Anyone who can afford a 45mp camera does not need my advice. My camera is 20mp, and a rather modest PC works fine. I would rather spend my limited resources on something that helps my photography rather than something that sits idle most of the time.

Cheap shot, by the way.

Reading the headline for this question I already knew that no one would recommend a PC that cost much less than $1,000, and many would go well above that. While this may be OK advice if your budget will stand for that much, the truth is that any PC that will run Windows 10 will do at least an acceptable job of still photo editing. The constraining factor is always the operator, and photo editing is often a slow process. Move a slider, check the results. Clone a little, check the results. Fine tune a selection, check the results. You get the idea. Buying super PC's for photo editing is a little like buying a Porsche to run to the Publix.

All of the camera's and lenses I have used give the sharpest results stopped down a click or two or three from wide open. Usually this is f4.0 to f5.6. I value sharpness more than anything else so whenever possible I shoot in that range, ISO and shutter to adjust exposure as necessary. What am I missing?

If you are still with us, break this project down into small steps. You first task is to get your best effort(s) "in the can" as my first instructor like to say. I would use both RAW and (best) JPEG. If you are experienced I would recommend f4.0 and lowest ISO, letting shutter float as necessary. If you are unsure about this, AUTO will probably give you at least usable results. (This will generate a lot of contrary advice, so be prepared) If you disagree you probably already know more than I so read no further. Once you have your best file make sure the original is somewhere safe (even on a dedicated USB drive if necessary) so that there is no chance of overwriting it. I have photos taken a decade ago that I still pull out and work again as my processing skills improve. If you are going to do your own processing start with the JPEG's. RAW files are 3-4 times larger and take more time and resources to process. If the JPEG.s do not give you the desired results you can always go back and start with RAW. You will have to convert RAW to JPEG for printing, but you might find you can do this better than the camera did.

This is exactly why I opted for a Panasonic fz1000. I would not suggest that the image quality is as good as my DSLR, but I always have the right lens on a lighter weight camera, and the IQ is always acceptable. The FZ1000 is now selling for about the same price as a DSLR lens in the 18-300/400 range. I tried a well regarded Sigma 18-250 and the quality was not great. I have the DSLR kit (minus the 18-250) for use at home or when ultimate quality counts, but the Panasonic travels with me all the time and I actually use the DSLR very little. The FZ1000 is a fairly large camera so I also have a pocketable camera when I want to be less of a target.

Answers to this question will come easy to the experienced, but might be difficult for others to discover. If your machine runs Windows 10 I am pretty sure it has enough built-in RAM to perform still photo editing well. Video editing is much more RAM intensive and might be pushing the limits. I can thing of only two ideas that you can use on your own. Before you seek help you might want to make sure you are running only PSE while editing. Running other programs at the same time could create problems. You should restart your machine at least once or twice a week. A restart might close any background processes.

Use the task manager (control-alt-delete) to see what background processes might be running. CPU use should return to 10% or less when the machine is idle. Background processes could be consuming all available RAM, and might reveal a virus or malware. You might be able to "end-task" running processes, but well written malware will start right up again, or you might close something your PC needs. Write down the name of the process then Google it to see what it does and if it is malware.

If none of this helps you probably need experienced, but not necessarily paid, help. Start with a more experienced friend or relative. If you do have to seek paid help you probably will have to spend less than $100. Any more than this and you might want to look into a different consultant or a new PC.

I used the supplied cable once to connect the camera to my PC, but the fit to the camera was so tight I had to work hard to get it disconnected. I now have two good SD cards and I alternate them between the camera and the reader.

Very few people are experienced in more than one PP program, so when asked for advice they recommend only the program they actually use. Professional reviews are better because they have often tried at least a couple of alternatives. I have "dabbled" with several programs but have used Elements for a long time, and I like it. I am, however, no expert. Elements comes with several levels of automation, from click the mouse and watch the magic, through guided, like having an instructor next to you to expert. Reread sentence one.

Last Fall, when my Pentax k50 failed, I sold the entire kit and went with a Panasonic FZ1000. I had previously bought the ZS50, and while the photos were OK, I was not happy with the small sensor, and I found the small "pocketable" size hard to hold steady. The FZ1000 has a 1" sensor, and handles much like a dslr, but is lighter. In most cases, the FZ1000 photos are as good as the DSLR, and I no longer have to worry about having the wrong lens mounted and not having time to switch. Cost was a factor. I could have purchased a K70 for less than the FZ1000, but to change brands or move to a mirrorless, would have cost more than I had available. Cost is also why I eliminated Sony cameras.

I use Elements 15 and Adobe sends me promotional material on the new version, and even helpfully outlines the differences between 15 and 2018. Check out the differences to see if they matter to you. If you do go with 2018 only the new features will have to be learned, and there are really not that many.

Rather than a specific brand or model I will recommend a must-have feature, an eye level view finder. You can still use the rear lcd if you prefer, but there will be many times when the lcd cannot be clearly seen and only an eye level view finder will do.

Can't hurt. Might help. After comparing my JPEG from RAW results, for most of my photos JPEG from the camera with a little PP would be fine. RAW does not take much time however, and I can fix exposure and color if necessary from one screen. I also like the ability to screen sharpening in RAW.

I had a Smartparts frame that worked fine for 12 years, but recently failed to come on. I ordered a NIX wide screen and it worked perfectly right out of the box. Granted, I already have a file on my PC dedicated to electronic media, but all I had to do is copy this file to the included drive and plug it in.

For counterpoint, I run Elements on an off-the-shelf HP with 8 gig ram and a 1 TB hard Drive. I usually edit one RAW photo at a time, with one or two more JPEG's open for comparison. For me, editing is an artwork, and I find speed limitations are my own, and not the PC. Most of the time the PC is waiting for me to decide what to do next. After a lifetime of photo taking I am now pretty selective about what I keep and what I discard. (Sentimental or historical photos are a different matter. I keep most of those without regard to quality) Really, how many photos of red roses do I need? I find it hard to believe an amateur has accumulated 30 or 40k of good photos, but others may not be as selective, so storage is a different matter that processing speed. You have not indicated your budget for a new computer, but many with restricted budgets might find that your photography legacy might be better served by better cameras and equipment than an over the top PC.

Even at $120 a year, Amazon Prime offers a good value with unlimited photo storage, plus all the other benefits of Amazon Prime. Although I have another on-line backup and an external hard drive, I load internet sized photos to Amazon so they can be shared with friends on their devices, phones and tablets.