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 and useful 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 in 2022? 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, with no additional cost to you. This is to support the work we are doing.
- What’s the Best PC Build for Photo Editing in 2022? Here are our Recommendations
- Intel Photo Editing PC Builds
- AMD Photo Editing PC Builds
- Considerations for a Photo Editing PC build
- Why build a PC for Photography instead of buying a pre-built one?
- Most important Components for Best Photo Editing PC Build
- Paid Photo Editing Software
- Free Photo Editing Software
- Conclusion
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What’s the Best PC Build for Photo Editing in 2022? 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.
Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
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Intel Core i5 Core 12400F Desktop Processor 18M Cache, up to... | 639 Reviews | $164.95 | View on Amazon |
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Seagate Bare Drives BarraCuda 1TB Internal Hard Drive HDD... | 101,421 Reviews | $45.89 | View on Amazon |
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Biostar Radeon RX 550 4GB GDDR5 128-Bit DirectX 12 PCI... | 389 Reviews | $132.88 | View on Amazon |
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SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus SSD 250GB NVMe M.2 Internal Solid State... | 45,885 Reviews | $64.99 | View on Amazon |
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Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz C16... | 74,947 Reviews | $48.99 | View on Amazon |
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Thermaltake Smart 430W 80+ Black Continuous Power ATX 12V... | 18,887 Reviews | $34.99 | View on Amazon |
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GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 (B660/ Intel/LGA 1700/ Micro-ATX/... | 1,684 Reviews | $109.99 | View on Amazon |
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Logitech MK270 Wireless Keyboard And Mouse Combo For... | 78,978 Reviews | $22.99 | View on Amazon |
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AeroCool Cylon RGB Mid Tower with Acrylic Side window, Black | 6,139 Reviews | $54.99 | View on Amazon |
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ASUS ProArt Display PA248QV 24.1” WUXGA (1920 x 1200)... | 1,004 Reviews | $179.99 | View on Amazon |
Last update on 2023-01-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
NB: The CPU Cooler is bundled with the processor.
Alternative Budget Hardware – Intel Photo Editing PC Build
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.