Desktop specs for photo editing

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Lizard1977

2060 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#317891 24-Nov-2024 16:28

It's been a while since I shopped for PC hardware, and yet I still have friends asking me for advice about what hardware to get.

My friend has a PC that they built about 8 years ago which won't run Windows 11, so they are looking to rebuild. They are also planning to do some photo editing on very large files using Lightroom. They may get into more intensive editing tasks over the coming years, so they also want some headroom in the capabilities of this build.

What would you recommend for the MB/CPU/RAM/GPU/PSU base build. They are going to re-use their existing SATA3 SSD and move to a faster M.2 option when they can afford it, but if there is a good value M.2 drive you think should be included, please suggest one.

Qazzy03

478 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3312453 24-Nov-2024 16:38

Min & max budget is pretty important, as well as if someone is doing a DIY build or a pre-built.

Lizard1977

2060 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#3312454 24-Nov-2024 16:43

Sorry. Max budget is about $1500. Just need the parts as they are capable of doing the build themselves.

Qazzy03

478 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3312455 24-Nov-2024 16:56

Puget has a pretty good breakdown of specs for lightroom.

If I get time I will see if I can put together a part list based on that or someone else here might be able to help too.

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

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/adobe-creative-cloud-performance-intel-6th-gen-to-13th-gen/#Adobe_Lightroom_Classic

As lightroom is a production task, intel will be the bang for buck, which might be cheaper as no one wants intel atm

Qazzy03

478 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3312475 24-Nov-2024 20:18

Alright, $1500 isn't much to play with.

If your friend has a GPU / PSU to bring with them that could free up some cash to go to the new generation intel & ddr5.

However here is the best I can do

https://nz.pcpartpicker.com/list/T4pqkf

Note 13th & 14th gen had microcode issues and CPU's started to fail, intel say these have been resolved as the BIOS is updated then should be alright.

I was going to go with a i7 12700 but the i5 14600 outperforms in Lightroom.

Also before that one person says DDR4 is a dead platform etc... i am trying to keep under $1500 and include a GPU, anyone else is welcome to provide a part list.