Photo Editing PC

Jan 11, 2010 (archive)


This PC is designed to be quick enough for photo editing with some resistance to obsolescence. It doesn't need to play games, but needs to be relatively quiet and portable enough to move without a major hassle. It should also look good, just because it can and should. To accomplish this I chose the relatively new Intel i5 750 processor with 4 Gigs of dual channel DDR3 memory, a motherboard that supports it and USB 3.0, Windows 7 64 bit to allow memory upgrades beyond 4 GB (up to 16 GB for this board), and a fantastic case with huge fans (run slower and quiet), handles, and convenient top access for USB ports, etc.


Component New Egg Item Price
Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail N82E16819115215 $194.99
GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail N82E16813128412 $134.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH - Retail N82E16820231279 $126.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail N82E16817139003 $67.99
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail N82E16811119196 89.99
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive N82E16822152181 $54.9
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM N82E16832116754 $104.99
Total   $774.93

I didn't list either the video card or the DVD burner because I already had an NVIDIA 6600 and LG Burner. Both are required -- however they are cheap. A reasonable cheap (non-gaming) video card would be a NVIDIA GeForce 9500 like this one for $50 or so. There are good pictures and a great video clip of the case at Tiger Direct here