PC for graphics design

goodlad

Hey lads.

Just looking for a bit of advice here.
I have been asked to throw an eye on the spec of a machine someone in my job has request.
They do graphics design work for the place im in.
He uses the adobe creative suite of products im told.

I know PC hardware but what i dont know if just how much programs for graphics editing and video rendering will need.
To be this machine looks like crazy overkill but i need some opinions from anyone who knows about the graphics side of stuff.
My first thought is that this is crazy overkill but i could be wrong.

Alienware Aurora : Matte Black 875W Chassis
Processor : Intel Core i7-3960X (Six Core Extreme, 15MB
Cache) Overclocked up to 4.2Ghz
Memory : 32768MB (4x8GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Quad
Channel
Hard Drive : 512GB SSD + 1TB SATA 6Gb/s (7200RPM)
32MB Cache
Optical Drive : 8X Blu-Ray ROM combo (Blu-ray read
only, DVD, CD read & write) & DVD+/-RW
Graphics : 4GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690
Sound Card : SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Card
Operating System : English Windows 7 SP1 Ultimate (64

Genghiz Cohen

Do this thing:

1. What is your budget? [€xxx]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming/Video editing/3D Modelling/HTPC/Internet] (If gaming include which games)

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes/No]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Hard drive/DVD Drive/Case/PSU/etc.] (If possible state brand and model of the parts to ensure compatibility)

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes/No]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [1920x1080/1440x900/etc.] [Yes/No]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No]

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser]

9. When are you purchasing? [In x days]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [South Dublin City/Cork City/Kerry/etc.]

MRTULES

Just wondering how much that is costing??

goodlad

Im told its costing almost 4k.
Its being bought in my the company so they need/want to buy from somewhere they can get a prebuild machine with support.

So me building a machine for them is out of the question. I think this is why they just went to dell. But the main point im wondering is if that build is just overkill and far too high spec for just doing some graphics design and video editing.

Genghiz Cohen

Without knowing much of anything about the topic:

Item|Price
Toshiba DT01ACA Series 1TB, SATA 6Gb/s|€59.90
16GB-Kit G.Skill RipJaws-X PC3-12800U CL10|€62.41
Samsung SSD 830 128GB SATA 6GB's NB Upgrade Kit|€99.90
EVGA GeForce GTX 680+ 4GB w/Backplate, PCI-Express|€545.50
Ultron Cardreader 75-in-1, intern, schwarz|€9.86
LiteOn iHAS124-04 schwarz SATA|€17.15
ASUS P8Z77-V, Sockel 1155, ATX, DDR3|€151.19
Intel Core i7-3770K Box, LGA1155|€304.87
Corsair Hydro Series H100 (Sockel 775/1156/1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3/FM1)|€103.99
FRACTAL DESIGN Define R4 Black Pearl|€102.95
Cooler Master GX Series PSU, 80Plus Bronze - 650 Watt|€72.41
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1549.12

nVidia card because I hear CUDA cores are what are needed.
Fractal R4 because I haev the R3.
H100, because of reasons.
Should probably bump the HDD up to 2/3TB

Its a place to start.

Eboggles

Genghiz Cohen wrote: »

Without knowing much of anything about the topic:

Item|Price
Toshiba DT01ACA Series 1TB, SATA 6Gb/s|€59.90
16GB-Kit G.Skill RipJaws-X PC3-12800U CL10|€62.41
Samsung SSD 830 128GB SATA 6GB's NB Upgrade Kit|€99.90
EVGA GeForce GTX 680+ 4GB w/Backplate, PCI-Express|€545.50
Ultron Cardreader 75-in-1, intern, schwarz|€9.86
LiteOn iHAS124-04 schwarz SATA|€17.15
ASUS P8Z77-V, Sockel 1155, ATX, DDR3|€151.19
Intel Core i7-3770K Box, LGA1155|€304.87
Corsair Hydro Series H100 (Sockel 775/1156/1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3/FM1)|€103.99
FRACTAL DESIGN Define R4 Black Pearl|€102.95
Cooler Master GX Series PSU, 80Plus Bronze - 650 Watt|€72.41
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1549.12

nVidia card because I hear CUDA cores are what are needed.
Fractal R4 because I haev the R3.
H100, because of reasons.
Should probably bump the HDD up to 2/3TB

Its a place to start.

Just change the PSU

ORRR

Item|Price
Intel Core i7-3770 Box, LGA1155|€270.88
ASRock B75M-ITX, Sockel 1155, ITX|€77.57
Inno3D GTX680 Herculez 2000 Version 4GB GDDR5|€519.00
be quiet! Pure Power L8 CM|€77.78
BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Gehäuse - weiß, ohne Netzteil|€69.99
Samsung SSD 830 256GB SATA III Basic|€164.99
WD Red RD1000S 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB|€114.90
Arctic Alpine 11 Pro, 775/1156|€7.89
16GB-Kit G.Skill TridentX PC3-17066U CL9|€121.59
MS Windows 7 Pro 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€129.00
LiteOn iHAS122-18 schwarz SATA|€20.31
Ultron Cardreader 75-in-1, intern, schwarz|€9.86
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1602.75

PRODIGY!

By the way, there's no point in grabbing a 3770k for your needs, as I highly doubt the guy is going to be overclocking. He was going to get a Dell for feck's sake.

Genghiz Cohen

I have an Inno3D GTX570 and the fan is quite loud. I think EVGA is also very well respected.

Overclocking is easy, so when you are spending this much on a computer I think it would be a mistake to not spend the extra money.

Prodigy is a lovely case though.

Serephucus

Eboggles wrote: »

PRODIGY!

By the way, there's no point in grabbing a 3770k for your needs, as I highly doubt the guy is going to be overclocking. He was going to get a Dell for feck's sake.

Now, to spend the remaining ... 2.4 grand?! on watercooling and three U2713's... and have enough left for a case of booze to drink while building it.

@OP: Yeah, that system is complete overkill for photo and video editing, unless he's doing some seriously high-end stuff. Assuming he's doing something that can make use of AVX (he'll know) then he doesn't need the video card at all, so that's €1,000 saved right off the bat. He can probably also half the RAM and be completely fine. To be honest I'd put the extra money into the best warranty Dell has to offer on the thing. At least then he'll get prompt support and not have to deal with people on the phone that are quite so clueless.