Help review my PC workstation build list, please and thanks.

[Hammerskjold]

If you're doing 95% photoshopping, you don't need 64 G of RAM, 32 G will be more than sufficient for quite some time to come, get 8 sticks of 4G RAM and save yourself a bunch of money (likewise, get 1600 MHz, anything higher is mostly a waste as there's little difference in noticiable change between 1600 MHz and 2400 MHz RAM).

First off, thank you for your input, very much appreciated. I'm ok with some of the computech literacy, but some of the nittier grittier stuff just gives me a headache.

Pricing it out so far, going 32 gig of RAM will save me approx. $230.00 or so. Nothing to sneeze at, but if going 64 gig will not decrease reliability on the mobo+cpu setup, I don't mind paying the extra 2 hundy or so bucks. If it does affect reliability severely, then I don't mind going 32 -AND- saving a couple of hundred bucks.

(Going 8 x4gig module =32 seems to work out the same or more expensive vs a 4 x8gig module, at least at this store it seems.)

Likewise, you're building a workstation, get a workstation processor and MB, like the Xeon E-5 2603 or 2609 (you really don't need a 3.4GHz processor if your just doing photoshopping, 2.4GHz or even 1.8GHz will be sufficient for years to come). As for MB, get something like Asus Z9PA-U8 or Supermicro X9SRA which are made for what you're looking to do (the MB, and less extent CPU, are made for gaming, not really workstation work).

Found the Xeon CPU, and the Asus and Supermicro mobo. However the store website I'll likely buy this from has a potential compatibility problem flag.

http://pc.ncix.com/ncixpc/ncixpc.cfm?uui...5151#PCTop

Granted the compatibility check button\option is in beta, and it might be just be a hiccup, but it's saying that the cooler, CPU, and RAM and vid card may not be compatible with the mobo.

Wtf? I thought it was all ok since they're all LGA2011 compatible, what the hell am I missing here? I hope it's not because I -absolutely- require dual Xeon and ECC RAM to work? Even the CPU cooler says it's for Xeon etc, but it still says not compatible?

For a storage drive, you don't need 7.2k RPM, 5.4k RPM will be more than sufficient as well and you could get more overall storage for the same price.

Yep, for storage I'm much more concerned about reliability\stability over speed. I'm fine with 5.4k rpm as long as they're reliable. Switched the spec list from WD Caviar Black 2TB, to WD Red 3TB. Appreciate your opinion on this or any other brand\line you've seen to be a reliable storage HDD.

Also, there are just as good, if not better, SSDs available than the one you've choose from Intel at a much lower price. Some of the very reliable SSDs out there are from Crucial and Samsung (the 830 or the 840 Pro, 840 isn't as reliable, but the Pro versions are very much so).

The store does have the Samsung 840 pro, and it's 20$ cheaper. Nice.

Thanks again by the way, hopefully that compatibility check flag is just a hiccup, because with your suggestion the revised spec list just shaved off approx. $100 off the price. (I haven't even gotten to the price matching stage yet!)