That is perfectly understandable
but we do need a bit more information - its not like buying a macpro (where you have a couple of choices, and never powerful enough, lets not go there :-) )
does the user what single or dual processor?
multiple GPU's ?
What's the budget? $2000? $5000 $10000 or more?
Expect a PC to last 5 years or so when built properly (personally, i find that after 5 years, things start to go wrong, as in the one I have now from 2010)
Example
Single or dual INTEL processor
Mainboard to suit Abit, Asus, Gigabyte, SuperMicro, Tyan, Evga
at least 64gb ram - more is better! and get them as fast and stable as possible (ECC would be nice, and a necessity if you are getting Xeon processors)
System disk at least 256gb SSD or PCIe (Intel, or similar - if you can afford it, get workstation grade)
Scratch disk at least 256GB SSD or PCIe - as above
Data disks RAID-01 or 10 4 or more disks with a controller card - why, so if you system crashes, you can pull it and the drives out, and plug it into another system and be up and running quickly
GPU(s) the bigger the better nVidia
Power supply (Gold standard) at least 1000w of Antec or similar quality (spend wisely here, more $$$ is better)
Case - big enough to expand should you require more storage later - but more importantly is the way air moves through the case
Cooling - either air (fan) or water cooled, the later get be off the shelf or custom
hope this can be of some help
Henrik
I'm a Mac user but a good friend of mine is looking for a photo-editing system but would like to keep it PC because of other CADD software he uses. He shoots for himself, mostly fine art. I haven't used a PC in 15 years so don't know what specs are up to date or even what's available now. We're looking for a PC system that can handle Lightroom and PhotoShop with ease with enough RAM and graphics capabilities to last a while. What sort of specs are we looking for in the PC world?
