Hi all! I've got an older gaming PC that I'm now using for everyday tasks and photo editing, but it's really slow—it freezes often and there's a lag when navigating Explorer. Currently, my focus is mainly on photo editing (think Lightroom and Photoshop), and while I might game again in the future, it's not my priority right now. I have a budget of about £500, which I could stretch a bit if necessary. Here are my current specs:
- **CPU**: Intel i5-4440 (4 cores, 4 threads)
- **Motherboard**: Gigabyte B85M-HD3
- **RAM**: 8 GB DDR3
- **GPU**: GTX 1060 6 GB (planning to keep this for now)
- **Storage**: A 120 GB SSD (Windows, about 30 GB free) and an old 2 TB HDD.
I'm thinking about at least upgrading the RAM, but I'm wondering if I should also just go ahead and replace the motherboard and CPU while I'm at it. What would be the smartest way to spend my £500 to really improve my PC's performance?
1 Answer
Honestly, if you can swing it, getting a Mac Mini with the M1 chip could be a solid choice for photo editing. For your budget, it will outperform most upgraded PCs and you would be starting fresh with a machine that runs smoothly. Just keep in mind that you'd want to invest in some external storage since Mac Minis tend to have limited internal storage.
True, but if you're hoping to get back into gaming soon, a Mac might not be the best idea. You could build a new PC with something like an i5-12600KF and a decent B760 motherboard. That way, you could add an SSD later and keep things upgradeable for both gaming and editing.