CS4 hardware tips

[CarefreeChris]

I'm looking to build myself a new system within the next couple of months, and have a spec list in mind. But before I go ahead, I'd appreciate any tips.

The system will mainly be used for After Effects CS4, and Photoshop CS4 too. Budget, not including a monitor, of around £800-850. I've never overclocked before and I'm not really that interested in doing so, unless there are serious performance advantages from doing so. Also, I'd want to make minimal changes or upgrades to the system (except perhaps for RAM) for at least 3 years.

The main issue for me, is AMD or Intel? And if Intel, Quad Core, or i7? Given my budget, I'm leaning towards AMDs Phenom II X4 - but if Intels are better for CS4 then I might change that. Also, if Intel is the way to go, would the extra cost in going for i7 be worth it?

The second main issue for me, is regarding a GPU - what does CS4 prefer, ATI or Nvidia? Again, I have a Sapphire 1GB HD4870 in mind, but if CS4 prefers Nvidia, then I'd go Nvidia instead.

And lastly, RAM. What do you suggest as an absolute minimum for RAM capacity and bandwidth? Going with Phenom II CPU I'd get 8gb of 1333Mhz DDR3, but with Intel it'd be 6GB of 1600Mhz.

If it helps, the monitor I plan to get a little while down the line is a 24" HP LP2475W H-IPS panel LCD mointor, with a 1900x1200 resolution.

I have the rest of the system - HDD, mobo (depending on CPU), PSU, case, etc worked out, its just the integral processing part that I want to make sure is best suited to get the most I can out of CS4.

Cheers in advance!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Phenom II X4 is usually better value for money in many cases but for CS4 I would be looking at an Intel based setup:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2340583,00.asp

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...px?i=3492&p=13

I would also look at getting a Core i7 based build too!

There is a very good CPU,RAM and Motherboard bundle for around £483 on the Scan Today webpage this weekend:

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

Both ATI and Nvidia cards accelerate CS4! The only thing is that Nvidia makes more noise about it!

Some details about ATI cards and CS4:

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?op...=9809&Itemid=1

http://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects/opengl.html

http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/view...nalId=kb405711

[CarefreeChris]

The Phenom II X4 is usually better value for money in many cases but for CS4 I would be looking at an Intel based setup:

Both ATI and Nvidia cards accelerate CS4! The only thing is that Nvidia makes more noise about it!

Ah nice one, it seem Intel is the way to go then. It would probably have to be QuadCore though, as an i7 cpu/mobo setup with the rest of the system I'd want would come close to £1000, and I just can't justify that outlay to myself. Looking at the QuadCores on the extremetech link, the 6700, if I can learn to overclock it, looks like it would out perform the Phenom II whilst being cheaper.

Thanks for the GPU info. I was looking at an ATI 4870 card, so I shall probably stick with that.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The sad thing is that the AMD Phenom II X4 is usually faster than the equivalently priced Intel quad cores in many other applications but for some reason in CS4 this is not the case though!! If you were running a mixture of applications I would have definitely recommended it!

On Today Only there is the Intel Q9550 with the Asus P5Q-VM for around £261:

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

If you want to go ATX you can get a Q9550 for around £210 and an Asus P5QL SE for £56:

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

You can get 8gb of PC6400 DDR2 for around £75:

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

For around £330 to £340 this is the next best option IMHO.

The Q9550 is not only clocked higher than the Q6700 but has more cache,an improved architecture and is made on a 45nm process which means it runs cooler too.

The Q6700 for sale on Scan is OEM so you will need to factor in the cost of a cooler too.