Any recommendation for a good Video/Graphics card for Photo Editing?

[hasu]

After some procrastination, I just started building my new photo/video editing PC (Windows 10). Since this machine is not intended for gaming, I was thinking of using built-in video capability of the motherboard. Will a dedicated graphics card help with photo and video editing? If yes what would be a good option? I prefer low power devices to keep the machine cool and quiet. Also it will be nice to have a low profile card because the case I am planning won't take full height cards.

Thanks!

 

[Elixer]

What specific software are you going to be using?
What is the rest of the system specs?

 

[hasu]

What specific software are you going to be using?
What is the rest of the system specs?

For now, software is primarily Light room and SilkyPix (for Pentax). (I have a few others from Corel etc)

Motherboard: ASUS B85M-E/CSM (mATX)
CPU: i7 4790k
Memory: 16 GB DDR3

 

[Chickenfeed]

I'm not a Lightroom user but this answers some questions regarding gpu usage :
https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/lightroom-gpu-faq.html

Per their FAQ only the develop module receives gpu acceleration and only the primary window at that. I'd suppose this depends on your workflow, workload and display resolution / setup.

In my experience the onboard Intel GT2 gpus are pretty lacklustre for anything remotely demanding, so a dedicated gpu would still improve your application performance. That said most of these applications are more CPU and storage dependant, especially when working with larger data sets. It's just a matter of addressing your great bottleneck first.

Some of Corel's software leverages OpenCL to speed up processing so I'd look into the specifics of the precise applications you'd be using to determine if you'd see much benifit.

I recommend you look up some benchmarks for the types of work you intend to perform. That should give you a better picture overall.

 

[hasu]

I'm not a Lightroom user but this answers some questions regarding gpu usage :
https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/lightroom-gpu-faq.html

Per their FAQ only the develop module receives gpu acceleration and only the primary window at that. I'd suppose this depends on your workflow, workload and display resolution / setup.

In my experience the onboard Intel GT2 gpus are pretty lacklustre for anything remotely demanding, so a dedicated gpu would still improve your application performance. That said most of these applications are more CPU and storage dependant, especially when working with larger data sets. It's just a matter of addressing your great bottleneck first.

Some of Corel's software leverages OpenCL to speed up processing so I'd look into the specifics of the precise applications you'd be using to determine if you'd see much benifit.

I recommend you look up some benchmarks for the types of work you intend to perform. That should give you a better picture overall.

Thanks for the reply!

Adobe suggests GeForce GTX 760+ line (760, 770, 780, or later) or from the GeForce GTX 900 series. Is it fair to assume that GTX 1050 is better than 700/900 series?

I am looking at this -- pretty inexpensive and comes with low profile brackets:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125951

 

[Mercennarius]

Thanks for the reply!

Adobe suggests GeForce GTX 760+ line (760, 770, 780, or later) or from the GeForce GTX 900 series. Is it fair to assume that GTX 1050 is better than 700/900 series?

I am looking at this -- pretty inexpensive and comes with low profile brackets:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125951

I'd try to get a 4GB GPU...really any 4GB GPU will have enough processing power and VRAM to do plenty of photo/video editing work. 2GB of VRAM could start to become a limitation in certain areas. A 4GB Nvidia 960 or a 4GB AMD RX 560 would both work well and can be had for under $150 new.

 

[Chickenfeed]

If you are looking for low profile and low power, the GTX 1050 would be a solid option. I'd consider the TI variant with its extra VRAM.

https://m.newegg.com/products/N82E16814125952

 

[cfenton]

Anything will be better than integrated graphics, but faster GPUs don't help much compared to mid-level GPUs.

I know Lightroom is different than Photoshop, but this is the most relevant benchmark I could find.

"Looking at the average, it is clear that there is a benefit to using a discrete GPU instead of simply relying on the integrated graphics that comes on an Intel CPU. However, after even a low-end GPU like the GTX 1050 or 1050 Ti there is less and less of a performance gain as you spend more and more money. There is still some, but it is only going to be about 3-4% for every model you go up and plateaus at the GTX 1080."

 

[Mercennarius]

Anything will be better than integrated graphics, but faster GPUs don't help much compared to mid-level GPUs.

I know Lightroom is different than Photoshop, but this is the most relevant benchmark I could find.

"Looking at the average, it is clear that there is a benefit to using a discrete GPU instead of simply relying on the integrated graphics that comes on an Intel CPU. However, after even a low-end GPU like the GTX 1050 or 1050 Ti there is less and less of a performance gain as you spend more and more money. There is still some, but it is only going to be about 3-4% for every model you go up and plateaus at the GTX 1080."

For just photo editing this is true, but the OP also mentioned potential video editing which does require much more VRAM. A 1 or 2GB GPU will struggle in high resolution video editing.

 

[cfenton]

For just photo editing this is true, but the OP also mentioned potential video editing which does require much more VRAM. A 1 or 2GB GPU will struggle in high resolution video editing.

My bad, I missed that part in the OP. In that case, GPU performance matters more, especially if you want to do any 4K+ editing. Maybe look at a low profile 1060 6GB.

 

[hasu]

If you are looking for low profile and low power, the GTX 1050 would be a solid option. I'd consider the TI variant with its extra VRAM.

https://m.newegg.com/products/N82E16814125952

I like this, it has everything I am looking for (including DisplayPort that I did not mention earlier).

My bad, I missed that part in the OP. In that case, GPU performance matters more, especially if you want to do any 4K+ editing. Maybe look at a low profile 1060 6GB.

I could not find any 1060 with low-profile support. I don't think performance difference of less than 10% will be noticeable.

 

[cfenton]

I could not find any 1060 with low-profile support. I don't think performance difference of less than 10% will be noticeable.

You're right. I was thinking of Zotac's Mini 1060, but that's only short length, not low-profile.

 

[simeon93]

From my experience , NVIDIA GT is good and affordable compared to the latest cards. I have a GT 740M and yeah I do intense gaming, photo video edits and other stuffs. Does the job well. It's few years old , but what I would like to say is Nvidia GT series is also good compared to GTX..You can save some money there.....

 

[simeon93]

For now, software is primarily Light room and SilkyPix (for Pentax). (I have a few others from Corel etc)

Motherboard: ASUS B85M-E/CSM (mATX)
CPU: i7 4790k
Memory: 16 GB DDR3

what would be the cost ?

 

[hasu]

From my experience , NVIDIA GT is good and affordable compared to the latest cards. I have a GT 740M and yeah I do intense gaming, photo video edits and other stuffs. Does the job well. It's few years old , but what I would like to say is Nvidia GT series is also good compared to GTX..You can save some money there.....

I already ordered GTX 1050!

 

[Markfw]

Just buy a workstation and throw it out when it feels slow and buy a newer one. HP Z series or Mac Pro for example.

Thats the stupidest reply I have ever seen. "Buy a computer and throw it out when its slow"

And this reply on a year old thread. Are you a spammer ?