System suggestion

leowyatt · 12-02-2008, 10:10

Hi all,

I've been tasked by someone to spec them a system. Unfortunately for me I've been out of the hardware scene for 4+ years now so have no idea what works well with what anymore

So I will task the amazing people of BD to help my friend build his system. The main use of the PC will be photo editing. So I'm thinking as much RAM as possible would be a good idea. He seems to think he needs RAID in the system as it would help with speed but I don't really think it's needed for what he is using the sytem for. What do you all think?

Right onto budget, he has around £600 for the box and the gubbins as he'll be getting monitors separately. Only main requirements are that the graphics card run 2 monitors, one would be a 24" and the other say a 19".

My thoughts spec-wise was C2D with 4GB of RAM with something like a GeForce 7300GT but that is just a guess.

Help me BD people, you're my only hope

Mark · 12-02-2008, 10:21

You'd be about right spec-wise. I won't go too far into detail as there are people better than I at speccing a system, but a C2D and 4GB RAM should cope easily, and RAID-0, though it'll probably help a little, doesn't necessarily have the huge performance benefits you'd expect. Having said that, most motherboards come with onboard RAID anyway (a better hardware solution is likely to push the system over-budget).

leowyatt · 12-02-2008, 10:22

Aye but does he "really" need RAID? Is there a RAID setup that would suit his system. I think he will listen if I tell him he doesn't need it

Mark · 12-02-2008, 10:39

I would assume he wants RAID for performance, not availability, so it would have to be RAID-0. Twice the risk of failure for maybe a 25% performance gain (probably an underestimate but it's a lot less than twice as fast).

If he's batch processing a lot of RAW files then there may be some argument for it, but for one-at-a-time editing a few seconds isn't going to make much difference.

leowyatt · 12-02-2008, 10:41

He is going to be doing a lot of batch processing I believe.

Mark · 12-02-2008, 10:43

Probably worth reading around on getting the best out of a RAID-0 setup then. Just make sure he knows and accepts the risks.

Daz · 12-02-2008, 11:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by leowyatt

He is going to be doing a lot of batch processing I believe.

Batch processing what though? Photos? Videos? Text files?

Sustained access to chunky data is the only real justification for RAID-0, for most people it's a risk too far imo. If he has a genuine use though I wouldn't put him off it, just make sure he's routinely backing his important data up.

leowyatt · 12-02-2008, 11:11

It'll mainly be processing photos.

Davey_Pitch · 12-02-2008, 11:28

What OS will he be using? If it's XP then 4GB will be too much as XP pretty much maxes out at a little over 3GB (3.2GB I believe). If he'll be using Vista then 4GB will be fine

Daz · 12-02-2008, 11:34

Not quite true old bean

It's architecture. 32bit OS's will address ~4GB total, so 4GB RAM minus what you have in graphics memory. 64bit OS's dont suffer such cap, so you could go XP x64 and address that comfortably

Vista 32bit would be stuck in the same boat as XP.

/posted from his XP x64 workstation in the office, with 4GB of RAM

12-02-2008, 10:10	#1
leowyatt Chef extraordinaire Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Infinite Loop Posts: 11,143	System suggestion Hi all, I've been tasked by someone to spec them a system. Unfortunately for me I've been out of the hardware scene for 4+ years now so have no idea what works well with what anymore So I will task the amazing people of BD to help my friend build his system. The main use of the PC will be photo editing. So I'm thinking as much RAM as possible would be a good idea. He seems to think he needs RAID in the system as it would help with speed but I don't really think it's needed for what he is using the sytem for. What do you all think? Right onto budget, he has around £600 for the box and the gubbins as he'll be getting monitors separately. Only main requirements are that the graphics card run 2 monitors, one would be a 24" and the other say a 19". My thoughts spec-wise was C2D with 4GB of RAM with something like a GeForce 7300GT but that is just a guess. Help me BD people, you're my only hope __________________ "Dr Sheldon Cooper FTW!"

12-02-2008, 10:22	#3
leowyatt Chef extraordinaire Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Infinite Loop Posts: 11,143	Aye but does he "really" need RAID? Is there a RAID setup that would suit his system. I think he will listen if I tell him he doesn't need it __________________ "Dr Sheldon Cooper FTW!"

12-02-2008, 10:41	#5
leowyatt Chef extraordinaire Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Infinite Loop Posts: 11,143	He is going to be doing a lot of batch processing I believe. __________________ "Dr Sheldon Cooper FTW!"

12-02-2008, 11:11	#8
leowyatt Chef extraordinaire Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Infinite Loop Posts: 11,143	It'll mainly be processing photos. __________________ "Dr Sheldon Cooper FTW!"

12-02-2008, 11:28	#9
Davey_Pitch I iz speshul Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Liverpool Posts: 6,296	What OS will he be using? If it's XP then 4GB will be too much as XP pretty much maxes out at a little over 3GB (3.2GB I believe). If he'll be using Vista then 4GB will be fine __________________ Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

12-02-2008, 10:21	#2
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	You'd be about right spec-wise. I won't go too far into detail as there are people better than I at speccing a system, but a C2D and 4GB RAM should cope easily, and RAID-0, though it'll probably help a little, doesn't necessarily have the huge performance benefits you'd expect. Having said that, most motherboards come with onboard RAID anyway (a better hardware solution is likely to push the system over-budget).

12-02-2008, 10:39	#4
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	I would assume he wants RAID for performance, not availability, so it would have to be RAID-0. Twice the risk of failure for maybe a 25% performance gain (probably an underestimate but it's a lot less than twice as fast). If he's batch processing a lot of RAW files then there may be some argument for it, but for one-at-a-time editing a few seconds isn't going to make much difference.

12-02-2008, 10:43	#6
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	Probably worth reading around on getting the best out of a RAID-0 setup then. Just make sure he knows and accepts the risks.

12-02-2008, 11:34	#10
Daz The Stig Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Swad! Posts: 10,713	Not quite true old bean It's architecture. 32bit OS's will address ~4GB total, so 4GB RAM minus what you have in graphics memory. 64bit OS's dont suffer such cap, so you could go XP x64 and address that comfortably Vista 32bit would be stuck in the same boat as XP. /posted from his XP x64 workstation in the office, with 4GB of RAM __________________ apt-get moo