Computer for photo editing ... hmm, what crap comp do you got?

[dxqcanada]

Just reading over discussions about what computer/laptop to get for photography ... when it struck me that it almost sounds like my laptop is incapable of this purpose.

I run both LR and PS on my MacBook Pro 15" made in early 2009 ... I bought it used for $300.
It has an Intel Core2Duo 2.8Ghz processor, 6GB ram, and a slow 5400 RPM HDD.
Don't have much problem with LR ... though I do not do much with PS (I expect to see whirling beachball).

 

[weepete]

Yeah, my own rig is not ideal for photo editing either, but it's much more of a cheap gaming rig.


AMD FX320
Thermaltake Frio CPU Cooler
Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0 ATX Socket AM3+
8GB Corsair Vengence Low Profile RAM (Blue)
Asus Nvidia GTX 950 Strix 2GB
Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD
Seagate 1TB 7200rpm HDD
Corsair CX500M Semi modular PSU
all in a Corsair Carbide ATX Case with some internal disco lights
Ben Q XL2411Z 24" 144hz gaming monitor (TN, 1ms response time)

Not ideal but it does. I also run PS and lightroom on a Dell Venue 11 Pro (7130) i5-4300Y 4GB RAM 128GB SSD 10.8″ windows tablet, which is slow but it works.

 

[SamSW]

I have a “Late 2014” Mac Mini with an Intel Core i5 2.6 GHz processor, 8GB RAM, 1TB 5400-rpm HD, and Intel Iris Graphics. MacOS High Sierra. It runs Photoshop CS6 just fine. Starts up quick and runs great. No lag or whatnot!

 

[jaomul]

I have a laptop that has an i7 processor and 8gb of ram. Beyond this I don't know. My previous computer had a generic (put in entry level cheap computers) processer. It had 4gb ram. Both do the job without major issues, the newer one is faster and does not freeze as much as older one

 

[SCraig]

Dell XPS 8910 running Windows 10
Intel i7-6700 @ 3.4 gHz
16gb RAM
SanDisk 480gb Ultra II SSD
1tb internal SATA 3 HDD
2tb internal SATA 3 HDD
(2) 2tb external USB HDD (only connected when needed)
(1) 3tb external USB HDD (only connected when needed)

 

[Nintendoeats]

People really overestimate what they need in a computer as soon as they want to do anything other than word processing. In 1995 a better processor was the difference between near-real-time editing and waiting several seconds between actions. Nowadays that is only true when you start to get into fairly complex tasks (think multi-layer drawings in the case of photoshop). The advantages of multi-core processors for most uses are more to do with multitasking than performance of individual applications. These days a crappy computer will be slow and unresponsive but it will ultimately be able to do most things that a more powerful computer will. This only becomes an issue when the amount of time required for a task becomes prohibitive (or real-time performance is required).

That said, I recently had somebody ask me to upgrade their computer so that it could run modern Doom. It had a Q6600 which couldn't be overclocked, 4 GB of DDR2 and Windows Vista. That person needed to replace their machine.

 

[Cortian]

I've a computer I built in early 2014 myself. Well, assembled, I guess would be more accurate

Fractal Design R4 Black Silent ATX Midtower case w/2 140mm Silent-Series R2 fans
ASUS Z87-A ATX Intel motherboard
Intel Core i5 2.9Ghz, Low-power
Noctua Nh-U12 120mm CPU cooler
8GB Kingston HyperX DDR3-1600 CL9 RAM
Intel 530 Series 120GB SATA III SSDs (2 ea. in RAID 1)
SeaSonic 430W 80 Plus Bronze PSU

Currently running an LG 34" display

Running Linux Mint 17 MATE (Qiana)

This system was built mostly with an eye toward low power consumption, thermal signature and noise. Those goals were achieved. It consumes 36W idling and 78W fully-loaded, exhaust temperature is barely above room ambient after running fully-loaded for an hour and, if you listen real carefully, you can just hear the fans eventually speed up when its loaded.

I suppose it's about time to look into upgrading the CPU, RAM and SSDs.

I might have to compromise on the power and noise thing and add a pair of hard drives for storage. In addition to taking more photos, recently, I'm thinking of adding a Silicon Dust HDHomeRun Connect Quatro 4-channel OTA DVR to the home, and I'll need networked storage for the DVRing. Cheaper to add a couple drives to the server than add NAS.

 

[Nintendoeats]

I might have to compromise on the power and noise thing and add a pair of hard drives for storage.

If you are prepared to invest in fans and a big cooler you can make some very beefy processors silent. I have an i7 5930k running at 4.3 GHz (a significant overclock) and it is absolutely silent at well under 75 degrees after days of full load. Obviously that draws a lot more power though! Mine pulls 350 Watts from the wall under a non-synthetic full load, so your 78 seems like witchcraft to me. Mind you, that's with an overclocked GPU as well.

Cheaper to add a couple drives to the server than add NAS.

You might consider something like this. I use an older version to store video and one of my backup stages. They aren't as fast as a proper NAS, but they are much cheaper and work fine for video streaming.

 

[Cortian]

I might have to compromise on the power and noise thing and add a pair of hard drives for storage.

If you are prepared to invest in fans and a big cooler you can make some very beefy processors silent.

Define "big"

That Noctua cooler I'm already running is pretty big.

... so your 78 seems like witchcraft to me.

Surprised the bejesus out of me, I can tell you. But the numbers don't lie:

0.624A * 125VAC (which is what my line voltage, measured with that meter, was at the time) is 78 watts. (True RMS meter.)

That was a 700VA UPS. 17.6% of 700VA is 123VA.

The numbers are consistent: The watts are about 63% of the VA, which is about right.

While I'm about it: Here are the temperature numbers:

    Room Ambient: 22.8°C

    Idle
          Cubby Temp: 24.8°C  (+2.0°C over ambient)

    Loaded

          Cubby Temp: 27.1°C  (+4.3°C over ambient)

The "cubby" is a computer compartment in the desk. That's with the front door of the cubby left open. Temperature measurement in the cubby was with the probe in free air over the top of the computer. (Probe is believed to be accurate w/in tenths of a degree C.)

Cheaper to add a couple drives to the server than add NAS.

You might consider something like this.[/QUOTE]
I'll look into it, but I've generally not been a fan of Seagate kit.

 

[Nintendoeats]

Define "big" That Noctua cooler I'm already running is pretty big.

Well, there's my Scythe Ninja 4 for a kickoff, and that's still a 120mm cooler (I bodged 140s on to it though). Try the Raijintek Tisis for an example of a really big one. Massive overkill for most CPUs, but when you want silence cooler overkill is the answer.

As for the seagate, WD does those small scale NAS as well. Its a class of product that most people don't seem to be aware of. Just a thought in any case.

Its nice to see somebody who is a obsessive about cooling and silence as I am

 

[dxqcanada]

Hmm, I just upgraded ... MacBook Pro 15 late 2011 ... i7, 12GB ram ... stuff is faster.

 

[AlanKlein]

I also do video editing in addition to LR photo processing which is becoming more popular these days. Beside shooting videos clips with my digital photo camera, I create video slide shows using video processing software. So you'll need more processing, memory, SSD's, etc if you get into that.

 

[TCampbell]

With a Core2 Duo, you basically have the first 64-bit processor ever used... coupled with the slowest hard drive available. Almost any newer computer will be noticeably faster.

I'm using a 2014 MacBook Pro ... but has an SSD, a Core i7 (quad core) and loads of RAM. Even though the computer is now about 4 years old, it's still really fast. An SSD was the one bit of tech that single handedly sped up my computer more than anything else I've ever done to upgrade a computer over the years.

 

[AlanKlein]

As Tim said, get an SSD. I've got a 256mb. I also have 24gb memory and Dell with Core i7, but the SSD is what moves everything faster. The 24gb is probably more than I need with 16gb being enough. I've looked at memory while processing Lightroom and PS Premiere Elements (video) and it never went over 10gb in memory while processing. But f you run a different video or photo processing program, it could require more. I keep my programs on the C drive section and store the photo files on the D drive section. I have a WD My Passport Ultra 2gb portable hard drive plugged into my USB for "invisible" backing up of my data and photo files on a real time basis. I don't store anything in the cloud.

 

[Nintendoeats]

With a Core2 Duo, you basically have the first 64-bit processor ever used.

This isn't strictly true. AMD had x64 processors a few years before Intel and both Pentium 4 and Celeron D were 64-bit (this ignores server processors entirely). It would probably be true to say that the Core 2 Duo was the first 64-bit processor to achieved any meaningful market penetration coupled with 64-bit Windows. Completely academic to your point, but true.

I found that replacing my Core 2 Duo with a Core 2 Quad Q6600 sped up Windows XP on its own when I did it in 2008.