Computer upgrade advice

[BlazingArrow]

Hello everyone,


It's been so long since i've posted here, i've definitely been out of the loop. I am looking to upgrade my computer, but everything is so new that I am unsure of what to get.

Here are my current specs:

Asus p5dWdh-deluxe 975 (old as SH*!)
E8400 @ 3.6 ghz
2 ghz DDR2 800
2x 36 gig raptors in raid
300 gig sataII HD
Nvidia 7900


Basically all I use my computer for now is for Photo Editing. I use Photoshop, Lightroom, as well as other editing programs. My goal is to build a system that will just SMOKE my current one, and will enable me to run through pictures and edit them extremely fast. My main question is this: if I do update with the following components, will I see a drastic increase in speed and performance?

Here is what I am looking at getting:

Intel i5
Some p55 MOBO
4 gigs DDR3 memory
the new 80gig Intel SSD hard drive
Radeon 5770 (remember I only play counterstrik but just once in a great while)


So please help me out. Explain if this is a good jump to new components, and if you personally would recommend any specific models for these relative to my needs.

Thanks everyone!

[H2O]

I'd go for an i7 (either an 860 or a 920/X58 combo). While it really does not make a large difference for gaming, i7s offer the largest performance increases in areas like photo editing, video encoding, etc.

[BlazingArrow]

I'd go for an i7 (either an 860 or a 920/X58 combo). While it really does not make a large difference for gaming, i7s offer the largest performance increases in areas like photo editing, video encoding, etc.

Thanks for the response. Is there anyway you could try and explain why the i7 architecture would be better performer for photo editing? Is it just simply faster?

Also, I've noticed that some of the new P55 mobo's have USB 3.0. Is this important, or a factor I should consider?

[meanmoe]

The advantage is hyperthreading I believe. I think that those are some of the few applications that take full advantage of multi-threading. Anandatech has a descent article which explains the differences. (no link, sorry)

Asus and Giga have 1 x58 mobo with USB 3.0 and SATA III. There's a rumor of a new x58 ROG or ROG refresh coming, but I haven't heard anything in awhile.

I just built an p55/i5 system for a friend and put a very mild oc on it at his request (the mild part was his request). It's a remarkably snappy little box due to the enhanced turbo. The i7 860 should be as snappy or more and you get the HT option.

[sdsdv10]

Thanks for the response. Is there anyway you could try and explain why the i7 architecture would be better performer for photo editing? Is it just simply faster?

When comparing the i5 to the i7, I think the two most important issues are that the i7 have a higher clock speed (over the i5) and the i7 lineup also has Intel's Hyperthreading [HT] technology (the i5 CPU's do not. In most of the benchmarks I've seen, HT really does seem to help most media editing software (either photos or video).

As you stated since you have been away for technology for awhile, it is important to let you know that Intel has two different sockets for their i7 processors. The i7 models 860 and 870 are on the LGA1156 socket (the i5 model CPU 750 is also on this same socket, but it doesn't have hyperthreading) and the models 920, 950, 950 and 975 are all on LGA1355. As you can imagine the two are not interchangable. All CPU's have eliminated the FSB and use memory controllers on the CPU. However, the LGA1156 systems use the P55 chipset with only has dual channel RAM, while LGA1366 has triple channel RAM. The LGA1156 units were labeled as "mainstream" by Intel, but you can find motherboards going for >$300 USD.

To get reasonable prices for CPUs, the only ones you should consider is the 860 on LGA1156 or the 920 on LGA1366. The i5 750 is also a nice option, and it seems to overclock quite well, but as noted above it lacks hyperthreading. And since your main use is media editing, I would suggest spending the extra money for the 860. Either way, both the 750 and 860 would work on the same motherboards, so if you decided to go with the 750 it wouldn't really be a "bad" choice (it would also be the cheapest option). I just think the 860 would be worth the extra money.

So the real choice comes down to picking either the 860 or the 920. You will get different opinions for diferent people, but my personal preference if the the 920 on a socket LGA1366. I don't have an exact count, but my gut feeling is the 920 is in general overclocking a little better than the 860. I can't put a number to it, but that's my feeling from reading many threads here. Also the 920 with its triple channel memory controller would be a plus for Photoshop as well. Again, nothing like a100% improvement, but probably a 5% improvement for systems that would cost about the same. Spend a couple of days reading the threads here and I think you will get a better idea yourself.

Also, I've noticed that some of the new P55 mobo's have USB 3.0. Is this important, or a factor I should consider?

At this moment in time, not so much as there isn't very many items that have the USB 3.0 interface, but it will make a huge difference in the future. This will be a big jump up from USB 2.0 when harddrives, camera's, mp3 players, etc get the USB 3.0 interface.

The biggest issue here with USB 3.0, is that Intel chipsets don't support it natively. Therefore, the motherboard makes are using add-on chips to support the standard. What this typically means, is that on motherboards like the Asus P6X58D Premium (link) not all the USB plugs are 3.0, for this MB only 2 of the 8 are the 3.0 version. I believe when Intel (and AMD) incorporate USB 3.0 into their chipsets all the USB ports will be the higher 3.0 ones. That is what I'm personally waiting for, before I upgrade my system.

Hope that helps.

[H2O]

To add onto what sdsdv10 said, if you are planning on keeping the motherboard for more than 2 years, I'd look for one with USB3.0 and SATA6Gbps, as most professional photography equipment (assuming that's what you are using) will move to USB3.0 within then next two years or so. Otherwise, wait for Intel to incorporate it into their chipsets.

[Chrono Detector]

I suggest these parts:

Intel Core i7 860
EVGA P55 LE
4GB G.Skill Ripjaws