Photo Editing Build Review

[pingcrowley]

Hello, I've decided to build my first PC in 10 years. Primary use will be hobbyist (serious) photography editing. I tend to buy for longevity, but don't want to break the bank. I was hoping to have some experts take a look at the config and point out any major missteps. I know there may be some AMD announcements at CES. I've had fun researching and while I don't plan to be a major overclocker, I may experiment some for fun.

Thanks in advance!

[PCPartPicker part list](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JMLVXP) / [Price breakdown by merchant](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JMLVXP/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD - Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6mm323/amd-ryzen-5-2600x-36ghz-6-core-processor-yd260xbcafbox) | $207.99 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** | [MSI - X470 GAMING PRO CARBON ATX AM4 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/svdxFT/msi-x470-gaming-pro-carbon-atx-am4-motherboard-x470-gaming-pro-carbon) | $179.99 @ Amazon
**Memory** | [Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jjZ2FT/corsair-vengeance-lpx-16gb-2-x-8gb-ddr4-3200-memory-cmk16gx4m2b3200c16w) | $129.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** | [Samsung - 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/P4ZFf7/samsung-970-evo-500gb-m2-2280-solid-state-drive-mz-v7e500bw) | $127.99 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB GAMING X 4G Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/H97CmG/msi-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-4gb-gaming-x-4g-video-card-gtx-1050-ti-gaming-x-4g) | $179.99 @ Newegg
**Case** | [Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400S TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Q9vZxr/phanteks-eclipse-p400s-tempered-glass-atx-mid-tower-case-ph-ec416pstg_bw) | $85.98 @ Newegg
**Power Supply** | [EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/MfJwrH/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr) | $79.99 @ Amazon
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| **Total** | **$991.92**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2019-01-04 21:15 EST-0500 |

 

[kiss-method]

Ryzen 2600x => r2600, save your money, x means that AMD overclocked it and you can do it yourself.

X470 motherboard? You said you don't want to break the bank... This says otherwise. A b450 motherboard for under 100$ can support this cpu very well. If you have flexibility, you should go for 2700 if you cut a few corners.

Gtx1050ti is....... A... Well whatever. Crap. RX570 will be a much better pick. But at a 180$ mark. You may as well swap that our for rx580 8gb.... Although... I'm not sure, does your program use Nvidia GPU for rendering/ system performance? You would know more about this than me since you're the one who knows more about your apps. I know some programs use only Nvidia GPU to help the task.


M2 drive is quite expensive.... You could even get a 1tb SSD for that. Would you see a difference?




In all honesty, best to wait for ryzen 3 before investing such an amount. If you want the most out of your system, especially since it seems like it'll come soon

 

[pingcrowley]

Ha, thanks for the quick reply kiss-method. Honestly, I was overwhelmed with all the choices for motherboards and I kept inching up. I liked the USB ports and the type C on the back panel. Also, was thinking if I ever upgraded processor later, the board would be compatible. Since I don't build often, I didn't want to shortchange the build and regret it in a few years. I can scale back for sure.

I mainly use Lightroom and to a lesser extent Photoshop. Lightroom doesn't use multi cores as well, but they continue to expand on it from what I have read. I went with the M2 to run OS and the Lightroom catalog. I didn't mention it in my list, but I have an existing HDD for long term photo storage. I think I read that Lightroom can use graphics acceleration, but it is somewhat limited. I got the impression I could probably skimp on the graphics card for now and re-evaluate later, but to your point I'd rather spend a little more and be happier longer.

I'll see what Ryzen 3 news comes and the timeline for release.

Thank you for the input!

 

[kiss-method]

I looked it up for you. Currently, ryzen is not a good candidate for your work. Slower export/render speeds on Lightroom.

Lightroom is working on updating to using 8 physical cores, but this program benefits from higher single thread performance, which we should see what ryzen 3 does with their new architecture.

A 1tb quality SSD for similar price of your m2 will do much better. I imagine you've got a lot of content. It'll be easier to sort through on the SSD and not worry about running out of space.

GPU utilization, Lightroom does not benefit significantly from your graphics card, but it does help "if the program decides that it will accept the help of the GPU". This being said, it's still recommended to use a decent mid tier GPU for future Lightroom updates, as they are working on GPU utilization. Currently, AMD and Nvidia cards are used in this. Photoshop uses the GPU much more effectively. So I'd stick with my suggestion of an rx580-8gb @190$ish.

Motherboard can be figured out after. New boards with the next ryzen will come with a much upgraded system, to utilize new architecture... So it's best to come back to that or ask for advice once ready to buy

 

[geofelt]

If your photo editing app is photoshop, here is an excellent article on recommended hardware for photoshop.
https://www.pugetsystems.com/recommended/Recommended-Systems-for-Adobe-Photoshop-CC-139/Hardware-Recommendations

 

[pingcrowley]

Thank you, both! I will read the article and wait a bit to see what the Ryzen 3 architecture offers. Like the motherboards--there were so many options and variations that it became overwhelming to me. The recommendation for the rx580-8gb is noted. Thanks!

 

[vwcrusher]

FWIW, I believe that Intel CPUs utilize a function that accelerates Lightroom; I don't recall what that is, but have read it somewhere. In other words Lightroom will run faster with Intel CPUs.....

 

[pingcrowley]

Thanks, Ancient. I think this comes from the fact that Lightroom is optimized for single threaded work--although I think Adobe is starting to better optimize code for multi cores. Currently, Intel chips operate at higher speeds per core, making them better for Lightroom. AMD does better with multi-threaded tasks. The problem I face is, not really knowing how much a difference there will be for me as a hobbyist photographer. AMD offers a better value and is why I was leaning that way. Thanks!

 

[geofelt]

If you want the best single thread performance, the 9th gen K processors will oc to 5.0.
Pick the number of threads you need. I5-9600K has 6, i7-9700K has 8, i9-9900K has 16.

The best oc from ryzen is currently around 4.3

From the Puget benchmark, the threadripper 32 core processor is near the bottom, indicating that core speed is more important for that app than the number of threads. The i9-9900K is at the top of the list, primarily, I think because one of the threads can turbo to 5.0.
With overclocking a K, you can get all cores to 5.0 or near to it.

I would make certain that whatever you pick will do the job you want.
If what you buy does not do the job as well as you want, it is a poor value

 

[vwcrusher]

If I may, I too am a Lightroom user, and my CPU is a 6 year old i7-3770. With over 20k images, it takes a few seconds for LR to load, but individual image processing is fast enough at least for me. If you do any multi-image processing a faster CPU is clearly indicated.

It really depends on how much faster you need to go, versus want to go. I will be upgrading CPU some time this year, and I will be watching what is announced at CES, and then read all the functional reviews that can help me determine if I want to stay with Intel or switch over to AMD......perhaps that is what you should consider.......GL.

 

[pingcrowley]

Thank you, geofelt and vwcrusher. Good advice.