What to look for...
Here’s what to assess when you are buying a computer with high-end image editing on a 4K screen in mind
1 Processor Processing power is not just about speed, measured in GHz (GigaHertz), but also the number of cores it has. These essentially act as multiple processors running in parallel, helping to power through complex tasks. Processors with four, six or even eight cores are widely available.
For multimedia tasks, we’d recommend a minimum of a quadcore Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 processor, with the additional cores of a Core i7 or Ryzen 7 helping to greatly speed up video rendering. 2 RAM Random Access Memory is a key factor in computer performance. Most modern computer motherboards take DDR3 or DDR4 format memory, and have varying numbers of slots for accommodating multiple RAM modules. These usually come in 4GB or 8GB capacities and should ideally be installed in matching pairs.
Current editions of Photoshop CC and Premiere Pro recommend a minimum of 8GB and 16GB of RAM, respectively. For multi-tasking and future-proofing, however, we suggest you double these amounts to assure a smooth image- or video-editing experience in years to come. 3 Storage Nowadays, it’s become increasingly common to find computers with solid-state drives (SSDs) for primary storage – similar tech to that used in your camera’s flash memory cards. SSDs are dramatically faster than conventional mechanical hard drives, but their capacity is relatively limited and you pay significantly more per gigabyte of storage.
The best option is to combine an SSD for your operating system and apps and then use a hard drive as a large, cost-effective store for data. Go for either a 250GB or 500GB SSD depending on your budget, as anything larger will be pricey – and mostly unnecessary if you store images and video on a separate hard drive. 4 Graphics processor The main choice here is an integral graphics processor, built into the computer’s motherboard, or a dedicated graphics card. Integral chips are fine for undemanding use, but with multimedia software increasingly able to exploit the power of a graphics card to accelerate tasks like video rendering, a dedicated graphics card can be beneficial. Even so, a mid-level card like the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 3GB in our Chillblast test PC will be perfectly sufficient for high-end photo and video editing: top-end cards are built for gaming or professional CAD work, and can be very expensive. 5 Video ports Video ports likely to be found on current computers include DVI, a widely used digital connection that can transmit resolutions up to 2,560 x 1,600 pixels in its most recent Dual-Link guise. DVI can only transfer video and not audio signals, whereas DisplayPort is a newer connection that can carry both, and is suitable for 4K video. Lastly, there’s the hugely popular HDMI connection, which is able to link video and audio to a wide range of devices. However, you’ll need the HDMI 2.0 specification to support
10-bit, rather than 8-bit, colour depth and 4K transmission above 24fps.
6 External storage connectors
Popular current standards include eSATA, USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt, the latter being mostly confined to Apple devices. They’re all fast, with USB 3.0 being the most common connection for downloading digital photos and video from memory cards via a card reader, or to store data on external hard drives for purposes of back-up.
ALSO CONS IDER macOS or Windows?
This decades-old dilemma is a tougher choice than ever. Most of the best photo and video editing apps, including Lightroom, Photoshop and Premiere, are available in both macOS and Windows editions. A major advantage of Windows is its ability to run on a myriad of different computers, but this degree of choice can also be problematic, as cheaper PCs are unlikely to run editing apps smoothly. Apple’s tightly controlled Mac ecosystem assures you of a top-quality computer with premium components that should work flawlessly out of the box – although you will pay handsomely for this attention to detail.
Then there’s the question of upgradability. It can be tempting to buy an ‘all in one’ computer like an iMac, but it’s likely only the RAM will be upgradable, so you need to get the specs right when you place your order. A conventional tower PC will usually be completely upgradable, but when you may want to upgrade, the latest processor may also require new supporting components – and this domino effect can mean an upgrade becomes as costly as a new PC.