Adobe Camera Raw question

[drummerJ99]

Hey guys. Right now I'm using Photoshop Elements for cataloging and editing my raw photos. The organizer part works fine, other then sometimes it can take 30-45 seconds to unblur or load the photo. However my main problem comes from the editor side. When I go to open a raw file, it takes a good 45 seconds for it to open the Adobe Camera Raw screen. After I make my edits and click open image, it'll take another 45 seconds or so to open it up for editing.

Not at home right now so can't find out exact specs on PC with Windows 7 but I know on the windows experience it was rated 4.0-4.5 across the board.

My question is, will a faster computer get from point a to point b faster to allow faster editing? I'm assuming yes, as. I don't see professionals wasting that much time just opening files. So didn't know if my work flow was wrong or if my PC just needs upgrading.

Sorry for long post, tried to Word it as best as possible.

Thanks In Advance,
Jeffrey

 

[JLaurenPhoto]

As a computer professional it sounds like a memory problem and a hdd reading problem you need to keep your computer defraged and use a mac man pc's and adobe for some reason dont mix well enough for my tastes.

 

[The_Traveler]

As a computer professional it sounds like a memory problem and a hdd reading problem you need to keep your computer defraged and use a mac man pc's and adobe for some reason dont mix well enough for my tastes.

PCs work fine with Adobe so let's just forget about that as the source of the problem.

PS and ACR use a lot of memory and if you don't have a good amount, there is a lot of time spent swapping code in and out.
(I have 240 gb SSHD, 12 GB of memory and even with LR, PS and other apps open, every thing runs just as fast as I could want.)

It is worthwhile to max out the memory your board can use and to use a solid state hard drive for your windows and programs only.

If you have two physical disks, move the swap file to the non-program disk.

 

[dennybeall]

My inexpensive Dell laptop with Windows 8 and Core i7 processor with 12 gig of ram loads a 24meg raw photo into PS CC(2014) in just a second. I'd say you need to get a better pc. More RAM will help as will cleaning up the drive but you'll still have the same basic system.
The computer is really your entire darkroom replacement and if you ever worked with film and processing you know that even a minor glitch in processing is a real pain while a great darkroom made your day.

 

[snerd]

My inexpensive Dell laptop with Windows 8 and Core i7 processor with 12 gig of ram........

?!?! Define inexpensive!! LOL!!

 

[drummerJ99]

Thanks for all the replies. I've finally had a chance to look at PC specs and here they are:

Processor: Intel Celeron D CPU 3.20GHZ
RAM: 2gb (according to manual on motherboard, it's max is 2gb. Motheboard is Intel D101GGC)
Video Card: PNY GT610 1GB

It's actually quicker transferring files from my card reader to the pc then actually loading the files to edit. I'm assuming new pc is best bet? Any recommendations on minimum requirements?

 

[KmH]

You have the minimum amount of RAM memory, and do not state what OS you are using.
You need to use a 64-bit OS. Windows 7 was Microsoft's 1st 64-bit OS.
A multiple core CPU will also be very helpful.
Is your graphics card OpenGL capable? (see GPU FAQ link below)

You'll get the best performance by exceeding the minimum requirements. I recommend having no less than 6 GB of RAM and having 8 GB or more is desireable.
System requirements | Photoshop

For Adobe graphics card (GPU) for Photoshop info - Photoshop CC and CC 2014 GPU FAQ

Also note that the minimum computer display requirements include 16-bit color display.

 

[Big Mike]

Thanks for all the replies. I've finally had a chance to look at PC specs and here they are:

Processor: Intel Celeron D CPU 3.20GHZ
RAM: 2gb (according to manual on motherboard, it's max is 2gb. Motheboard is Intel D101GGC)
Video Card: PNY GT610 1GB

It's actually quicker transferring files from my card reader to the pc then actually loading the files to edit. I'm assuming new pc is best bet? Any recommendations on minimum requirements?

Well there's your problem. 2GB of ram is barely enough to run Windows 7, let alone work with large raw files. I'm no expert, but even a typical 10 year old computer could use a lot more than 2GB of ram....you may want to confirm that.

The video card probably doesn't make a big difference, that is more for images changing on the screen, like movies, videos and games etc.

It might be time to look for a whole new computer. As mentioned, lots of ram and an SSD hard drive will be things to look for.


Also, I would suggest that you look into Adobe Lightroom. It uses the same 'engine' for processing raw files, as ACR, but it's an 'all in one' workflow software. It's very good for organization and cataloguing, plus it makes it very fast & easy to process many photos quickly.

With CS/Elements, when you process a raw file, it first opens in ACR (which takes time), then it processes the file and sends it into the main program for further editing (which takes time). With Lightroom, you 'import' all of the images and then you are basically working on previews, so it doesn't have to work on the large raw files as you go. It's only when you are done and you 'export' that the program does all the processing. It takes some time, but you don't have to be there watching it.

There are a few things that Lightroom can't do, but you can easily use Elements (or the full Photoshop) to do that.

 

[KmH]

Computers capable of running a 32-bit OS can address a maximum of 4 GB of Ram memory.
A 32-bit computer would need the slots to plug in 4 GB of memory.

The addressing limitation is in large part why 64-bit OSs were developed.
Of course a 64-bit computer processes 'words' that are twice as long compared to 32-bit 'words' and can process information faster.

 

[The_Traveler]

I suggest that you get a new computer, running 64 bit Windows 7 or 8.
If some of your existing parts are good (dvd, hard drive,monitor, etc) and you are OK tinkering with the insides, you can spend as little as 400 and get a setup that will change your photographic life.

What you need is at least an i5 processor, at least 8 gb of memory (12 better) and 2 hard drives.
and an external backup drive.
(keep your programs on one and all your data and swap files on the other. then you can just backup the complete data drive)

An idea setup, assuming you want to stay with Windows, would be a i7 processor, 12 gb of fast ram, a solid state hard drive and a 7200 rpm data drive.
Video card and monitor your choice.

Lew