i7 or Xeon build for Lightroom and Photoshop advice needed.

kookoo · Sep 27, 2012

Hi Guys,

I'm trying to build a Hackintosh that will be much faster than what I’ve got and a current high-specked Mac Pro. I’ll be using it for Lightroom 4.1 and Photoshop CS6.

Here is my current setup:

Mac Pro early 2008
Processor: 2 x 3.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5400 series ("Harpertown")
Memory: 18 GB 800 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB
APPLE RAID Card Revision: 312E3030 (Really dated)
System Hard Drives: SSD OCZ Vertex 4 256GB
Remaining Hard Drives: 3x 1TB 7200rpm SAMSUNG HD103UJ, which are Hardware RAID 0

Here is the Geekbench score for the above machine:
http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/1096775

The question is as follows... Will I be able to achieve a significant speed increase with the following specked machine than with the current 12 core Mac Pros? If so, does anyone have any scores they can share?

Proposed Build:
Intel Core i7-3930K (6 core)
Gigabyte GA-X79-UD5
GeForce GTX 660 Ti
64GB Corsair 1600Mhz DDR3

Alternatively, would I have to go for a Xeon or dual Xeon machine to see the performance increase specific to Lightroom/Photoshop.

What would be your suggestion; a top specked single i7 2011 machine or a Xeon build? Will there be that much of a difference between their builds?

I’ve noticed Geekbench scores in the 30000 and 40000 range, will these kinds of scores make that much of a difference to Lightroom and Photoshop?

Thanks in advance for you your suggestions.

subaro0o · Sep 27, 2012

For photoshop and lightroom, you don't really need much for that.

You can build X79 system but it may be overkill for photo editing. I would recommend the Customac builds, use a 3770K, and get yourself a decent GPU and atleast 16GB RAM and that should be great.

Another downside to X79 is no power management, just another thing to think about.

edit- to answer your question...with a slight overclock my 3930K will hit 20,700 in geekbench 64bit mode

kookoo · Sep 28, 2012

I'm not sure that I don't need much for Lightroom and Photoshop. The Mac Pro I have now is painfully slow, I really wanted something that is significantly faster. If an i7 will do the job just as good as the Xeon, then I'll save myself some money.

My workflow at the moment is as follows:

Copy RAW files to the RAID 0 drives using the Finder (outside of Lightroom), launch Lightroom using a new catalog (I've tried having the catalog on the start up SSD drive and the RAID 0 drive), I then import the RAW files (by ADDING them, not moving or copying) with 1:1 previews, (this stage is very slow), then I pick and edit the images, again very slow, e.g. when navigating from one picture to another takes about 2 seconds, sometimes more, zooming in takes 3+ seconds, and if I do any editing, I'm constantly waiting for it to update.

I hope this is enough for you guys to help me choose.

Thanks again

kookoo · Sep 28, 2012

I think I'm going to go for a Socket 2011 CustoMac Pro Build, i7-3930K.

I've looked at some Geekbench scores and noticed that there are some with scores in the 22000 range i.e. http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/928898, I've also noticed that there are some considerably lower.

My question is, other than the cpu, what components would you guys recommend I get to ensure these high scores? E.g. Motherboard, 64GB Memory (Any specific kind), Fast reliable HDDs etc.

Thanks guys.

Going Bald · Sep 28, 2012

kookoo said:
I think I'm going to go for a Socket 2011 CustoMac Pro Build, i7-3930K.

I've looked at some Geekbench scores and noticed that there are some with scores in the 22000 range i.e. http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/928898, I've also noticed that there are some considerably lower.

My question is, other than the cpu, what components would you guys recommend I get to ensure these high scores? E.g. Motherboard, 64GB Memory (Any specific kind), Fast reliable HDDs etc.

Thanks guys.

kookoo · Sep 28, 2012

Going Bald,

Thank you so much for all you help, much appreciated.

I have a few questions if that's ok.

a) Other than the cost, was there another reason for saying "If you really want to go socket 2011"?

b) Will I notice much of a difference between the VelociRaptor drives, compared to some good 7200 rpm drives when in a RAID? If not, what would you recommend? I would have liked more storage to accommodate a RAID 5 or similar for speed and mirrored , but I don't want to sacrifice speed if there is going to be that much of a difference.

c) You did not mention a graphics card, is this because the one I listed (GeForce GTX 660 Ti) in my initial post is fine or should I be going with something better?

d) Can you recommend a good power supply and anything else I would need to complete this build.

Thank's again!

P.S. I can't wait! I haven't built a machine since the 90s'

SierraClimber · Sep 28, 2012

I think that you will be pleased by the 3930K. Lightroom can use the extra cores and hyperthreading. The main thing that you will lose is fine-tuned power management. Pay attention to the motherboard size for the case and the RAM clearance and PCIe slot clearance for the CPU cooler. You may also want to pay attention to the noise level.

Here is a link to a previous Lightroom discussion:

http://www.tonymacx86.com/buying-advice/68143-lightroom-beast-2.html#post426918

Let us know what you pick!

Going Bald · Sep 28, 2012

kookoo said:
Going Bald,

Thank you so much for all you help, much appreciated.

I have a few questions if that's ok.

a) Other than the cost, was there another reason for saying "If you really want to go socket 2011"?

b) Will I notice much of a difference between the VelociRaptor drives, compared to some good 7200 rpm drives when in a RAID? If not, what would you recommend? I would have liked more storage to accommodate a RAID 5 or similar for speed and mirrored , but I don't want to sacrifice speed if there is going to be that much of a difference.

c) You did not mention a graphics card, is this because the one I listed (GeForce GTX 660 Ti) in my initial post is fine or should I be going with something better?

d) Can you recommend a good power supply and anything else I would need to complete this build.

Thank's again!

P.S. I can't wait! I haven't built a machine since the 90s'

a. Socket 2011 is not supported by OS X because Apple has no builds using this socket. That may or may not change when Apple comes out with their promised Mac Pro upgrade.
I think you can get just as fast and better support with a high end Z77 board as with any X79 for less cost. I would also wait until the Ivy Bridge E Haswell CPUs come out late next year before going to the X79 because Intel will probably come out with a new socket and the x79 will go the way of the X58.

b. With velociraptors in RAID you will notice a big difference in seek time and access time over the 7200rpm drives. If you are going to be using 4 or more in a RAID 5 and want to go with 7200 rpm then get the WD RE4 series - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136579 . The big difference between the 2, all else being equal - even though the Velociraptors are faster seek/access, the RE4's will give you 3 times the storage for almost the same price. So it is a decision only the user can make - how fast do you really need to be able to find and load a file in your app and how much storage space do you need with the limited number of SATA ports you have available?

c. for what I have listed and 5 velociraptors you would need 650W-750W PSU and any of the Seasonic, Corsair, or any other good name brand PSU will do, but you should always google for the particular brand and size before you decide. Sometimes a really good brand in most sizes has one size that is just a horse that won't run in your race and not worth the money to buy it.

kookoo · Sep 29, 2012

Thanks again Going Bald, thank you for taking the time out to help me.

Here is my proposed setup:

1x Intel Core i7-3930K Sandy Bridge-E 3.2GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 2011 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor BX80619i73930K

1x CORSAIR DOMINATOR 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model CMP32GX3M4X1600C10

1x EVGA 02G-P4-3660-KR GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

1x OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3-256G 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

4x Western Digital RE4 WD2003FYYS 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

1x Pioneer Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 10X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner With BDXL Support BDR-2207

1x CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX750 (CMPSU-750AX) 750W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Opinions on the below and the above for that matter would be greatly appreciated. I just want to make sure I get it right first time. I hate that feeling os; "Damn, I knew I should have got that one as opposed to that one.

MOTHERBOARD

ASUS Sabertooth X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
or
ASUS Rampage IV Extreme LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard

COOLING
Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler
or
CORSAIR H100 (CWCH100) Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

Thanks people!

MechSoup · Sep 29, 2012

If you are wanting to do a RAID configuration, it is possible to set it up through the onboard motherboard software RAID controller, however, if you want faster read and writings with security (RAID 5/6) then you might want to check into RAID cards. Here is one that works OOB, and is recommended by Tonymac:

Highpoint RocketRAID 2720SGL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816115100

&

StarTech Mini-SAS to SATA Cables(6.0Gbps):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200884

&

Set-Up:
http://www.tonymacx86.com/98-review-highpoint-rocketraid-2720sgl.html

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i7 or Xeon build for Lightroom and Photoshop advice needed.

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