


Need a rule of thumb? If you’re looking for a new CPU, a recent generation Intel quad-core desktop processor with a fast clock speed is a great choice. So if you can’t trust the clock speed for comparison, how do you figure out which CPU is faster? One easy way to compare is to check the Geekbench scores for both Windows and Mac – you’re looking for the 64-bit Single and Multi-Core scores. So, a recent 3.0GHz processor is much faster than a 3.0GHz processor released 10 years ago. The clock speed isn’t a perfect comparison, because the manufacturers have been working hard on efficiency. The release date of the processor also affects performance. It’s worth selecting a quad-core processor if possible, even though some other areas of the program are only lightly threaded.Ī high clock speed (measured in GHz) is equally important, as it determines how quickly computations are made, not only for image processing tasks, but also all of the other tasks Lightroom has to perform. Lightroom makes good use of multiple cores for image processing tasks such as building previews, working in the Develop module, and exporting photos. The number of cores on the single CPU (two physical CPU’s don’t help much) and its clock speed. There are two primary factors to weigh up when selecting a new CPU. And, let’s be honest, your tolerance for slow computers will be a factor too! These include how many photos you’re editing each week, the size of the images you’re shooting, the amount of time you have available and your budget. Your hardware needs depend on several factors. If you want to enjoy using Lightroom, you’ll definitely want to exceed these minimum requirements.

They allow Lightroom to run… well, it’ll walk. Then you can make your own decisions based on your needs and budget.Īdobe publishes system requirements for Lightroom Classic, but we should be clear… these are MINIMUM system requirements. (If you want specifics, Puget Systems are doing regular testing.) What we will do is talk about which hardware benefits different Lightroom tasks. We’re not going to go into specific hardware recommendations, because they’d be out of date almost immediately. Every single day, we see posts asking how to choose a new computer for Lightroom.
