Well I would love to return to Forum good Karma I got after I lately asked question, and fortunetly here is question that I feel knowledgable about, even more I have just built my new PC few weeks ago so I'm really in topic about what market looks now.
First Windows, Mac or Linux... It depends. I'm using Windows and Linux on my desktop and laptop. And I really think it's only about what Your habits are. I hate when I have to use Mac at work, but it's all about being acustomed to differnt shortcuts and workflow, beside this it's good machine.
As You said, You are new to this world You can not go wrong either way. Linux I find lacking in terms of easy to use software.
So my general advices are about building a Windows PC (probably Windows 10 PC)
First thing, that no one said in this thread if you either buy premade PC or build it Yourself You should check Power Supply Unit (PSU). It's Important that it is good, trusted brand and not some chinese no-name. PSU is like heart of Your PC and bad one in case of any breakdown could take all other components with it, due to lack of safeguards.
Second thing be aware of Your budget, if You are not a pro You really don't need a beast. First think about how many You are ready to spend and how often. I build my PC for really long time, like 10 years. Most people upgrade theirs every 5 years. Some 2-3 years if they are rich, or need it profesionally.
If you are ready to change Your PC each 5 years you can go mid-end enthusiast or last-gen. Spend less and check what do You really need. Maybe You will be using Your PC for other activities for work, or gaming, You will check which software for photography You will like, and so on.
Third - never go cheap in case of case (sorry for bad pun). It's importantcomponent and one that will save You some bucks when upgrading Your PC in the future - You can always stay with old case.
In the end check for some Youtubers that make videos for first time PC builders (like i.e. Jayz2cents or Linus Tech Tips) You will find plenty of good advices there. They are mainly for gamers, but most will apply.
And some finishing things
- don't buy used. It's not worth it in the end.
- remember that many of Adobe workflows still uses only one thread, so prioritize core speed over core count
- don't compare different companies CPU core count to core count. Modern CPUs are more than that.
- Search for benchmarks related to workflows You are planing to use.
- 32GB RAM is good advice, as much as I would say "go for 16GB it is sufficient" in the end it's only it - sufficient, not really comfort.
- If you decide for 5 year build go for DDR4 RAM, there is big bucks to save and DDR5 RAM won't be so relevant in the nearest future. But go for as low latency (CL) as You can afford.
- Buy M.2 Nvme (probably 1TB is safe size). Don't add HDD inside your PC, if they are needed use them as external drives.
And in the end my builds. I used my old (10 year old) case and PSU, that I changed 2 years ago.
MoBo: MSI Tomahawk Z790
CPU: i5-13600K
RAM: 32GB DDR5 6000 CL32
GPU: Geforce 970 (from my old build)
PSU: BeQuiet Straight Power 11 (I found that for some reason BeQuiet is cheaper in Europe than in USA compared to other top brands).
Case: Fractal Design Define R3 (from my old build)'
Old Build (only relevant parts):
CPU: i5-2500K
RAM: 16GB DDR3
GPU: Geforece 970 (earlier 460, upgraded few years ago)
It was still OK to use with Lightroom and Photoshop, not great but OK. So You don't need to go crazy about parts.
Don't hesitate to ask if I wrote something not understandable.