Builing a PC for heavy photo editing

[AaronDunphy]

Hey guys, I'm looking to either build a desktop PC or purchase a Mac for heavy photo editing which will consist of running Photomatix, Lightroom and Photoshop at the same time on occasions. Mainly photoshop.

What do you guys think? Either a set up like this or the macbook pro which i will list below?

Monitor (£194): http://www.ebuyer.com/350151-hanns-g-hl272hpb-led-tft-27-hdmi-monitor-hl272hpb

CPU (£179): http://www.ebuyer.com/350151-hanns-g-hl272hpb-led-tft-27-hdmi-monitor-hl272hpb

RAM (£55): http://www.ebuyer.com/247678-corsair-8gb-ddr3-2000mhz-xms3-memory-cmx8gx3m2a2000c9

MOBO (£80): http://www.ebuyer.com/351598-gigaby...mi-8-channel-audio-atx-motherboard-ga-z77-d3h

GPU (£136): http://www.ebuyer.com/267865-gigaby...-gddr5-dual-dvi-mini-hdmi-pci-e-gv-n56goc-1gi

PSU: (£70): http://www.ebuyer.com/257232-corsair-tx-650w-v2-psu-80plus-bronze-certified-cmpsu-650txv2uk

Or the MacBook Pro.. http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5074268/Trail/searchtext>MACBOOK+PRO.htm


Would be interest to see what you guys think will be best to handle the heavy photo editing?

 

[AaronDunphy]

The Macbook pro I listed i can get for £1100, which is max budget

 

[Fatback]

Macs are good for longevity, not for heavy gaming/editing usage like a PC was made for

Why Macs are not any good for gaming. They are defiantly awesome for editing. Its pretty much what they where made for. They have the best Display in the business and thats why all the pros use them. If you are just wanting a computer for pure editing then a Mac is a great choice. If you are looking for more then building a PC isn't a bad idea.

 

[Fatback]

No. Trust me. I have had two iMacs (2004, 2009) and have been less then content with both of them. I have had 3 PC's and have been more than satisfied with the support I get. Apple gets their money and moves on. Microsoft works with you every way possible to make your windows experience an enjoyable one.

I use my PC's for heavy gaming (even though they aren't powerful enough to do it.... stupid laptops.... LOL) and have enjoyed every second of it.... Except when those damn grunts get me from behind.......... But I have tried to get the same experience from a Mac and it just doesn't work. The whole interface of a windows PC is better than OS X.

Take it from someone with experience in both OS X and Windows:
FOR MULTIMEDIA NEEDS, GO WITH A PC!!!!

I am a photographer and I have used a Windows PC and a Mac. I prefer windows always have and always will. Though as a photographer I have to spend hours in front of a computer editing photos. While there is really no difference between editing in Photoshop on a Mac then on Windows. The big difference is the display. The display on a Mac can not compare to anything. If would cost more to buy just the display then it would to build a Windows PC.

When it comes to editing high resolution photos the display is very important and apple has the best there is and they always have. I am not an apple fan but after using an iMac for 6 months for editing. It has been hard to go back to using my PC.

 

[jamesd1981]

I would certainly go with building a pc, you will get more value for your money and be have a much bigger choice of software with windows.

You have not listed a case and your cpu link is to the monitor, what cpu were you planning to buy ?

 

[jamesd1981]

CASE:
http://www.ebuyer.com/262923-sharkoon-t9-case-black-edition-4044951011469

MOTHERBOARD:
http://www.ebuyer.com/363228-asus-p8z77-v-lx-socket-1155-vga-dvi-hdmi-8-channel-audio-atx-p8z77-v-lx

PROCESSOR:
http://www.ebuyer.com/251596-intel-...b-cache-retail-boxed-processor-bx80623i52500k

SSD:
http://www.ebuyer.com/268244-ocz-120gb-agility-3-ssd-agt3-25sat3-120g

HDD:
http://www.ebuyer.com/319641-seagate-2tb-barracuda-internal-hard-drive-st2000dm001

MEMORY:
http://www.ebuyer.com/248846-corsair-8gb-ddr3-1600mhz-vengeance-memory-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9

GPU:
http://www.ebuyer.com/279585-xfx-hd...l-dvi-dual-mini-displayport-hdmi-hd-687a-zhfc

PSU:
http://www.ebuyer.com/269259-corsair-600w-cx-series-v2-psu-6x-sata-2x-pci-e-cmpsu-600cxv2uk

MONITOR:
http://www.ebuyer.com/387133-s24b30...monitor-1920-x-1080-full-hd-5ms-ls24b300hl-en

 

[kdfresh09]

no matter what you get, be sure of 2 things.....go with an nvidia card since it sopports cuda tech which adobe and other editing programs have. this will allow your nvidia gpu render some of the effects in your projects. amd cards will not do this. if you not going to be gaming much, id suggest a gtx 550ti, gtx 460ti, or a gtx 560ti. any three will render well in your photo editing programs nicly. they will also play games too.

the 2nd thing you need to look into, is an i7 socket 1155. even the cheapest i7 will do better than the i5 2500k in rendering, since it has 8 threads instead of te i5 4 threads. this will get the projects done much quicker as well. get these 2things, and you will have a perfect little editing machine.