UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

I am in the processing of purchasing a desk top computer. Given the needs of the post-processing apps and plug-ins, I am interested in UHHers experience with this and recommendations as to the size of a graphics card to handle photo storage and processing.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

The graphics card is only used in processing with an editor (the display), not storage.

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

Simple answer, as many gigs as you can afford. I have an nVidia 1660 Super with 6 gig vram. It works for me but I wish I had gotten the 8 gig card.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

OK, Bill, but to help in the editing, do you have any suggestions?

jdtonkinson Loc: Red Wing, MN

Mike,
I agree with Jack....I only have 4 gigs vram, and wish I would have bought a larger one. It makes a difference in post processing.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Thanks, Jack. The quote on 128 gigs is very high, but I want to see what a better amount would be.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

It depends on the software you plan on using to process your images. Some software makes significant use of a graphics card's GPU, while other software may not. Generally the software you use will often specify the minimum processor, memory, and graphics card to use with it.

Depending on the software, the "right" graphics card can make a very significant increase in the speed of processing. Even software that uses a graphics card's GPU may only use it for specific features, not for all processing.

As an example. I am a user of DXO PhotoLab 4 Elite which features the extraordinary DeepPRIME noise reduction which requires a lots of processing for this AI feature. I had a very old lower level graphics card, the nVidia GTX 745, which was not supported by PhotoLab for processing DeepPRIME NR, relegating that processing to my computer's CPU. As a result It took a minute and a half to process a single image. With the much newer mid level nVidia GTX 1660ti that same image processes in around 7 seconds.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Sorry, I wish I did.

The three editors I have/use run fine on my old "stock" off-the-shelf computers.
Our desktop is 8.5 years old with 8Gb of RAM;
My laptop is 9 years old with 4Gb of RAM;
Both have Core i5 processors running Win 7.
My wife's laptop is a year old, running Win 10. I try not to touch hers unless I have to. (Touch screen and no mouse. I don't like using touchpads.)

I just buy stock computers that have a decent amount of memory and disk space (at the time of purchase).
I don't need a gee-whiz-bang speedy computer with all kinds of bells & whistles. Saves money also.
Yea, they have graphics cards...
Guess I've been using computers for too long...

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

A minute and a half to process a single image in what manner?
I have two old computers and nothing "I" do with either of the editors I use takes minutes to process.
If it did, 60-90 seconds isn't disastrous for me. Sometimes my laptop takes that long to start Elements 19.
(However, I did find where to start the Elements 19 editor itself instead of starting that annoying cover program -"What do you want to do today?" with a picture panel list of all kinds of stupid stuff.)

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Thanks, that is very helpful.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

The AI algorithm for deepPRIME noise reduction in photoLab 4 is very intense and requires a significant amount of processing but the end results are more than worth it. The result is by far the best noise reduction available today but it only works on raw files. The amount of processing of DeepPRIME is so intense that you cannot view it full screen before exporting your image. DXO provides a small viewer that allows you to move around your image to see the effects one small section at a time.

Topaz Denoise AI, which also requires intense processing, provides excellent noise reduction but it is still not at the same level as Photolab's DeepPRIME. It's main advantage is that it will work on Tiff and JPEG files as well as raw files and doesn't require using DXO Photolab as your raw processor/converter. I own a copy of it If I need to apply noise reduction to non-raw files.

If you do not have a graphics card which is supported by Photolab for use with DeepPRIME, and depending on your computer, using the CPU only to process an image can't take between a minute and 3 minutes depending on the size of the raw file. With a supported graphics card GPU, the processing is generally around 3 to 10 times faster depending on the specific graphics card used and the size of the raw file. In addition, since there is some overhead when exporting images with DeepPRIME It's much faster per image if you export them in batch mode. Exporting processed raw images to JPEG or TIF without DeepPRIME noise reduction generally will take five or six seconds or so.

The noise reduction in Elements and other Adobe products, and virtually all other programs currently available, is simply not in the same league. It has to be seen to be believed. You get sharp images with virtually no noise or artifacts. But this incredible noise reduction comes at a price. It requires an intense amount of processing which thankfully is reduced significantly with a supported graphics card GPU.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Ahh. Thanks for the clarification!

rdrullinger

A great discussion can be found at:https://www.dtcommercialphoto.com/where-to-spend-your-money-when-buying-a-computer-for-capture-one/

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

I have Windows 10 Pro with 32 GB of RAM. Still not enough because I use a lot of programs: mostly Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Audacity, Bridge, Photoshop, Lightroom, Elements, Illustrator, InDesign, and Topaz Studio. Since I use them multiple times per day, I keep them open. I have found that Adobe programs are memory hogs and refuse to release the memory when a program is closed, requiring me to go into Task Manager and close the Process, or reboot the computer. At the suggestion of many of the computer science students at Cal Berkeley, I now reboot the computer at least once a week, usually on Sunday.

ClarkJohnson Loc: Fort Myers, FL and Cohasset, MA

Mike, check the recommendations from the maker of whatever processing software you use or intend to use in the future, Topaz, for example, lists good-better-best options, with the best being Nvidia 1080 or better (8 GB of dedicated VRAM). As noted above, this is for specialized processing only, over and above the requirements of Lightroom or whatever other software you will use on your new machine.