Desktop computers

[Dan Robinson]

I've decided it's finally time to upgrade my desktop PC setup. I last bought a CPU tower in 2010, an off-the-shelf 2.8Ghz dual core machine from Best Buy. Even though most anything you get off the shelf these days is pretty decent, I'd like to put a little more thought into this upgrade. I'd prefer off-the-shelf from a retailer so I can return if a problem arises. I'm not against building something, but don't really like to hassle with that.

I'm looking at something several orders of magnitude faster than my current Pentium 2.8Ghz dual core. Ideally would like 12GB of RAM running 64-bit Windows 7 (I shudder at the thought of moving my desktop workflow to Windows 8 or 10).

My primary concerns are rendering speed for Premiere and After Effects and working with ultra-large files in Photoshop (like dozen-frame panos, for example).

I know it's rare to buy a desktop CPU these days, but I was hoping someone with similar workflows had some good experiences with a particular model and could chime in.

 

[Drew Terril]

I'll be following this thread closely as I need to get to work on building my next machine. I have an old tower that I'm going to gut and rebuild.

 

[ScottCurry]

Up until 4 months ago, I worked for Microsoft doing product training at retail stores, so I can provide a little bit of insight.

Windows 7 ... this has not been carried in retail stores since about 2 years ago. I would avoid Windows 8. Windows 10 is great though, and on a new build (which this will be), all of your programs will work just fine with no issues. Windows 10 also works very similar to Windows 7, so there is no learning curve. Windows 10 computers are just now starting to be carried in retail stores, so your options will be a little more limited. If you buy a Windows 8.1 desktop, and then upgrade to Windows 10, you'll run into some driver issues as well as some issues with Apple software (iTunes, QuickTime, etc). So I would be a new desktop designed for Windows 10 with Windows 10 already installed.

64 bit ... all computers today are 64 bit.

12gb RAM ... this will be a little more difficult. 99% of retail computers have between 4gb - 8gb of RAM. It's fine to buy an 8gb RAM desktop, just make sure the RAM is 4x2 so you can upgrade to 12 or 16.

Processor ... since you'll be running Premiere, I would recommend nothing less than a quad-core i7. Here's where you have to be very careful what you buy. i7 desktops are easy to find, BUT most of them are dual-core i7 processors. Don't take the sales rep's word that the processor is quad-core. Most retail sales reps mistakenly think that all i7s are quad core. This is not the case. In fact, most are dual core.

Processor Speed ... The slowest quad-core i7 you are going to find in stores is 2.8ghz. They go up to 4.5ghz, but you'll be hard pressed to find one this fast in-store. Premiere will technically work on 2ghz, but I recommend 3ghz or faster.

Processor Generation ... Intel's 5th generation processors (Broadwell) came on the market about 8 months ago, but they are still not in every computer. Many computers still have the older, slower 4th generation processors (Haswell). You can tell what generation processor the computer has by looking at "System" in the control panel. You'll see i7-GXXXLL where G represents the generation. 5 is 5th generation, 4 is 4th generation. XXX and LL represent the processor model.

Graphics Card ... most computers today have integrated graphics (installed on the mother board). If you see the graphics as Intel HD-XXXX, that is integrated graphics. For Premiere, you need a dedicated graphics card. This can be installed after you buy the machine, but you'll save a little money if you can find a machine with a dedicated graphics card pre-installed.

Where to buy??? Best Buy, Frys, HH Greg - have great prices, but I doubt you'll find a computer fast enough to meet the specs you are looking for. Staples, Office Depot - might have what you are looking for, but they mostly carry laptops. Costco, Walmart, Sams Club - STAY AWAY! Manufacturers specifically make computers with inferior parts for these three stores. Micro Center - This is your best bet. Lots of customization options and full service with warranties.

 

[Jeff Duda]

Every computer I've had has been custom built from a local computer shop (it has changed over the years, but those places work the same way).

Last year I decided to get a new desktop PC since I was running Windows XP and the end of service loomed. I figured it wasn't worth getting an updated Windows OS on the machine, although it wasn't all that bad. I use it mostly for gaming, but I do all sorts of stuff on it, including GIS as well as photo and movie editing also.

Specs:
-i5-4430 @ 3 GHz quad-core CPU
-16 GB RAM
-runs 64-bit Windows 7
-250 GB SSD
-1 TB HDD
-AMD Radeon R7 200 series graphics card (2 GB)

Very impressed with the boot speed. The OS is installed on the SSD, so it takes about 15 seconds in total from when I press the power button to when the system is ready to go.

It cost quite a bit, no doubt, but I plan on using it for many years. I did the same thing with the last computer I had, and I'd probably still be using it if it weren't for the end of service of Windows XP. I had it for 5.5 years at that point. Also, when you have it custom built for you, you don't get all of that extra software that you don't need and won't use, and that may be difficult to uninstall.

As usual, it's a matter of how much you're willing to spend, how much time you're willing to take to fiddle with it, and how much you're expecting out of it.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Scott and Jeff, thank you very much for the info! Micro Center is a good idea, I'll check them out. We have one here in STL. I actually have a Windows 7 full-license CD that I bought to restore/upgrade my old laptop, a project I never got around to. I could just use that to do a clean OS install. I suppose if I could find a tower deal with just a motherboard/processor/power supply, all I'd need is a hard drive and graphics card to get up and running.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

Windows 8.1 is great. Haven't used 10 yet, but that seems fine.

Get a decent video card that isn't integrated. It will make video and photo rendering much faster in Adobe lightroom/premiere/photoshop.

Go with an intel architecture. That means a quad core i7. Don't get anything else, they just aren't as good.

16GB of RAM and an SSD are necessities. You don't have to get a big SSD, just a 256GB to put your OS and programs on. Put another hard drive in for file storage.

 

[Mark Blue]

Intel's Skylake architecture would be worth considering as they launched 2 new processors on Wednesday. You'd be most interested in the 6600K variant as it's a quad core i7 and supports DDR4 memory. The Skylake processors require a new chipset from Intel called the Z170, so you'll be getting oodles of cutting edge technology if you go this route. Since this is new technology, you could plan out your buy over a month or two and by then there might be other Skylake processors to choose from as Intel plans to release additional models in the near future. It's always an exciting time when a new OS, new CPUs, and a new chipset hit the market. Also, definitely utilize SSDs as Ben noted, and get familiar with the different form factors in the marketplace. There are plenty of options besides the 2.5" models that are saturating the bandwidth limitations of the SATA 3.0 interface.

I second the Micro Center recommendation as they have their own in house brand called Power Spec that allows you to customize your options with a lot of flexibility. All of the above would be best suited for Windows 10, so if you really want Windows 7, now is also a good time as there are plenty of desktops on the market that come with Windows 8.1 along with Windows 7 downgrade rights. Best of luck as you go forward and let us know if you have questions.

 

[Jeff Duda]

FWIW, I got my system from this company: http://www.normancomputers.com/

I could've gone with the i7 processor, but they told me the only real difference between the i7 and i5 was the ability of the i7 to be overclocked, which is something I don't know how to do, and I've heard is very risky (it can fry your motherboard or something). Keep in mind this was April 2014, so the technology may have changed since then to the point where it matters.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

The i7's are typically faster. Depends on the chipset they are associated with. It's intel's "flagship" consumer chip right now.

I'm not overclocking my chip

 

[Chris Nuttall]

I can understand the hesitancy to build your own PC. It can be a PITA troubleshooting if things don't work properly, and buying a pre-made PC is just easier and saves time. I enjoy building PCs. It's one of the few "mechanical" things that I can do. Since 2003, I've built 4 PCs for myself. Luckily, I've never had an issue with parts not working. I don't see the need to overclock, so I tend to keep my PC builds for several years and only do incremental upgrades like hard drives, video cards, or adding RAM. I had a capacitor blow on the motherboard in my previous desktop after about 4-5 years, so I had to build a new one last summer. I also game quite a bit, so I tend to get high performance hardware. Here's my latest setup.

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 (3.60 GHz) using a Cooler Master 212 EVO for a fan
Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 7
RAM: 16GB G.SKILL 1600
Power Supply: Corsair 760W AX760
Case: Corsair Vengeance C70 Black
Video Card: EVGA nVidia 660
SSD: 500GB Samsung 840 Evo (main OS drive)
HDD: 1 TB Western Digital Black (data drive)
OS: Windows 10 Pro

 

[Dan Robinson]

I did some looking around today. Micro Center has quite a few off-the-shelf i5 and i7 quad options in the $600-$1400 range. Best Buy, on the other hand, is pathetic. Only about a dozen desktop models and all single-core machines. They're mainly pushing laptops, tablets and Macs now.

 

[Chad M]

Recently purchased the iMac 27" 5k Retina display....

It has the 3.5 quad core.

Soon enough, I'm going to replace the 8gb of ram it came with 32gb.

 

[Mark Ellinwood]

I built my desktop for the first time earlier this year, using http://pcpartpicker.com to make sure all parts were compatible. Getting a 250 GB SSD was probably the best part about the upgrade. The fast boot of the OS, Photoshop, etc. is phenomenal. Throw in two 2TB HDDs, an i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core CPU, 16GB DDR3 RAM, and a Radeon R9 270X 2GB Video Card, and you've got a solid system that should last for several years.

It ended up being a bit pricier than I would have liked (went for mid-range speeds on the HDDs and RAM), but it is a good work horse for image/video editing and for games that require high amounts of processing. I am much happier with the computer I built versus what I would have had to choose from in the pre-built market.

 

[Tom Stolze]

Micro Center locally, no place better unless you price shop online if building the system yourself.

2nd the i7 recommendations, I am running a 4930k that runs at 3.4 GHz, and has 6 cores, 16 gigs of ram and a terabyte SSD, with a terabyte mechanical drive I use for video and images.

I believe the SSD's have come down enough in price now to splurge for at least 500 gigs, yes you will want another large mechanical drive or two, but I found trying to keep enough space on the smaller drives became a hassle over time.

A good video card will help while editing video, mine is probably getting old by today's standards, it is a GTX 660.

If you decide to build and would like some help let me know.

 

[Brian G]

I second Micro Center. Also, go with 16+ GB of ram. I use a 256 GB SSD for my boot partition and then have a cheaper 1 TB HDD for everything else. Blue-ray burners and media are pretty cheap now too so consider that as well. Have you thought about making virtualization (either with VMWare or VirtualBox) a part of your workflow?