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Thank you!

That one checks all the boxes. I do recommend NVIDIA’s Studio Driver over the default one that’s meant for video games / general computing. The Studio Drivers are meant for Adobe’s products.

ProcessorIntel® Core™ Ultra 9 285K, 24 cores Operating SystemWindows 11 Home Graphics CardNVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5080 Memory64 GB DDR5 Storage2 TB SSD Or can you recommend another desktop? Thank you.

What are you actually editing on? A Server of some kind or an actual workstation? Having a quality P/S is a good thing, but choosing the right Video Card AND using the Drivers that Adobe's Products like, such as the NVIDIA Studio Driver - Windows 11, along with having enough RAM is key. Don't forget having a decent cooling setup; Water-Cooled might be a better choice for you than an Air-Based only system. Video Cards that I recommend currently are still NVIDIA's products, usually a RTX 5070 with 12GB VRAM at a Minimum, and if you can swing something like a NVIDIA - GeForce RTX 5080 16GB GDDR7 Graphics Card - Gun Metal, even better. Especially with Large Panos...which I also do and can totally relate; I often have to divide photos into 3rds and process each separately, then combine them at the end. Otherwise, my system crashes or the fans sound like a Jet taking off. RAM, that's another thing you are going to consider. Unfortunately, with all of the AI Slop and products being diverted to Data Centers, which haven't been built, are driving up the cost. For your needs, I'd look at least getting 96GB of DDR5 EEC RAM, or more. Also, you will need a motherboard that supports ECC. So there's that. CPU? I always used to recommend Intel's Chips, but Intel is being stupid and the latest chips have a flaw, which causes them to short out. Intel says they have released a Motheboard / BIOS Patch, which should take care of the issue, but Chips are still dying and Intel isn't Warranting them. So currently, AMD seems to be a better bet at this point. For your needs, I'd probably recommend a Ryzen 9 9900X/9950X. Power Supply? Yes, you want quality. 850 Watts is the minimum I'd recommend, and I'm going to tell you to invest in a 1000 Watt "Platinum" Power Supply. Here is a Montech Century II 1050W Power Supply. I've also had good luck with EVGA Power Supplies, but I've also seen bad reviews with Customer Service Experience. Of course, you need to take things with a "Grain of Salt," Power Supplies work or they don't and after a period of time, manufacturers will usually tell you to "Pound Sand." Now there is one more thing you need to worry about!!! The Electrical Line Conditioning on the power itself. I highly recommend APC's UPS Sine-Wave products. There is absolutely no sense in building a $5000 Computer, only to use a el-cheapo power strip that's 10 years old purchased from a Big-Box Store. THAT'S JUST STUPID. Here is my UPS that I purchased a few years ago, and is currently sitting at my feet as I type this: APC UPS Back-UPS Pro 1500VA Sinewave UPS, 900W Battery Backup. Not only does that UPS save your ass in the event of a "Power Blip," it also monitors the current coming into your CPU. Now, that UPS is from 2022, and a power supply of 1000 Watts or more, we might need to get a bigger model (something like a 2200VA model.) In any case, you will want one that has "Sine Wave" Technology. Yes. You can buy all the fancy hardware, and still have issues. Plus, not only is Server Grade things more expensive, Photoshop will most likely not take advantage of all that stuff you are throwing at it, there needs to be a balance. In 2026...that $999 Computer Bundle isn't going to cut it when it comes to Photoshop. Likewise, building a Server with a XEON CPU that is meant for SQL Databases is just a waste of money...Photoshop will just ignore all of the extra tech. That's why a i7 CPU was only about 5-7% faster over a i5 about 10 years ago. PS never took advantage of what made a i7 CPU so fast. Personally, I'd recommend a High-End Motherboard, 96GB - 128GB DDR5 ECC RAM, NVIDIA RTX 5080 16GB VRAM, Liquid Cooling, NO STUPID RGB STUFF (you are editing photos and don't need to deal with color casts messing you up,) and a quality IPS-Based Display. HD capacity...at least 1TB, preferably 2TB OR have a 1TB main drive and a 2nd 1TB Drive that is just meant for PS's Scratch Disk. You can tell PS to use the 2nd drive because at the current prices of HDs, you are spending BIG bucks on a 4TB m.2 Drive. Power Supply, probably around 1000 Watts, but 850 Watts is still viable, you just need to get a CPU with higher-grade materials.

Hey everyone, I’ve been hitting a bit of a wall lately with my current setup. I shoot mostly high-res landscapes and some architectural stuff, and my workflow involves stitching together massive panoramas and focus-stacking dozens of 45MP RAW files. My current machine is starting to crawl, and I’m finally looking into building a dedicated editing workstation that can actually handle the heavy lifting without stuttering. One specific point I’ve been stuck on while picking out parts is the stability of the system under a sustained load. I’ve been doing some reading on hardware forums, and there’s a lot of talk about how high-end CPUs and GPUs are pointless if the power delivery isn't rock solid. I’m currently looking at an 850-Watt unit to provide enough overhead for a couple of NVMe drives and a beefy graphics card for Lightroom’s AI masking features. In my previous build, I definitely cheaped out on the power component, and I’m pretty sure that’s why I dealt with those random "blue screen" crashes during long exports. I’ve even been looking at server-grade power options or at least high-efficiency platinum-rated 850-Watt models because I really can’t afford to lose work during a 3-hour batch processing session again. It feels like we spend thousands on glass and calibrated monitors, but then it's easy to overlook the thing that actually keeps the electricity stable. For those of you who have built your own machines for heavy photo editing, do you prioritize high-wattage headroom, or do you find that standard consumer-grade units are sufficient? Is there a point where opting for server-level reliability in a PSU becomes overkill for a photography-only build?

Ok. I can't find one but I'm sure one will turn up eventually

Gotta be apples and apples, remember. That photo of the two men is taken in overcast light. It matters.

I have a client that likes the desaturated look with greens. (Example is the 2 men right at the bottom in the middle) https://www.themerribee.com.au/?utm_campaign=626757282013&utm_medium=PaidSocial&utm_source=Pinterest&utm_content=2680088524336&pp=0&epik=dj0yJnU9SGxKOGhUSndnN1otZjZSMmtVc1pSMDlCTVppVXQ4ZzgmcD0xJm49QmI1aUlZV0R3Ym80bUNINnNfOWdSZyZ0PUFBQUFBR21TVXNR

It happens.

I have been going over this image. It looks like this PSD file was cropped. I can't believe I did that. Maybe I meant it to be a JPG and in my haste/fatigue I cropped it and called it PSD when it should have been a JPG. I have the original raw file, so I will re-do all the layers and save as I normally do. Sorry to have bothered you.

Gosh, I don't remember as this was in the summer. Possibly??

Did you do any editing steps that differ from your usual workflow?

Actually in the image shown, I did not add a sky. That was in another image with the same thing - no layers showing.

I do not edit in LR. The only thing I can see is that I added a sky to the image. There would be about 8 layers in the file that should be showing. Should I still try to flatten it?

How many layers do you believe should exist in the file?

They should be fine, just as long as it's a IPS Panel. That said, you may have to upgrade your Calibration Device / Software which may not be completely compatible with Mini-LED Lights. Technology just keeps pushing out things and old farts like me must adapt. If you do get a Mini-LED, please report back on how things go and if it calibrates well, matches your physical test prints, etc. Be sure to mention the Make / Model. Thanks!

Are you editing in LR first? This usually happens when doing something like a HDR or Panorama Merge in LR, possibly ACR. If you just opened the file (with no edits what-so-ever,) and it says, "Layer 0" just flatten and it will turn into the Background Layer that you are used to.

Screenshot please.

Hi Brian. I have a couple of PSD files that when I go to open them up again in PS, there are no layers. The only layer showing says "Layer 0". How do I go about finding the layers, if I can? Thanks so much.

Hi Brian! I would like to hear your opinion on IPS pc monitors with mini-LED backlight. Should we avoid using them or are they fine to work with? Thank you!

Agree

IPS stands for In-Plane-Switching. This type of display panel ensures that colors, contrast, sharpness are consistent from corner to corner, which is kinda important for editing photos. If your laptop doesn’t have one, it’s not a huge deal, you will need to purchase an external IPS Display and edit off of that. “That means I’m tied to a Desk!! I must be free!!” Yep. It sucks. This is why I really don’t like Laptops being used for Photo Editing, as 99% of them do not contain IPS Screens. I just got tired of arguing since people have a love-affair with laptops.

Recent Microsoft updates have been causing your exact issue. You can return it, but I’m 80% sure it’s going to happen with another unit, as soon as the crappy windows updates happen. It’s a Windows 11 thing Yes, you should routinely run Windows Update Manually, but not right away; meaning, let others be the Guinea Pigs and not you. For example, I just saw a notice that a recent windows 11 update killed access to hard drives. So lots of computers can’t boot. Lenovo updates are almost never automatic and you should run the Lenovo Update Tool every few months or so. I’m not sure what Lenovo calls their software now, just type Lenovo in the start menu and something should pop up.

I think I did, it had me updated and installing a bunch of stuff...or is it something that needs to be a manual thing? they said I can either return or replace but with all my stuff on it already I'm not sure the best option.