Upgrading Windows computer: My Windows 10 desktop is several years old. It still works fine but certain photo processing tasks, for example, the Topaz suite, take a long time. I would...

jrchip01

My Windows 10 desktop is several years old. It still works fine but certain photo processing tasks, for example, the Topaz suite, take a long time. I would like to upgrade to a modern machine but the thought of reinstalling many applications is not appealing. Anyone have recent experience with apps such as PCMover or others to facilitate the process ?

Najataagihe

Misfire.

fredpnm Loc: Corrales, NM

Consider upgrading your current PC with a high-end video card with 4 to 6 Gb of memory. Then tell Topaz to use the GPU (in the video card). The Topaz performance improvement will be most noticeable. Cheaper than a new computer. If you still don't like the results and decide to buy a new computer you can always use the 'new' video card in the 'new' computer.

OR

If you already have a very good video card...be sure you have turned on 'use GPU' in the Topaz program. Under Perferences (Sharpen AI) then Enable Discrete GPU.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

jrchip01 wrote:

My Windows 10 desktop is several years old. It still works fine but certain photo processing tasks, for example, the Topaz suite, take a long time. I would like to upgrade to a modern machine but the thought of reinstalling many applications is not appealing. Anyone have recent experience with apps such as PCMover or others to facilitate the process ?

I agree with the gentleman about the video card. You need 16gb ram and a decent gpu. If you go decide to buy new just clone your drive and install it in your new machine. Crucial has free software to clone their drives. So do others. Very simple process.

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

jrchip01 wrote:

My Windows 10 desktop is several years old. It still works fine but certain photo processing tasks, for example, the Topaz suite, take a long time. I would like to upgrade to a modern machine but the thought of reinstalling many applications is not appealing. Anyone have recent experience with apps such as PCMover or others to facilitate the process ?

What are you upgrading from - what are the specs for your current computer?

jrchip01

Many thanks to all for the excellent suggestions. Current machine (Gateway DX4300) has 2.5 ghz AMD phenom, 8 gig ram (maxed out), Nvidia GeForce GT 520 display adapter, Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB drive, Windows 10 Professional V 2004, build 19041.746. As I said. ancient!!

wrangler5 Loc: Missouri

[quote=Drbobcameraguy < snip > If you go decide to buy new just clone your drive and install it in your new machine. Crucial has free software to clone their drives. So do others. Very simple process.[/quote]

I thought each Windows installation recorded the hardware it was installed on and wouldn't run if too much of it changed. Is that no longer the case?

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

jrchip01 wrote:

My Windows 10 desktop is several years old. It still works fine but certain photo processing tasks, for example, the Topaz suite, take a long time. I would like to upgrade to a modern machine but the thought of reinstalling many applications is not appealing. Anyone have recent experience with apps such as PCMover or others to facilitate the process ?

https://geekflare.com/windows-disk-cloning/

Haven't tried any of these. I always do a fresh clean install of everything for a different generation/platform. I will use cloning if only upgrading the system drive to a larger one - where all the drivers and other registry items remain the same.

roadsideron Loc: Apache Junction, AZ

jrchip01 wrote:

Many thanks to all for the excellent suggestions. Current machine (Gateway DX4300) has 2.5 ghz AMD phenom, 8 gig ram (maxed out), Nvidia GeForce GT 520 display adapter, Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB drive, Windows 10 Professional V 2004, build 19041.746. As I said. ancient!!

I just built my new system, Ryzen 7 3700x, x570 video card, 16 gig 3600 ram, with a 500 gig m.2 pcie hard drive. This was coming from a Ryzen 7 2700 with a sata drive and a 1050i nvidia card which was too slow for my Topaz and NIK plugins in Corel Paint shop pro 2021. The system you have is many generations old. The 20 designation in your video card is the lowest you can get. I think the range is 10-90, 90 being the most expensive cards and top performing cards. The front numbers designate the years, or models. You can change hard drives, video cards, memory and still have windows activated. You can't change motherboards. And if your Windows is preinstalled on the system you can't deactivate it and use it on another system. If it's a Gateway it's probably OEM. It's tied to that system. I couldn't live with my previous system so I don't know how you're using the one you have. Everything is plug and play and it's not to hard to build a system or have someone do it. Prebuilt systems usually use the cheapest components they can get away with.

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

wrangler5 wrote:

I thought each Windows installation recorded the hardware it was installed on and wouldn't run if too much of it changed. Is that no longer the case?

Some software claims to be able to upgrade to a different machine without issues. In my experience that has not been reliable.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

wrangler5 wrote:

I thought each Windows installation recorded the hardware it was installed on and wouldn't run if too much of it changed. Is that no longer the case?

Correct it allows you to clone as long as you keep your windows up to date. I believe there is a limit on the times it can be done to prevent large scale theft. I just did it in July when I built my new machine.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

roadsideron wrote:

I just built my new system, Ryzen 7 3700x, x570 vi... (show quote)

I built my system in July 2020. Asrock motherboard with twin neme m.2 drives i7 9700k cpu 2070 super gpu 32gb 3600 ram a pair of cruicial 2tb off board ssd drives for storage. Liquid cooled cpu. No led. Lol. I love it. Raytracing is the neatest thing. Nvidia has drivers just for photography and is at the leading edge in a lot off photography processes. Check out there site.

steve33 Loc: Yarmouth MA

I've used pc mover. It worked great !

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

jrchip01 wrote:

My Windows 10 desktop is several years old. It still works fine but certain photo processing tasks, for example, the Topaz suite, take a long time. I would like to upgrade to a modern machine but the thought of reinstalling many applications is not appealing. Anyone have recent experience with apps such as PCMover or others to facilitate the process ?

How to make Topaz Products Run Faster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GraqwH2YYJ4
Start at about 1:40 min. into the video.

After loading a file select all of the "Full Auto" selections, run "Update", then . . select File, Preferences, Reset, and Close.
This allows the program to select the best/fastest settings for your computer.
Now select "Save Image" as you desire for the type of file, location, etc.

Another hint. Close all programs not in use as this will allow your computer to perform at its best.
After doing this, open "Task Manager" select "Performance" and watch the graphs as the program processes the file to see if you have enough Memory/CPU etc.
Also: DO NOT select "Auto-Update Preview"!! It may be handy for making small changes but it will REALLY ADD to your processing times!

Best wishes,
JimmyT Sends

wireloose

8 GB of RAM will really slow you down. Are you maxed out because of the mb design or just because you have both slots filled? If the latter buy two 8GB sticks (or 2x16 for a bit more improvement) and replace what you have. It’s very easy and the difference in performance is huge.