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New computers/upgrade

heyskull

heyskull

New Member
I am going to have to replace our 3 PCs.
As everyone is moaning about how slow and how often the programme crashes.
Our RIP PC is the only one not to be upgraded as all it runs is the RIP and is more than up to the job.

I am able to build my own computers so this will make it cheaper.
They are running Signlab, Corel and Ilustrator software.
We have 2 1TB storage drives on the network so have enough storage/backup.

Our old computers are a hotch potch of different systems so this time I want them all the same.

I am also concerned about colour matching I want matching graphics card and monitors so i'm needing suggestions on both the cards don't have to be high end 3d graphics but have to be able to do the 2d stuff with ease.


I'm looking for high specs but price has to come into it!


SC:frustrated:
 
choucove

choucove

New Member
As you stated, your 2D design doesn't require a whole lot of graphics horsepower so you don't need to spend a lot of money on a dedicated graphics card for these computers. Ideally, the nVidia Quadro cards are specific for design work, but they come at a steeper price than their standard desktop counterparts. Really, you don't need to spend more than $100 on a graphics card for these kinds of tasks. If you wish to go with the nVidia cards, you can find several of the 9XXX series, such as a 9500GT, that will offer plenty of power but still below $80. The newer 200 series cards would also be an idea to look into. There are also several options from ATI in the same price range, including a few DirectX 11 cards in the $100 price range.

Take the money saved on the computer graphics and apply it to your monitor, that's where your color matching is going to be most important. I recently purchased a Samsung 23" monitor for one of our designer that does beyond 1080p resolution and only cost $200. It is really high quality and he loves it. Looks much better than the 19" Acer he has beside it as his secondary monitor.
 
heyskull

heyskull

New Member
I don't want to spend hours, days, months even years going through specs. only to find what I have decided on is rubbish.
Believe me I have done that before and ended up making a real bad choice.
What I want is someone to say this pile of hardware put together properly will out perform and maybe far excel my expectations for say maybe two - three years..... simples.

I don't want to spend thousands and thousands as the budget is tight and i want 3 complete systems with monitors.

I am based in the UK so it's no good giving me US sites to look at, as by the time i pay import duties it works out more expensive.

What specs. are your systems?
Do they do what they say on the tin?....LOL

SC
 
smdgrfx

smdgrfx

New Member
heyskull,

I'm a computer junkie. I demand high speed computers and constantly upgrade. I cannot stand going to another sign shop and watching them work on junk. If you want speed, it will cost. There is no such things as cheap and fast. Just like the signs we make. If it's cheap and fast, it won't by good. You have to buy quality parts if you want these machines to last. I can write an entire page on this stuff. My hobby is building PC's. Even my kids have rigs that are better than most everyone I know. You want something that will last - future proof - it's going to cost. USB 3.0 and SATA 3 are around the corner. My latest build uses a motherboard that supports those features - it was $320 US.

Mobo - Asus P6X58D Premium
CPU - i7 920
Ram - 12gb of Patriot 1600 (you can get away with 6gb)
OS - Win7 Ultimate 64bit
OS Drive - OCZ Vertex 120gb
Scratch Drive - 500gb Seagate
Power Supply - Antec 1000
Case - whatever you like
Graphics - ATI 4670 or Nvidia 9800 GT - whichever you find cheaper
CPU cooler - Corsair H50

More Conservative and 85% the speed of the above
CPU - Intel Q9550
CPU cooler - Corsair H50
Mobo - Gigabyte P45
RAM - 4gb OCZ 1066
Win 7 pro - 64bit
Drive - Western Digital 500gb Black or Western Digital 300gb Velociraptor
Video - Same as above
Power Supply - Corsair TX650 or BFG 650

Hope that helps
 
Techman

Techman

New Member
Cant argue much about those specs. The Intel i7 chips are about the best there is right now. The overclocker and gamers world has masters that can squeezing speed out of rocks who praise this chip.

But, a 1000 watt power supply? Thats a little much. It will especially show up on the electricity bill. To me even a 750 watt would be too much even for the overclocker game.

I like to find the lowest power usage combo.
 
choucove

choucove

New Member
Techman said:
Cant argue much about those specs. The Intel i7 chips are about the best there is right now. The overclocker and gamers world has masters that can squeezing speed out of rocks who praise this chip.

But, a 1000 watt power supply? Thats a little much. It will especially show up on the electricity bill. To me even a 750 watt would be too much even for the overclocker game.

I like to find the lowest power usage combo.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with Techman on the power supply here. Unless you have multiple high-powered graphics cards, a RAID array of more than 4 hard drives, or a dual-socket server motherboard you won't really need anything near that power. Use a power supply calculator online to estimate the amount of power usage you are expected to need for your system and you would be pretty shocked. You could do that i7 system described above with a 650 Watt PSU and still have more than enough for future use or overclocking.

Instead of spending $200 on 1000Watts that you will not completely use, save the money and get a good quality 600 - 750 Watt PSU.
 
Sabre

Sabre

New Member
Also agreeing the PSU is overkill. Even the Win7 Ultimate is overkill, I can't see that offering any advantages for a signshop. USB3 is commonplace on the X58 and P55 chipsets, it should be easily obtainable for a new build. Speaking of the i7 920, I think the 930 can be had for the same price and is clocked slightly faster, although it may sacrifice some of the tune-ability. The better way might be to go with a 1156 based i7 860 instead of the 1366 920/930. A 1156 P55 motherboard is cheaper than the x58s for the same performance unless you think you're going to a hex core in the near future. Sorry to keep cutting down smdgfrx's help, but I would even go with a different video card. Ati's 5750 or 5670 will offer newer technology and much lower idle power consumption for that kind of price.

Good luck in your purchase, there's a lot of info out there and it can be daunting.
 
A

amw

Longtime Members
Im sorry but thats not correct.

If you have a over powered power supply you do NOT pay for more electric then if you had a smaller one. If the pc requires 300 watts for example and you put a 1000 watt power supply in....it still is only using 300 watts! Which is what you will pay the electric company for...300 watts.

More watts just means you could add more to the pc without over loading the powersupply.
 
Techman

Techman

New Member
Im sorry but thats not correct.
Click to expand...

Sorry but it is correct.
Bigger power supply has a bigger transformer. That in itself uses more power just at idle. Pick up a 1000 watter and balance that with a 500. You will feel the differece.
 
ABPGraphics

ABPGraphics

New Member
Alright, So far nobody has given you a decent answer. From what the guy said above "Speed Costs" which is true for the most part but that doesnt mean you can't have a decent machine that will do everything you want to do and last you a good while. The new Intel I5 Series will do the job. As far as graphics cards you can pick up a 9800 GT which is an amazing card and will go far beyond your expectations for around 100 bucks on Amazon. As far as power supply goes what was said above is correct. There is no need for a 1000 Watt power supply A nice 500 watt PS will do everything on your machine... the only thing that would require 1000 watts of power is a liquid cooled system running multiple high end video cards and a hefty raid set up.
I know you're on a budget but if you go this route your machines will keep you happy for long time. I would also recommended using 2 hard drives on your machines if you're using adobe softwares that way you have 1 scratch drive. Or, if you don't spend that much time on them you could always raid them together and get some faster load times on big files.

So, Case 80$
9800 GT 100$
2 HD's 130$
Intel I5 180$
Decent Motherboard 130$
Ram 150$ For a good amount...
 
choucove

choucove

New Member
Techman said:
Sorry but it is correct.
Bigger power supply has a bigger transformer. That in itself uses more power just at idle. Pick up a 1000 watter and balance that with a 500. You will feel the differece.
Click to expand...

Techman again is correct here in one key element: idle power consumption. A 1000 Watt PSU will always have a much greater idle power usage and thus a higher average power usage than a 600-750 Watt PSU. This translates into less efficiency even if you are only using 300 Watts of total power in your system.

When I've calculated up using power supplies in the past, I figure the amount of power that is needed to run everything now, plus an additional 50% or so. As your PSU ages it will begin to lose less of its overall performance ability and efficiency. Not only will this additional 50% help overcome that capacitor aging, it will allow you still to upgrade with more components, better video card, etc. in the future if needed while not being such an overkill as to be outrageously inefficient.
 
smdgrfx

smdgrfx

New Member
I don't know about idle power consumption. I leave my computers on 24/7 and they go to sleep after 3 hours of non-use. All my PSU's are at least 80+ bronze certified. They are supposed to be more efficient. I can tell you that they do not get as hot. From my understanding of AC electricity, the power supply is only going to use as many amps as it's called on to use. The extra head room is just there. If it's not being used, it's not being used. It keeps the PSU from overheating and runs more efficiently. If you have a smaller PSU kept running at 75%, it's going to get warm and produce more heat. And will go bad over a shorter period of time. Everyone's needs are different and that's why they make so many different power supplies. Just from my experiences, I have burned up smaller power supplies (under 550watts) because I abused them a little. I overclock my machines and I leave them powered on 24/7. I like to sit down and start using the machine right away. But that's just me.
 
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