Is my video card the choke-point?
Aug 15, 2012 14:14:24 #
I've noticed ... since starting to do more with RAW files instead of JPG ... that when I open Photoshop Elements and scroll through my photos, it takes significantly longer to bring the photo "into focus". The image appears, but fuzzy like out of focus, but if I wait for a while, it suddenly appears focused. Sometimes this happens in a few seconds, but lately, it has taken nearly a minute in some cases. Is this because I am now viewing files that are 18 - 20MB instead of files that are 3 - 4 MB in size? Or is something else going on? I have a Dell 3.3 Ghz desktop with 3 GB Ram running Vista. I know ... I know ... Ram should be more. But is the video card also being taxed more than in the past?
Aug 15, 2012 14:22:50 #
I get the same thing with large files, but usually never takes more than 5-6 seconds. I dont have anything fancy, 2.2G dual core with 4G ram and onboard video. It could be that you have many processes running in the background and the processor is just overwhelmed and bottle-necking. It also could be your video card but doubt it.
Aug 16, 2012 06:43:44 #
Are you viewing the images from the card? Why not transfer them to your computer? My guess could be that the "chole point" is the data bit transfer rate between the card and the computer, which I believwe was your thought.
Aug 16, 2012 08:20:39 #
Photo-Al wrote:
I've noticed ... since starting to do more with RA... (show quote)
I know Lightroom shows a "fuzzy" low res preview image of the raw photo while it loads in the full version. Perhaps Elements works the same way.
Aug 16, 2012 08:50:34 #
Yes, opening larger files takes longer. More ram and a faster operating system woul also help a lot.
You are opening files 5X bigger than what you are use to so they will take 5X longer to open.
Jim D
You are opening files 5X bigger than what you are use to so they will take 5X longer to open.
Jim D
Aug 16, 2012 09:09:40 #
You have a decent enough processor, consider upgrading to the 64 bit win 7 and increase your RAM. Then consider a PCIe video card with 1 GB VRAM. The OS and higher RAM will help with increased stability and speed for other applications you use in addition to PSE.
Aug 16, 2012 10:50:29 #
Just upgrade the ram. dont know the max on a dell only had 1 dell and it was not that great of a comp. Your vid card should be fine because your program uses ram more than video. I have a sandybridge quadcore i7 @3.5ghz and 8 gigs of ram with a 2 gig vid card. but I only buy asus comps. i can upgrade to 16 gigs of ram but havent found any program to stall my laptop as of yet. But just max your ram and you will be fine. and ram is cheap.and you wont see a big biff on cpu's anything over a 2.0 ghz will rum most program. ram and hard drive speed are the only things you will see a diff with. get a 7200 rpm hd
Aug 16, 2012 13:06:22 #
We probably need to ask you a few more questions before giving a more complete answer. Are the images on an external hard drive? I know you said the processor is a 3.3ghz processor but what kind of processor. i5, i7, AMD, Pentium dual core? How much ram can the computer be upgraded to and is it the 64 bit version of Vista or the Home version? If it's the Home version you can only upgrade to 4GB ram. If running an external HD images will sometimes take a long time to load because the external drives aren't active all the time and go to sleep. The computer sometimes takes a while to wake it up. I have not figured out a way to speed up external drive wake up, but I do most of my processing directly on the internal HD and when done move to the external HD. I'm also assuming that you are viewing by the F11 key for a full screen view of the image.
So more ram and use the internal hard drive is about all you can do short of buying a new faster computer. I don't think PSE requires a better video card. I know that CS5/6 will work better with an Oen GL video card with 512mb on board video or more.
So more ram and use the internal hard drive is about all you can do short of buying a new faster computer. I don't think PSE requires a better video card. I know that CS5/6 will work better with an Oen GL video card with 512mb on board video or more.
Aug 16, 2012 13:15:15 #
Have the same thing with Paint Shop Pro X4. Only takes about 2 sec. though to "clear". Have Windows 7 64 bit, 8 GB of RAM, 1 GB of Video RAM and AMD Quad Core Processor. I Convert RAW at 20-25 Mb. to TIFF as the Master file at 50-52 Mb., so I found a way for them to load faster. NEVER use Windows explorer to load the thumbnails. Can take forever. Use a third party viewer like Picasa3 or Irfanview. Find the thumbnail, right click, open with..... and the Graphic Editor of your choice. Even the Graphic Editor with a manage tab on bottom of program is MUCH faster than Windows.
Aug 16, 2012 13:20:06 #
Aug 16, 2012 13:22:25 #
Aug 16, 2012 13:33:46 #
I would get more memory, if you can. It's not as expensive as it used to be and you'd see better performance with a lot of things, not just Photoshop. Maybe this problem would be resolved and maybe it wouldn't, but at least you'll be better off at that point and have eliminated one possible culprit.
Not sure that the video card is your weak link though.
Not sure that the video card is your weak link though.
Aug 16, 2012 15:47:58 #
jeep_daddy wrote:
We probably need to ask you a few more questions b... (show quote)
Absolutely correct. More RAM! I use a MAC with 8GB RAM and a Quad core processor for my PP however I do have an older Dell with 4GB of RAM on which I have used Corel Paintshop Photo X3. I do not know what motherboard you have and whether you can upgrade the CPU but even if you can it's not really a viable option. Do a little bit of research to see if the RAM can be upgraded, if you can only upgrade to 4GB it will help a little but do not expect a neck breaking improvement on speed. Having a hard drive with a 7200rpm spin rate will help you as well.
If the system is maxed out on RAM and you are trying to load in more data i.e. open a RAW file, it will dump some data to make room by writing files to the hard drive (virtual memory). Because writing data to the HD is a mechanical process and not digital there is a certain amount of latency especially if your hard drive can only spin up to 5600rpm. Closing down any non essential programs running in the background will definitely help too. Cheers
Aug 16, 2012 18:30:39 #
Thanks to all ... I checked again and guess I mis-spoke on part of the specs ... It is a Vista Home Premium 32 bit, 3 GB Ram, Intel Core TM2 Quad Processor 2.4 GHz (not 3+). I'm sure the HD is at least 7200, I want to say it's faster than that ...9600? I did try turning off Media Analysis, we'll see how that works. And someone asked if I was loading from the SD card or the HD ... I download all the photos to the HD and delete from the SD card, then clean up from the HD deleting what I don't like/want to keep.
Anyway, thanks a lot. I'm guessing that a new computer with 64 bit Windows 7 or 8 is in my future, with more RAM and goodies that my wife will grill me over. Computers and cameras, guess I never pay attention to my spousal unit. :shock:
Anyway, thanks a lot. I'm guessing that a new computer with 64 bit Windows 7 or 8 is in my future, with more RAM and goodies that my wife will grill me over. Computers and cameras, guess I never pay attention to my spousal unit. :shock:
Aug 16, 2012 19:57:44 #
Photo-Al wrote:
Thanks to all ... I checked again and guess I mis-... (show quote)
If you do invest in a new system purchase one with your immediate needs needs in mind but also allow for future growth. Cheers
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