Computer cpu's/?????

[Steven Paulsen]

For around 20 years, I used fast notebooks for photo work. Core Duo to i7qm. I used Macintosh from the early 90's till around 2012. My main machine, present is a Dell Precision 3430 with an i7, 8700(6-core.)

I have an older Dell precision t1700 with a quad Xeon processor. The Xeon seems to gobble and finish each task ASAP. The i7 in the newer computer does not go multicore on basic lightroom imports and retouches. It seems to be more concerned with saving energy. Both PC's have a 2 or 4gb Radeon WX, video card.

Say I import 50-100 NEFs and select 100% previews using Lightroom. The Xeon, fans blow and the processes zip right through very quickly. On the i7, one core does one task, wait, 2nd task same, single core, wait. I'd like to assign half the cpu's cores to get the multithread job done.

I tried "High Performance" setting and it helped little to nothing. I thought I'd ask for help here, as I am eyeing, either a cpu swap, or purchase a same/similar rig with a 6 core Xeon.
Thanks in advance

[Bob Foster]

Absent specific information on the hardware, the operating system I'll keep this minimal; I'll assume Windows 10 or 11. Let's look at both the interaction of the OS and the hardware as well as software (Lightroom - version unknown) involved.

"It seems to be more concerned with saving energy." Fair enough, this isn't a bad thing. But in recent years I've had interactions with some folks at Mirosoft that I don't think I'd be too far amiss to characterize as zealots on this issue. If not to M$, your time has value to you.

I'm running Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC. Windows 11 and other versions of Windows 10 vary a bit in how to get to specific menus and in what is available in specific versions of windows. Flexibility of configuration as well as privacy (Microsoft is monetizing you and your data) is minimal in the Home editions, better in the Pro edition and best in the Enterprise variant.

Open a command window (run cmd.exe) then type powercfg /L  then the enter key. You will see the list of power schemes that are available on your Dell 3430. If "Ultimate Performance" is listed then go to Settings > Power & sleep >  Additional power settings > Show additional plans > Ultimate Performance. Select this then select "change plan settings." Open Processor power management. I have minimum processor state set to 100%, System cooling policy set to active and Maximum processor state to 100%.
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If the "Ultimate Performance" option is not available to you you might see if you can get to the same end with group policy. In the command window type gpedit.msc. The group policy editor will appear. Open computer configurtion > Administrative Templates > All Settings. Toward the bottom of a very long list of options you may find the option "Turn off power throttling". Try enabling this.

Upon installation most computationally intensive programs query the hardware of the computer upon which they are to run. Sometimes the results of this examination are stored in a file, sometimes as registry values, and sometimes partly in a a file and partly in the registry. This information is "read" by the program when it is started. Performance of the software can be either limited or enhanced through the use of variables in the code that are set by the hardware query. More often than not the results of the query are not visible to the user.

My experience is that not all programs respond to hardware upgrades or operating system tweaks. Many, perhaps most do recognize that changes have been made, but from time to time it's simpler to erase a program and then reload it than it is to try forcing the issue. Perhaps a call to Adobe's help line might worthwhile. As well as the burnt out and frazzled I've spoken with knowledgeable and helpful folks there.

Before you allow an Adobe tech to make changes on your computer make sure you have an offline current backup. Many years ago I had to make use of a backup after allowing this - Photoshop 3 worked when the tech was done but several other programs did not. YMMV.

By the way, nowadays the GPU may be involved also.

Bob