New computer for CS4 and Lightroom 2
October 10, 2008
I just built me a new workstation just to run the latest versions of Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom. With the new support for 64bit in both Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2, I decided to go with Windows Vista 64-bit for the opperating system. One of the main advantages of 64-bit is the bigger memory address space. While 32bit windows will only support up to 4gb of ram (and it only will show about 3.6gb of the 4gb) a 64bit OS will address much more.
Finding the Parts
It took me a couple of weeks to decide on the parts for the new system. First I decied to go with 8gb of Corsair Dominator ram.
Graphics Card
Another factor in my design was the fact the Photoshop CS4 will now support some sort or graphics card acceleration using OpenGL. So I decided that I wanted to include a powerful graphics card in the system. The new Nvidia 260 card ended up being my choice. It is a really fast card but with a desent price point, about $250. I ended up with the Asus ENGTX260/HTDP/896M.
The CPU
I also wanted it to be a quad core system. So I chose the Intel Core 2 Quad 9550. It is the price point for a quad core chip right now and it runs at 2.8 Ghz.
Storage and Speed
Fast hard drives were also a priority. I thought about solid state drives but they are still way to expensive. The Western Digital VelicoRaptor 150GB hard drive is about as fast as they come, so I got 2 to but in a Raid-0 (stripped) array.
Because the data on a Raid-0 array is not that secure and I also wanted some data storage, I got 3 500gb Westen Digital drives and put them in a Raid-5 array.
Motherboard
After I decided all of this I had to pick a motherboard. This was by far the hardest part. I decided on the Intel P45 chip set and the Asus Maximus II Formula. It has 6 usable internal Sata points which worked for the hard drives well. Also you can put up to 16gb of ram on it, but I went with 8gb mainly because the 16gb ram is just not as fast of ram modules as the 2gb ones I could use to get to 8gb. The last thing about the motherboard is that it is really easy to overclock without getting into all the settings in the bios that could screw you up.
Case and Power Supply
Lastly I wanted the system to to quite and the ablity to overclock it. For this reason I choose the Cooler Master HAF case. This one has plenty of airflow and all the fans are big and quite. I got a Zalman 750 Watt modular power supply to power the whole system and cut down on cable clutter.
The Heatsink!
The heat sink and fan for the cpu are by far the best I have ever used. I got the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme with a ultra quite Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F Fan. This thing is awesome. I choose it because Anandtech had it rated as the best cpu cooler out there, and I don’t dought it. With this I was able to get the 2.8ghz cpu to 3.5Ghz without even trying hard!
Overclocking
In the bios of the the Asus motherboard it detects what cpu you have and displays choices of the higher speed processors of the same line of chips. I started with it set to the extreme edition chip and it was stable at 100% cpu usage and the temp only hit 38 degrees Celicus. I then set it to the crazy setting. This overclocked the 2.8 Ghz chip to 3.5 Ghz! It was stable and only at 41 degrees at full load! I have yet to go further mainly because I will have to start messing with stuff in the bios manualy and I want this system to be quite and stable without pushing the edge.
Hard Drive Speed
I did some testing with the raid arrays with HD Tune. First up was the 2 Veliraptors in a raid-0 on the motherboard. I got a average speed of 171 mb/sec with a access time of 7.1 ms. 
The Raid 5 array of 3 Western Digital 500gb drives tested 76 mb/sec and a access time of 12.2 ms.
I am very impressed in the system so far. I can’t wait for CS4 to come out so I can really test some of the new features. This thing screams at Lightroom!
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February 5th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
hello there…
so have you tested the system with a new CS4?
what are your impressions?
cheers
rapher
April 18th, 2009 at 4:25 am
Hi, that’s a very useful article for a lot of people I think, firstly thanks.
Could you please write your whole computer configuration? The monitor you used and keyboard ect.
Thanks
May 7th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Hi. I’m sorting out specs for a new PC before end of FY. I will be upgrading to CS4 and have Lightroom. I’ve had a quote on your exact specs, but wondered if you could let me know if you’ve now tested CS4 on your system and if so, how you found it and whether you would have done anything different? Your reply would be much appreciated.
Cheers, Meghan.
May 7th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Yes, I have been running CS4 and Lightroom on this for a while and it is really fast. The only system I have seen almost as fast is a one with a i7 chip, but it did not have the faster drives and had less memory.
If I was building this computer now I would change and go with the Intel i7 chip and at least 6gb of DDR3 Memory. I have built another system with the i7 and it seems much faster. I would replace the chip, motherboard and memory with i7 specs and keep everything else the same.
May 23rd, 2009 at 3:06 am
Hey, thanks for the REALLY great post. After seeing tests result at http://www.tomshardware.com (they test doz’s of CPU’s with different data challenges, see here http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-q3-2008/benchmarks,31.html), I was really thinking about going only with a dual core processor for PS CS4 and LR 2.2. Iv’e heard that PS software, are not written yet to utilize more than 2 (core) processors, and that it may not be advantageous going with the x4 core processors (quad4 and I7). My next build maybe I7 920 or Core 2 Duo E8600. Take a look the results found on Toms Hardware, let me know you thoughts.
Have a good one!
-Mike
May 26th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Yes a really fast dual core processor might be just a little bit faster if you are running just Photoshop. But mos of the time I am running Photoshop and Lightroom at the same time and processing files in Lightroom while working in Photoshop. I rarely have less that 5 programs open on my computer at a time. For this the quad core is much more of a benefit.
June 16th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Thank you for the very informative write up. In the picture of your desktop you have three monitors. How do you hook up three monitors to the nvidia 260. I thought that this card only supported dual monitor capability. I have two monitors now connected to my nvidia card. I would like to have a three monitor setup just like yours. How did you accomplish this. Thanks in advance Rob
June 18th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Rob,
I had to also install a Geforce 8400GT. I use it to drive the 3rd monitor( The 20in on the left).
My Suggestion is to get a card around $100 to drive the 3rd monitor, but use the same brand.
June 20th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
Allen, my computer is running 1- nvidia GTX 280. I have an older computer with an nvidia 6600GT 16X PCI express video card. Would that be good enough to run the 3rd monitor and if so is special software necessary to make it all come together? I would like to run photoshop CS3 on a 3 monitor set up. I now have 2 Dell ultra sharp 19″ monitors and want to add a Dell 27″ wide screen in the middle. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks again…… Rob