
• Home Designer Pro (see Chief Architect below)
• I don’t do any gaming of any sort.

Current Hardware configuration:
• I’m currently hardwired to the router (just a bit faster than wireless)
• I’m currently hardwired to the printer (more reliable)
• I run sound out of the laptop to the stereo.
• I have a 24” monitor/HD TV (see monitors below)
• Wireless mouse and keyboard
• I have a CD/DVD/Blue ray drive that I think I’ve used a few times to read CD’s in.
• I have a SD card slot for moving pictures from the camera.


Will be adding to the new unit:
• Upgrading from Home Designer to full version of Chief Architect.
• I would like to have 2 – 24” monitors – I have no clue what it takes to do this.
• Because I’m so hardwired I will want more USB ports – I currently only have three and occasionally need to unplug things to plug in other things.

Am I missing things?
Am I being short sighted on anything?
Are there parts, manufactures, minimums I should specify for RAM, video, graphics, etc.?

Thanks,

Paul

Biggest question here is budget.

as an example here's my most recent build. Would prob suit you perfectly.

Motherboard ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87 - $239
CPU Core i7-4470k - $337
ram Corsair vengance pro 16gb ddr3 - $182
primary SSD Samsung 840 pro 256gb - $189
Storage drive Seagate 4TB - $162
1000W PSU - $150 (you dont have to have a PSU like this 1 600w should work fine)
Geforce GTX660 - $180 (i run 3 monitors on this setup but i would def go with a better card
Case - Thermaltake level 10 - $223
monitors 3 x HP 2311x $189ea (you can get the 2511x for that price now)

roughly $2200 but it will be system that will last you quite a few OS changes.

 

[The Coastal Craftsman]

You can get a small one to save money and load you OS and all your programs onto it but store photos, music, etc on a regular drive. I have a samsung 840pro 128GB. My computer usually boots in 14 sec.

Should have bought the 256gb model. its faster and has double the space for about $60 more.

 

[DaVinciRemodel]

The biggest speed improvement you can do is to get an SSD drive. They are amazing.

When you say “speed improvement” are you talking about getting renderings and photo enhancements faster? That’s what I would like to see.

 

[DaVinciRemodel]

Biggest question here is budget.

as an example here's my most recent build. Would prob suit you perfectly.

Motherboard ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87 - $239
CPU Core i7-4470k - $337
ram Corsair vengance pro 16gb ddr3 - $182
primary SSD Samsung 840 pro 256gb - $189
Storage drive Seagate 4TB - $162
1000W PSU - $150 (you dont have to have a PSU like this 1 600w should work fine)
Geforce GTX660 - $180 (i run 3 monitors on this setup but i would def go with a better card
Case - Thermaltake level 10 - $223
monitors 3 x HP 2311x $189ea (you can get the 2511x for that price now)

roughly $2200 but it will be system that will last you quite a few OS changes.

I was thinking I would have to spend about $2500. So your set-up (less monitors – I already have two) comes in at about $1800. That makes me happy :thumbup:

Does any of the stuff in your configuration address speed for rendering in Chief and the Adobe needs? Do I need anything like a graphics card – or is this already there?

 

[Xtrememtnbiker]

Should have bought the 256gb model. its faster and has double the space for about $60 more.

I know I could have. But you know that budget word... Lol. Plus I won't fill mine up with software anyway. I don't do any of the design work right now, don't game, etc. It does everything I need it to and more. Coming from a gateway laptop that was $600 4 years ago, this PC is a vast improvement.

 

[The Coastal Craftsman]

I was thinking I would have to spend about $2500. So your set-up (less monitors – I already have two) comes in at about $1800. That makes me happy :thumbup: Does any of the stuff in your configuration address speed for rendering in Chief and the Adobe needs? Do I need anything like a graphics card – or is this already there?

That setup is pretty high end in specs and brands. You could add a GTX780 graphics card which if CA uses hardware based acceleration could make a massive difference in rendering times. You could bump ram to 32gb at not much cost too and still be below your budget.

 

[Inner10]

Biggest question here is budget.

as an example here's my most recent build. Would prob suit you perfectly.

Motherboard ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87 - $239
CPU Core i7-4470k - $337
ram Corsair vengance pro 16gb ddr3 - $182
primary SSD Samsung 840 pro 256gb - $189
Storage drive Seagate 4TB - $162
1000W PSU - $150 (you dont have to have a PSU like this 1 600w should work fine)
Geforce GTX660 - $180 (i run 3 monitors on this setup but i would def go with a better card
Case - Thermaltake level 10 - $223
monitors 3 x HP 2311x $189ea (you can get the 2511x for that price now)

roughly $2200 but it will be system that will last you quite a few OS changes.

That's a nice build but i'd do 2x hdd in a raid 1.

 

[DaVinciRemodel]

Inner – could you say that in English for me please

 

[The Coastal Craftsman]

That's a nice build but i'd do 2x hdd in a raid 1.

I was going to but thought I would try the one drive on its own. Was more than happy with the performance with just the one drive. I have no idea of throughput with 2 of them drives I raid either. Stick its 500/500 roughly.

 

[The Coastal Craftsman]

Inner – could you say that in English for me please

Lol basically its 2 drives connected into one drive to make it faster. It can get much more complicated than that but that's one thing that raid does.

 

[The Coastal Craftsman]

Also if you want to get some more performance from the high speed ram and CPU you could ask the shop to do a overclock. I'm running a corsair hydro series water cooling on the CPU and I'm at a stable 4.5ghz and much higher bandwith. That motherboard has a system where you can do it your self and it will get you to about 4.2ghz with its auto settings. Its a free way to get done extra punch in the system.

 

[DaVinciRemodel]

Lol basically its 2 drives connected into one drive to make it faster. It can get much more complicated than that but that's one thing that raid does.

And all this time I thought raid killed bugs !

 

[The Coastal Craftsman]

And all this time I thought raid killed bugs !

Lol your builder shop should know their stuff. Just don't let them build you a system with stuff off the shelf as most of the time it's all low spec gear . Unless you have a cool shop near you that stocks the better kit.

 

[Inner10]

Inner – could you say that in English for me please

It stands for redundant array of inexpensive discs, a raid one has two discs that mirror eachother. I don't care for the increase in speed I use it for the redundancy in case of a disc failure, I always use cases with hot-swap bays and make sure you can enable hot swap on the bios of your motherboard if it uses on-board raid controller.

BCC has a nice build but you can trim that down considerably without sacrificing the world.

i5 processor instead of i7 save a hundred bucks.
Ram is cheap but 16 is a little overkill.
Primary SSD for OS TOTALLY!
Get two cheap $60 1TB drives and raid them for storage. :thumbsup:
1000W platinum grade PS is overkill unless you have a million HDDs and external graphics card, you can save 100 bucks right there...but don't go cheap on your PS they haven't changed much over the years.
I wouldn't go crazy on the graphics card like BC...but I wouldn't cheap out.

Here's the deal with computers, the mainstream products are always the best value, the leading edge stuff is always going to cost you more with diminishing returns...walk into a computer store and pick out the parts that are currently on sale. Most computer stores charge 50-75 bucks for a build which is a freaking bargain considering it will take you 2-3 hours.

 

[VinylHanger]

That's a lot of computer for a non gamer, though rendering probably uses just as much power. So if you have the extra dough, then I would spend as much as you can on the proper gear and it will last you a long time. For what you do, that set-up listed above will probably last you 5-8 years.

I'm on 5 years with mine and I spent what I could afford and it was top shelf stuff, but not the very top end. Heck, I'm still slumming it with 4 Gig of Ram. :whistling I can still run most games at a good frame rate. Photo editing is also pretty speedy.

I would probably split my storage drives though. Lose one at 4 TB and you're screwed, or 1 at 2 TB and still have another one that auto back ups and you're safe.

Oh, and BC, I now hate you. :jester: I am now looking at a new build as I feel way inadequate with my system after poking through yours. The new AMD stuff looks pretty nice as well. :whistling AMD fan boy here. :clap::clap:

Good thing I'm broke, as my wife hates it when I suggest a ride up to Fry's. I'll probably have to settle for more RAM. :laughing:

Edit: Inner said pretty much what my first thoughts were. However, once I get looking at computer stuff, all I can think of is more power. Especially when it is someone else spending the money. :laughing:

 

[The Coastal Craftsman]

It is hard to say when to stop with a build. A good Graphics card can cost you. $800-$1200 but a. $150 works well unless you want full settings on games like crysis. I only use a. 1000w PSU because I have a lot if drives running and intended on doing dual sli graphic cards but was pretty impressed with the. GC I have. Get a good quality case too. hot swap bays are nice. I have a external dock and put my backup drives in a safe.

 

[Texas Wax]

Does any of the stuff in your configuration address speed for rendering in Chief and the Adobe needs? Do I need anything like a graphics card – or is this already there?

16gb ram is good.

Rendering in monitor 1Gb video card for better view port performance.
Rendering to File (raytracing) Fast multi core / threaded processor chip on a 64Bit system is where the power comes from. Ram used to be a limiting factor, but 16gb of ram takes a lot to use that much rendering.

Adobe products you're using, way beyond covered at BC's suggestions