Lightroom 5 PC

[cotswoldcs]

I'm upgrading my Dad's PC (Currently a struggling Asus P5-B, Q6600). It's main use will be running Lightroom 5 for photo editing. Looking to build a high end PC that will be future-proof for another 5 years.

Here's what I've selected at the moment:


http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/zsM6K8


Looking for input as I haven't build a PC for a few years now.

Questions:

Motherboard - There are so many variants of the Asus Z97 board - I've actually selected the Z97-K but not certain if this is the best
Do I need a graphics card? Using dual monitors at 1920 x 1200. No gaming. Will onboard graphics be good enough?
What graphics card if I do need one?
SSD - Needs to be fast. Anything better - happy to spend a little more if necessary

[TheAnimus]

Lightroom is badly written in my book. It ignores things like spare RAM, and stubbornly refuses to scale out to your CPUs.

So SSD is a good place to grab more speed, but you've already got a great choice there, if you have the budget, I'd consider looking at a
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...FdLKtAodr3sANQ
Maybe even the 900GB one, as if he can do all his LR work on it, it will be a lot faster.

I guess it really depends on budget.

For screens, what kind of work does he do in LR, how does he print? How important is calibration to him over having higher ppi?

[starkyller]

I would add a gpu because it would free the cpu
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga...rd-02gp43753kr or a http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-...rd-r72652gd5oc
and I would change the cpu cooler for a dark rock or a noctua

[TheAnimus]

Never found LR to really use GPU.

http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/art...eleration-161/

This isn't to say things might not change with the new Lightroom that is all about adobe's cloudy offering, but as is, it has little effect in day to day use for me. But having a faster single core does appear to help, as it sort of ignores the others:
http://www.slrlounge.com/lightroom-l...e-test-review/

Like I say, as a programmer, I'm not impressed by Lightrooms programming...

[cotswoldcs]

Thanks for the replies so far. I read the article @TheAnimus linked and it confirmed that LR doesn't utilise a GPU. I guess I will go with integrated graphics and upgrade in time if a new version of LR supports newer graphics cards.

What about the motherboard - is the Asus Z97-K OK? What features do I get with the Pro or something better? Not planning on overclocking as stability and longevity is key.

[cotswoldcs]

Looking again at SSDs . The Samsung 850 Pro is available and looks really good. I think this is worth the premium over the 840 - any comments?

[starkyller]

The 850 Pro is better http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare...6GB/2385vs1408 it all depends if you want to spend more money on premium

[kalniel]

Looking again at SSDs . The Samsung 850 Pro is available and looks really good. I think this is worth the premium over the 840 - any comments?

Speedwise it's not worth it, you won't notice the difference in the slightest. But it might be worth going for a pro over a non-pro because of the 2-bit flash rather than 3-bit, for greater endurance (this is still in the realms of paranoia, but photos.. ) So either a 840 pro or 850 pro would be good.