Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 3:06 pm Post subject: Slightly unorthodox build needs video card
Hi,
I'm new here and greatly appreciate your expertise in the video world. I have a bit of an unorthodox build as it was not built specifically for its new use which is Photoshop and a Plex Server. It was a test Hyper-v Server from my business but I know have this for my daughter and I to use LR and PS for our amateur photography.
The hardest we we will be hitting it is dabbling in different HDR processing software. I want to this exclusively for LR+PS CS6 Photography/HDR. Ican use Hyper-V to separate the photoshop and Plex Theater Server if it helps, but if not necessary, I'll take the easier route. NAS Storage for backups and Theater DVR and traditional PS SATA HD config, using solid state if/where I can afford it.
What OS should I run. I am an MS partner and can run whichever workstation or server OS in the workstation or server family that will work best.
Server/Soon to be workstation or another server version is 2008 R2 Hyper-V:
6 Slots full for 24 GB RAM
PNY 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Registered DDR3 1333 Server Memory Model MD12288KD3-1333-ECC
Throw in - Would be using HDMI off GPU will be used for any Theater
ASUS MIO-AUDIO 888 MIO Sound Card - OEM
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
-Just running stock Antec Fans(2) and stock CPU fans. There is a grid to mount a fan to pull the heat off the GPU fans.
-Runs very cool, the entire front of case is a grill. But is has not been pushed outside of running 4 6 GB 2008 Servers for version testing of product running heavy MS SQL Server transactions, but not much stress.
I assume I will need to upgrade PSU??
What would go well with this system as far as a GPU for Photo PS work along with some HDR experimenting. No gaming or 3d or anything hard core.
I was thinking something like the following for a GPU at $135 LOOKED Attractive. Am I trying to get away too cheep?:
* ASUS HD7770-2GD5 Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 2GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
-640 Cudacore
If I need to beef up the PSU, I just want cheap and solid. Fans don't have to be whisper quiet, but I want them to be quality, so they likely will have bearings and will be plenty quiet.
Joined: 31 May 2013
Posts: 31
Location: United States
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 1:06 pm Post subject:
You're gonna want Windows7 Ultimate x64. The x86 version won't use all your memory. Windows8 kinda sucks.
Best thing you can do for the GPU is to compare the 2 offerings in your price range from both Nvidia and ATI. Don't get an older cheaper model that isn't windows driver model compliant. Photoshop requires a windows driver model compliant GPU for many of its features.
Set a price range and research within it to see which offering is best. What one has the highest throughput, what it's maximum resolution is for all its heads.
A GPU that is rated well for Photoshop will also have decent 3D capabilities. So don't try to find an odd GPU without decent 3D capabilities to save money. But at the same time you don't need to spend a fortune on a FireGL or other professional 3D GPU. A common consumer level GPU from Nvidia or ATI will do fine.
HDMI is fine for home theater, but keep in mind it's for HDV. Common large monitor resolutions exceed even 1080p. And you don't want to restrict yourself from a future monitor upgrade even if you think it's unlikely.
And although I'm unclear on this, I don't believe that an HDTV supports wide gamut color spaces used by PS. Such as AdobeRGB and ProPhoto.
I wouldn't think you'd need to replace the PSU unless you know you'll be adding more devices like hard disks or fans that exceed what the current PSU is rated for.
HDR and general photo editing won't tax the CPU so much that you'll need to add more fans.
However, using it as a home theater system that sees alot of use, and then when it's not decoding HD video it's doing image operations could.
I would personally not choose to use the same machine to do both tasks on a regular basis.
But I prioritize imaging and content creation above watching movies.
For movies I use an older computer with alot of disk space, with windows media network service running at all times. It feeds an Xbox360 connected to an HDTV. Windows media network service puts a little strain on the CPU itself.
I'd never try to use that machine to also do Photoshop.
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