Question New Photo Mid-Range Editing build

[csebasti]

I'm looking for some feedback on a new build to be used mainly for photo editing (Lightroom and Photoshop).

Approximate Purchase Date: Soon, looking for black Friday deals

Budget Range: Something around $1,000 is what I was thinking, but looking like maybe getting closer to $1,500.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Lightroom and Photoshop with AI denoise and masking. Possibly some occasional video editing, but likely minimal. Other than that web browsing and MS office apps. No gaming.

Are you buying a monitor: Likely, but haven't even begun to research.



Parts to Upgrade: Everything. New build. Maybe reuse existing case, but it's 11 years old and not sure if that is ok.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes
Please note that if you're using an OEM license of Windows, you will need a new one when buying a new motherboard.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon, others that you might recommend. Unfortunately no microcenter nearby

Location: Seattle, WA

Parts Preferences: No real preferences, other than stick with well known reputable brands. I'd rather pay for quality than cheap out and have a part go bad.

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: Not sure what these are

Your Monitor Resolution: Currently 2 at 1920x1080. Will definitely upgrade, but not sure what yet. It won't be anything crazy.

Additional Comments: Not interested in windows in the case or RGB lights. Just looking for good value, quality parts. My currant PC was my first build. Put together 11 years ago, still running all the original parts. So I'm not one to upgrade often, though admittedly this one has been in use a bit too long.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: This thing is old, running on an i7-3770k, just a few generations old now.... It's slowed down and needs restarting frequently to be able to run smoothly. Lightroom and photoshop are slow, especially AI features.


I don't have an Intel or AMD preference necessarily, but more familiar with intel. I was thinking something like this:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-13700K 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor ($364.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z790 AORUS ELITE AX ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory ($88.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($64.83 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2X 12G GeForce RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB Video Card ($289.24 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS GX 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.72 @ Amazon)
Total: $1240.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-11-16 03:38 EST-0500


For a slightly lower power consumption option using AMD, maybe something like this:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7700 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($305.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX ATX AM5 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($64.83 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2X 12G GeForce RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB Video Card ($289.24 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650 GT 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1137.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-11-16 03:40 EST-0500

 

[Lutfij]

Both builds look fine though;
Parts to Upgrade: Everything. New build. Maybe reuse existing case, but it's 11 years old and not sure if that is ok.
What is the make and model of your case?
+ You should definitely add one or two SSD's into the build. I'd a smaller SSD for the OS/app/launchers and have that as the scratch disk. If you work with large resolution imagery, then grabbing a larger SSD as a scratch disk would be a good idea. The HDD can be there for storing all your final productions.

 

[csebasti]

My case is an Antec 300.

I've played around with the build a bit and settled on the Intel version and 2 NVME drives, no mechanical drive. Here is my latest thinking.

Although I'm a little concerned about the motherboard after reading multiple comments about coil whine. Other than that, it does get good reviews though. But maybe there's a better motherboard option.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-13700K 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor ($345.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($33.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z790 AORUS ELITE AX ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($82.35 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($112.93 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2X 12G GeForce RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB Video Card ($269.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS GX 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1284.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-11-20 13:03 EST-0500