Best PCs for Photo Editing (13 Desktops & AIOs for 2020)

When it comes to photo editing, you’re going to want a high-performing PC to do the job. Editing software takes a pretty big toll on your computer’s memory and overall performance when in use.

If you don’t have high enough specs, you’ll find your PC handling the program in a rather sluggish manner. With all this in mind, there are certain factors need to consider when choosing the best PCs for photo editing.

Key Things to Consider When Choosing the Best PCs for Photo Editing:

• Available storage space
• Amount of RAM
• Type of processor
• Type of graphics card
• Price

As a photographer, having access to your files and also having enough storage space to install and run your programs is key. You’ll ideally want a PC with 1TB or more in storage.

The best PCs have ample RAM, this allows you to handle performance-heavy programs with ease. Look for a PC with 8GB of RAM at a minimum.

Processors and graphics cards vary from PC to PC, you ideally want high-performers on both ends. The latest Intel i5 or above is a great choice, paired with a powerful NVIDIA or Radeon graphics card.

Price is the final factor and one that comes down to your personal budget. If you have a tight budget, expect to make cuts in some of the above departments to find a PC in your price range.

We have divided our research and writing in two parts.

The first part covers (gaming) PCs which due to their processing power are ideal for photo editing. You will have to buy a monitor for photo editing separately. Also, you may want to buy a non-gaming keyboard. Finally, an editing tool like the Wacom tablet is advisable for maximum editing convenience.

The second part covers the so called All-in-One PCs. These are ideal for those who want a complete unit ready to use straight out-of-the-box. These units come with the processing tower, a display (usually large) unit and a keyboard. Some, like the Apple iMac comes with a pointer device too.

The third part covers the best budget PC units. These are great for everyday office work. A little bit better build than your average office PC. Just so that they can take the additional responsibility of photo editing whenever necessary. We have not gone for the absolutely dirt cheap units because they can be a frustrating experience when you are using Photoshop.

Best (Gaming) Desktop PCs for Photo Editing

1. CyberPowerPC Gamer Master Desktop Computer
2. MSI Trident X Plus Gaming Desktop
3. Dell Alienware Aurora R8 Gaming Desktop PC
4. HP OMEN Obelisk Desktop Computer
5. MSI Trident 3 Desktop Computer

Best All-in-One PCs for Photo Editing

6. Apple 27” iMac with Retina 5K Display (Mid 2017) – Still good in 2020
7. Apple iMac 21.5” (Mid 2017) – Still good in 2020
8. Microsoft Surface Studio 2 28” (best pc for photo editing A-I-O)
9. HP Pavilion 27” All-in-One Computer

Best Budget PCs for Photo Editing

10. HP Pavilion Gaming 9400F
11. Skytech Shiva Gaming PC
12. Skytech Blaze II
13. Dell XPS 8930 (2019)

Best (Gaming) Desktop PCs for Photo Editing

1. CyberPowerPC Gamer Master Desktop Computer

The CyberPowerPC's Game Master Desktop Computer is the first of many Gaming PCs on our list. It’s powered by an 8-core processor, which is perfect for handling high demand tasks. It comes with a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card, giving you stunning visual performance. In terms of RAM, you get 16GB, more than enough for running most programs.

And if you’re worried about storage, fear not, this PC comes with 240GB SSD and another 2TB of storage on a built-in hard drive!

Okay, so we’ll admit this is quite a power-heavy PC and you might be wondering why. But trust us, you’ll be thankful for it when it comes to using some super-high-performance programs. Where you’d normally expect a lag, you’ll find none. And if you want to dip into video editing, you’ll still find that this PC offers more than enough.

2. MSI Trident X Plus Gaming Desktop

Both the 3.2 GHz Intel Core i7-8700 Six-Core processor and the 3.2 GHz Intel Core i7-8700K Six-Core processor have very similar real world performance. They are both capable of hyper-threading (hyper threading denotes where each physical core is capable of splitting into two virtual cores, and that allows them to handle additional processes).

3.2 GHz Intel Core i7-8700 Six-Core vs 3.2 GHz Intel Core i7-8700K Six-Core

The difference in price is just a few dollars and the base clock speed is 3.2 GHz as compared to the K’s 3.7 GHz. So, in terms of RAW processing power there wouldn’t be too much of a difference. You save some extra cash and some extra heat as the K generates more heat during max load.

Justification: Do I need the MSI Trident X Plus?

We say again, for Lightroom you don’t need the K. The basic 3.2 GHz Intel Core i7-8700 Six-Core processor is more than enough for your requirements. You would also be able to run Photoshop with some degree of satisfaction depending on your preferred tools of editing. The only reason you would want to fork more money for something like a Core i9 or an AMD Ryzen 9 SoC would be because of future diversification into video editing or generating time-lapse and or hyper-lapse sequences. These are resource hogging applications are the best places where you can expect that your virtual cores capable of running extra threads to come in handy.

Related Post: Best Computers for Video Editing

About the stock cooler

Now a word about the stock cooler of the 3.2 GHz Intel Core i7-8700 Six-Core processor. The stock cooler on the 3.2 GHz Intel Core i7-8700 Six-Core processor isn’t the best. So, heat generation would be an issue. A better cooler would be in order if you would like to run resource hungry applications.

Other Specs

The other specs of the PC are 16 GB of DDR4 memory, 256 GB NVMe SSD plus a 2 TB normal HDD storage, and a MSI GeForce RTX 2080 VENTUS 8G GPU.  This would have been higher on our list of the best pc for photo editing, but for the stock cooler. Nevertheless, this is a good option if you choose a better cooler for more resource hogging applications.

3. Dell Alienware Aurora R8 Gaming Desktop PC

And going with the same argument with which we concluded the previous paragraph we recommend the Dell Alienware Aurora R8. Another 3.2 GHz Intel Core i7 8^th Gen SoC with 6 physical cores.

More cores are better!

The basic thumb-rule in high end PCs is that more the cores you have the better that PC is at multi-tasking. And believe you me when I say this, gaming PCs are the best when it comes to editing photos as well as videos. That is why we have includes the Dell Alienware Aurora R8 as one of the best PCs for photo editing.

Armed with a 3.2 GHz Intel Core i7-8700 six core chip and with the power to multi-thread and therefore handle 12 threads at a time. One of the major advantages of investing in a proper gaming PC is the cooling mechanism. The Aurora R8 comes with an optional liquid cooling system. That basically means this monster is designed to handle demanding games, or in our case work with even the most demanding tools in Photoshop.

Other Specs

The other specs of the R8 are – 16 GB DDR4, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 graphics with 8 GB GDDR6 memory. There are twin storage options inside. One is the fast 256 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD and the other is a 1 TB 7200 rpm hard drive. The best thing about the Aurora R8 is that the tower gives you tool less access. So scalability is easy and is a definite advantage. One of the best pc for photo editing if you are on the Windows platform.

4. HP OMEN Obelisk Desktop Computer

If the configurations do not make sense the name should be a giveaway. The Obelisk is powered by a Core i7-9700K 8 core processor. The chip does not support multi-threading so only 8 threads are supported. The base clock speed of the chip is 3.6 GHz. But it can be tweaked to 4.9 GHz using Intel’s Turbo Boost 2.0 technology.

Other Specs

The other specifications of the PC include 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 GPU with 8 GB DDR6 VRAM and 512 GB of PCIe M.2 SSD storage. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 is faster and more efficient than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 that we discussed above.

Although this comparison is strictly in terms of gaming performance and against established benchmarks in that segment, it is safe to assume that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 would be the better choice for video editing. For purely photo editing purposes, which we are concerned with, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is more than enough.

5. MSI Trident 3 Desktop Computer

The MSI Trident is a VR ready computer. It is powered by a 3.0 GHz Intel Core i7 9^th Gen Eight-Core processor which is paired with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (6GB GDDR6). The CPU does not support hyper threading. Also there is no bundled cooler with the CPU which means you will need to purchase that separately.

Related Post: Best External Hard Drives for Photographers

Other Specs

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is a reasonably powerful mid-range GPU and the 3 GHz Intel Core i7 9^th Gen Eight-Core processor combination makes for a potent combination. For photo editing the combination gives you smooth results when using resource hogging tools on Photoshop.

The internal memory of the PC is 16 GB DDR4. VRAM is 6 GB GDDR6. Internal storage is 512 GB NVMe PCIe SSD. Definitely one of the best pc for photo editing if you are on a budget.

Best All-in-One PCs for Photo Editing

6. Apple 27” iMac with Retina 5K Display (Mid 2017)

You can’t leave an iMac out of any discussion to do with photo or video editing. Or for that matter anything to do with visual content creation. Because an iMac has one of the best calibrated displays in the market straight out of the box. It’s a visual content creator’s absolute delight. The problem is a 2019 edition iMac costs in excess of $5K. Yes, at that price you do get the entire setup and not just the tower, but the amount is significant.

Thus, we decided to pick some budget options which are 2017 releases. Slightly cheaper but equally useful regardless.

This all in one unit is a mid-2017 edition. But don’t take it lightly. Under the hood the 27” iMac is a powerful tool in the right hands. Powering the iMac is powered by a 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5 Quad-Core processor. The processor can be overclocked to a maximum of 3.8 GHz.

Display

Being an AIO unit the iMac comes with a display unit as well. The 27” display has a resolution of 5K. A 5120 x 2880 this is a Retina Display. The maximum brightness of the screen is 500 CD/m².

Other Specs

8 GB of DDR4 RAM makes up for the built-in storage. The iMac gets a 1 TB Fusion Drive as its main storage. Graphics is supported by the AMD Radeon Pro 570 Graphics card with an integrated 4GB of memory.

7. Apple iMac 21.5” (Mid 2017)

While we absolutely adore a large bright and high resolution display, the same may not be within the budget of most photographers. Especially when you consider upgrading to the Mac platform. Thus many photographers would have to remain contended with a slightly smaller screen. Something like a 21.5” display.

Powering the iMac 21.5” is a 7^th Gen Kaby Lake 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 Dual-Core processor. The processor can be overclocked to a maximum of 3.6 GHz. The 21.5” is practical and should be enough for editing images in full scale. The only thing is it does not offer 4K resolution. It offers full HD resolution only.

Other Specs

Internal memory is 16 GB DDR4. Graphics is powered by an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 chipset. This particular configuration comes with a 256 GB SSD storage.

8. Microsoft Surface Studio 2 28”

The Microsoft Surface Studio 2 is an All-in-One desktop unit designed keeping in mind the visual content creator. Photographers and video editors. With a stand design that lets you push the display all the way to your work desk to work like a flat piece of paper for maximum editing convenience.

We recently did a review where we compared the Surface Studio 2 against the Lenovo Yoga A940. The USP of these two computers are that they both feature a large high resolution display. The Surface Studio 2 is a very highly rated system, ideal for users who prefer a large palette that is capable of displaying their high-res images in almost 1:1 scale. The 28” display of the Surface Studio 2 has a resolution of 4500 x 3000 dots.

Specs

The power of the Surface Studio 2 comes from a 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7 – 7820HQ processor paired with 16 GB of DDR4 RAM. Graphics is powered by NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 GPU with 6 GB GDDR5 VRAM. Storage is entirely solid state drive. This particular iteration of the Surface Studio 2 comes with 1 TB SSD unit. Overall this is our preferred choice as the best pc for photo editing in the A-i-O segment.

Touch

A large 28” display that also supports touch. Multi-touch to be precise. There is nothing that gives more pleasure. Because when you are using the Surface Pen to edit your images, you can also pinch to zoom in and out and do much more than that using the fingers of your other hand.

9. HP Pavilion 27” All-in-One Computer

There are multiple iterations / versions of the HP Pavilion 27-inch A-I-O unit. This particular version is powered by an Intel Core i7-8700T 6-Core CPU. The base clock speed of the CPU is 2.4 GHz but the same can be overclocked up to a maximum of 4 GHz.

Display

The large 27” display offers a resolution of 2560 x 1440. This is a IPS WLED – backlit micro-edge monitor.

Related Post: Best Laptops for Photo Editing (12 Laptops Compared)

Other Specs

Internal memory of the system is composed of 16GB DDR4 RAM. Graphics of the system is powered by a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 GPU with 4 GB of GDDR5 VRAM. Storage of the system is comprised of 256 GB NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD. As a secondary storage unit a 2 TB SATA drive is also included. The SSD becomes your primary storage which stores the applications and the operating system for quick boot. The image and video files get stored in the SATA drive.

Best Budget PCs for Photo Editing

10. HP Pavilion Gaming 9400F

Major Specs

This HP Pavilion is a gaming desktop powered by a Core i5 9400F processor and paired with a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB GDDR6 GPU. The processor is paired with 16GB of RAM. 256 GB SSD unit takes care of the storage. Solid state drives are faster than their HDD cousins and this has a significant bearing on performance. Whether you are playing games or editing videos an SSD gives you better smoothness.

The Hexa core processor can fire at up to 2.9 GHz when set to base. When maxed out the processor can reach a maximum clock speed of 4.1 GHz. But a lot of the processing is also handled by the GPU.

Why the HP Pavilion Gaming 9400F Makes Good Buying Sense

A standard desktop PC is never a standalone work unit. It doubles up as your entertainment hub time and again. And that is why the HP Pavilion Gaming 9400F comes with 5.1 Surround Sound output.

11. Skytech Shiva Gaming PC

Major Specs

The best PCs for photo editing not always have to be the elite gaming units. There are plenty of mid-range units powered by 7^th 8^th and 9^th Gen Core i5 and i7 processors that can do a decent job. We have already recommended the HP Pavilion Gaming above which is powered by a Core i5 9400F processor. Now that one does not support hyper threading. But the one that we are going to recommend next does.

Yes, the Skytech Shiva is a gaming PC, but it costs much less than something like the CyberPowerPC Gamer Master or the MSI Trident X Plus we have recommended here. So, if you are looking for something in the budget segment then the Skytech Shiva is definitely a product you can take a look at.

The Skytech Shiva is powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 2600 6-core processor. The processor supports hyperthreading with each core having two logical cores (total 12 threads). The base clock speed of the processor is 3.4 GHz. It can be boosted to 3.9 GHz max.

Graphics is powered by an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU with 6 GB GDDR6 memory. The main internal memory of the processor is a 16 GB DDR4 3000 RAM. Storage is powered by a 500 GB SSD unit.

Why the Skytech Shiva Makes Buying Sense?

In reality, a system like this is probably more useful for handling video editing because of the multithreading capabilities. That said, this leaves options open when you do decide to shoot videos and edit them on your PC.

12. Skytech Blaze II

Major Specs

This is the second Skytech desktop PC that we have selected on this list. This one too is powered by a Ryzen 5 2600 6-Core processor. The base clock speed is 3.4 GHz but you can boost it up to a maximum of 3.9 GHz.

Graphics on the PC are powered by NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 GPU with 6 GB GDDR5 VRAM. A total of 500 GB SSD storage is preinstalled. Plus the PC also comes with 8 GB DDR4 memory.

But even though we are pushing this as a photo editing PC, it is basically a mid-range gaming PC. And being a gaming PC comes with its own perks. Such as 3 RNG ring fans powered by 550 Watts of power supply for maximum airflow when playing demanding games.

But then if you ever switch to video editing this is a PC that would be able to handle those resource-consuming processes.

13. Dell XPS 8930 (2019 Version)

Major Specs

Let’s say that you don’t need to edit videos. Let’s say that you need is a simpler box with enough processing power to give you all the photo editing joy you could get. In that case, the 2019 Dell XPS 8930 is more than a useful option for you.

The tower comes with an 8^th gen Intel Hexa-Core i7-8700 processor. The maximum clock speed of the processor is 4.6 GHz when boosted. The base clock speed of the processor is 3.2 GHz. This processor supports hyper threading. Therefore there are a total of 12 threads that can simultaneously run.

Does the Dell XPS 8930 Makes Good Buying Sense?

Graphics is powered by UHD Graphics 630. This is nowhere near some of the top of the line graphics cards that we had discussed here. But then this desktop is not designed for serious gaming or for video editing. You may still be able to do both but with reduced speed and the experience will not be as smooth as some of the other high-end PCs we have discussed here.

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