What’s the Best PC Build for Photo Editing in 2024?

Photography cannot be done effectively without a PC for editing your shots. Even though there are smartphone apps that edit photos, however, nothing can replace editing your shots on a computer. You need a handy guide, which is where this guide comes in, to help you select the best hardware components. So what’s the Best PC Build for Photo Editing? We’ve got answers for you. Keep reading.

Follow the recommendations for the best photography PC build. The components for each build have been vetted and cross-checked for compatibility issues. This page contains affiliate links. Please note that qualifying purchases made through this page may earn us a little commission, at no additional cost to you. This is to support the work we are doing.

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What’s the Best PC Build for Photo Editing? Here are our recommendations

Intel Photo Editing PC Builds

This build is within the $500-700 budget range. If you’re a beginner photographer, a student, or a hobbyist, this might be ideal for you.

NB: The CPU Cooler is bundled with the processor.

Alternative Budget Hardware – Intel Photo Editing PC Build

PART	BRAND/MODEL
Processor Options (Can only be paired with 1151 Motherboards below)	Intel Core i3-9100F Intel Core i3-9100 Intel Core i3-8100 Intel Core i5-8400 Intel Core i5-9400 Intel Core i5-9600K
Graphics Card Options (It’s preferable to go for an NVIDIA card for CUDA processing)	AMD Radeon RX 570 AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT GeForce GTX 1660 Super Radeon RX 580 GeForce GTX 1650 AMD Radeon RX 560 Geforce GTX 1050 Ti GeForce GT 1030 GeForce GTX 1060 GeForce GT 710
Storage Drive Option	Seagate Barracuda 3TB
Boot Drive Options	Samsung SSD 860 EVO 250GB Crucial MX500 250GB 3D NAND SATA M.2
RAM Options	Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB Crucial Ballistix 3200 MHz DDR4 16GB XPG Z1 DDR4 3000MHz 16GB HyperX Fury 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 G.Skill RipJaws V Series 16GB DDR4 Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16GB DDR4 TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB DDR4 16GB 3200MHz
CPU Cooler	Bundled
Power Supply Options	Thermaltake Smart 500W Thermaltake Smart 430W 80+ EVGA 450 BR, 80+ BRONZE 450W Corsair CX Series 450 Watt 80 Plus SilverStone Technology 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Rosewill Arc Series 450 Watt 80 Plus Bronze EVGA 500 80+ Bronze 500W GIGABYTE 80 Plus Bronze 500W ROSEWILL Modular Power Supply, 80 Plus Gold 500w  Cooler Master MWE 500 Bronze, 80+  Corsair CX Series 500 Watt 80 Plus Bronze  Corsair CX Series 550 Watt 80 Plus Bronze Cougar VTX450 Power Supply 80+ Bronze Certified 450W Apevia Astro 500W ATX Power Supply
Motherboard Options	MSI ProSeries Intel B365 LGA 1151 Motherboard Asus Prime H310M Asus PRIME B360M-A Gigabyte B365M Prime H310M-E R2.0
Keyboard/Mouse Options	Logitech MK550 Wireless Wave Keyboard and Mouse Combo Havit Rainbow Backlit Wired Gaming Keyboard Mouse Combo Logitech MK270 Wireless Keyboard & Mouse Combo Logitech MK710 Wireless Keyboard & Mouse Combo Dell Wireless Keyboard & Mouse Combo AmazonBasics USB Wired Computer Keyboard Mouse
Case Options	ROSEWILL ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case NZXT H210 Mini-ITX PC Gaming Case Enermax LL30 RGB Mid Tower CORSAIR 110Q Mid-Tower Quiet ATX darkFlash Micro ATX Cooler Master MasterBox MB511 Zalman T7 ATX Mid Tower Cooler Master MCB ATX
Display Options	BenQ 24 Inch IPS Monitor ASUS 23.8” Monitor, 1080P Philips 32″ Curved Frameless Monitor Asus Eye Care Monitor Full HD 27″ Frameless ASUS 24″ ProArt Professional HP 23.8-inch Full HD 1080p IPS LED Monitor

On the Intel budget configuration option, we have the Intel Core i5 10500 processor paired with the Gigabyte H410M S2H (LGA1200) platform motherboard. At a decent price, this processor doesn’t disappoint. It is capable of handling Photoshop or Lightroom workflows, though your output will dramatically increase with a higher processor like i7 or i9. 

The RAM is 16GB of fast DDR4 RAM from Corsair for multitasking. However, be warned that 8GB of RAM is not enough for the RAM-hungry Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom. It is advisable to go for at least 16GB of RAM for a budget build. 

For the graphics card, we recommend the Biostar Radeon RX 550, a budget card that should serve your purposes. However, if you prefer a lower-priced card, you may go for the NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 1030 which is a great budget card, with CUDA capabilities. We decided to go for an AMD card, but you can actually go for the NVIDIA card. 

Storage options include a 1TB Seagate Barracuda for storing your photos and other files and a Samsung 860 EVO NVMe 250GB SSD for your boot drive. The idea is to install Windows on the SSD for faster boot and file handling operations.

Other components include the optional LG Blu-ray Optical drive for archiving your photos to a Blu-ray disc, the Logitech MK270 Wireless Keyboard and mouse combo which is also optional, the Thermaltake Smart 430 Watts power supply, and the AeroCool Cylon RGB Mid Tower PC Case, a beautiful and functional ATX case with lots of expansion options. With this selection of components, you’d be totally proud of your budget photo editing PC build.

Finally, you need a capable monitor that will deliver great results when viewing photos on your computer. The monitor is optional though, but if you like it, you can go for the Viewsonic 24-inch professional monitor. This is a great monitor that performs incredibly well with its excellent color reproduction capabilities.