PC upgrade – please advise

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ada101

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#312176 23-Mar-2024 20:55

My current PC is Gigabyte Z97 hd3 and i5 processor (purchased 2013) using windows 10 - I plan to use existing Fractal Design PC case and 480GB SSD
I have a budget of $1500(flexible) I need advise what Mother board / processor to choose ? My main use of PC is for Internet browsing/downloads , some very basic photo & video editing (4k images) using photoshop elements and Premiere Elements
Currently looking at Gigabyte Z790 AORUS MASTER X and intel processor (which one to choose? )
Do I need a graphics card for 4k images?
How much memory would you recommend for video editing?

I am after value for money rather than fastest PC

Thanks in advance

mentalinc

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#3209980 23-Mar-2024 21:53

Wow that motherboard is way more than you need for your use case!

Rough indication of what parts to use either AMD or Intel at several price points, so mix and match

https://pyronic.al/

You might want to consider 32GB RAM if you do 4K video editing.

Look out for easter sales from PBtech, computer lounge etc

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Jase2985

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#3209999 24-Mar-2024 07:33

do you need a video card in that budget?

Qazzy03

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#3210006 24-Mar-2024 08:40

As other have said, the motherboard you have your eye on is over the top for your requirements.

Pudget has a pretty good recommendation for requirements for software you will be using.

https://www.pugetsystems.com/solutions/photo-editing-workstations/adobe-photoshop/hardware-recommendations/

RAM will depend on file size your editting.

16gb for document less than 500mb
32gb for document less than 1GB
64gb for document more than 1GB

You probably want a GPU NVIDIA GeForce or AMD Radeon with at least 4GB+ VRAM and can run DirectX 12, if you have one already you can re-use it to cut costs.

Windows licence will cost depending on if you grey market or not

I would think about upgrading your SSD or adding an HDD if you are keeping a lot of 4k files as they can be pretty large.

CPU / Motherboard, honestly will depend on bang for buck and if there are any easter sales.
Unsure benchmarks for photoshop and CPU's.

Adobe has hardware requirements page too

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/system-requirements.html

eonsim

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#3210011 24-Mar-2024 08:55

Agree with the others the motherboard you are looking at is massive overkill. If you aren't into extreme overclock (which doesn't sound like your use case at all) then look at about $400 for the MB.

I'd personally recommend something like this on the AMD side if you don't want a GPU for gaming:

AMD 8600G (has a reasonable built in APU enough for editing) - $440
Gigabyte B650M GAMING X AX mATX - $370
G.SKILL Flare X5 32GB DDR5 Desktop RAM Kit - $220
TeamGroup MP44L 2TB M.2 Gen4X4 Internal SSD - $205 (a 2TB NVMe makes a massive difference for video)
You may need a new power supply 550W - $100
https://nz.pcpartpicker.com/list/pdWvFs

Actually if you wanted better performance you could upgrade to a AMD Ryzen 7 8700G CPU, which would be a decent bit faster for both CPU and GPU and still hit the $1500 price point.

https://nz.pcpartpicker.com/list/w8B6VW

If want GPU and AMD switch to:

AMD Ryzen 7600 - $389
AMD Radeon 6600 8 GB - $400
https://nz.pcpartpicker.com/list/ZrsQn6

If Intel:

13400F or 14400F (10Core) - $360-400 or pay an extra ~$40 to get the non-F models with graphics built in
A B760 based intel motherboard with DDR5 - ~$300
AMD Radeon 6600 8 GB - $400
DDR5 6000MT 32GB RAM kit (2x16GB) - $220
650W Powersupply
https://nz.pcpartpicker.com/list/Y6FLxH

The AMD systems are likely to be faster than the intel for most use cases and use less power. The cheaper intel CPUs don't have graphics built in, if you step up to the ones with Graphics it's not really that useful for anything more than playing videos or browsing the web. Need a proper GPU for decent video or photo editing. The AMD GPU's built into the 8000 series are suitable for light gaming, and video editing.

If NVIDIA is preferred for video editing RTX 3050 6GB is about the same price as the AMD Radeon 6600 but noticeably slower in every other way.

gbwelly

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#3210062 24-Mar-2024 09:19

ada101:

video editing (4k images)

I'd suggest looking at what hardware encoding your video editing suite supports, it may influence your choice. Most I have used support Nvenc (Nvidia) and QuickSync (Intel).

Lias

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#3210357 24-Mar-2024 20:35

gbwelly:

I'd suggest looking at what hardware encoding your video editing suite supports, it may influence your choice. Most I have used support Nvenc (Nvidia) and QuickSync (Intel).

He mentioned Premiere Elements, which while the new version "supports all GPU's" has traditionally heavily skewed towards favouring NVIDIA so I'd say NVIDIA is a no brainer.

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ada101

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#3210459 25-Mar-2024 09:59

Many Thanks to all the helpful suggestions. I will check for any End of Financial Year sales.

Earbanean

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#3210466 25-Mar-2024 10:26

eonsim:

If Intel:

13400F or 14400F (10Core) - $360-400 or pay an extra ~$40 to get the non-F models with graphics built in
A B760 based intel motherboard with DDR5 - ~$300
AMD Radeon 6600 8 GB - $400
DDR5 6000MT 32GB RAM kit (2x16GB) - $220
650W Powersupply
https://nz.pcpartpicker.com/list/Y6FLxH

Amzon.com.au have Corsair 2x16Gb DDR5 6400 MHz CL32 on special for $198 (NZD) with free shipping to NZ. Seems like a good deal to me.

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0BPL9VYPW/?coliid=IPHYDJL2EUSXV&colid=YYPU1QD2SABL&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1