Build for Photo Editing (Lightroom & Photoshop)

[biggz]

I am looking to build a computer for my wedding photography business. My current MacBook pro has just died on me and I am looking for a replacement that will be able to last me atleast 5 + years. I am just trying to figure out if it is worth it to build a computer from scratch or just buy a new I-Mac.

Can you tell me if the following specs would suffice for my usage. Again I am probably going to use this mostly for picture editing with minimal video editing, and just general use after that (surfing the web, watching movies). I prefer to stick with intel and nVidea for my parts, unless I can save money.

i5 processor: Can you recommend the best one for the above usage. I assume an I7 would be over kill.

Graphics Card: this is where I am not sure how powerful of a graphic's card I require. Was thinking somewhere around a GTX 750?

Hard Drive: 1 TB with maybe a 120 GB SSD - Would it be beneficial to get a bigger SSD for picture processing?

Ram: 8 or 16 GB (1600 ddr3)

Motherboard: any motherboard compatible with the above would suffice

Power supply: A 650W power supply would probably suffice for the above

Monitor: This is another are I was looking for advice on. I am looking for great 27inch monitor with great colors to make editing easier.

My total budget I am looking to spend is $1000 - $1100 (excl. tax) keeping in mind that I will probably have to buy a windows 10, mouse and keyboard as well (nothing fancy).

Any guidance you can provide me would be greatly appreciated as I am just trying to get the most bang for my buck here and get a computer that will be able to last me around 5+ years and perform to meet my needs.

Best Regards!

 

[Ken g6]

Interesting timing. Intel Skylake has been announced, and it's amazing on Photoshop, but the chips don't seem to be in American retail channels yet. It looks like there might be some pre-built systems out there, however.

So, you might:
- Get this system.
- Get any 27" IPS monitor.
- Take the 750ti out - onboard graphics is plenty.
- Sell the 750ti and buy a small SSD.

 

[biggz]

Thanks for that, had no idea they released the new processors. Was thinking then to just build a cheap pc from scratch. Should have mentioned that I live in Canada.

Are you sure that the integrated graphic will suffice for my needs. I was not sure but i just wanted to be sure.

I was thinking my build would be:
i5 - 6600k - $329.99
8 GB ram (ddr4)~ $90
Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 Motherboard - $149
1TB hard drive ~$90
ATX case ~$40
Windows 10 ~124.99
600W PS ~ $75
Total ~$900

Might buy a 120 GB ssd and then a 27 inch IPS monitor for ~200

Do you guys see any problems. Thanks again for the help.

 

[Ken g6]

Do you guys see any problems.

I'd say you're not looking at the big picture here. If your RAM or disk are a bottleneck, the performance of the 6600k won't do you much good. Also, you need a keyboard, mouse, and the 6600k requires a separate CPU cooler. Finally, 27" IPS monitors are more than $200 in Canada. All this is likely to blow your budget.

Next, are you sure you want to build a system yourself? This system needs to be reliable for your business, and if you build it yourself you have to support it yourself. Are you sure you don't want to get a Dell with a support contract?

If you really do want to build your own system, I assume you don't want to wait a month. If you did you could get lower-end Skylake parts that might better fit your budget.

Assuming you still want to go ahead and do a build after all this, here's a comprehensive build for under $1,100CDN:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.50 @ shopRBC)
Motherboard: *ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($73.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: *Team Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($102.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: *Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($112.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: *Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: *Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: *Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: *LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($14.88 @ Canada Computers)
Operating System: *Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($106.98 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: *LG 27MP35HQ 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($274.65 @ Amazon Canada)
Keyboard: *Microsoft Wired Desktop 400 for Business Wired Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($13.98 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $1074.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-06 23:22 EDT-0400