Guidance for Photo Editing PC - Now Ordered

[Bigfoot]

I am looking for a replacement for my aging PCS built Intel + 2x HDD desktop for photo editing. I will be mainly using Lightroom with some Photoshop at the same time and some Topaz AI plug-ins that are meant to make use of the GPU or Intel OpenVino. I have no idea what is now the optimum CPU, GPU, motherboard or case. My current HDDs are 750GB and 2TB (about 1/3 full). I would favour SSD / NVME for storage, but could add in my existing drives if they will fit. I am looking for a replacement that is fast and quiet and runs cool. I have an old Dell Ultrasharp IPS monitor that I will keep as a backup, but am looking to pair the PC with a yet to be purchased BenQ SW270C (QHD 27”) or SW321C (4K 32”, expensive). My budget is around £2k or so, but I am willing to push it a bit to get a good mix between performances during value. I am also happy to go lower in price if I don’t need to spend as much - which might push me to the more expensive monitor. Both monitors are 60 Hz and have USB-C connectivity.

Are there any experts here who could point me in the right direction to start and I will then configure a build for critique? Also, are there any new components on the horizon I should wait for, as I am not desperate to upgrade immediately if there is some good reason to delay?

 

[Bigfoot]

Thanks for the input. I probably will wait to see what the new GPUs bring. I really am unsure how much power I will need from a GPU. I know that LR and PS don’t use them for many things at the moment. Topaz AI plug-ins will use the GPU, but it is not really clear whether a powerful one is needed. Both monitors on my list are 10 bit, so that may make a difference. I won’t be gaming, so would be using the Studio drivers from NVidia.

i would probably want more storage.i can’t remember how old my current PC and HDDs are, but it must be 8 - 10 years. I was thinking at least 1x NVME and possibly a 2TB SSD or NVME with the possibility of installing my old drives for archive files, if they will fit. Is it worth getting a Samsung or Firecuda NVME instead of the PCS version, which seems to be much slower, albeit much faster than my current drives?

The processor and RAM are what I was considering. Looking at benchmarks online it appears that LR prefers one brand and PS the other, but from reading the forum it appears that AMD is the way to go for many reasons. I have no idea at all about cases, so would go with your recommendation. I believe I have seen this case recommended quite a lot on this forum.

I told my wife I would be spending about £3k including the monitor, but it could push up to £3.5k+ with the 32” screen. I am sure that I will get away with it.

 

[ubuysa]

Write speed isn't critical on any drive - because no process is ever waiting for a write to complete. Reads are a whole different kettle of fish, a process is always (or almost always) waiting for a read to complete, so read speeds are critical, write speeds less so.

 

[Bigfoot]

I think I have most components settled from the advice given so far. I will wait for the new GPUs and then reassess. I don’t really know how powerful a GPU I would need. Most of the work would be in Lightroom with less in Photoshop or Topaz AI plug ins. Would the GPU have more effect on speed than the NVME drives? Is Firecuda the best option for these?

 

[Scott]

For photo editing the GPU isn't really that important. It's nice to have a reasonable one in there for hardware acceleration on multiple layers etc, but the likes of the 2060 has you more than covered there. It's when you get in for rendering video or 3D objects that the Cuda cores come into their own. Again, the 2060 is a great starting point for this sort of work, with the 2070S smashing almost all requirements.

After this you're into full on 3D/4D rendering with Octane and the likes before wanting as much VRam as you can get.

£2k allows for a VERY nice system indeed. Spending a little more allows for a high end rig with your storage requirements also....

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT 12 Core CPU (4.7GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA 120 2.5" SSD, (up to 560MB/sR | 540MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 16 to 18 working days
Price: £2,261.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/rPbCWxDQst/

 

[Bigfoot]

Will the extra cores of the 3900XT be of much benefit for my application? My understanding was that much above 6 cores for PS makes little difference. I am also interested to understand what the ROG Strix version of the motherboard does over the TUF version. I have been to the ASUS website, but this doesn’t really help me from a practical point of view.

For the drives, would I benefit from 2 smaller NVMEs, using one as a scratch drive, or does that not really matter for such fast drives? I was considering a 500GB plus a 2TB both as NVME, but is this over the top and is 1 NVME plus 1 SSD plenty? I am coming from a system with 2 HDDs, so don’t really have a feel for what the performance even difference might be.

Finally, is it worth me thinking of adding my old HDDs on top of the SSDs? This may make transfer of files between the 2 PCs easier, but they are both pretty old now.

 

[Scott]

I built the best I could imagine for your money. If the budget is changing then we can adjust the spec to suit. The storage was per your initial choices as I presumed you knew what you were after. A scratch drive is always handy but not so much for mid-level photoshop. More for video editing or more extreme use PS with multi-layers, effects, etc.

The cores don't matter so much, but the frequency does. The cores come into their own for other softwares and application. If I was building a system for myself I would be between the 3900XT and the 3950X personally, as I'm an avid hobbyist and like to dabble with most things. Either CPU leaves no stone unturned.

 

[Bigfoot]

I was just wondering whether having a 2TB NVME as my second drive rather than a standard SSD would have a bigger effect than the upgraded motherboard and the 3800XT or even to keep with the SSD, TUF motherboard and SSD giving me a little bit more for the more expensive monitor. The 32” 4K monitor is £1575, while the 27” 2K monitor is £685. If I go for the cheaper monitor, I can max the PC and be within my original £3K. With the more expensive one, I would be pushing towards £4K. Perhaps I should look at 2 different PC specs - one at up to £2.5K and one at max £2K to see what the difference in performance might be?

 

[Scott]

I tend to consider the importance of each item and how easy they are to replace.

The spec should never be compromised for storage, never ever. Storage is always the easiest thing to upgrade/replace/etc. To swap out a perfectly fine SSD for NVME at the cost of a processor would be madness so I simply wouldn't consider it. As much as NVME would be faster than the SSD I don't think you have any real world usage that would make a benefit from such storage. NVME as a storage drive is very much a luxury and normally only considered for the most lavish of builds. I have NVME for my gaming storage so that I get decent load times on my games, it's more a convenience though thanks to the small form factor and the fact there was little difference in price. You could consider foregoing the SSD drive and opting for the likes of the SX8200 drive from Amazon or the likes. There would be less of a price difference and the performance is blistering. Definitely not at the cost of any of the main parts of the build though.

The monitor aspect is a bit different. Monitors tend to be a long-term spend. From this angle it would be entirely up to you but I would suggest caution with lowering the motherboard. The X570 ROG allows you to consider a future upgrade to one of the beastly chips without any concern over the spec of the board allowing for it. If you with the X570 and 3800XT you could, at any point, upgrade to either the 3900XT or the 3950X without any worries at all. Everything else is in place to cater for this need. With a lesser motherboard I would be more cautious about what I put in there expecting to run at optimum.

I don't know that there will be any benefit of 4k over 1440p for your uses to be honest. 4k is an awful lot of pixels to cram into 32" but it does add that extra screen space that can be handy with photo editing. Is it worth a grand though? For me it wouldn't be, but you definitely need to consider your requirements and your timelines. What about buying an all out PC this year, with a decent 1440p monitor....... and looking to next year to buying the ultimate 4k monitor..... when prices will likely have shifted in your favour.

 

[Bigfoot]

Thanks for the detailed explanation Scott. It has been a long time since I bought a PC and Intel was the only game in town back then. I can stretch my budget to get a well balanced performance PC. I think that I will spec the PC and then worry about the monitor. Whichever monitor I get, it won’t be cheap to get the colour gamut and consistency I am looking for.

i could transfer the Windows licence from my old PC to the new one, it I need to transfer my files from the old HDDs - probably about 700 GB or so. My external backup drive has failed, but I have an online backup as well. It will just take ages to download. Could I install one or both of the old HDDs in the new PC and transfer the files to the new SSDs that way, or is that madness?

I assume that the OS and all programs would go on the NVME. Would I then put my Lightroom catalogue and photos on the second drive (SSD for speed?)? Would scratch files then be best on the main NVME or would a small 2nd NVME be best for this?

 

[Scott]

You can transfer the drives straight across no problem. It'll make life a lot easier that's for sure. You don't need to copy the Windows installation over or anything like that, in fact it wouldn't work. You just need to register a Microsoft account and link your current Windows license to it. Once you have received your new PC you can deactivate your old system and use the license to activate your new build. Regardless, I would recommend fully re-installing Windows from scratch. That's just belt and braces.

Download Windows 10 media creation tool
Install on USB
Download Chipset drivers for your new build and copy onto the USB as well
After testing the system and being sure you are happy, use the USB to install Windows
Install the chipset drivers
Download and install the Nvidia drivers for your GPU
Run Windows update until there are no updates left (multiple restarts may be required)

I wouldn't copy what you don't need onto any SSD. Keep slow access files on the older drives. Fast access on the SSD and main programs & installs on the primary. If you are used to a cache drive it would be a nice addition. I would go for a 250GB samsung M2 drive personally but it depends on budget.

 

[Bigfoot]

With the impending release of new CPUs and GPUs I am reviving this thread. Any comments welcome. I have an old Dell IPS monitor that will become a backup 2nd monitor and will be buying a Benq monitor, either SW270C (27 inch QHD) or SW 321 (32 inch 4K). Main use will be photo editing using LR, PS and Topaz Labs, which can be GPU intensive. My budget is flexible around £2,000 - £2,500. I want good cooling and a reasonably quiet PC.


Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT 12 Core CPU (4.7GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4) replace with 5900X?
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready! replace with one of the new GPUs - 3060, 3070 or wait for new AMD GPU?
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE would I gain from storing my LR catalogues and photos on a SSD rather than HDD
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
250GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6400MB/R, 2700MB/W) scratch drive
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Price: £2,226.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/KD4y!NUHg6/

 

[Scott]

Build looks excellent. 5900X is a fantastic chip, should slot in nicely with your uses.

3060Ti should be the aim I imagine but it would be good to hold off and see what AMD bring. The 3070 is the choice for now but it's quite expensive for these uses.

SSD for a storage drive is a luxury, it's totally down to yourself. Photos do tend to see a nice benefit from being on an SSD though.

 

[Bigfoot]

If the build looks excellent @Scott it is because it is pretty much the same as an earlier spec recommended by you.

 

[Bigfoot]

With the holidays out of the way, I am ready to order. The spec I am thinking of is below. My current aged PC has an i7-2600 @3.4 GHz, GTX 560Ti and 8GB of RAM, with 750GB and 2TB HDDs, so I am expecting a performance improvement.

My budget is about £2500 and I will be buying a specialist photography monitor, either a BenQ SW270C (27 inch 1440p) or a BenQ SW321C (32 inch 4k). I will keep my old Dell U2211H as a second monitor.

Do I need to make any changes to this build? Where does it fall short or where am I wasting money?

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12 Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.8GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
2TB Samsung 870 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW). I might go for a larger drive (HDD or SSD) - I currently have about 1.2TB free on a 2TB slow HDD
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
250GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6400MB/R, 2700MB/W) Scratch drive
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 17 to 19 working days
Price: £2,408.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/xK4KzXFpDY/

 

[Scott]

Looks first class to me. The drive you have selected with the note would work well I think. You could keep your current 2TB drive as an additional, lesser speed critical storage. That would give you 4TB all in which should be fine.

The setup would work well with either monitor for production but if gaming is a consideration, I think the 1440p monitor is the most sensible. 4k is great for productivity but tends to be OTT at 32" when scaling tends to still be required.

 

[Bigfoot]

The ’Optimum’ spec for the Topaz AI software is 32MB RAM, Ryzen 7 or above and 8 GB VRAM. I will probably use this as plug-ins to LR and PS. So, could an increase to the 3070 or more RAM be beneficial?

On the forums for the product it was said that what it does can be considered to be similar to rendering.

 

[Bigfoot]

Neither monitor would be particularly suited to gaming, as they are both 60 Hz. I don’t currently play games on my PC. I would probably choose a different monitor if I did.

 

[Scott]

The ’Optimum’ spec for the Topaz AI software is 32MB RAM, Ryzen 7 or above and 8 GB VRAM. I will probably use this as plug-ins to LR and PS. So, could an increase to the 3070 or more RAM be beneficial?

On the forums for the product it was said that what it does can be considered to be similar to rendering.

It's going to "do" more, but the 3060Ti is a beast in it's own right. It's like choosing between a Supercar & a Veyron..... they're both going to get you where you're going far quicker than a Mondeo. For the Veyron to make sense though you would need to be one helluva driver

 

[Bigfoot]

I have a couple of final questions.

1. Is it worth me going for 3600 MHz RAM? Will this improve speed? I have read that there are some problems with stability at this higher speed, so it may not be worth the step up.
2. The Benq photography monitors I am considering have USB-C connectivity. Is there any benefit to connecting this way, or is only for laptops? I have copied the relevant section of the monitor spec below

Connectivity

HDMI (v2.0)x2
DisplayPort (v1.4)
USB 3.1 Hub
USB Downstream x 2
USB Upstream x 1
USB Type-C (PD60W, DP Alt mode, Data)