Desktop build for a photographer

That's not really that specific. Are you looking to do a lot of batch operations? If so, invest heavily in CPU. Are you looking to have a lot of files open in photoshop or have a lot of layers? You'll need both CPU and RAM.

I just built a rig that does a lot of batch processing in addition to viewing a lot of photos and some light photoshop. This rig is really fast for anything. Here's what I built:

I recommend getting the core i7 2600 (or better) processor since the i7 can do multithreading and the i5 cannot. It's like having 8 processors versus 4. If you really have the budget, you should consider one of the i7 extreme processors with 6 cores (12 total threads!) - but that's really if you only do a LOT of batch processing (or video editing) or are really impatient.

Intel Core i7 2600k processor
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EBUXSA

CPU Liquid Cooler (not liquid cooling everything in the case). It's very important that you immediately throw the stock CPU cooler in the trash can.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LWYE4Q

Asus P8Z68-V PRO Motherboard (super easy and safe to overclock - this machine is mission critical for my business and it works flawlessly with my i7 2600k overclocked to 4.6Ghz using that cooler above)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00503EA80

Corsair 16GB RAM
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RFBIUU

I didn't buy a video card, I just use the on-board video since I am not doing a lot of editing. But I would recommend going with a decent NVidia card... after all these years, ATI cards are still a bit buggy (I just got an ATI 6950 a few months ago in my home rig). Something like this Gforce GTX560 is probably overkill if you aren't playing any games - it has 2x dual link DVI. Dual link DVI is required for over 1920x1200 resolution. I'm not 100% sure if 1gb ram is enough to run a 2560x1440 AND a 1920x1080 monitor or if you'll need 2GB video card ram. If you don't care about games (and don't video edit), then find a cheap 1GB or 2GB gforce card with DVI dual link. If you video edit, the pro software can use nvidia graphics cards like a CPU processor.

1gb version:

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Mini-HDMI-Graphics-01G-P3-1460-KR/dp/B0050I1PHO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1328675555&sr=1-1

2GB version:

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-Mini-HDMI-Graphics-02G-P3-1469-KR/dp/B0050I1PI8/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1328675555&sr=1-5

Windows 7 64-bit (whatever flavor is up to you)

Corsair 500w power supply (you don't need a lot of power, just GOOD power.... don't cheap out here). Depending on the video card you get, you need a power supply that has the right power connectors for it. This one does have the 2x 6-pin PCI connectors).

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-500-Watt-Certified-Compatible-Platforms/dp/B004W2T2U6/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1328676502&sr=1-7

I recommend running your OS and programs from an SSD drive. Here is an Intel 510 series drive rated up to 450mb/s read :

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Version-2-5-Inch-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B004OR0GRC/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1328676887&sr=1-1

Then put all your photos, videos and other "crap" on a platter drive. western digital black 7200rpm 2TB hard drive (stay away from slower rpm drives, they will give you slower performance.. but if you have to cut corners, you can save nearly $100 by stepping down the rpm's and it won't make that big of a difference since you are running an SSD anyway):

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Caviar-Internal-Desktop/dp/B004CSIG1G/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1328676943&sr=1-8

DVD dual layer writer:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

Blu-ray writer (if desired):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106369

I'm not even going to link a case since that is subjective what someone wants. You may want to consider a case with front USB 3.0 ports so you don't have to have a usb3 extension cord always dangling on your computer like I do. Most of them have a cord that runs through the case, out the back and into one of the usb 3 ports in the motherboard, but that is much better than a cord hanging on your case.

If you need a USB stick, get this one... it's really fast. It is a tiny bit slower than I prefer for copying lots of 2-3mb jpeg photos, but even doing that it's much faster than usb 2.0 or my other usb3 usb flash drive. For copying large videos, it's insane fast.. like "this can't be right" fast.

http://www.amazon.com/Patriot-Memory-Direct-Supersonic-Magnum/dp/B004ZNA3UA/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1328677416&sr=1-3

.....aaaaaand, I think that'll about do ya......... you'll have a heck of a rig that is upgradable as you go. I could get into much more detail about the components and why I chose one over the other, but I've already spent way too much time writing this reply.

good luck, let us know what you end up with!

--
-brian
SoCal Motorsports Photographer