Spec me new hardware :)

Mp4 · 18 Mar 2015 at 06:00

Well my PC has now taken over 24 hours via Lightroom to backup 700GB of my catalogue and images which I think takes the biscuit!!

So after new motherboard must have ample usb3 /16 Gb Ram / prosessor and possibly gfx card, I have dual monitors and my 580ati keeps flickering.

And a new psu as mine is just old now and scared it will pop.

Budget £500 but lower the better ofc.

Doomedspeed · 18 Mar 2015 at 07:42

What will the PC be used for?

Is it more lightroom work? If so, how 'heavy' is your usage?

Mp4 · 18 Mar 2015 at 08:18

Pc will be used for mainly photo edit and backup

Can't check the load as away from pc now

cats_five · 18 Mar 2015 at 08:35

Strikes me it's I/O bound though 700GB is quite a lot of data!

Are you backing up to a different disk (not a different partition on the same disk) in the same case, or to a network device? Is/are the disk(s) SATA or PATA? If SATA, what version - SATA 3 is 4x faster than SATA 1, but of course just having SATA 3 disks isn't enough, the mobo has to support it as well.

I backup over the wired network to a NAS, but it's on the same switch and it's all gigabit so it's not too slow.

How is the editing performance?

I've got an A10 Kavari, 8GB RAM, A88x mobo and all performance for editing is absolutely fine. However having my Lightroom catalogue on an SSD has improved import considerably. I use Lightroom 5.7.1, CS4 and Bridge. I sometimes make panoramas from several large images (camera is 16.3MPx) and that doesn't take ages either - CS4 uses all those GPUs in the mobo.

For the sort of spec I have, you could upgrade to it and get a good PSU and have money left from your budget.

cats_five · 18 Mar 2015 at 08:40

PS:

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/optimize-performance-lightroom.html

Also, do you backup by copying everything regardless of if it's changed? If you do, look into SyncToy which will only copy what has changed.

cats_five · 18 Mar 2015 at 08:41

PPS:

http://www.reddit.com/r/photography..._cpu_gpu_and_ram_for_lightroom_and_photoshop/

Mp4 · 18 Mar 2015 at 10:16

I'm doing a catalogue export + images/previews to a 4TB external drive

I can't seem to get an incremental backup going that works.

And I then use syncback to backup again in the background to another 4TB which I'm keeping off site. (At parents)

cats_five · 18 Mar 2015 at 12:41

How is that external drive connected? USB2? USB3? Network? If network, what speed network?

As said above, I found SyncToy a great tool for only copying over what was changed.

That's not the same as an incremental backup whereby you have some sort of towers of babel arrangement - you start with everything in level 0, level1 is everything changed since the last level 0, level2 is everything changed since the last level1 and so on.

Mp4 · 18 Mar 2015 at 13:23

It's a usb3 external but as my system is old it's usb2

I think Syncback does the same as SyncToy

Mp4 · 18 Mar 2015 at 15:48

Well at the moment my pc with LR open backing up to Google Drive (Catalogue)

background apps:

VPN
MalwareBytes

4GB RAM is being used.

and at peak times CPU going from 60% to 80%

cats_five · 18 Mar 2015 at 16:05

Since CPU isn't 100% that's not the limitation. RAM might be, I take it you have a 64-bit OS?

Is backing up to Google Drive the limitation? (I see you get 15GB free, not the 700GB you mention above).

I've not used Google Drive, I have used Dropbox which has a physical location on my HDD which it synchronizes with the Dropbox servers. I'm assuming Google Drive is the same - you have a local copy & a cloud copy.

If you are copying files to the GD local folder, is it uploading files to the cloud as you go and if it is does that stop the copying while it waits for Google Drive to catch up? To put it another way, if you backup to another location on the HDD, is the performance better?

I'm not trying to put you off spending your money upgrading, but I have a feeling it might not solve your problems - at least not all of them.

Mp4 · 18 Mar 2015 at 16:26

cats_five said:
Since CPU isn't 100% that's not the limitation. RAM might be, I take it you have a 64-bit OS?

Is backing up to Google Drive the limitation? (I see you get 15GB free, not the 700GB you mention above).

I've not used Google Drive, I have used Dropbox which has a physical location on my HDD which it synchronizes with the Dropbox servers. I'm assuming Google Drive is the same - you have a local copy & a cloud copy.

If you are copying files to the GD local folder, is it uploading files to the cloud as you go and if it is does that stop the copying while it waits for Google Drive to catch up? To put it another way, if you backup to another location on the HDD, is the performance better?

I'm not trying to put you off spending your money upgrading, but I have a feeling it might not solve your problems - at least not all of them.

Yeah 64Bit

I only backup the catalogue to the cloud (Google)(without DNG/RAW) it syncs fine to google and take 3-4mins if that. But local and cloud

My main C: is where Lightroom is:

I then import whatever im working on to my C:/Pictures

Once ive edited what I need to do I then move the photos to my

I:/ (2TB) Which I have a folder called Lightroom 56,798 files (21478 photos)

I then use SyncBack to copy the Lightroom Folder.

To my O:/ and F:/ External Drives.

I'm hoping to leave my F:/ Drive offsite but backing up seems a mission

Oh and saving money is fine! then i can have enough to get a NAS or Microserver

cats_five · 18 Mar 2015 at 17:47

So to make sure I've got it right:

importing to C:\Pictures (from the camera?) is OK
backing up the Lightroom Catalogue is OK
once you have finished working on newly-imported photos they are moved to I:\Lightroom so C:\Pictures end up empty
Then you use Syncback copy the new & changed files only in I:\Lightroom to O: and F: which are both external drives and this is where the performance problem is.

Are O: and F: both USB drives? Connected via USB2?

You mentioned copying 700GB - from where to where? I presume that was everything you have ever taken! I hope it's a one-off copy! If I am wrong and you are trying to copy all 700GB of files every time in step 3 then no wonder you are having problems!

If the big problem is having to plug the external drives into a USB2 port, you can probably add USB3 quite cheaply to your existing PC by putting in a PCI card:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CC-003-AK&groupid=701&catid=49&subcat=423
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CM-014-SV&groupid=701&catid=49&subcat=423
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CC-020-SR&groupid=701&catid=49&subcat=423

Mp4 · 18 Mar 2015 at 20:30

Ta for the links i will look at USB 3 but don't think i have a pci port spare as my GFX card is taking 2x. and covering them

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P5E3_PRO/specifications/

The 700GB was im hoping one time(again) as I went to backup to my 2TB (I:/ but ran out of space so the 700GB is now on the E:/ Drive and I:/ Fully backed up on 2x Externals now.

.............
What ive just figured out though is why I just didn't copy the Lightroom Folder on I:/ and use (Syncback or use SyncToy) to copy to the O: or F drives. ...duh.. lol

Tbh what I really need to do is start all over again and get a better backup in place.

cats_five · 18 Mar 2015 at 20:39

Is the graphics card blocking slots? Can't believe you only have two on your mobo, not that I know what it is. The USB3 cards only need a x1 slot.

Glad you can see your way to a more efficient backup strategy though.

Mp4 · 18 Mar 2015 at 20:48

cats_five said:
Is the graphics card blocking slots? Can't believe you only have two on your mobo, not that I know what it is. The USB3 cards only need a x1 slot.

Glad you can see your way to a more efficient backup strategy though.

Well though ive used Syncback I will download SyncToy and just ditch Syncback and use Toy and instead and just monitor off the Lightroom folder on the I:/ (Left?) to another folder called Lightroom on the F:/(Right?) and do the same from the F:/ to the O:/ ...

I think that would work.

never mind ive just looked!

1: my god the dust

2: i have 2x PCI slots and one PCIE spare

- But its right behind the gfx card so it will block the fans to the card.

But sod it ..lol

Now just need a NAS

DS215J??

Mp4 · 20 Mar 2015 at 19:49

Cats_Five

Thanks for the links I now have USB3 pci-e installed

Just hope I now notice some improvement.

And can anyone answer this that use SyncToy?

Well though ive used Syncback I will download SyncToy and just ditch Syncback and use Toy and instead and just monitor off the Lightroom folder on the I:/ (Left?) to another folder called Lightroom on the F:/(Right?) and do the same from the F:/ to the O:/ ...

I think that would work.