Jump to content

New Mac Pro - what to prioritize in order to improve Lightroom?


Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I am considering replacing my 2010 Mac Pro with the new model in order achieve improved performance from Lightroom.

 

Since I cant afford to buy the top spec on everything, what should I focus on the make life with Lightroom easier?  Fastest processor? Max number of cores? Heaviest GPU? Max memory? Where should I put my money in order to get the fewest bottle necks? As many of you have discovered, working with M240 and SL files in Lightroom CC can be a trial of patience.

 

Today I have in internal start up disk and two internal work disks in Raid 0. How will an external thunderbolt disk system perform compared to internal striped disks?

Link to post
Share on other sites

My initial thought was to have my complete library on the same disk set. Saves a lot of work shuffling files back and forth between internal and external drives. Is there a lot to save using SSD as a work disk compared to Raid sets?

Link to post
Share on other sites

My iMac has HDD/SSD combined ..... it intelligently keeps the most commonly used programs in SSD to speed up loading/start. Not sure if it loads data (ie photos) or if you can configure it to do so.

 

External fast HDD via thunderbolt etc load files as quick as from an internal drive ...... as far as photos are concerned ..... although there is a delay if it hasn't been accessed for a while and has gone to sleep. 

 

32Gb ram ..... you can never have too much ....

 

Mine is 18 months old and runs LR at lightning speed ..... the only bits that are noticeably not 'instant' are building thumbnails when new files are imported ...... and loading images takes a few seconds initially but these are obviously cached and revisiting them later is instant. 

 

I'd presume a current Mac Pro would be faster still.....

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I would prioritise this way:

1 - max memory

2 - internal SSD 

3 - fast processor

4 - more cores

5 - better gpu

 

1 - For Lightroom, you don't need a huge amount of memory. Right now I have a 42 MP file open in Lr and it is using 3.5 GB of RAM. However, if you use Photoshop, RAM usage can skyrocket. Overall my system memory usage with Lr, two different browsers open, Skype, mail and other running stuff is well below 16 GB. However, I would get at least 32 GB. You may upgrade in the future using aftermarket options, if needed.

 

2 - All internal drive options are SSD, which is great. 256 GB is a good size for OS X, but you may need more if you don't use external drives to store your photos. There are aftermarket options, but replacing the system drive without reinstalling the OS and apps from scratch requires some skill.

If you plan to dual-boot also Windows 10, go for at least 512 GB.

 

3, 4 - Fast processors and more cores help. However, the law of diminishing returns for speed vs price kicks in quite fast with Apple products. In my opinion the sweet spot at the moment is 6 cores. You may upgrade the CPU using quite cheaper aftermarket options, if needed:

 

5 - Lr and Ps support for GPUs is in very early stage. Go for the cheapest.

 

That said, my very personal priority would be a wide color gamut UHD display for it.

 

Also, check Lloyd's interesting guide on the Mac Pro 2013 (a bit outdated, but worth reading): http://macperformanceguide.com/index_topics.html#MacPro2013

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Advertisement (gone after registration)

We're teased with the promise of an up-to-date MacPro later this year.  The current one is over two years old now.  I would recommend waiting, unless your 2010 is really bad.  (And I guess the Thunderbolt monitor is never going to get an update.)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks, saves me a lot of money for the moment! :)

 

We're teased with the promise of an up-to-date MacPro later this year.  The current one is over two years old now.  I would recommend waiting, unless your 2010 is really bad.  (And I guess the Thunderbolt monitor is never going to get an update.)

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have a MacPro exclusively for my photographic processing and sought a lot of advice before buying

 

I have a 3.5GHz, 6 core 32GB RAM.

 

I disagree with a larger internal hard drive, a lot of money for not much memory.  I have 256GB SSD which is ample for the system and applications (still 250GB left over).  I have more than 1TB of files so there wasn't much point getting a larger HD as I'd still have to divide up my file storage.

 

All of my files sit on a hybrid partitioned 4TB LaCie d2 Thunderbolt-2 hard drive with the 128GB SSD d2 SSD (as a scratch disk) which sits within the same chassis. Very fast and efficient:

http://www.lacie.com/as/en/products/thunderbolt-desktop/

 

Backup goes to twin LaCie 3TB backup drives (JOBD, not RAID, so Time Machine automatically writes the backup to both drives alternately. Every week I cycle one of the drives to swap with another of two 3TB hard drives kept at work. So I have a photography drive I work off, a backup drive kept permanently at home and another three which cycle between home an work - lots of redundant backup.

 

I agree that if a new model is due I'd wait a bit. Having said that, my current Mac Pro more than handles anything I throw at it in LightRoom or even enormous PhotoShop files.  I don't do video...

Edited by MarkP
Link to post
Share on other sites

Regarding the disks I have concluded that the smallest internal drive should be sufficient. Will hold OS, applications and LR database. All image files to an external thunderbolt disk system. Six core system sounds as the way to go for the moment. Will be interesting to see if this holds true when the new version comes later this year.

 

 

Considering to upgrade my current system from 16GB to 32GB memory, while I wait for the new model. Will this have any influence on the performance?

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I'd not waste the money on the 16GB upgrade to an old computer unless its really struggling with 16 GB RAM.

 

I should add that I do not use striped RAID because I don't need lightning fast backup. Furthermore, I want to be able to swap out one of the backup drives with one kept at work and twin striped RAID disks can't be separated.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have a 4 core MacPro with 16GB RAM and a 1TB internal drive; I have two Thunderbolt Drobos.  For still imagery, the number of cores and RAM seems to be fine.  For video, 4 cores and 16GB of RAM is not enough.  If I understand the activity monitor correctly, the computer also used 16GB of virtual RAM for the limited video work I did.  My lease replaces me MacPro in April with another MacPro.  I'm going to have to change the lease terms because why would I want another MacPro (late 2013).  I'll wait for the new model.  I will go to 6 cores, 32GB RAM and downgrade to a 256GB internal drive.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

The still photography applications don't use/benefit from multi-core processing.  My understanding is that using a computer with too many cores for such applications restricts the app to a smaller allocation of the computer's overall power.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't see the reference to backup regarding striped raid. I use it on my work disk in order to load the image files faster, not for backup purposes.

 

I'd not waste the money on the 16GB upgrade to an old computer unless its really struggling with 16 GB RAM.

 

I should add that I do not use striped RAID because I don't need lightning fast backup. Furthermore, I want to be able to swap out one of the backup drives with one kept at work and twin striped RAID disks can't be separated.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't see the reference to backup regarding striped raid. I use it on my work disk in order to load the image files faster, not for backup purposes.

 

 

Fair enough. I work off the LaCie SSD as a scratch disk which is where I really want the speed when processing. I've never felt that loading images was a bottleneck that was of concern.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Considering to upgrade my current system from 16GB to 32GB memory, while I wait for the new model. Will this have any influence on the performance?

 

 

Quite easy to tell: whenever you feel your system is not fast enough, open the Activity Monitor app and check for total memory load. If it is below 16 GB, then the answer is no.

Link to post
Share on other sites

The still photography applications don't use/benefit from multi-core processing.  My understanding is that using a computer with too many cores for such applications restricts the app to a smaller allocation of the computer's overall power.

 

Nope. This generalization is false.

Link to post
Share on other sites

The current Mac Pro is getting "old", but it is still practically a super computer. Certainly more than enough for Lightroom! 

 

I went with the 3.5 6 Core model. 16 GB of ram (I plan to upgrade to 32 but no reason to at the moment)

Dual FirePro D500 video cards and the smallest 250GB internal SSD. I keep my photo libraries on a USB 3 drive (I plan to upgrade to thunderbolt raid drives)

 

This thing is a beast. I love it. No more waiting for anything. 

I would say get the best video card you can. Current software might not utilize them optimally...but I bought this machine for the future. They are working on improving....Photoshop is now 10-bit! 

Link to post
Share on other sites

keep all your data files off the internal drive, use a mobile drive and a get a larger one to sit at home -- two back ups. Computer will run a lot faster that way. Buy the top end macbook pro, this is what i just got, and it is great (finally ended using my 17" mac book pro from 2009):

 

15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display

  • 2.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz
  • 16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
  • 512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
  • Intel Iris Pro Graphics + AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2GB GDDR5 memory
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...