New PC help (specs & brands)?

[NikonNature]

Looking for a new Windows PC for photo editing - LR, PS, and Topaz Denoise AI. I would rather spend a little more for a system that will be a little more future proof. For that reason, I am focusing on these main components (not building one, just looking at prebuilt PC's with these specs).

Drives - 1 TB SSD system drive. I will add a larger second drive for data.
CPU - Intel i7 13th gen (13700KF)
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060ti
RAM - Depending on the system - DDR4 or DDR5 - 16GB

Do you see anything glaringly wrong with these choices? Do you think 32 GB RAM is necessary?

I have always been a Dell guy, but now I'm looking at a variety of systems and I'm a little uncertain about brands I'm not familiar with. Anyone have experience with CyberPower or iBuyPower? Gaming PC's seem to have the horsepower, but I'm not a fan of the illuminated cases.

This one currently has my eye: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberp...3060-ti-1tb-ssd-black/6533257.p?skuId=6533257

Any other tips or recommendations are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Austinian]

Looking for a new Windows PC for photo editing - LR, PS, and Topaz Denoise AI. I would rather spend a little more for a system that will be a little more future proof. For that reason, I am focusing on these main components (not building one, just looking at prebuilt PC's with these specs).

Drives - 1 TB SSD system drive. I will add a larger second drive for data.
CPU - Intel i7 13th gen (13700KF)

The specs say that Cyberpower is a 13700F, not a KF, but that might be fine. I've been happy with the performance of a mere i5-13600K on my current PC.

The "F" chips have no integrated video, so you'll be dependent on the graphics card; that's OK, my previous PC build had no integrated video. The small disadvantage is if the graphics card fails, troubleshooting is a bit harder if you don't have some kind of spare.

GPU - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060ti
RAM - Depending on the system - DDR4 or DDR5 - 16GB

Do you see anything glaringly wrong with these choices?

No.

Do you think 32 GB RAM is necessary?

Not immediately, but eventually you may need it. Looks like that's a single stick of DDR5 in the Cyberpower, so it'd be easy to add another 16GB stick later. Our local BB stores have a fair selection of memory in stock.

I have always been a Dell guy, but now I'm looking at a variety of systems and I'm a little uncertain about brands I'm not familiar with. Anyone have experience with CyberPower or iBuyPower? Gaming PC's seem to have the horsepower, but I'm not a fan of the illuminated cases.

AFAIK the RGB stuff can be changed or disabled in the PC's software or UEFI BIOS; that's how it was in my previous build. I like just a little dim, colored lighting myself; aesthetics shouldn't be a primary concern IMO, but a PC is something we may spend quite a bit of time near us; might as well have a pleasing appearance.

This one currently has my eye: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberp...3060-ti-1tb-ssd-black/6533257.p?skuId=6533257

Any other tips or recommendations are appreciated. Thanks.

These are just a few random observations; I build, so I don't have any specific desktop PC to suggest. Your specs look generally good. Lots of choices are available; perhaps another member can make better suggestions than I for a pre-built machine.

 

[NikonNature]

Looking for a new Windows PC for photo editing - LR, PS, and Topaz Denoise AI. I would rather spend a little more for a system that will be a little more future proof. For that reason, I am focusing on these main components (not building one, just looking at prebuilt PC's with these specs).

Drives - 1 TB SSD system drive. I will add a larger second drive for data.
CPU - Intel i7 13th gen (13700KF)

The specs say that Cyberpower is a 13700F, not a KF, but that might be fine. I've been happy with the performance of a mere i5-13600K on my current PC.

The "F" chips have no integrated video, so you'll be dependent on the graphics card; that's OK, my previous PC build had no integrated video. The small disadvantage is if the graphics card fails, troubleshooting is a bit harder if you don't have some kind of spare.

GPU - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060ti
RAM - Depending on the system - DDR4 or DDR5 - 16GB

Do you see anything glaringly wrong with these choices?

No.

Do you think 32 GB RAM is necessary?

Not immediately, but eventually you may need it. Looks like that's a single stick of DDR5 in the Cyberpower, so it'd be easy to add another 16GB stick later. Our local BB stores have a fair selection of memory in stock.

I have always been a Dell guy, but now I'm looking at a variety of systems and I'm a little uncertain about brands I'm not familiar with. Anyone have experience with CyberPower or iBuyPower? Gaming PC's seem to have the horsepower, but I'm not a fan of the illuminated cases.

AFAIK the RGB stuff can be changed or disabled in the PC's software or UEFI BIOS; that's how it was in my previous build. I like just a little dim, colored lighting myself; aesthetics shouldn't be a primary concern IMO, but a PC is something we may spend quite a bit of time near us; might as well have a pleasing appearance.

This one currently has my eye: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberp...3060-ti-1tb-ssd-black/6533257.p?skuId=6533257

Any other tips or recommendations are appreciated. Thanks.

These are just a few random observations; I build, so I don't have any specific desktop PC to suggest. Your specs look generally good. Lots of choices are available; perhaps another member can make better suggestions than I for a pre-built machine.

Thank you for your excellent feedback. I should have clarified... I like the illuminated case, I just don't want my color perception to be skewed by it when editing photos.

 

[BobKnDP]

Having a single DDR5 DIMM has a advantages and disadvantages.

The plus is that a second SIMM could easily be added to double the RAM. In my limited experience, DDR5 performance is limited if 4 DIMMs are used. (The maximum available frequency is scaled back.)

The downside is that there may be a performance loss with a single DIMM. DDR5 is described as dual channel, but that's two 32 bit channels. DDR4 ram is single channel (per DIMM), but 64 bits wide. I have no idea how significant the performance loss is for DDR5, outside of synthetic benchmarks.

I know very little about this, but as regards a CPU with no integrated graphics, some video processing can use the iGPU in recent Intel models for hardware acceleration. (nVidia and AMD graphics cards don't support some codecs.) If you think that you might want to do that sort of processing, see if you can get a CPU without the F suffix. In my DIY build, I got a non-F CPU just because the retail price of it wasn't much higher.

 

[plantdoc]

If you are shopping for ready built, Costco is worth checking. They frequent have several desktops from Dell, Lenovo in the high powered range. When the deals appear, they are hard to beat plus extended warranty.

Greg

 

[Austinian]

Thank you for your excellent feedback. I should have clarified... I like the illuminated case, I just don't want my color perception to be skewed by it when editing photos.

Right. My PC sits beside me several feet away; I can barely see it in my peripheral vision unless I look directly at it, and its lighting is far too dim to illuminate the monitor.

 

[Gesture]

Consider assembling your own. You have control. I expect this CyberPower is OK, but I don't care for the proprietary aspects of Dell, Lenovo or HP towers.

Sometimes, it's small things. I want a power supply that I can turn on or off independent of the computer's main on-off switch. Traditionally Dell towers excluded that. And much of the computers, like drive cages, were actually overbuilt to avoid abuse in a corporate environment.

Also, I hate to say this, but 16 GB RAM seems low these days. If a motherboard takes DDR4, DDR4 RAM is really cheap right now, less than $3 a GB.

Also, I agree, F processor doesn't make much sense to me. Don't even know why Intel fools around with that.

But if you go CyberPwer, check power supply type and wattage and what the CPU cooling system is.

ENJOY.

 

[NikonNature]

Having a single DDR5 DIMM has a advantages and disadvantages.

The plus is that a second SIMM could easily be added to double the RAM. In my limited experience, DDR5 performance is limited if 4 DIMMs are used. (The maximum available frequency is scaled back.)

The downside is that there may be a performance loss with a single DIMM. DDR5 is described as dual channel, but that's two 32 bit channels. DDR4 ram is single channel (per DIMM), but 64 bits wide. I have no idea how significant the performance loss is for DDR5, outside of synthetic benchmarks.

I know very little about this, but as regards a CPU with no integrated graphics, some video processing can use the iGPU in recent Intel models for hardware acceleration. (nVidia and AMD graphics cards don't support some codecs.) If you think that you might want to do that sort of processing, see if you can get a CPU without the F suffix. In my DIY build, I got a non-F CPU just because the retail price of it wasn't much higher.

Thank you. I might just go ahead and get 32 BG. I prefer to do this one time and not touch it for years to come. I will also pay attention to the 'F' suffix.

 

[NikonNature]

If you are shopping for ready built, Costco is worth checking. They frequent have several desktops from Dell, Lenovo in the high powered range. When the deals appear, they are hard to beat plus extended warranty.

Greg

Thanks. I will check it out.

 

[NikonNature]

Consider assembling your own. You have control. I expect this CyberPower is OK, but I don't care for the proprietary aspects of Dell, Lenovo or HP towers.

Sometimes, it's small things. I want a power supply that I can turn on or off independent of the computer's main on-off switch. Traditionally Dell towers excluded that. And much of the computers, like drive cages, were actually overbuilt to avoid abuse in a corporate environment.

Also, I hate to say this, but 16 GB RAM seems low these days. If a motherboard takes DDR4, DDR4 RAM is really cheap right now, less than $3 a GB.

Also, I agree, F processor doesn't make much sense to me. Don't even know why Intel fools around with that.

But if you go CyberPwer, check power supply type and wattage and what the CPU cooling system is.

ENJOY.

Thank you. Another vote for avoiding the 'F'. And yes, 32 GB seems worth it.

I checked the specs on the CyberPowerPC and it says 800W, but nothing more specific.

 

[Craig Gillette]

Looking for a new Windows PC for photo editing - LR, PS, and Topaz Denoise AI. I would rather spend a little more for a system that will be a little more future proof. For that reason, I am focusing on these main components (not building one, just looking at prebuilt PC's with these specs).

Drives - 1 TB SSD system drive. I will add a larger second drive for data.
CPU - Intel i7 13th gen (13700KF)
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060ti
RAM - Depending on the system - DDR4 or DDR5 - 16GB

Do you see anything glaringly wrong with these choices? Do you think 32 GB RAM is necessary?

I have always been a Dell guy, but now I'm looking at a variety of systems and I'm a little uncertain about brands I'm not familiar with. Anyone have experience with CyberPower or iBuyPower? Gaming PC's seem to have the horsepower, but I'm not a fan of the illuminated cases.

This one currently has my eye: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberp...3060-ti-1tb-ssd-black/6533257.p?skuId=6533257

Any other tips or recommendations are appreciated. Thanks.

I recently bought "direct" from CyberpowerPC. They have a variety of pre-builts but I used the custom selection approach. Ibuypower has the same sort of system. Both, as do others, have sales through retail outlets, too. The build to order approach offers more flexibility in component selection compared to pre-builts or retail models.

Much of the current "market" is gamer oriented so pre-builts tend to lean in that direction. for example, like lighting. Both Cyberpowerand iBuypower had lighting and it was difficult to find pre-builts or build choices without lighting. I've found I can ignore it and haven't tracked down all the different steps to turn off the lights.

Already mentioned, gamers tend to go with graphics cards so the CPUs without integrated graphics are common in pre-builts but the price difference to go with a processor with an integrated GPU was essentially inconsequential when build to order.

I went with a 3060ti. Prices are moving around and there may be some advantages with other choices, perhaps for some software or to hit either a lower price or desiring higher performance, etc. One may not be able to choose the card by specific brand and model.

You have to get RAM and a C drive.

I went with 32 GB, 2 16 sticks. There's a lot out there on how to select RAM. It can be a bit complex as to how many sticks, what size, what slots to use, etc. One can always add/replace RAM, with some care. I had 16GB but with an A7riv and large files merging/stitched shots were painful and also more RAMis recommended if doing much video.

When it came to "storage" memory, the first C drive price wasn't bad, even as I increased size. However, I found it was less expensive to add my own second and/or third drives. etc.

When it comes to DDR4 or DDR 5, or PCIe Gen 4 or 5, we're kind of at a change over point. DDR4 or Gen 4 is current and will be fine for quite a while, DDR5 or Gen 5 is arriving now, it is the future and may be worth considering.

Look at expandability and motherboard capabilities. Most have sound, USB, Ethernet and wireless functionality, some more than others. Consider if the system you choose has what you need or what might be needed to add things. Look at external porting already in place, what might be on a motherboard header or might require a PCIe slot to add.

 

[Austinian]

Consider assembling your own. You have control. I expect this CyberPower is OK, but I don't care for the proprietary aspects of Dell, Lenovo or HP towers.

Sometimes, it's small things. I want a power supply that I can turn on or off independent of the computer's main on-off switch. Traditionally Dell towers excluded that. And much of the computers, like drive cages, were actually overbuilt to avoid abuse in a corporate environment.

Also, I hate to say this, but 16 GB RAM seems low these days. If a motherboard takes DDR4, DDR4 RAM is really cheap right now, less than $3 a GB.

Also, I agree, F processor doesn't make much sense to me. Don't even know why Intel fools around with that.

But if you go CyberPwer, check power supply type and wattage and what the CPU cooling system is.

ENJOY.

Thank you. Another vote for avoiding the 'F'. And yes, 32 GB seems worth it.

I checked the specs on the CyberPowerPC and it says 800W, but nothing more specific.

The mass-market makers that sell pre-builts can source components from a variety of suppliers--they may not even know exactly what brands they'll be using in the future, as long as it meets their requirements.

If someone wants to know the specifics on their PC's components, that's when a buyer needs to think about building their own (or custom-specifying everything). The downside for many users is that this means a whole lot of learning, and decisions that may be difficult and complicated to make.

The upside is a high degree of freedom of choice, and that once a build is completed, having a lot of knowledge about PCs and some ability to fix 'em if anything goes wrong!

 

[NikonNature]

Looking for a new Windows PC for photo editing - LR, PS, and Topaz Denoise AI. I would rather spend a little more for a system that will be a little more future proof. For that reason, I am focusing on these main components (not building one, just looking at prebuilt PC's with these specs).

Drives - 1 TB SSD system drive. I will add a larger second drive for data.
CPU - Intel i7 13th gen (13700KF)
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060ti
RAM - Depending on the system - DDR4 or DDR5 - 16GB

Do you see anything glaringly wrong with these choices? Do you think 32 GB RAM is necessary?

I have always been a Dell guy, but now I'm looking at a variety of systems and I'm a little uncertain about brands I'm not familiar with. Anyone have experience with CyberPower or iBuyPower? Gaming PC's seem to have the horsepower, but I'm not a fan of the illuminated cases.

This one currently has my eye: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberp...3060-ti-1tb-ssd-black/6533257.p?skuId=6533257

Any other tips or recommendations are appreciated. Thanks.

I recently bought "direct" from CyberpowerPC. They have a variety of pre-builts but I used the custom selection approach. Ibuypower has the same sort of system. Both, as do others, have sales through retail outlets, too. The build to order approach offers more flexibility in component selection compared to pre-builts or retail models.

Much of the current "market" is gamer oriented so pre-builts tend to lean in that direction. for example, like lighting. Both Cyberpowerand iBuypower had lighting and it was difficult to find pre-builts or build choices without lighting. I've found I can ignore it and haven't tracked down all the different steps to turn off the lights.

Already mentioned, gamers tend to go with graphics cards so the CPUs without integrated graphics are common in pre-builts but the price difference to go with a processor with an integrated GPU was essentially inconsequential when build to order.

I went with a 3060ti. Prices are moving around and there may be some advantages with other choices, perhaps for some software or to hit either a lower price or desiring higher performance, etc. One may not be able to choose the card by specific brand and model.

You have to get RAM and a C drive.

I went with 32 GB, 2 16 sticks. There's a lot out there on how to select RAM. It can be a bit complex as to how many sticks, what size, what slots to use, etc. One can always add/replace RAM, with some care. I had 16GB but with an A7riv and large files merging/stitched shots were painful and also more RAMis recommended if doing much video.

When it came to "storage" memory, the first C drive price wasn't bad, even as I increased size. However, I found it was less expensive to add my own second and/or third drives. etc.

When it comes to DDR4 or DDR 5, or PCIe Gen 4 or 5, we're kind of at a change over point. DDR4 or Gen 4 is current and will be fine for quite a while, DDR5 or Gen 5 is arriving now, it is the future and may be worth considering.

Look at expandability and motherboard capabilities. Most have sound, USB, Ethernet and wireless functionality, some more than others. Consider if the system you choose has what you need or what might be needed to add things. Look at external porting already in place, what might be on a motherboard header or might require a PCIe slot to add.

Thank you for the in depth reply. This is where I start to burn out mentally. New tech is constantly arriving and there are subtly nuances that people who build PC's understand, but I don't.

I admit I sort of trust that a reputable company will pick components that work well together. So if I find the CPU, GPU I want and include enough RAM, I can leave those finer details to them. My current PC has an i7-4790, so anything with a modern CPU should be a significant upgrade.

 

[Austinian]

I admit I sort of trust that a reputable company will pick components that work well together. So if I find the CPU, GPU I want and include enough RAM, I can leave those finer details to them. My current PC has an i7-4790, so anything with a modern CPU should be a significant upgrade.

I think you are largely right about this; no manufacturer wants lots of returns and/or warranty claims as a result of early failures; those are expensive.

And yes, you'll be getting what should be a major performance increase after so long; even my previous 7th gen build wasn't nearly as fast as this modest 13th gen build has been.

 

[BobKnDP]

I admit I sort of trust that a reputable company will pick components that work well together. So if I find the CPU, GPU I want and include enough RAM, I can leave those finer details to them. My current PC has an i7-4790, so anything with a modern CPU should be a significant upgrade.

I think you are largely right about this; no manufacturer wants lots of returns and/or warranty claims as a result of early failures; those are expensive.

And yes, you'll be getting what should be a major performance increase after so long; even my previous 7th gen build wasn't nearly as fast as this modest 13th gen build has been.

That's excellent advice.

The main downside to buying an appliance PC is a possible limited ability to upgrade. (That shouldn't be an issue for memory or drives, though.) The likeliest problem is a minimal power supply, which could prevent a graphics card upgrade. It may be possible to upgrade the PSU at the time, but that greatly increases the amount of work, and it may require a PSU with proprietary connectors. (I'm lookin' at YOU, Dell!)

If you intend to never upgrade any aspect of the PC (except for increasing RAM, maybe), then any machine from a company with decent support should be Good. And probably a better bargain than a custom build.

(I'd prefer dealing with a company that doesn't outsouce its support to Asia, but that may be the cost of getting a low price.)

 

[Austinian]

(I'd prefer dealing with a company that doesn't outsouce its support to Asia, but that may be the cost of getting a low price.)

Very likely.

OP: My suggestion for manufacturer support if needed--use the 'chat' function rather than phone if possible. It takes care of any language accent problems, and gives you a record in text of what you've been told in case of future questions.

Or post your problems here--oops, we may not be here much longer--never mind!

 

[NikonNature]

I admit I sort of trust that a reputable company will pick components that work well together. So if I find the CPU, GPU I want and include enough RAM, I can leave those finer details to them. My current PC has an i7-4790, so anything with a modern CPU should be a significant upgrade.

I think you are largely right about this; no manufacturer wants lots of returns and/or warranty claims as a result of early failures; those are expensive.

And yes, you'll be getting what should be a major performance increase after so long; even my previous 7th gen build wasn't nearly as fast as this modest 13th gen build has been.

That's what I'm hoping. I am somewhat tech savvy. Over the years, I have added memory, upgraded a power supply, and added a HDD. But at this point, I don't have time (or desire) to build my own. I want it to be like buying a new car. Just get in and drive. :-D

 

[Gesture]

Good luck. Best Buy should stand by any sale.

 

[BobKnDP]

(I'd prefer dealing with a company that doesn't outsouce its support to Asia, but that may be the cost of getting a low price.)

Very likely.

OP: My suggestion for manufacturer support if needed--use the 'chat' function rather than phone if possible. It takes care of any language accent problems, and gives you a record in text of what you've been told in case of future questions.

Or post your problems here--oops, we may not be here much longer--never mind!

It's not the accents that usually are a problem for me. (I don't know why. I'm monolingual.) It's the lack of training of tech support. Some of them not only have no knowledge beyond their scripts, but can't understand questions outside of a limited set.

I went through an annoying experience with Dell last year. I wanted the drivers for a new monitor, as they weren't included with it. (Those may be required to get Windows to recognize the monitor correctly.) They were a little obscure because the monitor was one that probably was rarely sold. Dell tech support couldn't understand what I wanted. I eventually managed to compose a Web search that located them, no thanks to Dell.

Over the years, I've learned to lie to tech support people who try to lead me through steps I've already taken. Doesn't save a lot of time, but it reduces the amount I grind my teeth. ;-)

A couple of years ago, I had a Windows activation issue. I called MS repeatedly until I got a support person who was able to help. (I think it was the third support person I reached.) I mention that to prove that it is (or was) possible to find a knowledgeable support person.

Disclosure: I presume that support people hate me. I'm not the type they are prepared to deal with.

 

[Austinian]

(I'd prefer dealing with a company that doesn't outsouce its support to Asia, but that may be the cost of getting a low price.)

Very likely.

OP: My suggestion for manufacturer support if needed--use the 'chat' function rather than phone if possible. It takes care of any language accent problems, and gives you a record in text of what you've been told in case of future questions.

Or post your problems here--oops, we may not be here much longer--never mind!

It's not the accents that usually are a problem for me. (I don't know why. I'm monolingual.) It's the lack of training of tech support. Some of them not only have no knowledge beyond their scripts, but can't understand questions outside of a limited set.

I went through an annoying experience with Dell last year. I wanted the drivers for a new monitor, as they weren't included with it. (Those may be required to get Windows to recognize the monitor correctly.) They were a little obscure because the monitor was one that probably was rarely sold. Dell tech support couldn't understand what I wanted. I eventually managed to compose a Web search that located them, no thanks to Dell.

Over the years, I've learned to lie to tech support people who try to lead me through steps I've already taken. Doesn't save a lot of time, but it reduces the amount I grind my teeth. ;-)

A couple of years ago, I had a Windows activation issue. I called MS repeatedly until I got a support person who was able to help. (I think it was the third support person I reached.) I mention that to prove that it is (or was) possible to find a knowledgeable support person.

Disclosure: I presume that support people hate me. I'm not the type they are prepared to deal with.

Good for you! If more people were demanding good tech support from the major makers, maybe we'd get it. (Hopelessly optimistic, I know )

I was pleasantly surprised that my primary Windows install (full retail) activated online for the new build with no fuss at all. The gaming/testing (free Insider W10 license) didn't, but that's OK. The new desktop setup doesn't really need it, and Insider had gotten boring anyway.