Need help building a photo editing pc

[bwiggsjr]

My wife is starting a photography business. And we are in need of a computer for her photo editing. We currently have an older i3 laptop that is just on its last days. So I am going to surprise her and build her a pc. So when I think of budget the first thing that comes to mind is AMD but I dont know if that would be the best thing for her. The budget is around 500 for building the pc.

Thanks in advance.

 

[USAFRet]

CPU - Minimum current Intel i5
RAM - Minimum 16GB
Hard drives - Minimum 250GB SSD for the OS and applications - $80. Add another SSD 250-500GB for actual photo work - $80-$150. Add a 2TB HDD for backups - $80
Monitor - Starting at $150
Current Windows OS - ~$100

$500 is starting to look rather slim.

 

[jmsellars1]

Yeah $500 is a tough budget for this, whatever you get isn't going to be dramatically better than the laptop.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 845 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus A68HM-K Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Stealth 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.99 @ Jet)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 250 2GB Video Card ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($42.89 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell S2316M 23.0" 60Hz Monitor ($99.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $434.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-26 16:05 EST-0500

Something like that would be decent but barely leaves enough left for an OS and is a bit low on storage.

 

[bwiggsjr]

Do you think I would need a video card? Or no since it is for photo editing?

 

[bwiggsjr]

CPU - Minimum current Intel i5
RAM - Minimum 16GB
Hard drives - Minimum 250GB SSD for the OS and applications - $80. Add another SSD 250-500GB for actual photo work - $80-$150. Add a 2TB HDD for backups - $80
Monitor - Starting at $150
Current Windows OS - ~$100

$500 is starting to look rather slim.

What are your thoughts on this?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($190.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI B150M MORTAR Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($75.28 @ Jet)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($44.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $548.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-27 00:12 EST-0500

 

[USAFRet]

What are your thoughts on this?

That particular SSD is on my Not Recommended list. It has a bad history.
Something like this, instead.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820156150
Crucial MX300, 275GB, currently $80.

We're missing a GPU.
What specific applications will be used? Some really benefit from a dedicated GPU, instead of the integrated graphics on the CPU.

And then add a monitor and OS.
So now we're significantly over the $500 budget for a total system/laptop replacement.

 

[bwiggsjr]

What are your thoughts on this?

That particular SSD is on my Not Recommended list. It has a bad history.
Something like this, instead.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820156150
Crucial MX300, 275GB, currently $80.

We're missing a GPU.
What specific applications will be used? Some really benefit from a dedicated GPU, instead of the integrated graphics on the CPU.

And then add a monitor and OS.
So now we're significantly over the $500 budget for a total system/laptop replacement.

She will be using Photoshop and lightroom. And I have a monitor, keyboard, mouse and OS already.

 

[USAFRet]

OK.

It will 'work' with the integrated graphics in the CPU.
But before long, you really want a dedicated GPU. Perhaps a GTX 1050, like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814137056
Photoshop will run better on that than the integrated.

And swap the SSD for that Crucial I recommended. 120GB is rather slim.

 

[jmsellars1]

Yeah I'd get at least a basic GPU (I put one in that AMD system because it doesn't have onboard graphics anyway).

So do you need a monitor/mouse/keyboard/OS in budget?

 

[bwiggsjr]

Yeah I'd get at least a basic GPU (I put one in that AMD system because it doesn't have onboard graphics anyway).

So do you need a monitor/mouse/keyboard/OS in budget?

No I dont not need those in the budget. I already have them.

 

[bwiggsjr]

Yeah I'd get at least a basic GPU (I put one in that AMD system because it doesn't have onboard graphics anyway).

So do you need a monitor/mouse/keyboard/OS in budget?

What are your thoughts on this? Any ideas for either making it better or cheaper?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 970M PRO3 Micro ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($38.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($76.29 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 460 4GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card ($95.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Apevia X-QPACK3-BL MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $577.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-27 10:04 EST-0500

 

[USAFRet]

Yeah I'd get at least a basic GPU (I put one in that AMD system because it doesn't have onboard graphics anyway).

So do you need a monitor/mouse/keyboard/OS in budget?

What are your thoughts on this? Any ideas for either making it better or cheaper?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 970M PRO3 Micro ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($38.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($76.29 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 460 4GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card ($95.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Apevia X-QPACK3-BL MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $577.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-27 10:04 EST-0500

I'd go with an Intel solution instead of that AMD. i5 something, and relevant motherboard.
The current AMD line is at the end of its lifespan. Basically 5 year old technology.
And the current i5's beat the snot out of whatever AMD you could get.

 

[bwiggsjr]

Yeah I'd get at least a basic GPU (I put one in that AMD system because it doesn't have onboard graphics anyway).

So do you need a monitor/mouse/keyboard/OS in budget?

What are your thoughts on this? Any ideas for either making it better or cheaper?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 970M PRO3 Micro ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($38.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($76.29 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 460 4GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card ($95.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Apevia X-QPACK3-BL MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $577.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-27 10:04 EST-0500

I'd go with an Intel solution instead of that AMD. i5 something, and relevant motherboard.
The current AMD line is at the end of its lifespan. Basically 5 year old technology.
And the current i5's beat the snot out of whatever AMD you could get.

So the Intel build I posted, you think would be best right now? And once I can get a GPU for it later?

 

[USAFRet]

So the Intel build I posted, you think would be best right now? And once I can get a GPU for it later?

Yes. The previous Intel build, with a swap of the SSD to the Crucial MX300.

 

[bwiggsjr]

So the Intel build I posted, you think would be best right now? And once I can get a GPU for it later?

Yes. The previous Intel build, with a swap of the SSD to the Crucial MX300.

Any other suggestions?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($190.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI B150M MORTAR Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($65.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($76.29 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $566.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-27 11:46 EST-0500

 

[USAFRet]

Looks good to me.

IMHO, any further changes would be just nitpicking, for no real performance gain.
Later, add in a GPU.

 

[jmsellars1]

The AMD FX series are pretty poor, as mentioned before they are 5 years old now. The x4 845 / 860K's are decent for the money but even an i3 is better.

Looks great though, few minor changes here would bring the price down a bit but the performance is the same. Like USAFRet said it is basically nitpicking:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($190.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H110M PRO-VD PLUS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($64.60 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($42.89 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer ($13.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $492.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-27 14:22 EST-0500