That would be a modest, but adequate machine. I would suggest a 9700X as a significantly better CPU for not much more cost. RAM prices are going up high now, so 32GB is probably what makes sense but 64GB is better. A 5060 Ti is good enough for most image processing purposes and the 16GB of RAM will keep it relevant without going up to a 5070 Ti or 5080.
What type of editing tools are you typically using? Some tools use much more CPU and GPU power compared to others. You can work quite comfortably using a relatively economical machine when doing exposure and composition related edits. You really won't gain much benefit from the fastest hardware unless you're using complex filters or AI tools. Even then, if you're editing a handful of individual images each day, the time savings may not be worth the cost. If you're bulk processing hundreds of images, the economics of time could be different.
I built a 9700X, 32GB, and a repurposed 4060 that for someone last year. LR may be a RAM hog, but DXO and PS are fine with it on 24MP images. A 5060 Ti is even better, so for a modest build like that is fine and probably much better than what the OP has. If you have 64GB maybe there is less unloading of Abode to free the RAM, but it's not a huge burden for moderate workflows.
EB-1 wrote:
I built a 9700X, 32GB, and a repurposed 4060 that for someone last year. LR may be a RAM hog, but DXO and PS are fine with it on 24MP images. A 5060 Ti is even better, so for a modest build like that is fine and probably much better than what the OP has. If you have 64GB maybe there is less unloading of Abode to free the RAM, but it's not a huge burden for moderate workflows.
EBH
This information gives me an idea of what I need. Thanks for your advice.
On Windows, different power profiles can have more dramatic effects on performance than the incremental differences between processors. Just setting your computer to "high performance" mode while using PS or LR can boost benchmark scores by 30%.
Is 32 GB enough ram and is the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 Gb adequate?
Thanks in advance.
Cherubino
I did not read all the replies. I will metion this...
I have my photo computer built to me specs by Puget Systems in Seattle.
They have tech advice on all components and also have a "Ps capable" basic unit. They go over all the latest and greatest in computer "stuff" in depth.
Danpbphoto wrote:
I did not read all the replies. I will metion this...
I have my photo computer built to me specs by Puget Systems in Seattle.
They have tech advice on all components and also have a "Ps capable" basic unit. They go over all the latest and greatest in computer "stuff" in depth.
I think the Puget Sound is more high end than the more practical system the OP wants, but it might be worth checking. They do seem to be overly heavy on Adobe rather than other software.
EB-1 wrote:
I think the Puget Sound is more high end than the more practical system the OP wants, but it might be worth checking. They do seem to be overly heavy on Adobe rather than other software.
EBH
That may well be "EB". I am a man of very thrifty means and association with Puget was many many years ago as they were rising in "building custom computers". I still have my 16 year old 1st "buy" and it is still running, power on 24/7, running Win7..yeah it's slow but it is running.
Their prices were a tad higher than a "brand name" build but their Customer Service is top shelf and they will help you with problems that my "mind" has trouble assimilating. Not essentially hardware limited.
My post was more for the OP's searching out info on components and a great discussion on the "latest and greatest technology".
Thanks!
Dan
My last "build" with Puget was 2022. I need to upgrade..
What has Nvidia actually improved over the last 3 generations of RTX cards? The hardware seems mostly the same and performance gains are negligible at best in benchmark tests. The 3060 still seems like a viable choice compared to the latest cards.
There was a substantial improvement between the high end 30 and 40 series for most purposes. I ran a 3060 Ti back in late 2021 to early 2023, replaced it with a 4070 Ti and the difference was quite a lot. OTOH, the 50 series is not so much better than 40 series (especially super) but so what? The 40 series was mostly long gone by the time you could get a 50 series. Anyone serious that does not have one of the higher grade 40 or 40 super series GPUs and building now would be getting a 5070 Ti, 5080, or even 5090.
My 3060 Ti is out of operation now as I replaced the 4070 Ti with a 5080 and put the 4070 Ti in the other system that had the 3060 Ti. In DXO I'm seeing about 1/3 faster with 5080 than 4070 Ti, that most people think is fast enough already. I would be quite annoyed with RAW conversions if I had to use a 3060 Ti for 45-61MP images going into 2026.
At FM everyone seems to be using the Adobe, but the majority of use is playing games and the 40 series were the first to have DLSS 3.0 and then the 50 series with DLSS 4.0.
That is why you can "mix and match" to your liking. Either by a company or by yourself. If you can do it by yourself,,"God Bless Ya!!" I wont' say "I can't" but I will say I don't want to at 781/2.
The better I think I "understand" technology through research reviews the better an informed consumer.
I do NO "gaming". Photography and music only. Minimal "AI" CAF in Br.
Dan
There's likely a fair amount of cross-over between gaming orientated GPU features and video editing. For still photo editing, the fastest GPU is only going to help in very specific tasks. Having 16gb of VRAM is useful since that enables auto GPU preview processing in Lightroom.
Edit: 16gb of VRAM is not necessary for Lr preview generation. A supported GPU with less memory can be forced to work on previews by setting it to "on". 16gb is only necessary for the "auto" setting to assign work to the GPU.
The RTX 50 series finally implemented some abilites for video processing that previous RTX nVidias did not have.
Edit: The RTX 50 series (Blackwell) architecture introduced hardware-accelerated H.264/H.265 10-bit 4:2:2 decoding and encoding. Apparently that is a big deal to some video-oriented users.
