Hey everyone! My dad is getting on in years, and his old computer just can't keep up with Windows 11 anymore. We're looking to upgrade his setup for photo editing—mostly in Lightroom and a bit in Photoshop—with a goal of this new machine lasting him around 5 to 10 years. We're not looking to spend a fortune but want solid performance for transferring a lot of files and handling various hard drives. Any recommendations for a good CPU and motherboard combo? Should I go with AMD or Intel? Also, is there anything we should steer clear of right now?
4 Answers
If this is strictly for photo editing, you might want to consider going with a Mac Mini. They really excel at those tasks and are priced well compared to some gaming PCs.
Yeah, if he's not gaming, Macs can be a great long-term investment!
If you're leaning towards building it yourself, go for an AsRock B650 motherboard with a Ryzen 7400 CPU. I’d suggest avoiding Intel for this build when you consider the price-to-performance ratio. Prebuilts can also be a safer route if you want to avoid troubleshooting in the future!
Good advice! We're planning to swap the new parts into his current machine, so hopefully, we can save some money.
That sounds smart! Good luck with the upgrade!
Honestly, a decent mini PC might do the trick for basic photo editing and file transfers! They’re generally compact and can handle Lightroom without issue. Just make sure it has enough storage for his needs.
That could work, but does he have a lot of drives? Space might be an issue.
Yeah, if he has tons of files, he'd probably need a system with more storage options.
Based on your needs, I'd suggest checking out the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X for about $208 and pairing it with the ASRock B850M Pro-A motherboard. They provide a great bang for your buck when it comes to photo editing tasks. The total cost should come around $348, and it should serve him well for a long while!
Thanks for the suggestion, that sounds like a solid setup!
Why the 9600X for photo editing? You might find better options for less money!
Interesting... I've heard mixed things about Macs for photo editing.