Artist-Photo Restorer & Colourist -Cartoonist / Caricaturist - Hopeful animator looking for PC advice

[Past Colours]

Hi Guys:
I'm a visual artist that works in the space of illustration, cartooning and caricature: I also restore old photos and do a lot of colourisation of historic images. I also do an amount of video editing on an irregular basis. Finally, I am stepping further into the space of animation and wish to create and develop some characters I've had bouncing around in my head for decades.

I am not technically orientated. - Despite my best efforts I always find there is simply way too much learning curve in so many apsects of Tech that my brain just goes...Fzzzzzzzzzzzzzt. I apologize in advance. It has been my issue my entire life. I can cartoon it, but don't hand me the screwdriver and pliers.

What I'd really like if it is not too forward of me as a newbie is to ask, Is there someone willing to advise me on a PC solution that will allow me the best of three worlds on the one machine: I've been using a laptop for the last several years ( long story ), but now I'm in the need to ground myself a little more securely.

1. Photo Editing / manipulation / colourisation
2. Video editing
3. Animation (general 2D type, old school cartoons with the possibility of more enhanced animation moving forward)


My Laptop is used for all three currently and I have the current set up, but am often limited by the slowing up of my system.

System Model HP ProBook 470 G5

System Type x64-based PC

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8550U CPU @ 1.80GHz, 1992 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)

BIOS Version/Date HP Q85 Ver. 01.18.00, 26/11/2021

SMBIOS Version 3.1

Embedded Controller Version 2.65

BIOS Mode UEFI

BaseBoard Manufacturer HP

BaseBoard Product 837F

BaseBoard Version KBC Version 02.41.00


System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32

Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 16.0 GB

Total Physical Memory 15.9 GB

Available Physical Memory 3.40 GB

Total Virtual Memory 56.2 GB

Available Virtual Memory 8.11 GB


And I have an external 4TB Seagate expansion drive

any help would be greatly appreciated.

Keeping the configuration below $2000 AUD would be the way I'd want to go if possible. ( But if that is not possible, I'll sell my firstborn )

Thanks
Peter
Past Colours

 

[Jerry James]

Hey there Peter, I'd suggest starting out with a base recommendation using our PC Builder tool - https://www.cgdirector.com/pc-builder/

Since you have multiple workloads, pick the heaviest one out of those (in this case, that's video editing) and set a budget. Paste the generated build here and we'll get a decent machine sorted for you

 

[Past Colours]

Hey there Peter, I'd suggest starting out with a base recommendation using our PC Builder tool - https://www.cgdirector.com/pc-builder/

Since you have multiple workloads, pick the heaviest one out of those (in this case, that's video editing) and set a budget. Paste the generated build here and we'll get a decent machine sorted for you

Fantastic, Thank you for that Jerry, I'll have a good look at that soon

 

[Past Colours]

Here's what the PC Builder suggested at $1500 USD approx $2020 AUD (Australian)


CGDirector.com Parts List: https://www.cgdirector.com/pc-builder/?=6N0Jb

CPU: Intel Core i5 12600K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($299.74)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 ($89.90)
Motherboard: ASUS Prime B660-PLUS DDR4 ATX LGA1700 ($194.34)
GPU: Nvidia RTX 3060 12GB -EVGA XC Gaming ($779.99)
Memory: 16GB (2 x 8GB) G.Skill Trident Z Neo DDR4-3600 C16 ($119.99)
Storage SSD: Samsung 860 EVO 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($240.00)
Storage PCIe-SSD: Crucial P1 1TB, M.2 Solid State Drive ($102.99)
Storage HDD: Seagate BarraCuda Compute 4TB, 3.5" ($69.99)
Power Supply: EVGA 650 B5, 80 Plus Bronze 650W Power Supply ($77.99)
Case: Fractal Design Define XL R2 Titanium Big Tower Case ($366.00)
Total: $2340.93

 

[Jerry James]

Def

Here's what the PC Builder suggested at $1500 USD approx $2020 AUD (Australian)


CGDirector.com Parts List: https://www.cgdirector.com/pc-builder/?=6N0Jb

CPU: Intel Core i5 12600K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($299.74)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 ($89.90)
Motherboard: ASUS Prime B660-PLUS DDR4 ATX LGA1700 ($194.34)
GPU: Nvidia RTX 3060 12GB -EVGA XC Gaming ($779.99)
Memory: 16GB (2 x 8GB) G.Skill Trident Z Neo DDR4-3600 C16 ($119.99)
Storage SSD: Samsung 860 EVO 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($240.00)
Storage PCIe-SSD: Crucial P1 1TB, M.2 Solid State Drive ($102.99)
Storage HDD: Seagate BarraCuda Compute 4TB, 3.5" ($69.99)
Power Supply: EVGA 650 B5, 80 Plus Bronze 650W Power Supply ($77.99)
Case: Fractal Design Define XL R2 Titanium Big Tower Case ($366.00)
Total: $2340.93

That's a very decent build. If you don't need a case that large, switch to a mid-tower Fractal Design Mesh case and that should save you some money.
Also, can up that PSU a bit if you want to accommodate future upgrades (especially graphics cards) without switching the power supply. But if this machine is what you'll be using for a few years without any changes, the recommended one should do just fine.
The motherboard should be much cheaper than that price though. See if you can find other options in the $150~ region.

 

[Past Colours]

Hi Guys,

I have had the follow set up offered to me and would dearly like your opinion or thoughts on the capabilities presented.

Once again and at the expense of repeating myself again. Here's what it will be primarily used for.

1. Photo Editing / manipulation / colourisation
2. Video editing
3. Animation (general 2D type, old school cartoons with the possibility of more enhanced animation moving forward)

(apparently you can play games on these PC's..Who would have thought to do that ?)

​	Operating System Windows 10 or 11 Pro 64 Bit Motherboard Gigabyte B560M-DS3H Processor Intel i5 11600k 6 Core/12 Thread Corsair Vengeance 32GB DDR4-3200 RAM SSD 2TB NVMe M.2 SSD HDD Seagate Barracuda 4TB Graphics Card MSI Nvidia 12GB RTX 3060 (All Display Cables Included) Case Thermaltake S100 w/Tempered Glass Power Supply MSI MAG 650w 80 Plus Cooling 3 x 120MM Blue LED Fans 13 x USB (USB 3.2/-C/3.0 & 2.0 Front & Rear) 1GB Ethernet LAN 7.1 HD Audio w/Front Headset Connectivity Connectivity USB Memory Card Reader Warranty 2 Year Standard Delivery Free Delivery I will also include an extra 2M HDMI Cable and Display Port to HDMI Cable for a Dual Screen Setup) The System comes with the USB-C Port (Smaller USB Type) The New System has 4 Display Outputs (All are Digital ie HDMI and Display Port, Cables will be included at no extra cost) I have Included a USB Memory Card Reader at no extra cost I have added an additional 4 x USB 3.0 Ports giving you a total of 13 USB’s (You will not need to plug in any Adaptors) Processor Upgrade Options Intel i7 11700 8 Core/16 Thread Intel i9 11900 8 Core/16 Thread		​	​
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[Alex Glawion]

Looks like a decent build that'll run your workloads well. Both the 11700 and 11900 are superior to the 11600, of course, so if you can swing either of them I'd say go for it. You'll see higher performance, especially in CPU rendering animations and some marginal improvements in active workloads such as working inside your viewports with higher clocked CPUs.

 

[Past Colours]

Thank You Alex, I am so pleased with the way this team responds to all walks of life looking for Advice.