Scott_Quier
Apr-29-2009, 04:15 PM
Jeff has posted his build photos for his killer computer so I figured I should do the same.
But first, do you know how long it takes to open three Canon 50D RAW files in LR 2.3, apply some global adjustments, and then open them all up in Photoshop CS3 when you have an AMD 4600+ running at something like 1.8GHz and a whopping 2GB of RAM ... and running WinXP SP2 (32-bit)? Me neither - I gave up after more than just a few minutes as a lost cause. Now you know why I spent the money on this machine.
I'm lucky in that I didn't have to start from scratch like Jeff did. I already had a pair of 500GB drives, a good and well ventilated case, a Lightscribe compatible DVD/CD RW drive, yada yada yada. All I needed to get was a new MBO, a processor, and some memory. In fact, I already had a copy of WinXP 64-bit laying around the house - the result of a failed attempt a couple of years ago.
So here's what I have
1. First the MBO (link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157155)) and the heatsink (link (http://www.prolimatech.com/products/megahalems.html) for that as well). For video, I have an old WinFast 7600 GT (125MB, series 7 Nvidia card) driving a pair of monitors. The MBO will host 4 video cards (see the blue and orange card slots?), running in tandem to drive a single monitor if you just have to get the fastest video update possible - hhhmmmm that's not me - I'm doing just fine.
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524415748_U7GuH-M.jpg
2. Can't mount the heat sink without some thermal transfer compound. A recent review (don't ask me where) indicated that this is one of the best - beating out arctic silver 5 (who knew?)
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524416510_vFCAi-M.jpg
3. As you can see, surfaces weren't very flat. So, inspected both the CPU and the heatsink with the sharp edge of a razor knife blade and I determined they were both a bit convex - not a good thing. A little wet/dry sanding (starting with 220, then 320, then 400, and finishing with 600 grit - some people go as far as 2000 grit - that's just overkill) on the heatsink and it's now just a little concave. It mates well with the CPU now (ooop, sorry no picture of that).
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524416433_3Rjak-M.jpg
4. Here's the heat sink attached to the MBO. For a sense of scale, understand that the MBO is 12.0" x 9.6" (the edge nearest camera is the 12" side). Is that a monster heatsink or what?
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524416575_7mb6x-M.jpg
5. Gotta have some memory - in this case, only 6GB
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524414739_Xz3TU-M.jpg
6. And now it's installed
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524414902_vUxbD-M.jpg
7. Put that 120mm x 120mm x 25mm fan on the heatsink and things just look outta control
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524414709_mqHNG-M.jpg
8. This is a picture of the OEM heatsink. According to all the tests, this think has a bit of trouble keeping the temperature of the CPU below something like 45 degrees (C). My monster is clipping right along at about 37 or 38 and the CPU fan is spinning a nice quite 1250RPM.
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524415608_vuYjQ-M.jpg
9. Same thing, but against the size for the CPU integrated heatsink. You can see that the OEM heatsink is only going to come into contact with about 60% of the CPU. Not so good for thermal conductivity where you want as much contact as you can get.
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524415695_cs2PF-M.jpg
10. And this is the cool thing. I grabbed this shot while exporting 41 full-sized, full-quality JPGs from LR2.3 (the JPG files ranged in size from 2.8MB to 14.0MB. Oh and here's the cool thing - those 41 JPG files took exactly 1.833 minutes (that's 1m50s) to generate - hardly enough time to get up and get a stretch. So, at stock settings (nothing over-clocked yet), this amounts to about 1 every 2.68 seconds - actual measurements and not quite as fast as Jeff is getting out of his.
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524415022_S5zge-M.jpg
No pictures of the case - it's nothing special and has been in use for at least a year, maybe two so definitely not cutting edge. It's got two 120x120x25 case fans, one in front and one in back, that are speed controlled by the MBO to keep the air moving through the box. Oh, and there's a fan on the power supply (D'oh). And, it's quiet - the chassis fans are running at approx 1450 RPM.
I did have one snafu - the first MBO I received would not recognize all the memory. In fact, it would only see the memory in the first slot. So, an RMA and 12 days later .... it's all working soooo nicely!
Some ask the build vs. buy question. The return (cost savings) on building over buying isn't what it used to be, but it's still very much worth the effort. And for those that are hesitant .... I'm of the firm opinion that if one can consistantly put a round peg in the round hole on a regular basis (pull out your child's Fisher Price toys to check) then building a computer from parts should not be a big deal. A little research, a little talking/networking to get valid opinions and it's easy street all the way!
Was the upgrade worth the expense and time - oh, yeah!
But first, do you know how long it takes to open three Canon 50D RAW files in LR 2.3, apply some global adjustments, and then open them all up in Photoshop CS3 when you have an AMD 4600+ running at something like 1.8GHz and a whopping 2GB of RAM ... and running WinXP SP2 (32-bit)? Me neither - I gave up after more than just a few minutes as a lost cause. Now you know why I spent the money on this machine.
I'm lucky in that I didn't have to start from scratch like Jeff did. I already had a pair of 500GB drives, a good and well ventilated case, a Lightscribe compatible DVD/CD RW drive, yada yada yada. All I needed to get was a new MBO, a processor, and some memory. In fact, I already had a copy of WinXP 64-bit laying around the house - the result of a failed attempt a couple of years ago.
So here's what I have
1. First the MBO (link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157155)) and the heatsink (link (http://www.prolimatech.com/products/megahalems.html) for that as well). For video, I have an old WinFast 7600 GT (125MB, series 7 Nvidia card) driving a pair of monitors. The MBO will host 4 video cards (see the blue and orange card slots?), running in tandem to drive a single monitor if you just have to get the fastest video update possible - hhhmmmm that's not me - I'm doing just fine.
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524415748_U7GuH-M.jpg
2. Can't mount the heat sink without some thermal transfer compound. A recent review (don't ask me where) indicated that this is one of the best - beating out arctic silver 5 (who knew?)
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524416510_vFCAi-M.jpg
3. As you can see, surfaces weren't very flat. So, inspected both the CPU and the heatsink with the sharp edge of a razor knife blade and I determined they were both a bit convex - not a good thing. A little wet/dry sanding (starting with 220, then 320, then 400, and finishing with 600 grit - some people go as far as 2000 grit - that's just overkill) on the heatsink and it's now just a little concave. It mates well with the CPU now (ooop, sorry no picture of that).
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524416433_3Rjak-M.jpg
4. Here's the heat sink attached to the MBO. For a sense of scale, understand that the MBO is 12.0" x 9.6" (the edge nearest camera is the 12" side). Is that a monster heatsink or what?
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524416575_7mb6x-M.jpg
5. Gotta have some memory - in this case, only 6GB
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524414739_Xz3TU-M.jpg
6. And now it's installed
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524414902_vUxbD-M.jpg
7. Put that 120mm x 120mm x 25mm fan on the heatsink and things just look outta control
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524414709_mqHNG-M.jpg
8. This is a picture of the OEM heatsink. According to all the tests, this think has a bit of trouble keeping the temperature of the CPU below something like 45 degrees (C). My monster is clipping right along at about 37 or 38 and the CPU fan is spinning a nice quite 1250RPM.
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524415608_vuYjQ-M.jpg
9. Same thing, but against the size for the CPU integrated heatsink. You can see that the OEM heatsink is only going to come into contact with about 60% of the CPU. Not so good for thermal conductivity where you want as much contact as you can get.
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524415695_cs2PF-M.jpg
10. And this is the cool thing. I grabbed this shot while exporting 41 full-sized, full-quality JPGs from LR2.3 (the JPG files ranged in size from 2.8MB to 14.0MB. Oh and here's the cool thing - those 41 JPG files took exactly 1.833 minutes (that's 1m50s) to generate - hardly enough time to get up and get a stretch. So, at stock settings (nothing over-clocked yet), this amounts to about 1 every 2.68 seconds - actual measurements and not quite as fast as Jeff is getting out of his.
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/524415022_S5zge-M.jpg
No pictures of the case - it's nothing special and has been in use for at least a year, maybe two so definitely not cutting edge. It's got two 120x120x25 case fans, one in front and one in back, that are speed controlled by the MBO to keep the air moving through the box. Oh, and there's a fan on the power supply (D'oh). And, it's quiet - the chassis fans are running at approx 1450 RPM.
I did have one snafu - the first MBO I received would not recognize all the memory. In fact, it would only see the memory in the first slot. So, an RMA and 12 days later .... it's all working soooo nicely!
Some ask the build vs. buy question. The return (cost savings) on building over buying isn't what it used to be, but it's still very much worth the effort. And for those that are hesitant .... I'm of the firm opinion that if one can consistantly put a round peg in the round hole on a regular basis (pull out your child's Fisher Price toys to check) then building a computer from parts should not be a big deal. A little research, a little talking/networking to get valid opinions and it's easy street all the way!
Was the upgrade worth the expense and time - oh, yeah!