Overwhelmed - New Computer or upgrade.

Hi POTN:

So I purchased a used Canon 6D. Great. Found out that I needed to upgrade my computer or purchase a new one in order to use photo editing software (DPP I guess). I asked the forum for some advice. I upgrade my RAM from 4 to 8GB and purchased a SSD HD that I was going to install. I've yet to replace the HD because now I'm questioning whether it will help. Maybe I need a new computer instead. I'm not sure.

I'm not sure where the system is getting bogged down (i.e., card reader, graphics card, processor, etc) to determine whether the costs justify an upgrade: with Ram and SSD, I'm at about $120. Add Windows 10 another $120. Should I return the SSD and purchase new at this point? That's what I am wondering. This is so much trouble, if I had the money, I'd buy a computer. Looks like it may cost about $1000 - which I don't have. Anyway, I don't want to be a burden if this is over my head to upgrade or the cost of an upgrade doesn't warranted it.

This is my current system (but add 4GB of RAM): https://www.newegg.com …tations/p/N82E1​6883103966
It's worth noting that the card reader isn't even listed in the specs. The properties lists it as a generic [USBSTOR\DiskGeneric-SD/MMC/MS_PRO_1.00]. Not sure how to determine what version/power? it is.


So when I open DPP and attempt to open a photo to edit from the Card Reader, I get a 'not responding' message. The CPU is only at 3%, RAM is at 5.86GB (of 8GB). Same effect when I open a photo from the HD -- so likely not Card Reader?? Maybe?

The minimum requirements for photoshop for example, it's likely the GPU, but again I'm not sure how to determine if that's the case.

I don't even know what my editing requirements are at this point in order to assess my computer requirements, because I can't view my pictures on my computer - does that make sense. Editing for lighting is that a memory hog that I'll require a editing software like photoshop or illustrator or can I use paint? LOL.

I apologize in advance for my ignorance.

StarlingGirl

This may or may not help but have you checked on the Canon website for DPP updates you might need? It’s so frustrating to get new stuff and can’t get it to work.

Hiya,

If money is tight, you should be able to upgrade your current PC.

1) RAM upgrade from 4GB to 8GB will really help if you also upgrade your HDD to the SSD. Ugrade from HDD to SSD will really improve the overall speed of the PC with the RAM upgrade. You can then use the HDD as secondary storage (but it will require a format to remove the old Win7 OS and to imporve its stabiltiy).

2) Don't believe the Microsoft hype of having to pay for Windows 10. They don't advertise it but you still can upgrade from Win7 to 10 for free. It is not illegal - Microsoft just don't advertise this fact. Google it and you should find some links, unfortunately my internet speed is really slow and would take me a while to find a couple of links for you. Thus you can save $120 on your Win 10 upgrade. Windows 7 to 10 upgrades *may* have some limitations (I can't fully remember) in that you may have to upgrade your HDD to Win10 first, then clone to the SSD but if you have the original Win7 licence key I think the process is more straightforward.

3) I think the I-4440 processor should be fine - my PCs use the 3770 series which is older than yours, I was using 8GB with no issues running LR & PS. I did upgrade to 16GB ram but to be honest, I don't really notice the benefits.....

4) Card reader issues - could be many things - perhaps your HDD is full? Or could simply be your PC needs a clean format after years of use.

In summaey, I would consider installing the SSD, the RAM & upgrade to Win10. (Of course, backup your data first!). Do a clean install of your PC as part of this process and I would likely envisage that your PC will run a whole lot better!

Hi StarlingGirl,

Found a couple of links regarding Win 10 free upgrade for you:

https://www.bleepingco​mputer.com …ws-10-for-free-heres-how/

https://www.zdnet.com …-free-windows-10-upgrade/

Good luck!

Yeah, Just upgrade your RAM and SSD and it'll do the job.

Don't open your photos directly from the card reader. Transfer them off the card to your hard drive then open. See if that helps.

One other consideration ... If you are not really proficient yet on any software programs to the point that you would be just as comfortable using and learning something different like Digikam and GIMP, you might consider switching your OS to Linux. You're going to have to migrate to something different regardless. Linux and Open Source image editors and organizing software won't cost you a dime. Linux also requires less system resources.

I have an iMac, not a PC, but I too was suffering speed issues when processing images. I expected that I needed to add another 8GB RAM (taking it to 16GB) and a faster (SSD) hard dive, even though my Mac met the required specs. However, a local computer repair shop advised me to simply ditch the conventional spinny disk hard drive and fit an SSD, leaving the RAM at 8GB.

It has made a tremendous difference. Frankly, I can't believe how much faster it is, given I'm still running the minimum suggested 8GB RAM.

texkam wrote in post #19000234
Don't open your photos directly from the card reader. Transfer them off the card to your hard drive then open. See if that helps.

One other consideration ... If you are not really proficient yet on any software programs to the point that you would be just as comfortable using and learning something different like Digikam and GIMP, you might consider switching your OS to Linux. You're going to have to migrate to something different regardless. Linux and Open Source image editors and organizing software won't cost you a dime. Linux also requires less system resources.

I'm open to switching to Linux. Maybe after add the SDD as suggested, I'll try that. I do wonder if on Linux I can use same or similar software easily (i.e., MS Office, browsers, security, PDF files, etc.).

I have moved some photos from card reader to the HD. It took forever. When I open HD photos in DPP, I still get the 'not responding' message and it just clocks/bogs down/hangs for a while. I do wonder if I should manage my expectations as far as speed of transfer or processing. Where it is now would be considered unusable to anyone however.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Spencerphoto wrote in post #19000256
I have an iMac, not a PC, but I too was suffering speed issues when processing images. I expected that I needed to add another 8GB RAM (taking it to 16GB) and a faster (SSD) hard dive, even though my Mac met the required specs. However, a local computer repair shop advised me to simply ditch the conventional spinny disk hard drive and fit an SSD, leaving the RAM at 8GB.

It has made a tremendous difference. Frankly, I can't believe how much faster it is, given I'm still running the minimum suggested 8GB RAM.

Hi Spencerphoto:

This is good to know. Yeah, graphic cards seem so important, so how can I be sure that it supports these software requirements (photoshop, DPP, Gimp)? That's what I'm now wondering. Thank you so much for the feedback.

Hi Leslie,

Thank you so much for the suggestion. I was using a slightly older version. I've since updated, but it didn't help matters.

I appreciate your thoughts.

StarlingGirl wrote in post #19000361
I'm open to switching to Linux. Maybe after add the SDD as suggested, I'll try that. I do wonder if on Linux I can use same or similar software easily (i.e., MS Office, browsers, security, PDF files, etc.).

Thanks for the suggestion.

There isn’t anything wrong with moving to Linux but don’t think of it as the silver bullet or cure all.

I would first go through the steps to get the legal version of Windows 10 but initially don’t install it.

Then clone your existing drive to the SSD and then make the SSD your boot drive. At this stage your old drive, untouched, could still be used. Performance of the PC with the SSD will be significantly improved. There is probably no singular thing you can do that will improve performance as much as replacing an HDD with an SSD.

Now upgrade the SSD to Windows 10. In the process, select “upgrade”, not clean install. This will allow you to keep all your existing applications.

One other thing I always recommend it to download and run the free Belarc Advisor. It will generate all the product keys for your various software products should you need them. It takes several minutes to run, then print the results which typically is about 5 to 6 pages of stuff you never knew about your computer.

shocolite wrote in post #19000211
Hiya,

If money is tight, you should be able to upgrade your current PC.

1) RAM upgrade from 4GB to 8GB will really help if you also upgrade your HDD to the SSD. Ugrade from HDD to SSD will really improve the overall speed of the PC with the RAM upgrade. You can then use the HDD as secondary storage (but it will require a format to remove the old Win7 OS and to imporve its stabiltiy).

2) Don't believe the Microsoft hype of having to pay for Windows 10. They don't advertise it but you still can upgrade from Win7 to 10 for free. It is not illegal - Microsoft just don't advertise this fact. Google it and you should find some links, unfortunately my internet speed is really slow and would take me a while to find a couple of links for you. Thus you can save $120 on your Win 10 upgrade. Windows 7 to 10 upgrades *may* have some limitations (I can't fully remember) in that you may have to upgrade your HDD to Win10 first, then clone to the SSD but if you have the original Win7 licence key I think the process is more straightforward.

3) I think the I-4440 processor should be fine - my PCs use the 3770 series which is older than yours, I was using 8GB with no issues running LR & PS. I did upgrade to 16GB ram but to be honest, I don't really notice the benefits.....

4) Card reader issues - could be many things - perhaps your HDD is full? Or could simply be your PC needs a clean format after years of use.

In summaey, I would consider installing the SSD, the RAM & upgrade to Win10. (Of course, backup your data first!). Do a clean install of your PC as part of this process and I would likely envisage that your PC will run a whole lot better!

Hi Shocolite:

Thanks for the response!! Getting a free upgrade would be nice for Windows 10. Thank you. I'll look at that closely. It's promising to hear that you've been successful upgrading your RAM and SSD and saw improvement. I'm encouraged again. It's been so long since I asked POTN for recommendations, I lost confidence. I had to wait to get Christmas gifts of SSD and RAM. LOL.

I do have questions regarding the Graphics Card/GPU on my machine. Do you know anyway to tell if it will support the editing software. When I look at requirements on photoshop and 'tested' graphics cards, mine do not show up or will not support their software.

MY GRAPHICS CARD IS Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600 . Wouldn't this slow things down significantly if it didn't meet the requirements? How can I tell?

Again thank you so very much for your time! I really appreciate it.

StarlingGirl

John from PA wrote in post #19000368
There isn’t anything wrong with moving to Linux but don’t think of it as the silver bullet or cure all.

I would first go through the steps to get the legal version of Windows 10 but initially don’t install it.

Then clone your existing drive to the SSD and then make the SSD your boot drive. At this stage your old drive, untouched, could still be used. Performance of the PC with the SSD will be significantly improved. There is probably no singular thing you can do that will improve performance as much as replacing an HDD with an SSD.

Now upgrade the SSD to Windows 10. In the process, select “upgrade”, not clean install. This will allow you to keep all your existing applications.

One other things I always recommend it to download and run the free Belarc Advisor. It will generate all the product keys for your various software products should you need them. It takes several minutes to run, then print the results which typically is about 5 to 6 pages of stuff you never knew about your computer.

Hi John from PA,

I've run the Belarc Advisor. Thank you. I believe you suggested this in a previous dialogue.

Can you answer the question about my graphics card/GPU which is an Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600? Is it sufficient to run editing software? I'm not sure how to tell. The photoshop 'tested' graphics card doesn't list this one as sufficient. I would hate to do the upgrade only to have the GPU grind things to a halt.

Thanks as ever for your time and input.

StarlingGirl wrote in post #19000381
Hi John from PA,

I've run the Belarc Advisor. Thank you. I believe you suggested this in a previous dialogue.

Can you answer the question about my graphics card/GPU which is an Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600? Is it sufficient to run editing software? I'm not sure how to tell. The photoshop 'tested' graphics card doesn't list this one as sufficient. I would hate to do the upgrade only to have the GPU grind things to a halt.

Thanks as ever for your time and input.

I can't say with 100% assurance about your graphics card. However, Adobe states the following (see https://helpx.adobe.co​m …shop-cc-gpu-card-faq.html)

The card you mention does support OpenGL 4.3 and OpenCL 1.2, both criteria within Adobes guidelines (https://www.techpoweru​p.com …cs/hd-graphics-4600.c1953). Having said that Adobe also states the following:

I would suggest you attempt to move forward on getting the Windows 10 and the SSD installed and then see how things behave. In the absolute worse case that things just will not work with Adobe you may be able to replace the graphics card with something compatible.

Hopefully, others may have better ideas with respect to that exact card.

By the way, what is the make and model of the SSD you might be installing?

What version of DPP are you attempting to use?

StarlingGirl wrote in post #19000363
Hi Spencerphoto:

This is good to know. Yeah, graphic cards seem so important, so how can I be sure that it supports these software requirements (photoshop, DPP, Gimp)? That's what I'm now wondering. Thank you so much for the feedback.

With VERY FEW exceptions, a different graphics card will not help.
All the big bad add on graphics cards are only going to help with 3D acceleration. (ie gaming, autocad, etc.)
Yes, there are aspects of the newest versions of some graphics apps that will utilize a graphics card t speed things up, but they are few and far between, and the graphics is certainly NOT what is slowing down your system now.

If you have to do it on the cheap, then RAm and SSD are still the best ways to speed things up.

IF you prefer to get a new system, the problem is that a "cheaP' new system may very well have the same bottlenecks your current one does,. not enough ram, slow small hard drive, and built in motherboard graphics. To get beyond that you really need to boost Ram and hard drive speed.