Does a GPU help with photo and video editing?

Scuzi · 5 Sep 2025 at 16:37

I'm currently working on a repurposed Dell Optiplex 7000 MT. Specs are:
i7-12700
32Gb DDR5 RAM
Intel UHD 770 graphics
2x 2Gb NVME

I use Lightroom Classic & Photoshop for photo editing, and Premiere Elements for video. I also occasionally use Handbrake for encoding.

Firstly, I'm fairly happy with the performance in general, but would adding a GPU to the system make it run smoother? I have recently upgraded to a 40mp camera and the larger files do make it run a little slower, especially when processing higher volumes. Things like AI denoise when I occasionaly use it also take a bit longer.

I normally process video in 1080p but would like to move to 4k, and this is where there is a very noticeable difference in performance. Would a GPU help here?

Secondly, would a GPU that my 260W PSU can support (no additonal power connector required) such as an RTX 3050 be worth it?

Tetras · 5 Sep 2025 at 16:42

2D stuff used to be always a CPU thing, but the newer versions of Adobe definitely do use the GPU a lot more, particularly for the AI features. From what I'm aware of, this is still a case-by-case thing, not every feature does, so it depends on usage.

In so far as, how a 3050 would stack up against the 770, I don't know.

DD_Crash · 5 Sep 2025 at 16:59

I think a good GPU always helps and the demands of programs will always go up

Pooh · 10 Sep 2025 at 21:25

you're a bit limited options wise with your available power to do anything meaty, but a dedicated GPU can certainly help with encoding.

Scuzi · 10 Sep 2025 at 21:27

Pooh said:
you're a bit limited options wise with your available power to do anything meaty, but a dedicated GPU can certainly help with encoding.

I've ordered a RTX 3050 6GB to see how it runs. Doesn't require additional PSU connection and under £150. It has to be better than the integrated graphics!

DD_Crash · 11 Sep 2025 at 09:12

It will be and will help to unlock the potential of your images.

iamgigglz · 11 Sep 2025 at 09:54

Arc B570? It has the same Encode/Decode performance as the B580 and benchmarks have it using the same ~130W as the RTX3050, which doesn't have an AV1 encoder by the way.

Edit - If you can find the Lite-On L500EPS-01 or D500EPS-01 (not sure of the difference) it seems to be the go-to 500W PSU upgrade for that box. Dell part number VFFKJ

mrk · 12 Sep 2025 at 00:40

Yes it completely helps, the better the GPU the better the acceleration, at least an RTX 40 series card gets you at least 1x AV1 hardware encoder as well, whereas a 4080 or above gets you two or more. Either way, GPU acceleration is now done in Lightroom even for 1:1 preview generation which speeds up preview gen considerably. Going from an RTX 3080 Ti to 4090 took my Lightroom batch exports from ~40 mins on average to around 12 mins maximum for similar batches.

Handbrake supports NVENC for H264/265 and AV1 so all good there, I use Davinci Resolve for video editing though and that too supports NVENC and typically a 4K 60fps video encodes to AV1 at 84fps depending on specific parameters chosen but typically Q value of 26, FLAC audio, constant framerate and tuning set to highest quality.

Barks · 14 Sep 2025 at 13:25

Yes my new M4 Pro MBP cuts through rendering 1:1 DNG previews in Lighroom like a knife through butter. The entire experience blows my mind tbh but I did come from an iPad Pro which is absolute turd for content creation.