So after a few years it's time for a new PC. I currently have an AMD 955 with 8 gigs of ram. This setup has always been a bit flakey and crashes hard now and then (with a zap/buzz noise so I think the MB is crap.) I have been an AMD user since the 486-120 came out but I am looking at all CPUs for the new build. What I use the system for is general email, web surfing nonsense, copying DVD's and photo editing. As my cameras have gotten better and the megapixals have climbed the computer has bogged down while processing 12mp photos (I use DXO for lens distortion correction.) I have also started using Corel Painter to process my photos into 'art' and this program is Adobe like in it's "pigness" and runs like a dog on my fairly potent system.
So what do I get for the new system - of course it must be a silent build. I only need a MB and CPU and I might add another 8 Gb of ram. I was leaning toward the FM2 setup but I think better options exist.

What's your budget? Do you have an SSD..and if so, what is it?

In general, an Intel quad core, lots of RAM, a SSD for OS/apps, an SSD for scratch disk, and an HDD for data storage are prime for Photoshop. Also, CS6 uses the Mercury Graphics Engine...and that in turn uses Open CL and Open GL for acceleration of some tasks.

Here's a Photoshop benchmark at Anandtech for CPU's. (not using gpu acceleration) Your 955 comes in at 22 sec. The i5-2500K comes in at 12.6sec, so the current i5-3570K should be in the 11 to 12sec range. Top end is the i7-3770K at 10.3sec. So, it can be 100% faster for $220 or 114% faster for $330. Without GPU acceleration, AMD doesn't do well. With it enabled, the APUs can do ok. Here's a somewhat slanted review at Tom's Hardware pre-IVB.

If the system crashes it might also be because of the hard drive or the PSU.

If you want the best CPU for the money, then go for Intel. I'm not saying that AMD is bad, though. The FX-series is bad (AMD high-end CPU's) but AMD makes great APU's that are able to compete with Intel. But you need a high performing CPU and Intel shines in this area.

I have a new Intel 520 SSD and the budget is 'reasonable' ie. no $900 CPUs. This build will be only MB and CPU. My current system has been 'less than stable' since day one.
Thanks for the input - I will be reading the page in a few minutes.

Ah, forgot to include the Anandtech link.

Hi, I suggest an i5-3570k and "reasonable" motherboard.
I'm not sure the hyper-threading of the i7-3770 is worth the extra money, unless the extra isn't a problem to you or you something particular that benefits enough from it to be worth it to you.
For the motherboard get one with the features you want/need and not too bottom of the range so it has reasonable over-clocking ability. A mid range Asus or Gigabyte offering would be a safe bet. You should then be able to push the CPU from default 3.5 GHz to around 4.5GHz, as photo editing is CPU intensive/limited I think this will be well worth it to you. I upgraded a friends Photoshop PC from E8400/4GB to i5-3750k/16GB and he reports it's now much faster, even more so when over-clocked to 4.2GHz.

There wasn't much temperature penalty to the conservative OC to 4.2GHz due to not needing much by way of voltage bump. I'm not sure what bump we got exactly as the low-end MSI Z77 board didn't
have much by way of control and pretty much did "what it thought." The cooler I used was Grand Tranquillo as was the cheapest 120mm fan tower on offer at the time, quiet enough at minimum rpm, 600rpm ish, and didn't need to ramp up even under stress!
This build also got an Agility 3 240GB SSD in it that helped a lot too. 120GB SSDs are pretty cheap at the moment, you could well benefit from adding one as a scratch or working drive.

Seb

AFAIK photo/picture editing doesn't gain from Hyperthreading - in fact Corel Painter seems to have had issues with it - so saving $100 on the CPU and going for a top i5 (instead of middling/low i7) would probably be best. Depending on price difference, you might even consider other i5s besides the 3570K, but over here the difference is too small to justify buying a lesser i5, as you lose out on the quite wonderful HD 4000 GPU.

I've been very happy with my i5-3570K and Asus P8Z77-M Pro combo. The motherboard has the excellent Fan Xpert+ software fan control, and with the CPU's HD 4000 GPU, I don't even need a graphics card these days! The small form factor was a breeze for installation and keeps the rig pleasantly compact.

Edit1: typo

I'd get an SSD and a new motherboard. Even that quad core should be quite decent in for photo work.

So far the 3750K is looking pretty good and I will take a look at the Asus P8Z77-M Pro, I already have an SSD. One thing I have not been able to find is the max resolution of the I-5 chip. I have a 30" monitor and need 2560x1600 not even the Intel product page has this information. Anyone know if the I-5 will do this resolution???

From the motherboard specs:
If you need a serious resolution like that, then you'll need a card with this mobo, I'm afraid.

PS. I took a quick look at some reviews, and apparently it's a bandwidth issue, i.e. there is no Dual Link and hence not enough pipe for bigger res. Intel does support the resolution however, just get a motherboard with a Displayport connector like the Asus Maximus V Gene. You'll get the more advanced Fan Xpert 2 to boot.

So, after looking around for a while and learning a lot about Intel stuff (have not looked at Intel for ~15 years) I think I found pretty much what I need. I forgot to mention that I need one plain old PCI slot for my super high end sound card that I will be using to record LPs. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128544 this plus the 3750K a display port to DVI cable plus 8 more gigs of ram and I should be one very happy camper. Around $400 to more than double my performance and run cooler. Of course changing formats will mean a new CPU cooler (I've been using my tower cooler for about a decade now!)
Thanks for all the great input - it saved me a ton of un-needed searches and going to useless teenager overclocking sites.

Have fun with your build

You're welcome. Teenager overclocking sites... ha!

That Gigabyte board should serve well, needing a legacy PCI slot is a valid reason to go full ATX. The fan control might be a bit dated, but there's always solutions for that. If you need a quick cooler tip, you can hardly go wrong with the Noctua in my sig. I've had this one through two rigs, and if socket support continues, it will be in my next one as well (strictly speaking this is a replacement I bought when water damage killed the last rig, but in principle it's the same unit ).

Enjoy!

I decided that I don't really need the PCI slot so I got a pretty basic MB with a display port.
Intel Desktop Motherboard LGA1155 DDR3 1600 MicroATX - BOXDH77EB, the 3570K and an mSATA for the main drive. Member cbutters has this combo and reports 13 watts at idle. I expect a little more as I will have 4 sticks of ram. Should be fun. Just need a cooler now and maybe a case. Hard to believe this will be my first Intel build for this century

Cold boots to the Windows 7 desktop in 17 seconds and idles at 14 (AC at the wall) watts! The chipset seems to run a little warm and I may but a bigger heat sink on it. The 14 watts was without any drives - just the mSATA. Totally silent even in open air at 6".

That sounds lovely, congrats on an excellent build!

Just check motherboard temperature sensor readings - if they're not over 50 (preferrably under 40, as that is the usual case), there's no reason to change things.