Performance, or rather a lack of it...

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edgley

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Up until now my machine has been quick enough for me. PS is fine and more importantly I can get over 5'fps in Quake Wars :)

However, LR runs like a dog. So time for an upgrade.

Is anyone running on a really powerful PC? I would like to see your spec's please.

I am thinking of:
Quad 3.4
8GB
88''GTX (which I have)

I am also considering SAS disks, as disks must be the biggest bottleneck. However they are quiet a bit more than going with a SATA Raid '.
And now there are these new SDD disks, they look amazing.

Any one got experience with these sort of things?

Simon.
 
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Just bumping this thread so it doesn't get missed.

I'm on Macs, so I'm no help, other than telling you it runs beautifully on a Mac...... :mrgreen:
 
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Thats cos thats not a computer but more of a mini-me Cray!
 
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Hey Simon,

Can you expand on what performance issues you are seeing with LR on your current computer? It will help those in-the-know around here (likely not me) to be able to help you out. I had a few small thoughts when I read your post a few days ago, given Victoria bumped it and you haven't had a response, I thought I'd add my 2¢.

Given you're satisfied with how PS runs on your machine, and in looking at your setup, I'm thinking you should be just fine running LR now, no need to upgrade (but if you need an excuse, have at 'er!). That's why I was asking for clarification on what performance issues you're concerned about.

It appears you're new to LR, but I can't be sure. I'm a new Mac user (got it for my photography needs) and new to PP & LR in general as well. That said, I've been an XP user for awhile, still have that machine and was fumbling with PS CS2 on that machine a few months before the Mac upgrade.

LR does things a little differently than many programs, which I suspect may be why you think it's lagging when perhaps it's not -- It took me awhile to get my head wrapped around it in the last couple of weeks. That said, it doesn't make sense to make a lot of assumptions about what you're experiencing until you let us know.

One other thing I noted, it looks like you're running the 64 bit OS? If so, I've seen the odd thread here, and elsewhere, I'm not sure how well LR will or will not play with a 64 bit OS -- I've searched for a few mins but can't find the specific threads, I'm hoping someone else will jump in on that point.

Near term, as mentioned, I wouldn't be in a hurry to spend cash on a new system, unless I'm missing something my opinion is that you should be fine as is.

Cheers, Sean
 
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Hi Sean,

Good points. I am not sure that the 64bit will be causing a problem as I run lots of 32bit software without issue.

The main area of sluggishness is when I click on a photo that doesn't have all the things pre-rendered etc. It can take 5 seconds for the photo to appear and all the messages to disappear.

If I then swap from Fit to 1:1 it can take 1' seconds for the photo to sort itself out.

I have now been watching activity whist experiencing these delays and now I have a concern. At no point do either of my CPU's go above 8'%, and do stay at about 5'%.
Memory usage is at only 4'% and disk activity is nothing.

So now I am not too sure that new hardware is going to make any difference.
 
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Simon,

I thought I had seen a thread or two about 64 bit Windows apps and LR, but given how much I've been reading lately, that could easily be my memory going into a bit of overload. Not sure.

What kind of files are you using in LR... RAW, JPEG, TIFF...??

Realistically, I don't know enough at this point to give you a definitive answer, was hoping I could buy you time to have someone with more knowledge chime in. I only have time spent with LR under Mac OSX, so unfortunately I can't speak to the times your experiencing, much less the cpu activity.

What I can share is when I first started with it, I thought LR was a little clunky compared to other programs I've used on the mac (PS CS3 included). I've since read a lot and used it enough to now know that's mostly to do with the non-destructive edits -- that and I'm now very happy working in LR. Bear in mind I'm an amateur, if not just a hobbyist at this point, your needs may differ.

When I first started using LR I knew it did non-destructive edits, what I didn't realize until actually using the software was how that affected day to day use. Given the original file(s) are left untouched, the computer has to render the image each time you look at it, even after just an import.

1:1 previews aside, there will be CPU activity each time you look at a different image -- as for the speed, again, I'm on a Mac, so I can't speak to that. FWIW, while not a Mac Pro, my iMac 2.4 duo isn't a slouch either, probably about middle of the road for Macs at this point.

Rendering full sized 1:1 (without 1:1 previews enabled) can take 1-3 seconds before it's sorted, depending. I usually try to work in LR and/or PS without any other apps open, but sometimes I catch myself with Safari or Mail open from time to time. Regardless, I still can't give you anything specific, hoping someone else can.

I've gotten used to LR and times needed for various operations. Most operations are immediate, especially in the develop module, but when browsing/rendering photos, LR can seem to take it's time -- just remember that it's rendering from the original file and adding edits (or possibly RAW conversion, depending) so it may appear to be slow, especially to a gamer like yourself (I can speak to that - managed to get myself away from BF2/2142 over a year ago, cold turkey, no more gaming, real life kicked in). In fact I don't find it clunky anymore -- What LR offers in terms of non-destructive edits alone is worth the price of admission and a tiny bit of time, not to mention organizing, tagging and a whole host of workflow that I enjoy while using it.

Again, wish I could give you definitive answers, and again, I've seen posts from Windows LR users with far less hardware than you've got and they seem to be alright. For now I can't decide if what you're experiencing is normal, or if you have a problem with your hardware/OS/workflow etc. Given your comments in your last post, you seem to be leaning away from needing further hardware -- hoping someone else can help here.

Cheers, Sean
 
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edgley said:
The main area of sluggishness is when I click on a photo that doesn't have all the things pre-rendered etc. It can take 5 seconds for the photo to appear and all the messages to disappear.

If I then swap from Fit to 1:1 it can take 1' seconds for the photo to sort itself out.
Click to expand...

The best thing you can do for speed is to pre-render previews at a time when you're not using the computer.

Always render standard previews, preferably on import. It saves so much time!

And if you're regularly zooming in IN LOUPE MODE (not Develop), then it's worth rendering 1:1 previews, although be aware they will take a fair chunk of drive space.

Also, where are you seeing this sluggishness, in Library module or Develop? In Library, it uses the previews, so pre-rendering makes a huge difference. In Develop it quickly read the preview to show you an image, then does a quick read of the raw file, frees up the sliders to start working, and then does a full read of the raw file. So if you're needing to flick through quickly, Library mode is the place to do it.

If you've rendered previews and then made changes to the files, bear in mind it's now going to have to re-render the previews. So in your initial culling stage, avoid tweaking the files.

Great hardware DOES make a difference, but the machine you're running isn't ancient, so I'd try a few other tips first (unless you're dying for an excuse to go buy a super duper new machine, in which case, yeah, go for it!!!)

Processor speed helps. Large amounts of RAM helps. And yes, fast internal drives make a big difference - although whether SAS or SDD discs are worth the extra, I couldn't say, but you can see my specs in my signature and it's running like a dream. Putting the files on a different internal drive to the catalog & previews helps a little too.

Does that narrow it down a bit for you?
 
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I have preview size set to 2'48, quality High and I have upped the jpg preview to full size.

I also have problems with the sliders in the Developer mode, they too are sluggish to respond and I have to resort to the arrow keys to move up or down.

LR is now installed on my MBP, same type of CPU (but slower) as my PC and 2GB RAM. Granted the screen resolution is about a 1/3 but it seems much more snapper.
I was in the library (with the lead pipe) on 1:1 and loaded the same picture. Main PC 4seconds, MBP 2seconds; that just aint right! And the sliders move easier too.

New PC will be here next week, SSD a week later, cannt believe how long the delivery is for it; might end up getting it State side.
 
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edgley said:
I have preview size set to 2'48, quality High and I have upped the jpg preview to full size.

I also have problems with the sliders in the Developer mode, they too are sluggish to respond and I have to resort to the arrow keys to move up or down.

LR is now installed on my MBP, same type of CPU (but slower) as my PC and 2GB RAM. Granted the screen resolution is about a 1/3 but it seems much more snapper.
I was in the library (with the lead pipe) on 1:1 and loaded the same picture. Main PC 4seconds, MBP 2seconds; that just aint right! And the sliders move easier too.

New PC will be here next week, SSD a week later, cannt believe how long the delivery is for it; might end up getting it State side.
Click to expand...

Simon, I'd try dropping the quality down a little from high. I found too big and too high a quality definitely slowed performance.
 
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New PC here, didnt go for SSD but rather Intel Matrix Raid.

My 1' seconds for a picture to sort itself out has now dropped to less than 3 :)
 
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Brilliant! You're a happy LR user now then!
 
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