Question Recommendation for a photographer's PC

[Mitsos77]

I have had my PC for a long time (circa 2011) that I built myself (i7 - 4770, 16gb ram, 4 hard drives, Nvidia 1070) that I am using it for daily work as well as Adobe Lightroom.
I have noticed its been slowing down so looking to upgrade or build new. Can you guys recommend me a build in the $1200 area?
My case is a Define R4 case and I have fanless Seasonic power supply platinum I could repurpose. I am not sure whether new motherboards still fit in old cases though.
I also have some regular SSDs 1-2tbs that I could repurpose but not sure if there is a faster more modern hard drive protocol that would require me to buy a new tech hard drive.

 

[Eximo]

Nothing wrong with a Define R4. And Seasonic PSUs do tend to last a good while.

Now you could keep the GTX 1070 if it is meeting your needs. But I put an RTX 3060 12GB in there for some extra GPU acceleration, similar power usage as well.

3584 Cuda cores compared to the 1920 cores in the GTX 1070, plus more memory bandwidth and clock speeds.

12 Core CPU should be a vast improvement over your quad core, plus about 8 or 9 generations in performance uplift.

64GB of DDR5 6000, that should handle even the largest files in Adobe.

2TB NVMe drive for speed, you can still plug in the SATA drives.

Motherboard has at least one fast USB Type C port for any external storage solution you might want to acquire.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 4.7 GHz 12-Core Processor ($358.52 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($35.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B650 PRO RS ATX AM5 Motherboard ($156.47 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Flare X5 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 990 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2X 12G GeForce RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB Video Card ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $1175.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-08-08 15:32 EDT-0400

 

[Hellfire13]

Something like this...

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-14700F 2.1 GHz 20-Core Processor ($362.47 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Frost Commander 140 BLACK 95.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($53.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI PRO Z790-S WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Silicon Power Value Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($89.97 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 990 EVO 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 5.0 X2 NVME Solid State Drive ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2X 12G GeForce RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB Video Card ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1096.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-08-08 15:44 EDT-0400

 

[Mitsos77]

Thank you both. I also have a Noctua cooling fan and the whole case has 4-5 fans. Can I repurpose these as well? Are the brackets still the same?

If yes I think I will order the parts and get to it myself again. I think I am going to keep the 1070 and go with 64GB ram. Thanks!

 

[Hellfire13]

Depends on the cooler. You can check compatibility here...

Noctua Compatibility Centre

The Noctua Compatibility Centre (NCC) lets you quickly identify which Noctua CPU cooler is compatible with which CPUs, motherboards and cases. It provides comprehensive data for all Noctua heatsinks since 2005, detailing motherboard and mounting kit support, chassis fitment and processor...

ncc.noctua.at

 

[Why_Me]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *Intel Core i7-13700 2.1 GHz 16-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: *ID-COOLING FROZN A620 BLACK 78.25 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *MSI B760 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: *Silicon Power XPOWER Zenith Gaming 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Acer Predator GM7000 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($136.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: *MSI VENTUS 2X BLACK OC GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB Video Card ($429.99 @ MSI)
Total: $1236.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-08-08 18:20 EDT-0400

 

[USAFRet]

I would absolutely have 2 (or more) drives.
One for OS+applications, and one for working files with LR.

 

[Mitsos77]

Yes I have 3 hard drives on top of the OS hard drive as triple backup in case a hard drive crashes + cloud storage via amazon photos. Any feedback regarding Ryzen vs Intel? I am hearing Intel had some issues with reliability but maybe more on the i9. Any issues with Ryzen for content creators?

 

[NedSmelly]

@Mitsos77 its worth checking Puget Systems blog for system comparisons for Photoshop.
12th gen Intel is reliable, 13th and 14th gen currently under question. Ryzen 7000 will match or outperform Intel 12th gen in Photoshop.

No practical benefit with going above 8 core for photoshop, or even premiere (currently). No benefit with choosing “X3D” variants in AMD for purely non-gaming work.

Adobe neural AI filters might prefer Nvidia GPU (4060 and above perform well), but Topaz AI should be fine with either Nvidia or Radeon.

RAM amount will depend on your image resolutions, bit depth, and how many layers you work with. As mentioned previously, 64GB should cover most bases.

Any issues with Ryzen for content creators?

I’ve been using a 3900X for Lightroom/Photoshop for pro/client work with no issues.

 

[Mitsos77]

Thank you! I will go to the blog. Also thank you for the insights on number of cores and X3D variants. I have known for a while that Adobe doesn't optimize for more cores. Is it worth waiting for the new gen of Ryzen processors? I am not really in a hurry and I could build it later this summer/fall.
I don't really use Photoshop these days. Just Lightroom and maybe some small video stuff.

 

[NedSmelly]

Hardware Recommendations

Our workstations for Adobe Lightroom Classic are tested and optimized to give you the best performance and reliability. View our hardware recommendations.

www.pugetsystems.com

Might be worth waiting a few weeks or months to see how Ryzen 9000 pans out. Early reviews are inconsistent.