iamimdoc

I thought I read somewhere that a dedicated graphics card would speed up photo processing. But I would not think that would help as the bottlenecks would seem to be due to cpu speed, disk drive speed and file size issues.

So does a speedy graphics card get you anything in photo processing in Affinity, Ps etc - photographs only? No video.

Thanks

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

I have a dedicated Nvidia Gforce graphics processor/ accelerator with 8gb of memory. It is a 64 bit card and seems to give faster tighter images at higher resolution. I have a Windows machine with 64gb of memory (upgradable to 128 but not done yet) and 4 6tb high speed SATA drives (I only buy WD or any brand but Seagate. I used to work for Seagate in Oklahoma City as quality assurance and will never/ever purchase a Seagate product again). The graphics card does seem to speed up graphics in Lightroom and other graphics intensive programs... But, in Lightroom, you have to check the graphics accelerator box in the preferences area.

Jrhoffman75 Loc: Conway, New Hampshire

It depends on the particular software. If you go to the Adobe site there is a FAQ on graphics cards.

NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

Graphics operations are very CPU intensive. In a system without a dedicated graphics adapter, the primary system CPU performs these computations. A processor can only manage x number of processes at a time. So, everything is sharing processor with the graphics. When you have a dedicated graphics adapter, it has its own processor and memory. The main system processor recognizes when one is present and then directs the graphics computations to the dedicated graphics adapter. That graphics adapter's processor and its memory are specifically designed for that purpose. Photo editing requires almost constant screen rewrites in addition to those being needed by your GUI (graphics user interface) of Windows or Apple OS. So, while a graphics card will not increase the speed of your system process, hard drive, memory etc., it take a major processing requirement off the main processor so that it can actually respond faster to the requests from other system components. Many of the photo editing softwares are moving towards functions that will require significantly more intense graphics demands that are usually only available on dedicated graphics adapters.

iamimdoc

Ol

Could someone suggest appropriate card for photo issues for windows machine or is "get best you can afford".

I don't to overbuy as no video or games on my pc

Jrhoffman75 Loc: Conway, New Hampshire

An Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti or higher is a good card based on my experience.

NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

What kind of system do you have and how old is it?

tjw47 Loc: Michigan

Some graphics cards need extra power to run them.. ( They have a connector on them to attach a power cable )
Also if the graphics card is powerfull enough you will need to upgrade the power supply.
When adding a Graphics card you need to know what type of slot is available on the motherboard to attach the graphics card

iamimdoc

Windows 10 Home
I7-4790 @ 3.6 GhZ
16 gb ram
64 bit OS

SS Drive for OS and Programs

I presume entry level or older model at the time as fairly cheap when bought 3 years ago (< 500.00). Seems to lag at times compared to previous slower processor PC with Windows 7 but thaty may be Win OS 10 vs 7

Thanks for advice/suggestions

Jrhoffman75 Loc: Conway, New Hampshire

Does your PC currently have a separate graphics card or an embedded graphics chip?

What brand PC? I have a Dell. It came with an Nvidia GTX970. Upgraded to a GTX1050. Made a noticeable difference.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I've had computers with and without dedicated graphics cards, and I never noticed a difference. Of course, I never did a timed comparison, and my processing isn't so complicated that I can take a nap while the computer works. One advantage of a separate card is that if the card fails, you remove it and insert another one. I've done that twice and bought cards that cost under $50.

I'm sure if you look online, you can find comparisons of graphics card speeds. I'm amazed how expensive some cards can be - mostly for gaming. You know, really important stuff.

NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

Does it have a brand name and model number?

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

I followed Adobe advice re graphics card and upgraded mine

Jrhoffman75 Loc: Conway, New Hampshire

Not all software can make use of a graphics card. And some can only use certain cards. For instance, Canon DPP can only make use of an Nvidia card.

Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas

A dedicated video card will speed up your whole computer by a lot compared to on board video. Not only boot up faster, go through files faster, do post processing faster, try it, you will like it. Get a good one.