Building a photography editing PC...any ideas if this is OK?

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LordJammer

Member
Hi All,

my old machine is slowing down and the RAW files I need to process get bigger and bigger, so it's time to buy something new. Spec is below, any advice or ideas welcome as to how this could be improved. Thanks in advance!

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX NR600P MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 10 Core Processor i9-10900X (3.7GHz) 19.25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® WS X299 PRO/SE: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB PCS PRO DDR4 2666MHz (1 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
512GB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
512GB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
6TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 256MB CACHE
RAID
RAID 1 (MIRRORED VOLUME - 2 x same size & model HDD / SSD)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 200 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
2 x 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORTS (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 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
Asus TPM-M R2.0
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 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
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, 3 Year Parts, 3 Year labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £2,494.00 including VAT and Delivery
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
LordJammer said:
Hi, no problem -

Intel Core i7-3770 CPU @ 3.4ghz
RAM 16gb
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti
2 x 120gb SSD drives (RAID)

Bought in 2012 from PC Specialist.
Click to expand...
Oh, yeah, definitely time for a replacement.

What's your max budget?

What software suites do you use?
 
L

LordJammer

Member
2.5k is at the top of what I'd like to spend, but it's for work and a necessity so I'm open to advice and could increase the budget slightly.
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
The system you've posted really isn't one I'd recommend. The X299 platform, along with Intel's "X" series of CPUs, is old and actually wasn't a great bet when it was new. Especially for Photoshop, you're better going with a standard consumer CPU rather than an HEDT platform, as it's (a) cheaper and (b) better performing. Moreover, Photoshop for most tasks doesn't make use of large core counts, so something like the 12700K is probably the ideal spot in the market for the work you're doing.

Based on that, here's the system I'd recommend:

CaseF
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE Excellent case, but most relevant because you can stuff it full of hard drives. Most cases are limited to 2 HDDs, but this can take >10 so you have plenty of room for expansion.
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700K (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache As above
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-A GAMING WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready Excellent strong CPU with plenty of connectivity
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB) Faster RAM is ideal
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR Good bet for Photoshop
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE Barracudas are ideal for workstation use. IronWolf drives are meant for server installations. These are the largest Barracuda drives to work at 7200RPM, which is definitely something you want
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W) V fast boot drive
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2700MB/sW) Main drive for storing current projects and work
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair iCUE H115i RGB PRO XT Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler Good cooler for the 12700K
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
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003] If you feel up to it, you could probably transfer the Windows licence from your old PC to save ~£90
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 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
Microsoft® Edge
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 5 to 7 working days
Price: £2,266.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/53cUwvr4En/
 
L

LordJammer

Member
Thank you so much, I really appreciate your advice and you giving your time up to come up with that configuration.

The tower with multiple bays is a great idea, i have a slew of external drives at the moment which take up a lot space. So the 2 storage drives, and a fast 'current work' drive + boot drive are perfect.

Thanks again!
 
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