Since I’ve gotten more into Photography the more I found my computer started to bog down when it came to the post-process portion of the hobby. Which means my computer has significantly slowed down since I’ve been shooting with RAW files. Some people might not have issues out there with the post-production work while working with RAW files but, when you shoot over 600 photos at a time, all in RAW (roughly 15-18MB each file), it can bog down your computer a bit. Well it has for me anyway.
I went to look at what upgrade options I had for my previous computer, but after seeing that the review on the motherboard was done in 2005, I was a bit reluctant to think I could find any upgrade options and have them not cost an arm and a leg. After talking with Stephen (of Futurelooks.com), we found out that the ECS motherboard I was using (K1N SLi Extreme) was of the 939 socket type and would not allow me to get a faster processor than I was already using. Stephen was saying my bottle neck was my CPU and I should look at replacing it.
For me to replace the CPU would require to update the 4 year old motherboard as well. Since my previous motherboard was running DDR RAM, I would also have to upgrade that to at least DDR2. My previous rig had a good life and got lots of work out of it, but it was time to retire it with something a bit more up-to-date.
My New (to me) Computer
So there is my new-to-me computer. I am in the middle of loading all the software I use, updating drivers and ensuring things are working properly, hence why the side-panel is still off. I actually went to NCIX and bought a cheapo computer case. Did I mention I carried it from their West Broadway location back to our apartment in the West End? Yes I walked the whole way carrying the computer case, pretty geeky huh?
Interested in the specs of my new computer? I know they are not the most leading edge components, but to me it is an upgrade and will also allow me to upgrade further down the road, but here they are:
- Asus P5B Motherboard
- Intel P965 Duo Core CPU (currently at 1.8Ghz, to be overclocked to at least 2.5GHz) – Upgradable to Quad Core
- 4GB DDR2 RAM – 4x 1GB Sticks
- Seagate Barracuda 750GB SATA HDD
- MSI GeForce 7600 GT 256
- MS Vista Ultimate x64
Not too shabby. It should help a lot with my post-processing of my digital photos and such. It isn’t a monster gaming rig either, as the only video game I play these days is WoW (World of Warcraft).
Now I just have to load up all the various software I use on a daily basis.
- Adobe Lightroom
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- Photomatix Pro 3
- MS Office Ultimate 2007
- Notepad++
Just to name a few of them. Typically it takes me a full day to build my computer from scratch to fully loaded and setup the way I need/want it.
So I got all my work things loaded and running so I can keep working while I download and install all my other applications, updates and so forth. I also made sure this time around that I enabled AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) so that I could use my 2.5″ SATA enclosure as a hotswap drive. That will for sure come in handy.
Next one my list of goodies it so fine some sort of affordable NAS (Network Accessable Storage) system so I can backup my photos and other files without too much trouble. Who knows, perhaps someone (or company) out there will send me to do to a review on!
The upgrading game never ends I find. You can delay it, but eventually you need to jump back into the game and update components. Just remember, you don’t need to buy the most expensive stuff on the market, but also don’t buy the cheapest either 
KimmMay 05, 2009 at 13:35:13
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only part I hate about updating is when you update one thing… you gotta update everything else(webcam, tablet&pen etc)as well to work with say vista. Bleh.
Tyler Ingram May 5th, 2009 at 13:41:21[Link]
Depends on the other components I suppose. I wonder if I should install the webcam work sent home with me one day. I guess I’m just used to keeping my drivers and such up-to-date it just become a bit routine for me.
shazronMay 05, 2009 at 13:42:59
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I find that generally every year (if you don’t care for a gaming rig), upgrading your computer is worth it just for the performance gains. For example a savings of 30s in compile time or browser load-up time really adds up, and overall it will lead to $ or time savings. Sometimes upgrading some parts you hit a ceiling (but it could be good enough).
Shawn KnightMay 05, 2009 at 17:44:32
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Yeah that system should certainly help with processing times and as you mentioned, the CPU is upgradable. Were these all new parts or bought used?
The only thing I would suggest to really give the system a kick in the pants is a solid state drive (SSD). Although expensive, a 60 GB with your photo programs will blow you away. I just toyed around with a pair in RAID 0 and was opening 3-4 MB picture files in Photoshop CS3 in 2 seconds flat.
@trishvancouverMay 05, 2009 at 22:28:28
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hey tyler, i was driving home across the bridge and saw you lugging a big box, that’s a long way to pack a new computer!!!!
Tyler Ingram May 6th, 2009 at 05:25:13[Link]
@ShawnKnight Yea Stephen said I should look at SSDs but the cost is a bit high for me. Perhaps when the price goes down a bit I’ll look more into them.
@trishvancouver lol, you saw me lugging the box? It was a long way, i was thinking of taking the false creek ferry back, but decided to suck it up and take the bridge! A bit of exercise doesn’t hurt right?
Jon JenningsMay 08, 2009 at 21:41:26
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Sensible to stay a little way behind the leading edge of course.
Everybody will have advice about what you should have done, shouldn’t have done etc – and of course their advice always aligns with what they did themselves… which was of course the perfect thing to do etc etc
In my personal case, I got a quad core. Not sure if it was a smart move but as Firefox and VirtualBox both seem to soak up memory and CPU, maybe it was worth it to leave everything else with breathing room.
Note that there are some serious problems with the Barracudas. Be sure to do some searching, check the Seagate website and make sure your firmware is up-to-date. I think there were two or three major issues, the worst of which only affected the 1TB, but do some research to be sure.
DDR2 memory is ultra-cheap right now. I’d have been tempted to go for 2×2GB so you still had slots free if you wanted to expand to 8GB.
I went for 64-bit Ubuntu and run any Windows stuff I need in a virtual machine but sounds like you’re more tied into Windows software than I was so harder for you to make the leap.
As for NAS, there’s a lot of proprietary systems out there but you always have to think “what happens if the NAS system dies?” – it’s probably hell to get your data back off the hard drive. I bought a mini-ITX atom motherboard, a tiny case (this one: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=28232&vpn=MI-100&manufacture=Apex%20Computer%20Technology) and a 1TB drive and built an Ubuntu server out of it. Good experience, flexible software and, if the machine dies, I know I can get the data back off the hard drive.
Stephen FungMay 10, 2009 at 23:04:47
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Glad you like your new (old) system. Not bad for less than the price of a single Quad Core CPU
Stephen FungMay 10, 2009 at 23:15:06
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@jon Jennings – The Barracuda he has is an ES series. It isn’t the run of the mill one and is built for enterprise level reliability with a much higher MTBF. He’ll be fine. His whole system cost less than a Q6600 Quad Core. His headroom comes from the whack load of cash he saved (he was on a very tight budget) and I was in a position to help.
Since he’s on Photoshop, moving to CS4 will allow him to use the GPU to accelerate the software with the latest drivers and the CPU, which is actually a cherry picked E4300, will do 1333FSB, without breaking a sweat, with a minor voltage jump. Plenty of free upgradeability available when he choses to use it.