CPU and graphics for Lightroom PC?

ajf · 3 Oct 2012 at 12:25

I know I've had a few posts about debating new spec but getting a bit lost now.

Three options as I see it:

Core i7 hex core with HT - socket 2011
Core i7 quad core with HT - Ivybridge
Core i5 Quad core No HT - Ivybridge

Ignoring costs for a moment is there any significant performance advantage for either of the i7 CPUs, or should I go for a decent i5 and spec more memory and SSDs?

In terms of graphics, I assume Lightroom and Photoshop too do not really use graphics heavily do they?

DanF · 3 Oct 2012 at 13:17

Are you going to be doing a lot of bulk editing of large images or is it more just as a hobby? if it's just a hobby then any of them will be totally fine, all modern quad's are fast.

Ram is cheap at the moment so 8gb minimum anyway which is fine for hobby stuff. If it's a work machine then 16gb all the way.

SSD's are so much faster than physical disks, it's probably the best performance upgrade you can get right now.

At home I have a quad I5 with no HT, 8gb ram & 256gb SSD. At work I'm using I7 with HT, 16gb ram and 256gb SSD. There's very little difference between them until I run out of ram on the 8gb machine but I only do this when doing loads of stuff and running VM's, never just editing photos.

Columbo · 3 Oct 2012 at 13:22

I wouldn't spend a lot on a pc for Lightroom.

Any of the current i5 range will be fine. Just stick plenty of RAM and as said above stick an SSD in there.

I'm still running an i5 750 (S1156) @ 4ghz with 16gb ram and the best thing I have done is add 2 ssd drives. It feel plenty fast enough now with virtually no lag in Lightroom.

The difference truly is night and day.

King Damager · 3 Oct 2012 at 13:50

As much RAM as possible!

kd

ajf · 3 Oct 2012 at 13:50

Thanks for the replies. That has helped me push away from the i7s and save a bit!
Good point about the VMs though as a seperate point. I might use it for this so probably go with 16Gb or even 32Gb if not too much extra.

Lightroom is just a hobby so generally 20Mb RAW files and occassional bulk export for web use but I just leave it to get on with it at that point.