Photoshop resource utilization

[Pantlegz]

I've been tasked to find a computer, probably a laptop, that wont drag ass when attempting to edit photos. I came across an article that mentioned that photoshop/lightroom don't really utilize GPU power much if at all. I just wanted to check with people with more experience because it seems counter intuitive not to use hardware designed to render images to render images. This also made me question, does photoshop make good use of multiple cores or is clock speed king?

 

[CuriousMike]

Lightroom user here; not 100% applicable to Photoshop but ... maybe 2/3.

This is an oft asked question in various photo forums I frequent... with no seemingly simple answer.

My own interpretation of what I've read seems to suggest clock speed is indeed king.

The GPU is used --- that upgrade in LR came from version 5 to version 6 -- and ... man. I never felt it.

Clockspeed, memory then SSD would be my answer.

 

[Ken g6]

Skylake also had an unusually large speed improvement in Tom's ps benchmarks. Possibly in part from memory speed.

 

[Anubis]

Clockspeed, memory then SSD would be my answer.

Skylake also had an unusually large speed improvement in Tom's ps benchmarks. Possibly in part from memory speed.

both of these are true.

 

[luv2liv]

very good to know!
now whats the best clockspeed for the buck cpu with a budget of $200?
im using my amd phenom 2 x4 and im definitely starting to feel the pain.

 

[Pantlegz]

Thanks for the information, I appreciate it.

 

[CuriousMike]

very good to know!
now whats the best clockspeed for the buck cpu with a budget of $200?
im using my amd phenom 2 x4 and im definitely starting to feel the pain.

If $200 is your *total* budget, I'm not sure due to the fact Intel would be my recommendation --- but that'd necessitate a new motherboard and CPU.

You might peruse DPR's "PC" section; I see frequent questions asking what makes a good PC for Photoshop/Lightroom work. http://www.dpreview.com/forums/1004