Help me build a photo editing PC for my wife
Posted by DO2017@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 13 comments
My wife is a photographer in the US and needs a new PC. She primarily uses Photoshop, Lightroom, and does some video editing. Usually runs photoshop and Lightroom at the same time. After watching a few videos and browsing the sub I came up with the build below. My budget is around $2k. We don’t need the highest end components, just something solid that won’t slow down while editing.
Would this build do the trick for her, or am I way off?
I think the graphics card may be overkill. Should I downgrade and get a better cpu? If so, what should I get?
CPU: Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 265K Processor (8X 3.90GHz + 12X 3.30GHz/30MB L3 Cache)
Cooling: iBUYPOWER AW4 360mm ARGB Liquid Cooler - Black
RAM: 32 GB \[16 GB X2\] DDR5-6000MHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti - 16GB GDDR7 (DLSS 4.5 Performance)
Motherboard: MSI PRO Z890-S - WiFi 7, ARGB Header (3), USB Rear Ports (2 Type-C, 6 Type-A), M.2 Slot (3)
Power Supply: 750 Watt - High Power - 80 PLUS Gold, PCIe GEN 5, Non Modular
Primary Storage: 1TB Lexar NQ7A1 M.2 PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD -- Gen 4 Read: 6000MB/s; Write: 5000MB/s
warmbutts@reddit
honestly, given current hardware prices and the state of windows 11, a macbook or mac mini is gonna be the best value if the machine is strictly for photo and video work.
Apple’s M processors are arguably the best option right now to run the Adobe suite or other similar apps.
You’ll also save yourself the headache of installing/configuring the OS and potentially needing to troubleshoot issues with drivers or windows updates.
I do a ton of photo and video work, both as a job and as a hobby, and if it wasn’t for gaming I wouldn’t be using windows at all.
DO2017@reddit (OP)
She’s not going to switch to a Mac at this point in her life.
that_norwegian_guy@reddit
I like this. She's a keeper.
Cer_Visia@reddit
Good CPU and storage.
The GPU is not really needed (the iGPU is enough), but Photoshop and Lightroom might be able to use it for GPU acceleration and AI stuff.
Fans: 3× bottom intake, back exhaust, back top exhaust.
PCPartPicker Part List
ProZapz@reddit
Macbook.
Jgsteven14@reddit
Personally I would hate doing this on a laptop. For any kind of graphic work I prefer a large desktop monitor…
If you want a Mac one of the small ones with the large expensive Apple display would be a nice solution.
littleemp@reddit
You can just get a Mac Mini and use any monitor that you want.
Jgsteven14@reddit
Yes, but a monitor with bad color representation won’t be good for photo editing. Mac mini is fine if they want a Mac, but my point is they should get a low end computer and nice big display with good colors.
ProZapz@reddit
Yeah i guess so but if someone is a photographer i'd assume they work more often on the go. Besides you can still use a macbook perfectly as a pc once its plugged in.
Overall-Tailor8949@reddit
Save some green and go with an Intel B580 GPU, especially since gaming isn't a (major) factor. An NVIDIA 50xx series card is WAY overkill for a system designed primarily for still image manipulation.
Here is an option that admittedly breaks your budget a little bit but I THINK would work better for your wife. The Ultra 7 270K Plus is a little cheaper than the 265K and has more cores for multitasking. I went with 64GB of memory because EVERYTHING from Adobe is a memory hog. I also went with a Gen5 1TB drive instead of a Gen4 since the price difference isn't obscene.
Something you could TRY is using the iGPU from either the 265K or 270K+ before dropping the $$$ on a dedicated GPU. That might give her enough performance to do her work, if it does that will drop the price below your existing budget.
littleemp@reddit
Just get her a Mac Mini.
Jgsteven14@reddit
You can edit photos on n an integrated GPU without issues. My recommendations would be:
For memory speed anything should be fine. You would probably be fine with 16gb, but 32gb be very comfortable. Video card really matters very little and would be the last thing on my list.
Of your $2k I would spend probably half that on a really nice monitor, and then the rest on a midrange PC.
No-Succotash-9576@reddit
is DLSS really needed for photo editing? it's more for gaming