Photographers: It's been asked before but needs updating

[D01]

Hi folks from a newbie

Photographers Windows based PC Build Advice

I've searched the forum prior to posting & recognise that my quest is common over the years but recent evolutions in specs and components render some previous advice out of date. Please, from a non-technically savvy guy, might I ask for your generosity in helping me specify a good desktop for full Photoshop & Lightroom use.

I have saved some hard earned money for this purchase but cannot by any means spend more than c £1800 on the desktop machine itself. If I can meet my required needs (and a degree of future update ability), for less, then great. This thread is just about the desktop machine. Monitors, tablets, keyboard etc can be ignored at this stage.

So what is my use?
1) Primarily Lightroom & Photoshop editing and file archiving for a semi-pro stills photographer. The PC will be built around this need.
2) I will need to have a machine that supports dual monitors
3) This PC will be need to connect to my home Superfast Broadband by wifi
4) Separate to this purchase, I need to re-visit my archive and storage solutions but this desktop will need to have some bulk file storage as well as a faster (SSD+) working disk.

Please might I seek the wisdom of those with much more knowledge than me? I'm a photographer not a PC specialist so I won't understand too much jargon I fear but if you might spare a moment to suggest a specification taht offers good performance/future=proof/value combination, I'd be very grateful indeed.

Thank you so much
Best regards
David

 

[ubuysa]

Hello and welcome! [emoji3]

What you're asking for is certainly doable in that budget, and quite probably significantly cheaper. I'm not the hardware expert on here by any means so I'll wait for those who have their fingers on the hardware pulse to respond (which they will).

[emoji3]

 

[D01]

Sincere thanks to both UBUYSA for his encouraging remarks and to STREARMAN65 for his useful and considerable contribution.
The difference for me I guess is that just now, I have no video needs and I understand (please correct if I'm wrong), that I therefore don't need a fancy graphics card and that expenditure on it won't give me enhanced Photoshop (still photography) performance.
I am excluding monitors from this ask entirely. I have a separate solution there and separate budget. However whatever PC I end up with will need to drive dual monitors.

So to clarify my original post: I seek a case based PC to run Photoshop & Lightroom for still (only) photography using (seperatly supplied) dual monitors. My maximum spend is £1800

Thanks all
Best
D

 

[D01]

Folks, might I have your thoughts on the following spec. I'm interested in your views as to which elements are unnecessary or what I have missed that I should consider? Thank you so much......

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R6 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-9800X (3.8GHz) 16.5MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME X299-A: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s, RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE 710 - DVI, HDMI, VGA
1st Storage Drive
960GB ADATA SU650 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H60 2018 Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy Rx
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine 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® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)


Thanks for your time and thoughts.

 

[Scott]

I would use this as a placeholder for now. If you need to purchase in the next few weeks then this is what I would go with. However, if you can hold off until July there are new Zen2 CPUs being released that will absolutely smash all of your requirements.

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-pc/tQfah2T5ZW/​

 

[D01]

I would use this as a placeholder for now. If you need to purchase in the next few weeks then this is what I would go with. However, if you can hold off until July there are new Zen2 CPUs being released that will absolutely smash all of your requirements.

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-pc/tQfah2T5ZW/

Thanks The Scotster I very much appreciate your thoughts and advice. I could hold off to July at a push but I'd be keen to get a solution before then unless the difference is vast and affordable. Therefore my (ignorant ..I really don't know this subject at all), questions are:

Will the upgrade due July be affordable within my budget? ...and offer real world very enhanced performance?
Will it force me to upgrade other components and thereby exceed my budget?
Does my presently configured option meet my needs of use and can it drive dual monitors?

Thank you Sir. D

 

[Scott]

Thanks The Scotster I very much appreciate your thoughts and advice. I could hold off to July at a push but I'd be keen to get a solution before then unless the difference is vast and affordable. Therefore my (ignorant ..I really don't know this subject at all), questions are:

Will the upgrade due July be affordable within my budget? ...and offer real world very enhanced performance?
Will it force me to upgrade other components and thereby exceed my budget?
Does my presently configured option meet my needs of use and can it drive dual monitors?

Thank you Sir. D

The upgrade would be within your budget. The new processors are very affordable. Going by current prices the next generation will be around £80 more. There will be considerable real world performance gains for your uses. 15-30% increase in performance. More performance per watt and more performance per £.
Other components will, for the most part, be unaffected. You can basically drop the new chip into that build as is. It's probably worthwhile looking at the accompanying motherboards though as they have new chipset offerings such as PCI4.0. This may not affect your use, but it's always worthwhile to have the latest.
The present config more than meets your needs, can easily handle dual monitors and will drive Photoshop and Lightroom very well.

I recommend holding off, but it is entirely up to you. If you decide not to, you can add the new CPU at a further date down the line but, for me, that's diminishing returns.

 

[D01]

The upgrade would be within your budget. The new processors are very affordable. Going by current prices the next generation will be around £80 more. There will be considerable real world performance gains for your uses. 15-30% increase in performance. More performance per watt and more performance per £.
Other components will, for the most part, be unaffected. You can basically drop the new chip into that build as is. It's probably worthwhile looking at the accompanying motherboards though as they have new chipset offerings such as PCI4.0. This may not affect your use, but it's always worthwhile to have the latest.
The present config more than meets your needs, can easily handle dual monitors and will drive Photoshop and Lightroom very well.

I recommend holding off, but it is entirely up to you. If you decide not to, you can add the new CPU at a further date down the line but, for me, that's diminishing returns.

Incredibly helpful Sir; thank you

I will hold off for the sake of two months!
Much appreciated.
D

 

[Oussebon]

My new spec is below, let me know what you think & anyone else have anything constructive to add.

Best to stick to your own topic(s) rather than piggyback someone else's for advice, as otherwise it will get very confusing as to what posts relate to.

For D01's needs I'd endorse the suggestion above to wait for Zen 2 to be available and then proceed from there