Building a Photoshop Workstation

October 24th, 2008 | Categories: Equipment

This article was originally written in 2005 when I built this machine. It has since been rebuilt with newer, faster, better components. The rebuild will be detailed in an upcoming article. This articles still contains some good information, however.

Build or buy? A question many people ask when they need or want a new PC. I needed one. My main use for the machine is post processing digital camera files. I decided to build after not finding what I wanted for a price I was willing to pay. This article reports on my adventure in building my dream Photoshop computer. Unfortunately my dream had a budget attached so I couldn’t just buy the absolute top of the line everything.

This article describes the hardware that makes up my workstation. The software I run on the workstation is describes in another article titled Software Tools For Photographers.

A few months ago I decided that it was time to replace my aging Dell Desktop computer with something more capable of handling the large number of digital photo images that I was producing with my 8.2MP Canon 1D Mk2 camera. My aging Dell is a 2.4GHz Pentium 4 processor with 1Gb of RAM and two internal hard drives totaling about 300GB of storage running Windows XP Pro. With my image files regularly reaching 800MB, this computer just wasn’t cutting it anymore. I found myself waiting and wanting for a faster computer.

I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to get in this new computer. Nothing was set in stone, but the basic requirements were:

Dual Processor or a Dual Core Processor
Lots of RAM, 2Gb Minimum
Fast hard disk drives
Fast graphics with dual monitor support
A quiet system
Room for expansion

Build or buy? My first inclination was to just buy a new pre-built machine so that’s where I focussed my research efforts. Buying a pre-built machine is certainly easier than building one from the ground up. Building a PC, while not rocket science, isn’t something most people are inclined to do. It requires a certain level of self-confidence and a basic familiarity with electronic systems. I wasn’t lacking either of these qualifications. I am and have been a professional embedded software engineer for 15 years. Regardless, building a PC takes more energy than buying a pre-built one. There is a certain satisfaction that comes with instant gratification.

So off I went to find my dream computer, all pre-built and ready to go. First stop was Dell. By the time I had run the system configuration utility to spec the system I had in mind, my budget was already blown. It came close to $5000. And, based on my previous Dell experience, I knew that most of the components inside were going to be middle of the line performance wise, and probably the least expensive components Dell could lay their hands on. And the system would have little or no room for expansion. While my existing Dell has treated me fine, it is definitely not what I would call a workstation class machine.

I checked out a few other manufacturers like Alienware, but their main focus for the high end was gaming machines and not graphics workstations, and their prices were all much higher than Dell. It became clear that to get what I wanted without filing for bankruptcy I was going to have to build my own. Decision made.

I had built one of my previous PC’s (the one I used prior to the existing Dell). It was a disaster. It almost convinced me never to build another PC again. Then, in a rare moment of clarity, it dawned on my as to why it was such a disaster. Everything I put into that PC was the cheapest stuff I could find at Fry’s Electronics. Cheap case, cheap processor, cheap RAM, cheap everything. I vowed to learn from that mistake.

Finding information on the web about building PC’s is not hard. There are great sites out there that are chock full of it. However, finding information about building PC’s focussed on optimizing performance for Photoshop, rather than gaming, is harder. The best source of information that I found was a Microsoft publication called Pixel Performance. This publication covers everything you need to know and helped me through several decisions.

One of the risks of building a PC is that it is very hard to be sure that all the components that you buy will play well together once they are all crammed into the computer case. The risk isn’t that bad, as everything is under warranty and you can just send it back and try something else. But who wants to be burdened with that level of inconvenience.

I’ve built my system now and it has been working flawlessly for me for several months. I want to share exactly what I put into the system in hopes that my readers who are embarking on their own PC build adventure will be less likely to run into any snags. This system was relatively expensive. But I refused to buy any components that fell above the price/performance knee. I could have easily spent another $2K to gain another 15% in performance, but that didn’t make sense to me.

These are the components that I used:

Processor: Athlon X2 64bit

Intel or AMD? I chose the AMD Athlon X2 64bit 2.2GHz 4400+ Toledo 1GHz FSB 2×1MB Cache Socket 939 Dual Core processor. A little research showed that AMD dual core processors were clearly outperforming Intel’s offerings in both price and performance. I’m not particularly brand loyal to either company, so I was not clouded by emotion, nor inclined one way or the other. The decision was based strictly on price and performance.

Motherboard: MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Ultra ATX AMD

Based on motherboard tests at Tom’s Hardware. This motherboard performed excellently and had all the facilities that I wanted on board. It uses the NVidia NForce4 Ultra chip set. It is not an SLI mobo. I have no interest in the SLI architecture, or cost. The motherboard included 8 SATA drive controllers, all RAID capable; onboard audio (again, not a big gamer so I save the money needed for an audio card); 4 DIMM slots for a maximum of 4Gb of RAM, two onboard gigabit ethernet controllers; 6 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire.

The motherboard comes with 4 SATA cables. I had to buy two more in order to connect all six of my hard drives. I bought 1 meter cables because they much easier to route internally. The way the mobo is mounted the SATA connectors are quite a ways from the internal drive bay. The included cables were long enough, but longer cables were easier.

Memory: 4 x 1GB Patriot EP DDR400 RAM DIMMs

A basic high performance RAM rated at 2-3-2-5 timing. I felt that maxing out the RAM on this system was one of the single best things I could do the improve the Photoshop experience so I went for the full 4Gb that the motherboard would handle. Photoshop is aware of the "/3GB" boot switch in Windows XP Pro. Having 4Gb of RAM allows me to dedicate a full 1.8GB to Photoshop and still have plenty left over for Bridge and ACR and other applications.

In a normal XP Pro configuration the OS Kernel is allocated 2GB of RAM and the remaing 2GB is allocated to applications. The 3GB boot switch does nothing more than change this allocation scheme. When set, the OS will only get 1GB and application will be given 3GB. That’s it. No magic.

In order for an application to take advantage of this extra memory is must be built to be aware. Photoshop is. Here is some further information from Microsoft regarding memory utilization and the 3GB switch:

Memory Support and the Windows Operating Systems
The Oft Misunderstood 3GB Switch
And some gotchas to watch out for:
Driver may not be loaded with /3GB switch (I did not experience this problem)

Boot Drive: 2 x 74GB 10,000 RPM 8MB Cache Western Digital "Raptor" SATA HDDs

These two drives are set up as a 148GB RAID0 array. I wanted my system drive to be very high performance. Setting up the OS on a RAID array is a bit more complex than on a single drive, but not much, in this case. The OS RAID array resides on the NVidia controller and during the boot process you can enter into the RAID configuration utility where the array is created and configured. The motherboard is supplied with a floppy disk that has the RAID controller drivers required for the OS install. The trick is watch the OS installer for a message like "Press F6 to install third party SCSI or RAID drivers". After hitting F6 you are prompted to insert the floppy disk. A few more question may need to be answered and then the OS installer will load the driver and the installation will continue as normal. The process went smoother than I had anticipated.

I’ve been asked if having the OS on a RAID-0 array really made a performance improvement. I really can’t say because I didn’t install the OS on a non-raid drive in this system. I have no frame of reference. It is fast though, I just can’t say how much faster. I can say, comfortably, that it is not slower than a single drive solution.

Photoshop Scratch Drive: 2 x 74GB 10,000 RPM 8MB Cache Western Digital "Raptor" SATA HDDs

To get the best scratch drive performance out of Photoshop it is recommended that the scratch drive be a different physical hard drive than the system drive (which, in my case also is used for the OS swap file). Again, these two HDDs are configured as a 148GB RAID0 array. It’s a bit of overkill to dedicate this much space to the Adobe scratch drive. And, if needed in the future, I can always use this drive for non-adobe application installs and data storage. Right now the system drive and work drives have plenty of free space.

>Working Data Drive: 4 x 320GB 7200RPM Western Digital SATA HDDs in RAID-5

(Update 01/11/2006) I originally built my work drive as a pair of 320GB SATA drives in RAID-0. Today I replaced my 2×320GB RAID-0 with a 4×320GB RAID-5 array. Formatted capacity of the new RAID-5 array is 864GB. In order to execute this upgrade I had to purchase 2 more WD3200 SATA drives and a HDD expansion kit that would allow me to mount up to 3 more 3.5" drives into 2 5.25" bays. I had only used about 115GB of the original RAID-0 array so I copied all the data to my scratch drive in order to not lose it in the upgrade. The installation and configuration could not have gone more smoothly. These were the steps I followed:

I backed up all my data (115GB) to my scratch drive using Micrsoft SyncToy
I used the Computer Management Admin Tool to delete the existing RAID-0 volume.
Powered off and disconnected everything so I could get the chassis off the floor.
I added the HHD expander with the two new drives to the chassis and connected them to the motherboard.
Reinstall the chassis and connect all peripheral cables.
Powered up the computer and entered into the SATARAID5 configuration tool (pressed F4 when told to do so).
Deleted the old RAID-0 array.
Created the new RAID-5 array.
Booted the computer (whew!!!).
Used the Computer Management Admin Tool to partition and format the new volume (I called it "Raider 5", the full format took close to 15 hours, but I’m told that’s not unusual for a large RAID-5 array).
Using SyncToy again, I moved all my data from the scratch drive to the new array.

Graphics Card: XFX Nvidia 6800GT 256MB Dual DVI

I have a Dell 20" UXGA LCD Monitor and an HP 23" WUXGA LCD Monitor. Both monitors have DVI inputs so I wanted a graphics card that could drive two DVI outputs. This one fit the bill and the 6800GT is a leader in graphics price/performance.

Power Supply: Enermax EG701AX-VE SFMA ATX12V 600W

Since I was putting 6 HDDs (now 8 HDDs), a fairly power hungry CPU and GPU, and 4GB of RAM I thought it prudent to provide plenty of current to drive everything. This power supply is very quiet.

Case: Lian-Li PC-V1100A PLUS "Silent" Case

(Update 01/11/2006) The small picture shows the case prior to the installation of the HDD Expansion Chassis. This chassis is made by Lian-li and allows 3 3.5" HDDs to fit into the space of 2 5.25" drive bays. The chassis has fan that blows cool outside air over the top of the drives mounted within. I only have 2 HDDs mounted inside. There is room for one more someday.

This is a phenomenal case. Very clean line, no neon, no flashing lights. This is not you case-modder dream chassis. There are 7 fans inside my system and it runs very quietly. The fit and feel of the case is top notch. It is a very thick aluminum sheet metal construction. The case has sound dampening materials through out; a door that closes over the front (further reducing the sounds from inside, you can see the rubber seals on the door); a very nicely thought out interior layout that makes installing everything a breeze. The case comes with 4 soild aluminum wheels that mount on the bottom. The rear axle has a lock on it (not a security lock, just keeps it from rolling unintentionally). They work great, even on carpet. This is not your average cheap PC chassis, in fact, it’s pretty expensive at $260, but worth every penny. It just feels good. I have the silver version, it also come in black. The Lian-li website is worth checking out. They create some really nice products.

I will concede that liquid cooled cases are probably a little quieter, but I really didn’t want to get involved in setting up my own liquid cooled system. It probably isn’t too difficult, but it wasn’t that important to me, and the additional cooling gains are not that significant. I’ve read several reviews on the subject and in the end, it wasn’t worth the extra cost or hassle. As it stands, my systems rarely breaks a sweat even when crunching through large batches of RAW coversions. The GPU is certainly not being stretched and the CPU temperature never leaves the nominal zone. Water coolers probably serve high end gamers the best but they aren’t needed on a Photoshop machine. I will also note that I’m using the CPU fan that came with my processor. It does a fine job.

A bonus to this case is the 8-in-1 card reader that Lian-Li sells as an accessory. The card reader has the same brushed aluminum material as the case and installs in a 3.5" drive bay. This card reader is the fastest card reader I have ever used for downloading files from my memory cards. I get over 7.5MB/s when downloading from the 4Gb CF cards and over 9 MB/s from my 2GB SD cards. I had to buy a 5.25" to 3.5" adapter kit to fit the card reader into one of the spare CD bays. Here’s a detail of the card reader in the case.

One thing that was noted in several reviews of this card reader was that it should not be hooked up (via internal USB cable) until after the OS is installed. Otherwise the 5 drives associated with the reader may be logged prior to your system drive. That is, your OS may get installed on a drive other than C:

(Updated 01/11/2006) The original build configuration is on the left. The large picture on the right is a detail of the new drive expansion unit. As with all my other experiences with Lian-li, this product quality is top notch. Fit and finish is fantastic. I have exceeded the capacity of the case at this point and have had to remove the floppy drive. This is no big deal. I haven’t used it since the day one when I needed it to install the RAID drivers in memory prior to installing the OS. Just in case, though, I left the floppy controller cable attached to the motherboard so if I do need it for some obscure reason I can simply detach the side cover, attach the drive, do what I need to do and then remove it.

(Updated 01/11/2006)Here’s some more information on the card reader that has come up in some reader’s questions. It does not tie up a normal USB connector on the back of the computer. The card reader comes cabled with connectors that attach to headers on the motherboard. The card reader also comes with a rear mounted USB port that can occupy any empty slot on the rear panel. This extra USB port has its own set of connectors that can mount to another extra USB port header on the motherboard. My MSI motherboard has two USB headers so I’m able to use both. All cabling is provided. The card reader comes as a 3.5" mountable unit. In order to fit it in the 5.25" bay I had to purchase a Lian-li adapter seperately. Another bonus for all of us that have card readers where one or the other of CF and SD cards inserts upside down, both cards insert right side up on this reader.

CD/DVD Drives are also mounted such that they are positioned behind brushed aluminum doors so now matter what brand or color drive you buy, the integrity of the case design is maintained. The drive face plates are designed so that the drive drawers automatically open and close the face plate as the drawer is extended and closed. It’s a very nice design. The only downside is that you’ll have to buy additional face plates if you have more than one CD/DVD drive and the installation/removal of the drive is made a bit more complex. This picture shows how the front CD bezels work.

Even the floppy drive is positioned behind a brushed aluminum faceplate. Installing the floppy drive require careful attention to ensure that the eject button on the drive is positioned correctly in relation to the eject button on the case. (updated 01/11/2006, floppy drive has been removed)

The case has 4 USB ports on the back panel and two on the front panel near the bottom. The front USB ports do not require the front door to be opened. A nice touch.

Below is a picture of the internals. You can see the 6 3.5" HDD mounted in the bottom. They have a dedicated fan that blows air through the HDD tunnel and out vents on the bottom of the case. The PCI cards also have a dedicated fan. The power supply sits at the bottom of the case unlike most other designs.

(Updated 01/11/2006) The original internal configuration is on the left. The large picture on the right is the new internal configuration showing the addition of the HDD Expansion Kit. The card reader moved up to just below the DVD drives and the floppy disk has been removed.

The Rest Of The System

That covers the components that really determine the performance level in Photoshop. The remaining components that I put in are:

Plextor CD/DVD Dual Layer Burner
HP LightScribe CD/DVD Dual Layer Burner
The Lian-Li Card Reader

Outside the chassis, to round out the Photoshop workstation, I have:

Two external USB Hard drives that I use to back up image files
A Wacom Intuos3 6×8 inch Tablet
An Epson R200 Printer for general printing and printing direct to CD
An old Epson Stylus Photo 870 that doesn’t get used much anymore
A Epson P4000 17" Wide Format Printer for all my photo printing
Wireless Bluetooth Logitech MX5000 Keyboard and Mouse.

Well that’s the complete system. It has been up and running for a six months now and I’ve had absolutely no problems with it. It’s very solid, very quiet, and very reliable. The most complicated portion of the build was getting the raid arrays all configured before installing the OS. The included motherboard manuals, however, do a fine job of walking you through the raid configuration. I was a bit worried at first, but now, after the fact, I realize I had nothing to worry about.

Additional Notes

One more thing to think about. If you’re serious about building a high performance Photoshop workstation then you should also seriously consider the environmental condition (in particular, the lighting) of the area where you locate and use you workstation. I’ve written another article that discusses the ISO/ANSI recommendations for workstation and print viewing lighting. You can find it right here.

Here is an inventory of the software tools that I have installed on the system.

One other note: I am using the original drivers for the BIOS and NForce4, and STATRAID5 controllers. They worked just fine for me and I feel pretty strongly that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

If you have feedback, suggestions, or critiques, or just want to say thanks let me know in the comments.

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