Which graphic card for LR and PS?

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Without knowing the specs on each of these cards, here are the things that you need to make your own decision:
  1. Is the graphics card suitable (as determined by Adobe) to use GPU acceleration?
  2. Cards suitable for gaming and FMV are not required by LR or PS to simply display static still images. If fast action gaming and watching movies on your computer is not a priority, then you can probably use a less expensive card that might not be recommended for gaming and FMV.
  3. If you plan to use the GPU for an additional processor, then you want one with 2 or more GB of VRAM.
 
Dan Truong said:
Hello,

I am going buy a new pc and I am interested in some suggestions on which graphic card I should buy for LR and PS use.
I can choose between these models:
NVidia GeForce GT 730
NVidia GeForce GT 740
NVidia GeForce GTX950
NVidia GeForce GTX960
Does anyone has suggestions on which is a suitable option?
Thanks so much for your reply!
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For what it is worth, I am considering a system from Puget Systems. They recommend a card : EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB SC ACX 3.0
for Lightroom and Photoshop.
 
This seems quite reasonable. GTX 1070 is not really all that necessary, but it doesn't hurt for sure. It just sucks that graphics cards are so damn expensive because of the crypto mining.
 
I just completed a new build of a pc. I went with the EVGA GeForce 1050 TI 4GB video card.
Lightroom and Photoshop simply fly with it.
 
I compared the benefits from a very old, slow nvidia to a GTX970, and there was very little improvement in LR.

My impression is that LR, today, benefits from a GPU but only needs a modest one to work well; more GPU power does little. My GUESS is that they use it in so few things, with so much context switching (i.e. getting info into and out of the GPU) that it quickly reaches a point of diminishing returns.

I can't speak to Photoshop.

Now I did a tiny bit of Video with Resolve, and there's a HUGE benefit from faster (and even more) cards in video. Faster seems almost always better.

It is worth noting that Adobe has said that more effective GPU integration is on their road map, so investing in a faster GPU now MIGHT yield benefits in future versions of LR. Emphasis on "might".
 
HubertBur said:
This seems quite reasonable. GTX 1070 is not really all that necessary, but it doesn't hurt for sure. It just sucks that graphics cards are so damn expensive because of the crypto mining.
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Not crypto mining. It's gaming and the quest for more frames per second in action games.
 
Ferguson said:
I compared the benefits from a very old, slow nvidia to a GTX970, and there was very little improvement in LR.

My impression is that LR, today, benefits from a GPU but only needs a modest one to work well; more GPU power does little. My GUESS is that they use it in so few things, with so much context switching (i.e. getting info into and out of the GPU) that it quickly reaches a point of diminishing returns.

I can't speak to Photoshop.

Now I did a tiny bit of Video with Resolve, and there's a HUGE benefit from faster (and even more) cards in video. Faster seems almost always better.

It is worth noting that Adobe has said that more effective GPU integration is on their road map, so investing in a faster GPU now MIGHT yield benefits in future versions of LR. Emphasis on "might".
Click to expand...
Agree on the "might" part. And considering the lifetime of graphics cards and the rapid improvements in GPUs (like CPUs but for graphics), there is little point in investing before the Lightroom benefits are available.
 
PhilBurton said:
Agree on the "might" part. And considering the lifetime of graphics cards and the rapid improvements in GPUs (like CPUs but for graphics), there is little point in investing before the Lightroom benefits are available.
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Excellent point. One nice thing about crypto mining is that it has pushed the GPU technology hard and you get a lot more bang for the buck each year.

The video question is probably more important. A lot of still photographers dabble in video, and many DSLR's now do 4K even at higher frame rates. It takes a LOT of horsepower to effectively post process video.
 
In an earlier post I pointed out:
clee01l said:
Cards suitable for gaming and FMV are not required by LR or PS to simply display static still images.
Click to expand...
The LR benefits attributed to a suitable GPU are entirely related to the use of that GPU as an additional processor core. And even this GPU acceleration is limited to a few computation intensive Develop operations.
 
clee01l said:
In an earlier post I pointed out:
The LR benefits attributed to a suitable GPU are entirely related to the use of that GPU as an additional processor core. And even this GPU acceleration is limited to a few computation intensive Develop operations.
Click to expand...
Also, if you have or plan to get a 4K/5K monitor, then a fast graphics card becomes more important overall, because of the sheer number of screen pixels to display.

Phil Burton
 
Ferguson said:
I compared the benefits from a very old, slow nvidia to a GTX970, and there was very little improvement in LR.
Click to expand...

Anyone else do a graphics card upgrade? Please post details of the cards and the results.

Phil
 
PhilBurton said:
Also, if you have or plan to get a 4K/5K monitor, then a fast graphics card becomes more important overall, because of the sheer number of screen pixels to display.

Phil Burton
Click to expand...
A good point that I overlooked. My 5K monitor was included with the iMac and of course the GPU was spec'd to fit.
 
I have just bought a used but tested Quadro K4200 - picking up today but have to wait for the dislplayport cable as the supplier stuffed up delivery!:(
The alternate was the GTX1060 but about $100 dearer. Plus yes, I was told by quite a few suppliers cards dearer because of mining, not gaming.
Evidently the 1060 is one of the favourites.
Also Quadro is 10bit so furure proofing if/when I update my HP ZR24w monitor ( I did win an Eizo in a photocomp but had to sell it to save me from selling a kidney.
Also advise not to buy such a card used unless you can check out the back of the board for any overheating discolouartion.
Quadros are not used for mining evidently. Mine, so I'm told, was used for editing.
A quote from a fellow Dyxumer: I have added an nvidia quadro and I got a noticeable improvement when previewing and editing in lightroom and photoshop. The improvement was very noticeable, to the point that browsing was immediate and applying filters too.
I will fit to my current setup Asus H97M, 32gb RAM and see how it goes. and report back.
I have just bought components to upgrade the whole PC but will report in a separate post later.
 
my last two cards were purchased from miners and i have used them every day for over a year. they perform well and the price was great.

i think the concern over a mining card is overstated. a gpu (really any electronic device) should be able to run at 100% 24x7 without issues.
 
jjlists123 said:
my last two cards were purchased from miners and i have used them every day for over a year. they perform well and the price was great.

i think the concern over a mining card is overstated. a gpu (really any electronic device) should be able to run at 100% 24x7 without issues.
Click to expand...
It all depends on how well the card was cooled. I agree with HappyJack.

Phil Burton
 
It all depends on how well the card was cooled.
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Most of component failure are caused by thermal chock, which occurs when powering off the machine. Therefore, a card on a machine that is never powered off will have less risk of failure (providing it never got overheating, as already said).
 
also keep in mind that miners are driven by profits. an overheated machine is counter to this.

when i have seen real mining machines, i am usually very impressed with the setup and configuration. you can tell the owners put much more attention on details and proper operation than most computer users. there is after all, money on the line.
 
yes, but not all miners are necessarily looking after their equipment and some may overclock.
I'd still go with the advice I received - see the card before you buy to check for board heat discolouration.
And the prices are usually not low enough to warrant the risk. usually price is over 2/3 the price of a new card.
Anyway, as said above happy with my Quadro and the price i paid.
 
HappyJack said:
yes, but not all miners are necessarily looking after their equipment and some may overclock.
I'd still go with the advice I received - see the card before you buy to check for board heat discolouration.
And the prices are usually not low enough to warrant the risk. usually price is over 2/3 the price of a new card.
Anyway, as said above happy with my Quadro and the price i paid.
Click to expand...
What HappyJack said.

Phil
 
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