As to graphics cards, be aware that some programs can use a graphics processor to speed up complex tasks, including PS and LR. But you must have the right card! When I learned of this a few years ago I got a used NVidea G-Force 960 that was being sold cheap by some pimply-faced gamer who wanted to upgrade to the latest. It has made a significant difference in processing speed! For example, in Helicon Focus using the GPU speeds things up by 40%.