What computer are you using for Editing?

[KJ_North]

So currently i use a Laptop purchased a couple years ago it has a 10th gen Intel i7-1065G7 processor and 8 GB ram with an SSD 512GB HD. I am finding it is just dragging trying to edit photos. I am interested in what processors some of you are using and how much ram etc. Now let me clarify what i mean by dragging. Removing unwanted items like people or wires etc in a photo can take anywhere from 60 seconds to 3 minutes, which i find cumbersome.

I just interested in what you guys are using.

 

[nerwin]

I'm currently using a 2023 Macbook Pro M3 Pro, 14 cores, 18gb unified memory. I often work off the internal NVMe or my external SSD. Sometimes my NAS. Works great for me.

 

[Jeff15]

Lenovo desktop for me ...

 

[Thiophilos]

I believe laptops are limited in processing ability by power demands. As the processing speed increases, the power they use increases steeply. That is a problem for a battery-operated device.

My laptop is a Dell Inspiron 14 with a 13th gen I7 processor. I find it pretty slow doing edits in LrC. It's OK for doing only a few images. It is annoying reviewing a lot of images because each change to the next pic takes a bit of time. I doubt that a new laptop would be much better because of the power issues mentioned - although maybe there could be improvements brought by additional cores or other refinements.

So I do limited editing on the road and do all final edits at home on the desktop.

My desktop is much faster and has a much better monitor but both are several years old now. I'm considering upgrading but I'm doubtful that new gear would perform much better. The last time I upgraded the box, the speed improvement was not noticeable.

 

[Rickbb]

HP Pro desk, i7 3ghz, 32 gig ram, multiple USB SSD’s about 4 or 5 TB’s worth. Nvida 1050 TI 8 gig on board. Overkill really, for what I do anyway.

 

[Ozzie_Traveller]

G'day KJ

Like you I am also using a laptop ... mine is a bog-standard Acer, swapped some time ago to an SSD drive, but otherwise as it arrived from the shops -- possibly 4GB Ram, I've never bothered to go further.

As we spend well over 1/2- each year travelling outback Aus, storage and weight are our primary criteria for whatever we use.

Hope this helps
Phil

 

[adamhiram]

I switched over from Windows to Mac about 10 years ago and was very happy with the switch. I used a 27" 2015 iMac that worked flawlessly for about 9 years until it stopped meeting the minimum requirements to run a lot of the applications I used. After much deliberation, I replaced that with a Mac Studio M2 Max that I have been very happy with. My only real complaint was that I had to select components and build the system rather that just buying an all-in-one, which was the whole point of getting an iMac. So far it has been able to handle anything I can throw at it. If you're interested in the process, I documented it on another thread here.

 

[nerwin]

My MacBook Pro with the M3 chip works incredibly well for editing photos. I have it docked on my 4K 27" monitor and it handles everything I through at it. I also feel the Adobe software is slightly more optimized for Macs.

I also had no issues using it on battery, no difference. Much faster than the PC I had. Of course I could build a new PC with same capabilities but honestly I been really enjoying Mac OS.

 

[smoke665]

Look at the HP Omen series (gaming), they have many of the things you need for photo editing. As Adobe has upgraded over the last few years they are leveraging the GPU on the graphics card. Having a ton of Ram isn't necessary for photo editing, but a fast graphics card with 16GB VRAM is for fast screen response. Look the nVidia GeForce 4070.

 

[KJ_North]

Lot of great replies thank you. I have my eye on a desktop that went on sale in my area going to look at it later today. It has the
Intel i7-12700 processor which is like a Ferrari to my Buick. and its loaded up with 32 GB ram. Overkill for sure but then it should be able to handle upgraded demands for several years. Desktop makes more sense for me as I have a nice little room set up with my desk, 24" monitor, Pro-200 printer and all the paper etc. This way i dont have to haul my desktop up there every time i want to use that station.

Yesterday i intentionally tried some editing with some other apps open and checked the task manager. My CPU maxes out at 100% and the RAM also comes close to maxing out, so laptop struggles for sure.

 

[Thiophilos]

Lot of great replies thank you. I have my eye on a desktop that went on sale in my area going to look at it later today. It has the
Intel i7-12700 processor which is like a Ferrari to my Buick. and its loaded up with 32 GB ram. Overkill for sure but then it should be able to handle upgraded demands for several years. Desktop makes more sense for me as I have a nice little room set up with my desk, 24" monitor, Pro-200 printer and all the paper etc. This way i dont have to haul my desktop up there every time i want to use that station.

Yesterday i intentionally tried some editing with some other apps open and checked the task manager. My CPU maxes out at 100% and the RAM also comes close to maxing out, so laptop struggles for sure.

Sounds great. I went to 32 GB several months ago and it has helped. My browsers gobble up a lot of memory as I typically have 20 or more tabs going. Those tabs can take a lot of memory.

The other side of the argument is, if you don't have tons of tabs open, you may not need 32 GB of memory.

 

[smoke665]

Intel i7-12700 processor which is like a Ferrari to my Buick. and its loaded up with 32 GB ram

As I noted earlier. What's the specs on the GPU. If you don't have a fast "compatible" GPU with on board Ram, you'll still be slow on editing as Adobe and many others are leveraging the processing capabilities of the GPU.

 

[Thiophilos]

I have the slower 1660TI in my 4-yr-old box and would like to upgrade to the RTX 4070. Apparently those things are bulky and not easy to install. Might make sense to just buy a new box with the desired hardware.

 

[KJ_North]

So i bought the desktop.
Specs are as follows...
Processor i7-12700
Ram 32 GB
1 TB SSD
GPU- UHD770 (No additional GPU)

So i know what you are thinking you need an upgraded Video card.

So I ran a test....
Opened one of the largest sized photos i had aprox 24MB

I then selected virtually all of the fencing to remove out and even the cracks in the rocks etc. Basically everything i could force the photo to try and correct. I opened my laptop and selected everything as close to matching as i could.

Results...opened up Task Manager and monitored the performance.

LAPTOP

Finished in - 9 min 41 seconds
CPU - It maxed out at 100% a few times during the processing but averaged around 85%
RAM - Maxed out virtually the entire time (Tells me 8 GB was not enough as CPU seldom maxed out)
GPU - Never went past 3% (Telling me Dedicated GPU wouldn't change much)

New DESKTOP

Finished in - 1 min 09 seconds
CPU - It maxed out at 100% virtually continuously
RAM - It peaked at 22 GB but averaged between 18-19 GB (Tells me it more than supports CPU requirements)
GPU - Never went past 1% (Telling me Dedicated GPU wouldn't change much)

Anyways more than happy with results, massive change compared to what i was working with.

 

[KJ_North]

As I noted earlier. What's the specs on the GPU. If you don't have a fast "compatible" GPU with on board Ram, you'll still be slow on editing as Adobe and many others are leveraging the processing capabilities of the GPU.

I agree it would be helpful for sure, but it looks like on my testing that even without one you can manage pretty well. RAM & CPU during my testing were really taxed. I think though if one was editing video then that changes everything and one would be required for sure.