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Author Topic: Lightroom and RAM  (Read 4804 times)

lluis

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Lightroom and RAM
« on: July 22, 2010, 04:17:54 pm »

I have an iMac core i7 with 4GB of RAM and I experience some sluggish performance, especially with local corrections. I process almost 40MB raw files (sony a900)
Will improve performance if I increase the memory?

Thank you!

Lluís
« Last Edit: July 22, 2010, 04:18:41 pm by lluis »
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madmanchan

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Lightroom and RAM
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2010, 07:48:03 pm »

I assume you're running LR in 64-bit mode, right? With lots of local corrections, yes in general performance in Develop will likely improve if you have more memory.
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lluis

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Lightroom and RAM
« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2010, 11:03:05 am »

Quote from: madmanchan
I assume you're running LR in 64-bit mode, right? With lots of local corrections, yes in general performance in Develop will likely improve if you have more memory.

Yes, I'm running it in 64 bit mode. I suspected that.
Thank you Eric!
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Steve Weldon

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Lightroom and RAM
« Reply #3 on: July 23, 2010, 11:09:37 am »

Quote from: madmanchan
I assume you're running LR in 64-bit mode, right? With lots of local corrections, yes in general performance in Develop will likely improve if you have more memory.
If you have the choice, and you often will, faster RAM will make a noticeable difference as well.  People often go for "more" at the expense of "fast" just to get the more.. MORE & FAST.. that's the ticket..
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Scott Martin

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Lightroom and RAM
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2010, 02:13:12 pm »

I'd keep on eye on Lightroom's RAM usage and Free (available) RAM in the Activity Monitor and, even better, iStat Menus if possible (requires small purchase). I process primarily 21 megapixel files that often include a lot of localized adjustments with an i7 laptop with 8 gigs RAM while traveling and making images. With all other applications not running, Lightroom rarely needs more than what a 4 gig machine delivers after the OS footprint and all, with 20-25MP files. With other apps running that's another story. 8 gigs is becoming a minimum for Lightroom/Photoshop pros. With the RAM prices being they way they are you probably shouldn't hesitate to make that jump to more RAM. Again, watching your RAM usage in Activity Monitor or iStat Menus should give you feel for exactly how much you might need for your own usage.
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terence_patrick

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Lightroom and RAM
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2010, 04:14:32 am »

I also have the iMac i7 and had 4gb of ram. The performance was a bit disappointing, especially when working with a lot of layered TIFFs that were 1-1.5gb in size in PS CS5. Lightroom was pretty sluggish too. I just added 8gb of ram for a total of 12gb and the machine is now starting to live up to the expectations I had for it. Just about everything is running much quicker than before and I can run LR, PS, InDesign, iTunes, surf the web, and have iChat open all at once and not feel any slow downs. This is all my personal perceptions and I don't do tests to figure these things out. I just know that there was sure a lot more spinning beach balls before I added ram.
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Scott Martin

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« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2010, 09:43:36 am »

Quote from: terence_patrick
I also have the iMac i7 and had 4gb of ram. The performance was a bit disappointing, especially when working with a lot of layered TIFFs that were 1-1.5gb in size in PS CS5.

For the record, that's totally different from processing the 25MP Sony a900 files in LR the OP mentioned. 1.5GB TIFFs in PS is a different situation altogether, and of course if you want to work on those and have multiple apps open simultaneously more RAM is going to be better.

Everyones situation is different and discovering your RAM needs by watching application RAM usage is a smart place to start, as opposed to just throwing RAM at the problem and hoping for the best.
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natas

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Lightroom and RAM
« Reply #7 on: July 29, 2010, 09:54:26 am »

Quote from: lluis
I have an iMac core i7 with 4GB of RAM and I experience some sluggish performance, especially with local corrections. I process almost 40MB raw files (sony a900)
Will improve performance if I increase the memory?

Thank you!

Lluís

Jumping from 4 to 8 on an Imac i7 you will see a nice performance boost. I have the same machine as you and saw a huge difference. I now have 16gigs total and it really helps running both PS CS5 and Lightroom 3.

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