PC for editing RAW

Discuss equipment and methods or ask for advice
Post Reply
User avatar
Orion
Posts: 1202
Joined: Wed 22 Jul 2009, 9:34 pm

PC for editing RAW

Post by Orion »

I've not bought a new PC 15 years so I'm very much in the dark about this. Are there any recommendations for a PC for editing RAW images, please.
Regards

User avatar
Mooshie1956
Posts: 1707
Joined: Wed 01 Jun 2011, 11:46 am
Location: Manchester

Re: PC for editing RAW

Post by Mooshie1956 »

I use an intel I5, 1060 Nvidia gfx card and 16gb ram. HDD both SSD and mechanical. I find it handles Lightroom, photoshop and Topaz well. There is no noticeable length of time while they perform their tasks. It's a few years old now bought about a year before covid lockdown.
Personally I'm not a fan of AMD processors, that could be just me as some people swear by them.
My Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/mooshie1956/
Panny G80 12-60 Lens
Panny 100-400 Lens
Olympus 60 Macro Lens

User avatar
Orion
Posts: 1202
Joined: Wed 22 Jul 2009, 9:34 pm

Re: PC for editing RAW

Post by Orion »

Thanks for that. I agree about AMD processors because they never seem to work too well with Microsoft products. That might be because Microsoft only test their stuff on Intel, rather than any inherent problem.

User avatar
Draken
Posts: 497
Joined: Fri 27 Apr 2012, 9:38 am
Location: EPKK/KRK
Contact:

Re: PC for editing RAW

Post by Draken »

Mooshie1956 wrote:
Mon 10 Oct 2022, 10:24 am
[...]
I use an intel I5, 1060 Nvidia gfx card and 16gb ram. HDD both SSD and mechanical.
[...]
That's exactly my setup as well. I use ACDSee Pro (2019 version) and all works just fine, no issues with performance. Plus - almost all current games work on high settings as well.

User avatar
boff180
UKAR Staff
Posts: 9830
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 2:28 pm
Location: Solihull
Contact:

Re: PC for editing RAW

Post by boff180 »

Plenty of RAM and a good GPU work well with Lightroom and Photoshop - you can set the software to use the GPU in addition to the CPU to aid in calculation speed.etc. I would always say get as much RAM as you can afford.

I run two i7 machines - my main tower and a laptop for travelling and have no issues with either.

One thing to watch with systems is the GPU, especially on laptops. The latest Intel Core processors have a GPU built in and this not only uses part of the processing power of the CPU but also shares the RAM with the rest of the computer - fine for every day stuff but on an i5 machine I found it slowed things down. Cheaper laptops/PC's will only use the Intel GPU.

I find it best to buy a laptop/PC that has a standalone graphics card installed with its own RAM.

My laptop uses both the standalone graphics card and the intel CPU one, it switches between the two as needed to save on power consumption and the need for the fans to power up for cooling when on battery or working somewhere quiet.

The laptop is newer, it's specs are:-
Intel i7 11800H
32gb DDR4 3200mhz RAM
1TB SDD
15.6" UHD+ Anti-Reflective Infinity Edge Touchscreen
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 4GB GDDR6 GPU

Andy

Post Reply