Blue tit photo
Well-known member
Today my mother said to choose a PC for editing. I am not a pro in these things and want your advice. What brand do you recommend and what model?
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Thanks for your advice. I have a HP laptop, but it struggles with Topaz plugins and some other intensive tasks(Da Vinci Resolve). I found a few variants: one of them isWhat a nice mom
Basic editing software like LR/PS is not processor intensive. However some of the new software packages utilize the graphics processor so a separate graphics card is useful. And what's as or more important than the PC is the monitor. So a machine with a separate graphics processor and a large, high def, wide color gamut monitor are best. A couple of years ago I switched over from desktop to laptop. I now use an Asus ROG 17 in laptop with an Intel 7i processor and 6Gig graphics card. When just culling through a shoot I just use the laptop screen. When I'm doing final editing for print etc, I connect it to a Dell 27 in monitor that is so old the model number won't do you any good. But nowadays high def(8k) monitors(and laptops) are easy to come by. If you travel for photography you can get by with a smaller laptop and just use a separate monitor for serious editing when you get home. I have a separate 14in Asus laptop for travel(which I'm typing on now).
If mobility is not important to you it is less expensive to get a desktop. To go easy on your mom's budget a desktop with a good graphics card and an 8k monitor is probably the way to go.
AMD Ryzen 9 3900x, 3.8 GHz, 12 core 105W CPU, Gigabyte X570 AORUS Ultra motherboard, 32 GB DDR4-2666 RAM, EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Super XC 8 GB Open Air video card, EVGA SuperNOVA 650W G+ Pwr Supply, CPU cooling=Noctura NH-U12S, Fractal Design R6 USB-C black case C: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500 GB M.2 SSD and a similar 1 TB SSD scratch disk. I have 3 internal spinner HD's to hold all my documents/images. I back up the images to two external hard drives using BART free s/w. The hard drives are stored in very different places.... |
I ended up with a Dell Desktop (tower) because I could get it loaded for a reasonable price and there is plenty of room inside for a really good graphics card. High-end graphics cards for a tower are really not very expensive. I also got a REALLY big hard drive to store my images (D) on, along with a SSD drive (C) for windows and my programs. I back up the RAW images to a 5 TB external drive just in case and all finished images go to my OneDrive (cloud).
One of the big advantages to the desktop (tower) is that if a component dies, you can replace it. Not likely with a laptop.
The price of a really decked out desktop is about $2000, laptops are significantly above that.
Thank you for your suggestions although I don't think I really need to make my own configuration( I don't know anything about computers). One of my choices is iMac Retina 5k 27'' display with 8 GB of ram and 512 SSD. The other is :I agree with the recommendation to get an SSD hard drive to handle your OS and all the apps. I'd recommend a graphics card that has at least 2 GB of memory on it....in addition to a minimum of 16 GB ram in the PC.
FWIW, here is my configuration:
AMD Ryzen 9 3900x, 3.8 GHz, 12 core 105W CPU, Gigabyte X570 AORUS Ultra motherboard, 32 GB DDR4-2666 RAM, EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Super XC 8 GB Open Air video card, EVGA SuperNOVA 650W G+ Pwr Supply, CPU cooling=Noctura NH-U12S, Fractal Design R6 USB-C black case
The problems with the two displays came up only with two high-resolution monitors. In my case, one 5k and the other 4k.
Gaming laptops often have a lot of overlap with photo editing needs. I picked up a Lenovo Legion at Costco a couple years ago, has been solid for Lightroom and Photoshop, as long as you keep in mind laptop displays usually lack in color gamut. Displaycal says this one gives about 75% of srgb.I'm at the early stages of shopping for a new laptop. I require a high level of mobility, so a desktop is out of the question.
Hard Drive
At this point I'd only consider an SSD rather than the older and cheaper spinning hard drives. For photography, it depends a bit on workflow, but I need at least a 1 TB SSD drive. My hard drive is used for front end processing - ingest, rating, keywording, editing, and storage of current material. For me, everything is backed up at least weekly to external hard drives with a primary copy, a backup, and an offsite backup swapped regularly. Once I am finished with a trip or project, it is just on my external backup drives. SSD is relatively expensive, so I based my sizing on about 400 GB that I like having readily available, and 600GB for work in progress photos. I only have RAW files - very few DNG or TIFF files. I have a group of folders where I store a small JPEG of anything processed for social media or sharing in some way. It's got about 150 photos per year and goes back more than 11 years. It's small enough that I can synch it with my iPad and iPhone, or use it as the basis to find images for sharing or presentations.
External / Backup Drives
I use a pair of external 8 TB drives for primary storage. I have a backup pair of drives as well as an offsite pair of drives - that's 6 8 TB drives and they are about 65% full.
RAM
I've currently got 16 MB of RAM on a 3.5 year old laptop with a moderately slow processor. It's not really enough for Topaz and Photo Merges in Lightroom or Photoshop. I'm going to have 32 GB of RAM in my next computer. I usually buy at the low end and then upgrade the RAM myself after purchase to get better quality memory for less money.
Monitor / Gamut
A standard laptop - especially the cheaper ones - displays less than 75% of sRGB color space. I'd consider 100% of sRGB a minimum threshold, and 95% of AdobeRGB a preferred level. I have a separate Wide Gamut monitor with more than 100% of Adobe RGB for final print editing, but for most images it's not necessary.
I currently have a touch screen on my laptop and don't really like it. Touch screen monitors are increasingly common, but the problem is they tend to be inconsistent across the screen. The color and brightness of the corners is usually different from the center. But - I do occasionally use the touch screen. On balance, I don't want a touch screen.
Many laptops are wide screen - 16:9 format. This tends to cut off the top and bottom of photos, but it does leave room for working panels on the sides. You probably need to learn to hide unneeded panels when you are editing to maximize available display space.
Monitor resolution - 8k, 4k, HD - has some debate. A lot of software does not display nicely at 8k, so I'd avoid that for now. What happens is the image and characters on the screen are much smaller than normal. To get something you can use, you need to reduce resolution to 4k or HD. While this will change over time, it's not ready right now. I would not go any larger than 4k, and HD is fine.
Ports
Unfortunately, as laptops have gotten thinner, ports have been compromised. The power connection may use a USB port on some laptops. Most peripherals use standard USB-C, but I see a number of laptops that only have one USB-C port, or even just USB-A ports. Be sure you have the latest version of USB 3.2 or higher, and at least one USB-C port. Take a look at your peripherals as you will likely need USB-A to USB-C adapters. The same is true for HDMI. On small laptops you may have a mini-HDMI port only. The small size of USB-A and mini HDMI makes them vulnerable to breakage, so be sure you have extra ports rather than a single port.
Processor
I think the latest Intel processor in the intel line is referred to as 10th generation. I've looked at i9 and i7 processors - mainly 9th and 10th generation. Newer processors are faster and more energy efficient. I don't have the AMD translation or equivalent.
Video card
You definitely need an upgraded video card. Look for a video card to support gaming with at least 4 MB of RAM - and more if possible. Video cards can get expensive, and you don't need to go overboard. But get something above the minimum. Usually this is an Nvidia GeoForce card.
Size and weight
I like a small, light laptop for travel. My ideal is probably 13 inches, but 15 inches and around 4 pounds is as big as I want.
The Dell XPS 15 is my most likely favorite right now. It's about $1800 configured as needed with 32 MB of RAM and 1 TB SSD.
The best pricing for laptops is normally around Christmas and in August for Back to School. You can save $200-500 on a laptop by buying at the right time of year.
iMac is superb. Retina display is unbeatable, short of buying a dedicated monitor capable of full color calibration (a good degree of calibration can be done on the Retina displays using third-party devices and software). Right now, the m1 iMac is only offered with a 24" display, I believe. 27" is not yet offered with m1 chip. 24" monitor still beats the heck out of any laptop display as far as useable real estate and ease of editing. Two strong recommendations: spring for the 16GB RAM option (+$200). You will most likely not be happy with 8GB. OWC (macsales.com) also offers much lower-cost RAM upgrades, but I don't think they're doing the m1 iMacs yet. You might check with them. Also, if you can swing it, opt for the 1TB SSD (also +$200). I run an iMac Pro with a 1TB SSD, 64GB RAM. and the SSD (my startup drive) is half full with nothing but apps and OS stuff.After a while of searching, I decided to wait and asked my mother for a new camera instead. She bought it and I was happy until my computer started to glitch, and crash during some intensive tasks and now I am back on a search again. I am thinking about an m1 iMac. What are your thoughts about it?
Thank you. I was thinking about the iMac 27'', but I is very expensive to go with what I want in Lithuania. Yes in Lithuania it is quite expensive and if I go with both options that you said( I will go with them) I am looking at around 2400 euros.iMac is superb. Retina display is unbeatable, short of buying a dedicated monitor capable of full color calibration (a good degree of calibration can be done on the Retina displays using third-party devices and software). Right now, the m1 iMac is only offered with a 24" display, I believe. 27" is not yet offered with m1 chip. 24" monitor still beats the heck out of any laptop display as far as useable real estate and ease of editing. Two strong recommendations: spring for the 16GB RAM option (+$200). You will most likely not be happy with 8GB. OWC (macsales.com) also offers much lower-cost RAM upgrades, but I don't think they're doing the m1 iMacs yet. You might check with them. Also, if you can swing it, opt for the 1TB SSD (also +$200). I run an iMac Pro with a 1TB SSD, 64GB RAM. and the SSD (my startup drive) is half full with nothing but apps and OS stuff.
Yes, that is the only drawback to Apple products. They are a joy to use and extremely reliable, but you pay dearly for those attributes. My iMac/drive setup was over US$6000. Painful. Fortunately I only need a new system every eight to ten years, so the pain is spread out over time. Good luck!Thank you. I was thinking about the iMac 27'', but I is very expensive to go with what I want in Lithuania. Yes in Lithuania it is quite expensive and if I go with both options that you said( I will go with them) I am looking at around 2400 euros.
I just got an M1 Mac Mini and use it with a BenQ 27" 4k monitor and it's a great combination. The M1 mini is strong enough to edit 100 megapixel images and edit video with rare slowdowns and the monitor has a great color gamut. I liked the small size for my small work area, plus I already owned the monitor from when it extended my previous laptop's display. I backup all my working images to an external thunderbolt SSD and then the full library to an NAS system. I use an ipad for mobile photo editing instead of a laptop these days.After a while of searching, I decided to wait and asked my mother for a new camera instead. She bought it and I was happy until my computer started to glitch, and crash during some intensive tasks and now I am back on a search again. I am thinking about an m1 iMac. What are your thoughts about it?