Upgrade current PC system or buy new with a $3000 budget

MSH411

MSH411

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Feb 23, 2024
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#1
With post processing software rapidly expanding and using AI I picked up a desktop that I thought would last a couple years..... nope.

Victus Desktop
Windows 11
System Type x64-based PC
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G with Radeon Graphics, 3800 Mhz, 8 Core(s), 16 Logical Processor(s)
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 32.0 GB
Total Physical Memory 31.3 GB

Topaz, DXO and Adobe have all offered enhancements to their applications, Topaz some sharping and recovery tools that I may want to use to restore some old images. Problem is, my current PC can't do it in minutes, it takes hours. I am not that tolerant.

I don't want to build one, I can possibly upgrade the system I have and either way it has to be Windows OS. Any suggestions for a solid desktop within $3000
 
#3
Echoing the above. I suspect your issue is the lack of dedicated graphics card, maybe the RAM, but 32GB is not bad by any stretch.

You might also look for bottlenecks. For example, what’s your RAM speed? Where are the images stored and what is the read/write speed of that unit (hard drive vs SSD)? What type of SSD: SATA vs NVMe? Even the circuits on your motherboard could be limiting. But unless you are reading/writing to something slow, it is likely a lack of a dedicated GPU.
 
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#4
Thank you gentlemen. After doing some reading/research it appears that I would have to change the motherboard to upgrade the GPU.

Doc, I do read/write to external drives but they are the Samsung T9 Portable SSD 2TB - 2,000MB/s. The read write isn't the challenge it's the processing, especially when attempting to use the new Topaz GP and PAI tech that was just released.
 
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#5
MSH411 said:
Thank you gentlemen. After doing some reading/research it appears that I would have to change the motherboard to upgrade the GPU.

Doc, I do read/write to external drives but they are the Samsung T9 Portable SSD 2TB - 2,000MB/s. The read write isn't the challenge it's the processing, especially when attempting to use the new Topaz GP and PAI tech that was just released.
Click to expand...

Prebuilt computers can be very good, but you have to be quite careful who you buy from. I would go with Puget Systems if you're able to order from them.

What motherboard, case and PSU do you have?

You could link a CPU-Z report. You get this you can share if you didn't know about it.
 
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#6
MSH411 said:
Thank you gentlemen. After doing some reading/research it appears that I would have to change the motherboard to upgrade the GPU.

Doc, I do read/write to external drives but they are the Samsung T9 Portable SSD 2TB - 2,000MB/s. The read write isn't the challenge it's the processing, especially when attempting to use the new Topaz GP and PAI tech that was just released.
Click to expand...
One last attempt before you drop the money on a new computer, but check not only your USB ports but even your cables can sometimes be limiting. Of course, online research is possible, but you can also just try to transfer a large block of files on/off to check read/write speed.
 
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#7
docsmith said:
One last attempt before you drop the money on a new computer, but check not only your USB ports but even your cables can sometimes be limiting. Of course, online research is possible, but you can also just try to transfer a large block of files on/off to check read/write speed.
Click to expand...

Si... Make sure a new board has either a USB-4 header or integrated port. 10gb port too if you want to work off a network drive.
 
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#8
I've been using a macbook pro since 2017 (first one), upgraded to M1 max MBP (2021), and now M4 Max (week or so ago). I would recommend you go new unless your system is not that old. Plus it gives you an existing system to have in the event of build issues. Not everyone is a fan of mac ( I hate the OS but love the form factor and power) the M4 max is simply incredible. I just ran a denoise on 4000+ pictures in a third of the time it used to take on my old PC (ryzen 9 16 cores 128gb of ram)
 
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#9
OldDudePhotog said:
I've been using a macbook pro since 2017 (first one), upgraded to M1 max MBP (2021), and now M4 Max (week or so ago). I would recommend you go new unless your system is not that old. Plus it gives you an existing system to have in the event of build issues. Not everyone is a fan of mac ( I hate the OS but love the form factor and power) the M4 max is simply incredible. I just ran a denoise on 4000+ pictures in a third of the time it used to take on my old PC (ryzen 9 16 cores 128gb of ram)
Click to expand...
Luckily I no longer have to batch process bulk images so time is not that big of an issue. I do want to have a system that will allow me to have multiple applications open in my workflow and process/render images in a timely fashion. Topaz released some new functionality that I would like to try but the processing times to render the images is in double digit hours. My focus would be to restore and enlarge some older images.

For that my current system is a bust, I don't want to build I want to buy, I want it specifically for image processing (also office and what not...), to carry me a couple years, run the new functionality, no video and I don't want to wait hours.

Not being a computer geek I was hoping someone in the US would look at the budget and say buy this..... because I would if I had the available resources.
 
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#10
MSH411 said:
Luckily I no longer have to batch process bulk images so time is not that big of an issue. I do want to have a system that will allow me to have multiple applications open in my workflow and process/render images in a timely fashion. Topaz released some new functionality that I would like to try but the processing times to render the images is in double digit hours. My focus would be to restore and enlarge some older images.

For that my current system is a bust, I don't want to build I want to buy, I want it specifically for image processing (also office and what not...), to carry me a couple years, run the new functionality, no video and I don't want to wait hours.

Not being a computer geek I was hoping someone in the US would look at the budget and say buy this..... because I would if I had the available resources.
Click to expand...

These are some good system builders in the USA.
There are a few others.
 
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#14
Thanks to everyone that gave me feedback. I ended up using Digital Storm, great group to work with and we built a solid system.

Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (5.6 GHz Turbo) (24-Core) (8P+16E) (Arrow Lake)
Motherboard: ASUS Z890 MAX GAMING (Wi-Fi) (Intel Z890) (Up to 3x PCI-E Devices) (No SLI) (DDR5)
System Memory: 64GB DDR5 6400MT/s Kingston FURY RGB
Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12GB (VR Ready)
Power Supply: 750W Digital Storm Performance Series (80 Plus Gold)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Digital Storm M.2 Performance Series) (NVM Express)
Storage Set 2: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Samsung 990 PRO) (NVM Express)
Storage Set 3: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Digital Storm M.2 Performance Series) (NVM Express)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Sound Card: Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 3: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler (Triple Fan) (Fully Sealed + No Maintenance)
Cable Management: Premium Cable Management (Strategically Routed & Organized for Airflow)
Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled Advanced LED Lighting System (Multiple RGB Color Modes)
Chassis Fans: Digital Storm Performance Series (RGB Fans)
CPU Boost: Turbo Boost Technology
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home (64-Bit)
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 4 Year Limited Warranty (4 Year Labor & 2 Year Part Replacement)
 
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#15
MSH411 said:
Thanks to everyone that gave me feedback. I ended up using Digital Storm, great group to work with and we built a solid system.

Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (5.6 GHz Turbo) (24-Core) (8P+16E) (Arrow Lake)
Motherboard: ASUS Z890 MAX GAMING (Wi-Fi) (Intel Z890) (Up to 3x PCI-E Devices) (No SLI) (DDR5)
System Memory: 64GB DDR5 6400MT/s Kingston FURY RGB
Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12GB (VR Ready)
Power Supply: 750W Digital Storm Performance Series (80 Plus Gold)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Digital Storm M.2 Performance Series) (NVM Express)
Storage Set 2: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Samsung 990 PRO) (NVM Express)
Storage Set 3: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Digital Storm M.2 Performance Series) (NVM Express)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Sound Card: Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 3: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler (Triple Fan) (Fully Sealed + No Maintenance)
Cable Management: Premium Cable Management (Strategically Routed & Organized for Airflow)
Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled Advanced LED Lighting System (Multiple RGB Color Modes)
Chassis Fans: Digital Storm Performance Series (RGB Fans)
CPU Boost: Turbo Boost Technology
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home (64-Bit)
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 4 Year Limited Warranty (4 Year Labor & 2 Year Part Replacement)
Click to expand...

That's a good system and the 4070 will serve you well. The price jump to the 4080 is diminishing returns for a lot of applications. Heavy modern gaming on the Unreal or Crysis engines, sure.. move up.

Does the board have usb-4? If not, it should have a header. I'd ask if the Asus usb-4 card is compatible if there's no port. I guess I could look it up, but there are a bunch of versions of that board.
 
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#16
Thanks CR, the tech did most of the heavy lifting. They are a real good group so I appreciate you pointing me in there direction.

So I have zero clue what the heck you are talking about but the details on the board have this.....

1x USB4 card connector (JTBT_U4_1, supports RTD3)
 
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