Digital Workstation Considerations

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Digital Workstation Considerations
To access this presentation, go
to http//www.DigiQuestPC.com Click on the link
for TRAINING

• Joe Sukenick
• DigiQuest
• www.DigiQuestPC.com

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MOORES LAW
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MOORES LAW In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon
Moore stated that the number of transistors on a
chip will double about every two years. His
prediction has been accurate for over 40 years!
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How does this affect photographers?
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How does this affect photographers? As computers
become more powerful, the newer versions of
software have become more sophisticated and much
more processor intensive.
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How does this affect photographers? As computers
become more powerful, the newer versions of
software have become more sophisticated and much
more processor intensive. In many ways, the
operating systems and software have become
inefficient and laden with features that few use.
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This results in
CODE BLOAT
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This results in Sloppy programming coupled with
new seldom used features will usually result in
the newer versions of the same software to become
larger and run more slowly than a previous
version of that software when run on the same
machine.
CODE BLOAT
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Since the software manufacturers are aware that
PCs keep getting faster and faster, they allow
sloppy programming to continue. Why? Its
cost efficient! Their Logic They assume the new
machines will run their new inefficient code as
fast as older PCs ran the previous version of
their software. Therefore, there is no problem.
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Windows Operating System SLOC (Source Lines of
Code) 1993 Windows NT 3.1 6 million 1994
Windows NT 3.5 10 million 1996 Windows NT 4.0
16 million 2000 Windows 2000 29 million
2002 Windows XP 40 million 2007 Windows
Vista 50 million Do you see a pattern
developing here??????? Source Wikipedia.com
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A similar, but not quite as aggressive evolution
is occurring with the sensors in digital
cameras. We can now capture more detail at higher
resolutions because we have more pixels. More
pixels Larger file sizes
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When you add them up Newer Software Code
Bloat Running on Old PC Larger File Sizes

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Result A Frustrated Photographer!
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The Solution? A Faster Digital
Workstation. But what should I get?
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Three main components of a computer system that
affect its effective speed the most
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Computer Prefix Terms Hz..Hertz
(cycles) KiloThousand 1,000,000
Mega ..Million 1,000,000,000
GigaBillion 1,000,000,000,000
TeraTrillion 1,000,000,000,000,000 Peta
Quadrillion (etc.) These terms are mainly
used to denote speed and capacity.
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CPU Intel The workhorse or engine that does
all the computational processing work for the
PC. It makes requests to the hard drive and RAM
for user data and programming instructions.
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CPU Choose the CPU first build system
around it Buy as much processor as you can
afford Intel processor recommended Quad Core
processor runs FASTEST! Quad Core best for
multitasking Intel Model BX80580Q6600 Quad
2.33GHz Intel Model BX80580Q9550 Quad 2.83GHz
Price 2.33GHz - 189 2.83GHz - 324
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Hard Drive Western Digital Good Value
Reliability The non-volatile (Permanent) storage
area for the operating system, software
applications, and data (images). They are
mechanical and WILL FAIL! Backup your
Data!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Hard Drive Western Digital 10,000 RPM
Velociraptor SATA Model WD3000GLFS
(300Gb) Western Digital 10,000 RPM
Velociraptor SATA Model WD1500HLFS
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RAM (Memory) Corsair Excellent / G.Skill
Great Value The volatile storage and processing
area for data retrieved from the hard drive,
operating system, CPU and software
applications. RAM constantly passes information
back and forth between the hard drive and the
CPU.
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RAM (Memory) Corsair Excellent / G.Skill
Great Value 4 Gb max for 32 bit systems RAM
should match MB requirements DDR2 is Very Good,
DDR3 Better Timings and CAS Latency determine
the speed (Lower numbers are better) Price 4 Gb
- DDR3 - 300 and up
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Motherboard Asus and Gigabyte are two very
good names Motherboard should support your
processor Front Side Bus (FSB) 1600/1333MHz
Motherboard dictates type/speed of memory
Integrated video may be adequate but is not
optimal Price 120 - 240
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Windows Operating System Windows XP
Professional is the OS of choice. Vista has
reliability problems, is difficult to change many
parameters, and its Ill hide the details from
you to make it work MY WAY approach can be
frustrating and annoying! Many older printers,
scanners, and other devices that youd like to
use with Vista may not have device drivers for
Vista to allow them to work.
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32 bit OS vs. 64 bit OS The motherboard must
support 64 bit Total available RAM in a 64 bit
OS is 17.2 Gb Total available RAM in a 32 bit
OS is 4 Gb Some software will not run under a
64 bit OS The full processing power of 64 bits
cannot be realized until the application is
built for it Device drivers for old peripherals
may not be available in the 64 bit flavor
Not yet ready for Prime Time but soon will!
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Additional Info.
Choose the CPU first build system around it
OS Windows XP Pro (NO Vista not yet) Case
- Full size tower Heat is the enemy! Case
should have multiple ball-bearing fans CPU
should have a good cooling system DVD burner
for backups dual layer (-R) Video Card
minimum of 256Mb RAM and be capable of 3D
acceleration (512 Better) Configure
Windows with a FIXED Page File size then
make it use your SECOND Drive.
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Additional Info.
For those inclined to build a PC themselves, an
online vendor with great prices, an exceptional
reputation, huge variety of products, with tons
of information and customer reviews of products
is Newegg.com Most
items ship from NJ. Items I order on Monday
arrive on Tuesday with standard 3 day UPS
shipping.
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Digital Workstation Considerations
To access this presentation, go
to http//www.DigiQuestPC.com Click on the link
for TRAINING

• Joe Sukenick
• DigiQuest
• www.DigiQuestPC.com