Photoshop, Multi Drive System

[LuisX]

Hi all!

Yesterday, when clearing up my apartment for move and moving my computer from the floor to the kitchen top, the system failed to start. It imediately shuts off after power on. Intead of trying to recover this dying system, I might as well salvage any working parts and build myself a new system (I am due for an upgrade anyways, my core system is from 11/26/2007).

I am looking for a system with the following requirements:

1) Excellent performance on Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3 x64.
2) Support for as many drive bays as possible.
3) Ability to read CF cards as fast as possible.
4) Easy to install CPU/Mobo/PSU

I will like to salvage whatever I can from the old computer into the new one. I believe I need to buy the following:

1) New CPU** (for cpu)
2) New Mobo** (for cpu)
3) New PSU** (for many drives)
4) New Memory** (for CPU)
5) New Case (may not need it if Mobo is compatible, however I kinda want a tall one for the hard drives)

Here is my "old" system:

1) (New GPU) 1 x EVGA 01G-P3-1371-AR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) FPB EE 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
2) (New STORAGE) Bunch of SSDs/HDDs that I can transfer easily
3) (MEMORY) 2 x CORSAIR XMS2 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model CM2X2048-6400C5
4) (CASE) 1 x Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
5) (MOBO) 1 x ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
6) (PSU) 1 x OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready Active PFC Power Supply
7) (CPU) 1 x Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor BX80562Q6600
(DVD Burner) 1 x SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B - OEM

If I can mount between 6-8 drives internally without power issues that will be swell. If this is not a good idea I am also open to suggestions, thank you.

My budget is between $600 to $800 for a new system. If you need any more information or if I missed anyhting please let me know, thank you.

[JustAnEngineer]

Welcome to the Tech Report!

You've probably got a loose connection or an unintentional ground in your system. Check for a loose screw or wire connecting the motherboard or a power lead to the case. Check that your connections are tight and that your cards are seated fully. After that, look for bulging/leaking capacitors on the motherboard.


What do you think of these components?
$315 -15 card Intel Core i7-2600K
or $220 Intel Core i5-2500K
$160 Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD4-B3
$105 -10 code "EMCKBGK25" 4x4 GiB PC3-12800 Corsair Vengeance CML16GX3M4A1600C9B (DDR3-1600, CAS 9, 1.5 V)
$85 -15 combo -15MIR Corsair TX650 V2
or $135 -25 combo -10 MIR Corsair TX850 V2
$37 Compact Flash card reader w/ USB 3.0 port
or $17 Compact Flash card reader w/ USB 2.0 port

[LuisX]

Thank you so much for your reply, JustAnEngineer!

You've probably got a loose connection or an unintentional ground in your system. Check for a loose screw or wire connecting the motherboard or a power lead to the case. Check that your connections are tight and that your cards are seated fully. After that, look for bulging/leaking capacitors on the motherboard.

Yes, I did some searching around on this topic, and this was one of the responses. However, I am tired of dealing with this system, and could really use a new system that will last me 5 years (average lifespan of a computer system anyways). I should have mentioned that I am a photographer part time and I cannot deal with downtime. I have about 2 weeks to get myself back on my feet (I delayed most of my work till then because of the move) so I have a nice window to get my upgrade going. I plan on ordering these items today so they arrive to my new place on Friday or Saturday, and build the new system on Sunday. I'll be extra careful this time on mounting screws and cables, thank you (do not want a repeat of this!).

When referring to CR2 below I mean RAW files from a 26 megapixel Canon 5dmk2.

{$315 -15 card Intel Core i7-2600K} Its a processor, its fast, its awesome. Its a must buy for all those CR2/RAW conversions (and other cpu intensive applications) I'll be working on.

{$160 Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD4-B3} Awesome mobo, plenty of e-sata, sata and other I/O interfaces. Seems I can easily plug in my hard drives in them. Where do you recomment I plug in the main drives to? I have a 120GB SSD (OS), a 256 SSD (programs and current working files), and other HDDs ful of files (mainly personal documents and RAW/CR2 photo files).

{or $135 -25 combo -10 MIR Corsair TX850 V2} The Power Supply answered my question: It has 70 (the 850W version) Amps available for my components. This means that the amount of devices will draw from my "Amp pool" of 70, right? As in, for every device, I have to make sure the sum of amps for all devices do not exceed 70, otherwise bad-stuff-will-happen(tm).

I also noticed that these came bundled with your pick for memroy, they all seem to be the same model too.

{$37 Compact Flash card reader w/ USB 3.0 port} Very nice, does this simply plug in to the mobo or something? I am a bit confused about this one, it has the internal interface to be the regular (non pin so to speak) connections.

I noticed you did not spec out a case: Will the case be compatible with this new system? Just checking, thanks

Attached is my newegg cart:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qKS ... t?hl=en_US

[JustAnEngineer]

When referring to CR2 below I mean RAW files from a 26 megapixel Canon EOS 5D mk2.

My Core i7-2600K does fine handling the smaller (10 MP) .CR2 files from my EOS 40D. I believe that hard-drive performance is more likely to be a bottleneck for many operations.

Where do you recommend I plug in the main drives to?

Z68 chipset:
2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3_0~SATA3_1) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices
4 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2_2~SATA2_5) supporting up to 4 SATA 3Gb/s devices
Marvell 88SE9172 controller:
2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (GSATA3_6, GSATA3_7) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices

Plug your system SSD into one of the two white 6 Gb/s ports from the Z68 chipset. Do not plug any of your SSDs into the two gray ports from the Marvell controller. Your optical drive will need to be plugged into one of the four black SATA 3 Gb/s ports from the Z68 chipset. The rest of your hard-drives can be plugged into any of the available SATA ports.

I have to make sure the sum of amps for all devices do not exceed 70, otherwise bad-stuff-will-happen(tm).

The TX650 power supply should be adequate for your system.

{$37 Compact Flash card reader w/ USB 3.0 port} Very nice, does this simply plug in to the mobo or something?

That one plugs into the external USB 3.0 ports on the back of the motherboard. The cable will pass through the case and out a blank PCI slot cover (included). The Rosewill USB 2.0 version that I linked does plug directly into the motherboard USB 2.0 headers.

Will the case be compatible with this new system?

If your existing system fits into your Antec P180 case with all of your drives and you're happy with it, you can re-use the P180 for your new system. If you want a new case, there are several dozen suitable cases from which to choose.


The Intel heatsink included with the LGA1155 processors has a lousy push-pin mounting system. You might consider an aftermarket heatsink like the CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ for $28.

[LuisX]

When referring to CR2 below I mean RAW files from a 26 megapixel Canon EOS 5D mk2.

My Core i7-2600K does fine handling the smaller (10 MP) .CR2 files from my EOS 40D. I believe that hard-drive performance is more likely to be a bottleneck for many operations.

Agreed with this, I do use one of my SSDs for my "current working files"

Where do you recommend I plug in the main drives to?

Z68 chipset:
2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3_0~SATA3_1) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices
4 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2_2~SATA2_5) supporting up to 4 SATA 3Gb/s devices
Marvell 88SE9172 controller:
2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (GSATA3_6, GSATA3_7) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices

Plug your system SSD into one of the two white 6 Gb/s ports from the Z68 chipset. Do not plug any of your SSDs into the two gray ports from the Marvell controller. Your optical drive will need to be plugged into one of the four black SATA 3 Gb/s ports from the Z68 chipset. The rest of your hard-drives can be plugged into any of the available SATA ports.

Awesome, I will plug in my 2 SSDs into the White ports, and then the optical drive to the Black port, and so on.

I have to make sure the sum of amps for all devices do not exceed 70, otherwise bad-stuff-will-happen(tm).

The TX650 power supply should be adequate for your system.

Good to know, thanks.

{$37 Compact Flash card reader w/ USB 3.0 port} Very nice, does this simply plug in to the mobo or something?

That one plugs into the external USB 3.0 ports on the back of the motherboard. The cable will pass through the case and out a blank PCI slot cover (included). The Rosewill USB 2.0 version that I linked does plug directly into the motherboard USB 2.0 headers.

I see, so basically its like an USB extension, but with a bunch more ports. That will work

Will the case be compatible with this new system?

If your existing system fits into your Antec P180 case with all of your drives and you're happy with it, you can re-use the P180 for your new system. If you want a new case, there are several dozen suitable cases from which to choose.

Will the Corsair's Graphite Series 600T enclosure suffice? Or should I go for the 650D instead? This is the last place I need some help on.

The Intel heatsink included with the LGA1155 processors has a lousy push-pin mounting system. You might consider an aftermarket heatsink like the CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ for $28.

Thank you so much, yes, I HATED the push pin system. This is probably one of the main reason why my main system suffered so much.

Thanks for all your help!