A PC for RAW

From my earlier post:
I'll check out the handling of a 6Mp PEF file on my 1.6GHz Centrino machine later... but 40 seconds does not sound unreasonable.

The PC RAW processing is much more complex when compared to what the camera can produce. The Silkypix engine (which is what the Pentax supplied software is based on) can extract a serious amount of detail, while applying excellent noise reduction - all this takes a LOT of number crunching

Different RAW processors work in different ways - some are faster, some are slower - and have different output qualities. Some handle noise better, etc, etc.

But, as I said, I'll check out the timing of the Pentax software later... and get back to you.

Matt

Thanks Matt. My RAW image was 11.8Meg and the resulting JPG was 8.6. Be interested to see your comments.

BTW: The image in question is the bottom one on my website.

It takes 25 seconds to process a 13.5MB 14.6MP PEF with Pentax Lab with default settings + top quality JPEG on my laptop, or 21 seconds with Silkypix with typical settings. This is with 2GB of RAM, but RAW conversion was no faster when I had 1GB.

It's about 3 seconds faster on my desktop PC that has a better processor. And no slower on the desktop when I had slower hard drives.

Sorry I've forgotten what processors I have. How can I find out easily? (I'm running Windows XP).

I use this link

Thanks good, thanks.

My laptop processor is: AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-56 (1795 MHz dual core).

I'll post the desktop one later.

Desktop PC: DualCore Intel Pentium D 940, 3200 MHz (16 x 200)

The advantage of adding memory can be overstated. Back in the days when it was £100 per MB, people tended to run with too little, but now when it's dirt cheap, most PCs come with more than enough for most tasks. I have 2GB in mine, and seldom use more than one - even running Silkypix.

Just as an experiment, I am processing a batch of JPEGs now, and while both processors are running at 100%, or near, the RAM usage is just over 800MB.

G

I noticed when downloading the update for Pentax Photo Browser/Lab that the minimum RAM requirement is 1GB with a recommendation of 2GB. Processor of 2GHZ so mine falls a little short. Perhaps some over-clocking is called for

Minimum specs for LR2 as given by Adobe:

"Intel® Pentium® 4 processor
Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise (certified for 32-bit and 64-bit editions)
1GB of RAM
1GB of available hard-disk space
1,024x768 display
CD-ROM drive"

So, you can go up from there depending on your resources.