Priorities for Photo Editing Hardware

[egparadigm]

Hi All,

I wondered if someone could shed a little light on the priorities I should set when building a Hackintosh mainly for Photography and a little InDesign.

I use Lightroom mainly and, when called for, Photoshop. I also use a little InDesign as I design my own photography books and also use a fair helping of Word. Having now started using a Nikon D800, my poor old white '08 Macbook can barely cope.

I don't have an especially tight budget, but I just wondered if some components were less of a priority. For example, is a video card an important part? Should I spend more on RAM? Should I go all out with an i7 processor?

What I'm trying to avoid is overkill.

Many thanks for any guidance.

 

[trs96]

Hi All,

I wondered if someone could shed a little light on the priorities I should set when building a Hackintosh mainly for Photography and a little InDesign.

I use Lightroom mainly and, when called for, Photoshop. I also use a little InDesign as I design my own photography books and also use a fair helping of Word. Having now started using a Nikon D800, my poor old white '08 Macbook can barely cope.

I don't have an especially tight budget, but I just wondered if some components were less of a priority. For example, is a video card an important part? Should I spend more on RAM? Should I go all out with an i7 processor?

What I'm trying to avoid is overkill.

Many thanks for any guidance.

I'd recommend the CustoMac Pro build with the 3570K and the Z77x-UD5H motherboard + 8-16gb of ram.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/351-building-customac-buyer-s-guide-may-2013.html#custo_pro

For the graphics card go with at least a GTX 660 or a 670 if you can afford that. If you plan on working
with HiDef video in the future then step up to an i7-3770 Up5-TH Custo Mac Pro with more Ram, 16GB. To save
some $ you could see if the HD 4000 gfx are adequate first and then add the gfx card later if it's necessary.
Put the money you save on the PC into a really nice Dell IPS monitor that would make your work with
photos much easier. The 24 inch Ultrasharp is great for Photo editing, and affordable, check out Newegg.

Either of these will be a huge upgrade from the old 2008 Macbook.

 

[BoiseMac]

B&H Photo has the Dell 24" Ultrasharp for $229, which is $40 less than Newegg. Just an fyi.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=829524&is=REG&Q=&A=details

Correction: I jumped the gun, the link Dell above is NOT IPS, but led.

I'd recommend the CustoMac Pro build with the 3570K and the Z77x-UD5H motherboard + 8-16gb of ram.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/351-building-customac-buyer-s-guide-may-2013.html#custo_pro

For the graphics card go with at least a GTX 660 or a 670 if you can afford that. If you plan on working
with HiDef video in the future then step up to an i7-3770 Up5-TH Custo Mac Pro with more Ram, 16GB. To save
some $ you could see if the HD 4000 gfx are adequate first and then add the gfx card later if it's necessary.
Put the money you save on the PC into a really nice Dell IPS monitor that would make your work with
photos much easier. The 24 inch Ultrasharp is great for Photo editing, and affordable, check out Newegg.

Either of these will be a huge upgrade from the old 2008 Macbook.