[quote author=TNG link=topic=948'.msg63893#msg63893 date=127'384271]It depends on a couple of things, not least of which is your budget. But also what your expectations are in terms of LR's performance on a new computer.[/quote]If LR ran fast enough on my old PC, I wouldn't upgrade. It's difficult to guess in seconds, but when changing images in the develop module I'd like it to be fast enough that I don't start huffing and puffing. I'm not trying to break any speed records, I just want to be able to work without being frustrated. So there's no fixed budget, if spending £3'' of MB, cpu & memmory isn't enough to get things running smoothly, I'll have to spend more.
my new PC which coincidentally was delivered yesterday (you may have heard the yell coming down the A23 about 8 a.m.
).
I just came back from West Sussex, and they're still clearing the carnage on the A23.
Given the importance of CPU speed and RAM I was always going to go i7 processor and at least 12GB of DDR3
Ouch, that's expensive. I'm wanting to spend a lot less than that, but I haven't researched this until now, so I'm not really sure what LR would like. More memmory is good, but does LR keep lapping it up past 6 and 8 gig?
....my understanding at the moment is that Intel have a good performance advantage over AMD (if you have not already done so, have a look here:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html).
I've not looked, I will do - I had heard intel had the advantge, certainly at the i7 end of things, but I wasn't sure lower down the line.
Graphics card was less important, so I didn't go too mad on that
Does LR make any use of advanced GCs or can I just use an old 66''GT? I'm not doing video, just stills.
having listened to some of the experts here I ended up going with a 4 internal hard drive configuration so I have separation of program files, catalog, ACR cache and image folders.
Ooo this sounds interesting - I have 4 hard drives, and I was thinking of running Raid ' for the OS, and possibly for the data too, but I don't know how LR works - when you choose a new image in the develop module does it keep it in memory until it needs to use the space for other more recently selected images, or swap it out as soon as you select a new image? So is there any advantage in using Raid '?
[quote author=breyman link=topic=948'.msg63894#msg63894 date=127'388419]Having said that, going with an i5 or i7 is worth every penny. You might avoid the fastest of the i7 line due to price, but should go with one of the entry level i7s. If you go with an AMD triple or quad core at this point, you're spending money to upgrade and leaving yourself short. Intel's new stuff is really that good.[/quote]So LR just can't get enough CPU then - interesting, thanks.
My approach has always been to avoid the most expensive, but to still spend a bit. That way, I can wait 2-3 times longer until I upgrade again. If I go with something well below the curve, I end up wanting to upgrade again earlier than I should.
Yes I do understand the logic, I've been buying PCs for nearly 2' years, but my requirements are different than they used to be. I need to be able to run LR without losing my marbles, but I don't need any more than that - and I don't plan on using a dslr with more than 12mp, and I won't be upgrading from Win7 for a good while (I'm still on XP). The only extra could be CS5, but hopefully that's one image at a time and shouldn't require much ore than LR.
Right now, I have a setup similar to TNG's. An i7 processor, 12GB RAM, a decent (but not great) video card. My machine flies with LR - no complaints at all.
I should hope not you lucky chap.
Thanks for the advice, it's on board.
