# Decision between i5 or i7



## JoergL

Hi there,

I'm very new to Ligthroom (currently testing with 3.6 and waiting for 4.0).

Until now, I'm just using CS4 and ACR for my whole workflow.
The reason, why im interested in LR now is the fact, that I have now the X-Rite Colorchecker Passport and the "integration" into Lightroom is a little bit more smoother.
Also the function of "virtual copy" would be one of my good new friends.

As my machine (CPU) is a Core2Duo and almost very old, I'm planning to make an hardware upgrade to speed up CS4 and Lightroom.

Targetmainboard: Asrock P67 Extreme6 (because of 10 SATA-Ports)
Targetmemory: 8 to 16GB DDR3

The currently only unknown component is the cpu.

So what should I buy: i5-2xxx vs. i7-2xxx or in other way: 4 Threads vs. 8 threads

What I'm not doing is:
- Overclocking
- Gameing

What I want:
stable, by default, low-power cpu with enough performance for quick work in CS4 and Ligthroom

I'm also thinking of using a smaller SSD for Lightroom Catalog and Cache only.
Would that be a good idea?

What are your opinions?
Thanks for helping.

br
Joerg


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## Victoria Bampton

Hi Joerg, welcome to the forum!

LR will take advantage of the multiple threads, so I'd be inclined to go for the i7.

And yes, an SSD is great, especially for the catalog.  You might find this useful for the SSD information: http://www.computer-darkroom.com/blog/will-an-ssd-improve-adobe-lightroom-performance/


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## Kiwigeoff

I have an i7 and it rocks, I went for a 7200rpm drive instead of a SSD for size and money.
Being on a Mac, I do have a Thunderbolt array for images which flies.


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## JoergL

Hi Victoria,
thanks for the welcome and your response and the very interesting link.

The performance difference between the Core2Duo and the i7 on the link is dramatic.
Very interesting would be such comparison between i5 and i7 with same memory/disk-structure....

I have found a compare with cs 5.1 and several cpu's
http://www.tomshardware.de/fotostrecken/res_app_photoshop,0101-315440-0-2-3-0-png-.html
So there are 3seconds between i7-2600k and i5-2500k, not really much more power for double of threads and price.

The effect of ssd seems not to be so dramatic over all.
 That's surprising for me, I have expect some more power increasement.

How ever it's clear: 
16GB Memory will be in place 
And I'm still unsure if the higher cost of an i7 will result in a real feelable higher performance
br
Joerg


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## JoergL

I have made som further investigations...

The site http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/37...d_core_i5_2500k_sandy_bridge_cpus/index7.html shows that the i5 is a little bit faster then the i7.
This looks very strange to me..... Also it's LR 2.6 and I'm sure not really comparable to 3.6 or to 4.0

Also I have found this site http://www.foto-biz.com/Lightroom/Ram-vs-cpu which looks interesting to me so that having a 3Ghz cpu for Lightroom makes more sense then having a 2.5Ghz one.

I hate this.....


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## Victoria Bampton

The interesting test would be to queue 2 or 3 imports up at the same time, or render previews.  The export is limited in the amount of processing power it's allowed to use, so that it doesn't slow up the general use.  At the end of the day, the tests prove you're not going to go far wrong with either option.


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## JoergL

Victoria Bampton said:


> At the end of the day, the tests prove you're not going to go far wrong with either option.


I agree with you.
I have found some other test's, alltime export. And the differences between i5 and i7 ar really low.

For queing import it would be interesting to know if the import queue will be processed parallel or sequencial.
I think I will go for an i5 with round about 3Ghz, this will be enough power I think. 
And I have everytime to remember: It's just a hobby and fun and waiting 30s or 90s longer isn't so important.

What I'm really wondering is that finding "benchmarks" with lightroom 3 is not really so easy. That's really bad for makeing any "scientific" decision.
How ever.
Many thanks for helping and you input.


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## edgley

If you don't need the i7 for LR3, you will need it for LR5!
The only thing that shows the age of my 3.5 year old Mac Pro is Lightroom, and more correctly the Lens Correction feature.

You will also make it easier to sell 3 years down the line.


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## Norfolk Lad

I have been researching for a new computer as well, especially CPUs and Graphics Cards. You can quite probably run both Lightroom and Photoshop with the graphics performance of the i5-2400 or i7-2600 chip and no separate graphics card but the k version of each has better graphics performance. However, I have been advised that a separate graphics card is preferable, especially for Photoshop CS5 and beyond. In the end, I've opted for the i7-2600 because of the extra threads as mentioned above by Victoria. I've also gone for a mid range graphics card (AMD Radeon 6850) as a result of which I can't afford a SSD but am going for a 500 Gb disc for the operating system and programmes and two 1Tb discs for storage and scratch disc space. And 16Gb RAM. So it should be pretty powerful. JW


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## Victoria Bampton

Sounds great Norfolk Lad, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.  And of anything, the SSD would be an easy addition at a later date.


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## Kiwigeoff

Norfolk Lad said:


> I have been researching for a new computer as well, especially CPUs and Graphics Cards. You can quite probably run both Lightroom and Photoshop with the graphics performance of the i5-2400 or i7-2600 chip and no separate graphics card but the k version of each has better graphics performance. However, I have been advised that a separate graphics card is preferable, especially for Photoshop CS5 and beyond. In the end, I've opted for the i7-2600 because of the extra threads as mentioned above by Victoria. I've also gone for a mid range graphics card (AMD Radeon 6850) as a result of which I can't afford a SSD but am going for a 500 Gb disc for the operating system and programmes and two 1Tb discs for storage and scratch disc space. And 16Gb RAM. So it should be pretty powerful. JW


JW, if you can do get a 7200rpm drive you will notice the difference.


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## JoergL

I just want to let you, that I now have ordered an i5-2320, 16gb memory and a gigabyte mainboard with 8 sata ports.

I'm very sure that this will speed up my current system, especially for future LR4 usage.

Thanks for your minds.


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## Victoria Bampton

Congratulations on the new machine Jörg! (Did I get the character right?)  Let us know how you get on.


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## JoergL

Hey Victoria,
yes. It is the right character 
Hardware is build together and system is up and runnig again.
CS4 and LR 3.6 trial is installed, wacom bamboo tablet is working.

Possible next saturday I will have the chance to to make the first practical work with some photos...


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## Victoria Bampton

Excellent, we'll look forward to hearing how wonderfully fast it is!


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