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Computer for processing photos and gaming
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in General Chat
I've had an XboxOne on preorder for a while and keep thinking against the idea of owning another one.
I'm curious if I should spend my money on a good computer for image processing and gaming. But the thing is that I have no idea about computers and their components.
So what would people do in this situation?
Ideally I want to become a photographer who sells photos (yes I know this is difficult if you don't know what you're doing).
Typing this out seems to be a waste of time and I may just buy the XboxOne console.
BUT
Please tell me what components you would recommend. I would buy a computer from PCSpecialist as my dad has had no problems buying 2 computers from them.
I'm curious if I should spend my money on a good computer for image processing and gaming. But the thing is that I have no idea about computers and their components.
So what would people do in this situation?
Ideally I want to become a photographer who sells photos (yes I know this is difficult if you don't know what you're doing).
Typing this out seems to be a waste of time and I may just buy the XboxOne console.
BUT
Please tell me what components you would recommend. I would buy a computer from PCSpecialist as my dad has had no problems buying 2 computers from them.
0
Comments
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/LP/systems2.php has a good range of systems see http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=43&catid=2475&subid=2602 for an example of price ranges. Depending on your desires, you could go for any of the systems on that page and be fine with current games at reasonable resolution and quality. Of course, you'd need a monitor if you don't already have one.
What's the difference between intel and AMD?
AMD lost their way a little bit but they look like they might be at the beginning of a comeback. They were getting their clocks cleaned by Intel and Nvidia but they just put out a graphics card that beats a Titan for something like half the price.
Shame it runs to 95C under load. My PC would melt.
Personally I would advise against getting an Xbox One at launch. It sounds like there are real issues with performance (COD is only running at 720p) and the games just aren't there. It's £429 for not an awful lot.
The specs for your PC will depend on what kind of gaming performance you expect. 1080p at 60 fps as standard? 1440p or higher? I personally wouldn't invest in a machine without an SSD but that might be irrelevant to you. Do you care about how loud the machine is? You need to work out exactly what kind of PC you want.
Think I'll stick with intel.
I just want a PC for CS6 (to process my photos) and some gaming on let's say Minecraft, Euro Truck Simulator and maybe even Assassin's Creed 4 and Call of Duty.
I've been giving the idea of buying parts and fitting them myself.
If I don't go with that option, Overclockers seem like decent website. I think I would definately buy an over clocked machine then I can upgrade/add components to it.
The main reasons for build yourself in the past have been -
Hobbyists (doing so for the hell of it)
Cost
Pre-built machines not matching spec
per-built machines using poor quality components.
Most of those things no longer apply.
Otherwise I'd buy it assembled.
I'm in no rush to buy a PC at the moment, I'm doing a lot of research just now
Note: I'll be changing the Processor Cooling to a Titan Super Quiet 22dBA Cooler
Case PCS TRAIL-BREAKER 7206B BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core?i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4670 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® Z87M-PLUS: m-ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6.0, XFIRE
Memory (RAM) 8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card 3GB AMD RADEON? R9 280X - DVI, HDMI, DP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES? VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable 1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1
Monitor AOC 21.5" WIDESCREEN LED TFT - 1920 x 1080, 5MS, D-Sub, DVI-D
What do you mean by 'overkill' ?
I would also slap in 16GB of ram. But that's just me :razz:
Not a fan of that case but I prefer black monoliths.
Paying more for hardware resources you're not likely to use.
Intel I-5 3470 3.2ghz quad processor
16Gb Ram
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
AMD Radeon VTX3D HD 7870 Black Boost Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
OCZ OCZ-ZS650W-UK ZS Series 650W '80 Plus Bronze' Power
Samsung 120Gb SSD Drive for boot and Photoshop CS5
Western digital 1tb hard drive
Existing 1 tb hard drive from old PC
Arctic 12" cooling fan
Generic PCI extractor fan
Shit case that needs replacing as it's too hot.
Don't get a "K" processor unless you intend to overclock, you're paying extra money for nothing. My PC boots from cold to Windows in about 18 seconds, Photoshop loads almost instantly and all my games now play on Ultra settings.
Just placed my order for this setup
Case PCS TRAIL-BREAKER 7206B BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4670 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® Z87M-PLUS: m-ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6.0, XFIRE
Memory (RAM) 8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card 3GB AMD RADEON™ R9 280X - DVI, HDMI, DP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
Wireless Router/HomePlugs NONE
USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable 1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
AntiVirus BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY V2013 - 1 Year + 5GB Online Backup
Monitor AOC 21.5" WIDESCREEN LED TFT - 1920 x 1080, 5MS, D-Sub, DVI-D
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
I'm in no rush to add more RAM and I'll consider another Hard Disk if I feel the need to get one.
The maximum power is 499W on this setup
I'll buy one IF I feel the need to.
I've been considering it today and I think I may have to buy an SSD at some point. Not in a rush though.
Chances are you probably won't get one now, though, so it's a bit of a moot discussion.
I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not.
After this post? Yeah, kinda.
You understand an SSD is a type of hard drive right? A hard drive that is much faster than a normal spinning hard drive, like the one in the machine you ordered? And you understand that people install operating systems to SSDs because they are so fast and they speed up boot times considerably? And that when you buy one, they don't come with Windows installed? So you would need to install windows to it when you put it into your computer?
not joking you are the rudest person iv ever come across on these boards! can't imagine what you're like in real life...
Stupid? No. Fucking rude? Yes.
You asked us about what sort of PC you should build, what specs would be best for a decent gaming and photo editing computer. We're all saying that having Windows on an SSD is one of the best things you can do to improve system performance. I may know more than you because I've just fucking built one.
We're saying you would have to uninstall windows from one drive and reinstall it on the other because that is exactly what you would have to do. You can't just copy the windows directory from one hard drive to another.
Doing the whole SSD thing is easier at the point of building it. From pressing the power button to being on the internet my computer takes about 15-20 seconds to load, photoshop loads instantly (as fast as MS Paint), other games and software load instantly as well. A lot of that is down to the SSD.