Question about RAM (Page 2): This may help guide you: https://www.pugetsystems.com/recommended/Recommended-Systems-for-Adobe-Lightroom-141...

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

johneccles wrote:

My PC normally has 8gb RAM installed (2 x 4gb), recently I gave one 4gb module to my wife to boost her PC upto 8gb.
I have been using my PC since with only 4gb installed and to be honest I cannot detect any difference in performance even when using my PP software.
How import is RAM when doing photo editing, I am considering increasing my RAM upto 16gb (the maximum I can use), would there be any point?

This may help guide you:

https://www.pugetsystems.com/recommended/Recommended-Systems-for-Adobe-Lightroom-141

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/optimize-performance-lightroom.html

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Dngallagher wrote:

IF you have a good fast SSD then your system makes use of the swap file as additional ram, and as long as it is fast there may not be too much difference between swap and hardware ram.
...

Most programs will use disk cache as ram if needed. Might slow you down a bit.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Longshadow wrote:

Most programs will use disk cache as ram if needed. Might slow you down a bit.

Yes, there is a difference between a disk cache and a swap/pagefile though, in most cases, a cache may be used by a program, but the operating system uses a swap/pagefile to extend the amount of memory available to run programs

Caching can also be used by the OS to speed up loading of often used applications and data, which does not fake out memory limitations

In the case of fast SSD drives used for either, it can be a great benefit

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

With Photoshop you allocate the amount of RAM it will use in the preferences. With 8GB of RAM you would probably allocate 5 or 6 GB to Photoshop. Allocating more RAM won't make it go faster if you are doing ordinary post processing. If you have dozens of layers or a bunch of other programs running simultaneously, it might. But if you hit contol/alt/delete and open your task manager you can monitor how much memory (RAM) photoshop is using while you use it. My experience is that adobe products are CPU intensive rather than RAM intensive software.

therwol Loc: USA

johneccles wrote:

I do in fact have a 128gb SSD, which could explain why that now I have only 4gb RAM installed there doesn't appear to be any diference in speed.

SSDs have a limited life, although it is getting better all of the time, probably to the point where most will last the useful life of the computer, especially the larger ones. 128 gigs is quite small these days, and I'll bet that your operating system programs and files take up much of it. So what do you get then if you're swapping files to and from your 128 gig SSD on a large scale? You get a lot of reads and writes spread out over a relatively small space, potentially shortening the life of the drive. Put more ram back in the machine. It doesn't wear out.

dusmif

24 is better than 16. In my opinion

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

Peterff wrote:

Is your PP software 32bit or 64bit? If 32bit, the most RAM it could access is <= 4GB, so even if you have more in your system you wouldn't see a difference. With 64bit sw you would see a difference. This is at the application level as well as the OS level. Can you provide both OS and application details regarding 32 or 64 bit?

Thanks

MyPP app is 64 bit, using Windows 10, 128 gb SSD and 500gb HDD used for storage.

juicesqueezer Loc: Okeechobee, Florida

Just built a new PC from case up; running Win 10 with i7 unclocked, 32GB RAM, Samsung M.2 drive, 500GB SSD, Asus graphic card and I am more than pleased with this system and how fast it processes photos in Lightroom, etc.
I also run a MacBook Pro that is just about as fast. lol

wteffey Loc: Ocala, FL USA

When I had my PC in for service (a power failure while booting up really messed up open registries) I asked a PC professional about adding more RAM to the existing 8gb. He told me that still photo editing (as opposed to video) is not a really demanding assignment for any PC able to run Windows 10, and 8gb would be fine. He recommended a video card instead, and that addition brought about a real difference. I sometimes use the task manager to check performance and have found that while CPU usage will spike momentarily when asking Elements 15 to execute a command, it quickly returns to perhaps 20% while waiting for my personal CPU (my brain) to tell it what to do next. If fact, it spends most of the time waiting for me. Mass processing of many, many RAW files might be slow, but I think that defeats the intent of RAW anyway.

JRFINN Loc: Plymouth, MA

John, laptop or PC? They both use memory but different types. Lookup/google your manual as to what type, SDRAM, DRAM, RAM each works differently and of course all don't work in every system as it is depending the age of the system or laptop.
Good luck.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I have an i7, SSD Win 10 Pro system. I started with 8 GB RAM, increased to 16GB then recently increased to 32 GB. Yes, I do notice a difference when doing PP work, particularly with LR & PS CC.
Mark

johneccles wrote:

My PC normally has 8gb RAM installed (2 x 4gb), recently I gave one 4gb module to my wife to boost her PC upto 8gb.
I have been using my PC since with only 4gb installed and to be honest I cannot detect any difference in performance even when using my PP software.
How import is RAM when doing photo editing, I am considering increasing my RAM upto 16gb (the maximum I can use), would there be any point?

Tet68survivor Loc: Pomfret Center CT

I have 12gb it works with PP15 but borderline! Want real speed? Invest in a128 gb flash drive instead of physical ram. That's my next purchase!

JRFINN Loc: Plymouth, MA

A flash drive is good for local storage of images but doesn't increase performance of an application. More or faster system memory will do that for heavy applications which require lots of computational work when making changes to that stored image/photograph. If any additional performance is needed and your already maxed out with memory you would replace your hard drive with an SSD which is an electronic drive vs mechanical drive with a disk.

jccash Loc: Longwood, Florida

johneccles wrote:

My PC normally has 8gb RAM installed (2 x 4gb), recently I gave one 4gb module to my wife to boost her PC upto 8gb.
I have been using my PC since with only 4gb installed and to be honest I cannot detect any difference in performance even when using my PP software.
How import is RAM when doing photo editing, I am considering increasing my RAM upto 16gb (the maximum I can use), would there be any point?

I upgraded my wives HP laptop to 16gig RAM and 1TB SSD drive. Her computer boots up in 25 seconds and made everything seem faster. Did the same with my MBP i7 and had same results.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

johneccles wrote:

My PC normally has 8gb RAM installed (2 x 4gb), recently I gave one 4gb module to my wife to boost her PC upto 8gb.
I have been using my PC since with only 4gb installed and to be honest I cannot detect any difference in performance even when using my PP software.
How import is RAM when doing photo editing, I am considering increasing my RAM upto 16gb (the maximum I can use), would there be any point?

16GB is a good target, especially since that's your limit. Adding RAM indefinitely is like adding more horsepower to an engine. Sure, you have it, but will you ever use it?

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-much-ram-does-your-pc-need-probably-less-than-you-think/
http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-much-ram-does-your-pc-need/