Desktop computer (1 Viewer)

[Bayouboy]

I know it is a dinosaur of sorts, but I'm thinking about getting a new desktop computer. I dabble with a lot of photo software (Lightroom/Photoshop), but do not game with one. Liquid cooling preferred. Anyone have recommendations? Last one I purchased was a custom build off of eBay probably 10 years ago. I might do the same.....just looking for any advice here, first.

 

[Eeyore]

Build it yourself.

Budget?

 

[Bayouboy]

I don't have any experience with that....so likely will just buy one ready made. I'd like to keep it around $1000, up to about $1500.

 

[Eeyore]

I don't have any experience with that....so likely will just buy one ready made. I'd like to keep it around $1000, up to about $1500.

If you can put together a lego set with no extra parts, you're over qualified if you have the right parts selected.

AMD RYZEN 5 3600X 6-Core 3.8 GHz (Boost) Desktop Processor - Newegg.com

Buy AMD Ryzen 5 3rd Gen RYZEN 5 3600X Matisse 6-Core 3.8 GHz Socket AM4 95W 100-100000022BOX Processor with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

If you want a boost then the 3700 or 3700x will give you 2 more cores. $245

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

Not a lot of reviews for that but its PCIE4. With those processors I'd want this or an equivalent. There will be somebody along soon to recommend something different/better. It's the internet and I wouldn't have it any other way. $165

G.SKILL Trident Z Neo (For AMD Ryzen) Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin RGB DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) Desktop Memory Model F4-3600C18D-32GTZN - Newegg.com

Buy G.SKILL Trident Z Neo (For AMD Ryzen) Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin RGB DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) Desktop Memory Model F4-3600C18D-32GTZN with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

There's faster memory out there but this is rock solid stuff. You can get along with less memory but you're photo editing so I figured that you will use every bit of this. $180

Used - Very Good: Sapphire Radeon PULSE RX 590 8GB GDDR5 PCI-E Dual HDMI / DVI-D / Dual DP w/ Backplate - Newegg.com

Buy Used - Very Good: Sapphire Radeon PULSE RX 590 8GB GDDR5 PCI-E Dual HDMI / DVI-D / Dual DP w/ Backplate with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

You can get by with less. The video card isn't a huge part of photo editing but this is really good for the money. $200

Seasonic FOCUS SGX-650, 650W Full-Modular Power Supply - Newegg.com

Buy Seasonic FOCUS SGX-650, 650W 80+ Gold, Full-Modular, SFX-L Form Factor, Compact Size, Fan Control in Fanless, Silent, and Cooling Mode, 10 Year Warranty, Power Supply, SSR-650SGX. with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

You can get by with a lesser power supply but this is efficient, highly rated, and will not underpower your system. $90

SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2 2280 250GB PCIe Gen3. X4, NVMe 1.3 64L V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-V7E250BW - Newegg.com

Buy SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2 2280 250GB PCIe Gen3. X4, NVMe 1.3 64L V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-V7E250BW with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

I prefer Samsung. This is just what you need for the basics, operating system, software, etc. You'll want a NAS, external hard drive, or additional storage drives outside of this. $102

COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

Buy Cooler Master HAF X - High Air Flow Full Tower Computer Case with Windowed Side Panel and USB 3.0 Ports with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

Cases are a personal item. This case is highly rated. You said that you prefer liquid cooling. I haven't touched that because I don't want to deal with the hassle/worry. $70

$1052

You'll still have to factor in the operating system and other software but this is as good as you're going to find for photo editing in this price range. If you want to cut corners you could try half of the ram and/or a lesser video card but that's all that I would change.

 

[MLU]

Seriously, build your own. That's the only way to get exactly what you want and not overpay. Anyone can do it. The biggest hassle is just making sure all components are compatible, which is not a hassle at all.

Do it.

 

[gpupil]

I got a new one about a year ago. Was all set to do the build it myself thing, but honestly it wasn't going to be any cheaper than the Dell that I bought. By the time I got all the pieces that I wanted it was always more expensive than just buying one already built.
And that was shopping around for parts from newegg, amazon, etc

 

[buzd]

I like the case/MB/video barebones combos from NewEgg (or similar). You can usually find a combo that has basically what you want, and then it's easy to customize with hard drives and anything else you want.

 

[DCSaints_Fan]

There are pitfalls with build it yourself. Putting in PCI boards (particularly graphics cards) can be problematic for beginners. You also have to make sure everything is compatible. Particularly memory.

If you are going the premade route, I've had decent experience with Dell. But you do get less bang for your buck. For most people this isn't an issue though

 

[DCSaints_Fan]

I like the case/MB/video barebones combos from NewEgg (or similar). You can usually find a combo that has basically what you want, and then it's easy to customize with hard drives and anything else you want.

Good idea, at least there you don't have to worry about memory incompatibilities.

 

[Bayouboy]

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Eeyore]

ABS Mage M - Ryzen 7 3700X - GeForce RTX 2060 Super - 16GB DDR4 - 1TB SSD - Gaming Desktop PC - Newegg.com

Buy ABS Mage M - Ryzen 7 3700X - GeForce RTX 2060 Super - 16GB DDR4 - 1TB SSD - Gaming Desktop PC with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

 

[zeetes]

i haven't built a pc (at least gaming capable) in years, but it is so much more customizable than spending extra on crap you don't want or need. only downside is buying windows (if not linux).

 

[Cage1]

I'm looking at going with a new gaming desktop, but just looking at this thread is convincing me that building isn't the right way to go for me. Making sure components are compatible? I'm not sure where youd even start on something like that. But then there's the problem of not having the right number of "slots" for what you want to do. I don't know, I think I'm just aged out of building something. Will probably just wait for some killer deal on Newegg.