I need a new higher-end desktop for development, video editing, photoshop & illustrator, and I'm weighing up options.


I can build a pretty basic quad core intel machine for around $700 - or i can buy a core2duo workstation (HP or Dell) for about $100 more.


Currently I'm leaning towards the workstation because I can throw more ram at it as needed, while the desktop boards usually top out at 8GB of memory or so.

What are your thoughts?

7/23/2009 10:47:49 AM

what are you doing that you'll need more than 8gb of decent RAM?

7/23/2009 10:51:40 AM

Nothing at the moment, but as i work more I may find myself doing more video editing, motion graphics, etc.


I would prefer above all, for the machine to be more scalable to fit my needs, and i feel like the workstation would be.

But that's why I ask, because if I'm making a mountain out of a molehill I'd also like to know.

7/23/2009 10:54:05 AM

i wouldn't sweat the memory issue...4gb is more than enough in most cases right now...8gb should be enough for at least the next couple of years

if your big hangup is the memory, though, you could always get a LGA775 mobo that supports 16gb of DDR3 (like the asus P5Q3 deluxe) for ~$180...you'd still come out at or below the cost of the workstation, but with arguably better components and a better proc

[Edited on July 23, 2009 at 11:11 AM. Reason : .]

7/23/2009 11:09:59 AM

you wanna buy this workstation from me? i'll give you a good deal. it's just sitting in my office i just want to get rid of it now

message_topic.aspx?topic=566986


^ more memory is AWESOME if you're using virtual machines. and for developers, that's becoming more and more an attractive option. very helpful for database work too (especially when working with DBs > 1 GB)

[Edited on July 23, 2009 at 11:12 AM. Reason : .]

7/23/2009 11:10:32 AM

I'd build your own.

7/23/2009 11:10:33 AM

If youve never built one, expect some pain. You sound like you want one now that works, drop the 100 and get a workstation.

7/23/2009 12:29:20 PM

Quote :

"I would prefer above all, for the machine to be more scalable to fit my needs, and i feel like the workstation would be."

This is the bit I'm finding difficult to reconcile. How is a prebuilt machine any more scalable than one you build yourself? ...that and the memory limitation thing. Normally I would have assumed that if a motherboard that supports more than 8GM of RAM is available on a prebuilt system, then you could find one that supports more than 8 for a custom build machine.

It's been a while - maybe I'm too far out of the loop now.

[Edited on July 23, 2009 at 12:35 PM. Reason : -]

7/23/2009 12:33:44 PM

Unless you hate money, build your own.

7/23/2009 12:58:38 PM

if scaling and cost are the goals, I would build because rarely can you get an oem box with the expansion capabilities of an enthusiast motherboard. one thing that would make anything scream (oem or custom build) is a gigabyte i-ram. if you're work can stay in <4gb chunks, there is nothing faster. they're dirt cheap now since no one really adopted them.

[Edited on July 23, 2009 at 1:20 PM. Reason : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01zgSiXS794]

7/23/2009 1:05:24 PM

^QFT.

Every time I've had to upgrade a prebuilt it's seemed like the case/cpu fan housing, enclosures, etc. were designed to prevent me from swapping parts.

7/23/2009 1:51:23 PM

^^
That is exactly what I got for a recent custom build.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358

Built-in RAID to the motherboard, can handle up to 16GB of RAM (I have 8GB total in mine right now), Quad-Core. Doesn't support Core i7 or DDR3 RAM, but, if you are looking to keep it on the cheaper side, you aren't looking at those anyways.

7/23/2009 2:02:49 PM

Quote :

"i wouldn't sweat the memory issue...4gb is more than enough in most cases right now...8gb should be enough for at least the next couple of years"

I can tell you that 4gb is not enough. Not if he's doing development, video editing, photoshop/illustrator etc....

7/23/2009 2:53:33 PM

^ i ran all of that on 4gb for nearly a year...only a few months ago did i upgrade to 8gb

yes, there is a difference...no, the difference did not blow my mind

*shrug*

7/23/2009 2:56:09 PM

Quote :

"This is the bit I'm finding difficult to reconcile. How is a prebuilt machine any more scalable than one you build yourself? "

I guess I should've said that self-builts are generally scalable, but only to a point. If I wanted 32GB of RAM, there's not a consumer board out that will allow me that luxury.

Quote :

"If youve never built one, expect some pain. You sound like you want one now that works, drop the 100 and get a workstation."

I've built plenty of machines in my time, and upgraded plenty of OEM ones. For me it does seem to be a measure of cost over time invested. Thanks for the advice.


As far as the hardware itself goes, I understand you can buy motherboards that support up to 16GB of memory, but in all honesty I don't know if that's the best approach.

Those boards are generally pretty pricey, and come with tons of other shit I have no real need for. My n00b-blasting days are long over.

Plus with gay names like ASUS uBaR Fatality X45zR1200 BL00BAWLZ edition, I can't really parse them to figure out WHICH is better for my needs. Sure, I can read a review site that tells me how many mega frags per second I can get when I use SLI with the board, but like I said...

Illustrator, Photoshop, video editing, development - and I didn't say but mean to - virtual machines.

7/23/2009 5:23:42 PM

if you run a lot of vms, I would look for a board with dual onboard nics.

7/23/2009 6:33:19 PM