Best Workstation PC for Adobe Lightroom Classic (Winter 2020)

Introduction

Choosing the right PC for your needs can be a daunting task, but here at Puget Systems, we do our best to help you understand how different applications (like Lightroom Classic) utilize the various hardware found in workstations. Not only do we have a number of on-going series of hardware articles for those that want to get deep into the details, but we also have our solutions pages that are intended to distill all our research and testing down to what matters most. Not to mention various other resources like our Youtube channel and podcast.

However, a number of our readers and customers are either not interested in or do not have the time to become fully versed in computer hardware and just want an answer to the "simple" question: what is the best computer for my needs?

Today we will be tackling that question in regards to Adobe Lightroom Classic. In many ways, Lightroom Classic is relatively simple from a hardware standpoint, wanting a (preferably AMD) CPU with moderate number of cores and a decent amount of RAM. But other hardware choices like the GPU and storage are also incredibly important.

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Something to note is that we are going to primarily focus on the hardware that is going to directly affect performance. Things like 10Gb networking, accurate displays, and peripherals are all incredibly important, but outside the scope of this post.

Lightroom Classic Workstations

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Good PC Configuration for Lightroom Classic

We'll start off with a solid workstation for Lightroom Classic that will give you terrific performance without breaking the bank. The core of this configuration is the AMD Ryzen 5800X which is well worth the price over the Intel Core i9 10900K – especially in passive tasks like exporting. However, if you are primarily concerned about active tasks like culling, switching modules, brush lag, etc, the Intel Core i9 10900K is only a percent or two slower for those tasks, making it a great alternative if you cannot get your hands on a Ryzen 5800X due to the current supply shortages.

On the GPU side, while Lightroom Classic has been getting increased GPU acceleration support, you are almost always going to be limited by the performance of your CPU. We have found in our testing that at least for the tasks we currently look at, NVIDIA GPUs are a better option over AMD, but other than that, there is little difference between the various models.. Because of this, we will be using the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB on this configuration.

For the system memory, we will be using 32GB of RAM since Lightroom Classic can need a lot of RAM – especially if you often send photos to Photoshop for additional editing. Rounding things out, we have a 500GB Samsung 970 EVO NVMe primary drive (for the OS and applications), and a 1TB Samsung 860 EVO SSD for your photos and catalogs.

All told, this system should run you around $2,900, and according to our PugetBench database, should score around 1,100 points in our Lightroom Classic benchmark. This makes it an excellent value for the amount of performance you will get.

Configure a “Good” Lightroom Classic Workstation

Better PC Configuration for Lightroom Classic

Stepping up a bit in terms of performance, the AMD Ryzen 5900X 12 core is a bit faster than the Ryzen 5800X and is currently the fastest consumer CPU for Lightroom Classic from both Intel and AMD. In addition, due to the lack of (in our experience) stable Thunderbolt support on any AMD Threadripper platform, the 5900X is also the best CPU you can get while still having solid Thunderbolt support (we recommend using the Gigabyte B550 Vision D motherboard if this is important for you)

For the GPU, we will be keeping the same NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB since a higher-end GPU isn't going to give a big increase in performance in Lightroom Classic. Instead, we are going to put more of the budget towards doubling the RAM (64GB) as well as adding a dedicated Samsung 980 Pro 512GB drive for the scratch and cache files. If you are using Samsung drives (which we highly recommend as we have found them to be extremely reliable), it is important to use a "Pro" drive for these cache/scratch files since this line of drives have higher endurance than the "EVO" line. This is important since cache files tend to perform a higher than typical number of writes to the drive which can affect the lifespan of an SSD.

We will also bump up the main storage drive to a 2TB Samsung 860 EVO SSD for your project files. You could also substitute this for up to a 14TB platter drive if you need a large amount of storage.

Depending on current pricing, this configuration should cost right around $3,600 and score around 1,220 points (about 10% faster than the "Good" configuration) in our Lightroom Classic benchmark. Keep in mind that raw performance isn't the only thing you are getting with this configuration – you are also getting the higher RAM capacity and dedicated cache/scratch drive which can make a huge impact on your workflow even if it doesn't actually make any filters or effects apply faster. At the moment, this – or one with a slightly upgraded GPU – is one of the most common configurations we sell for Lightroom Classic.

Configure a “Better” Lightroom Classic Workstation

Best PC Configuration for Lightroom Classic

For most users, the "Better" configuration is going to be the best choice as it gives great performance across Lightroom Classic – especially for active tasks like culling. However, if you find yourself exporting huge amounts of photos and want the best possible performance for these kinds of passive tasks (even at the expense of performance in active tasks), we can get a good amount more performance by moving up to the AMD Threadripper 3960X 24 Core processor. It is worth noting that the higher-end Threadripper CPUs are actually worse in Lightroom Classic, so there is no reason to spend more money on the 3970X or 3990X.

We will continue to stick with NVIDIA for the GPU, although in order to squeeze out the most performance possible we will upgrade to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 10GB. The performance over the RTX 2060 may not be much, but the additional VRAM is useful for some workflows, and it can make a bigger difference in other applications you may use like After Effects or Premiere Pro.

Another area we can upgrade is the RAM – going up to 128GB. This again shouldn't be all that necessary for most Lightroom Classic users, but it can be important if you are doing a lot of HDR, panorama, or focus stacking.

For storage, we are going to use the same setup as the previous system, only bumping up the project drive to a 4TB SSD as well as a 14TB platter drive for additional long-term storage. How much storage is enough varies greatly depending on each person's workflow, so depending on the number and size of assets you need on your local system, you may consider adding even more storage. Alternatively, if you will be using network storage then including a 10 Gigabit PCI-E networking card is a good idea.

All told, this configuration should come in a bit under $7,000 and score around the same 1,350 points in our Lightroom Classic benchmark. This is a significant jump in price over the "Better" configuration, in large part due to moving to the more expensive AMD Threadripper platform. It is worth mentioning again that this configuration will not be faster for all Lightroom Classic tasks, and is really only necessary if you want to minimize export times as much as possible, regardless of cost. Active tasks (which in our experience is where most Lightroom Classic users want the best performance) will actually be better with the "Best" configuration.

Configure a “Best” Lightroom Classic Workstation

Additional Resources

If you want to know more about how Lightroom Classic performs with various hardware as well as our justifications for these recommendations, we have a number of resources available. For those that want just a bit more information, we recommend visiting the "Hardware Recommendations" section of our Lightroom Classic Solutions page. If you really want to dig into the numbers behind the data, we also have an on-going series of hardware articles that are regularly updated, as well as our public database of PugetBench for Lightroom Classic benchmark results.

And, as always, if you aren't sure what you need or just want to verify that you are spending your budget in the most effective way possible, our technology consultants are always available to assist you in getting the exact right workstation for your workflow.

Lightroom Classic Workstations

Puget Systems offers a range of powerful and reliable systems that are tailor-made for your unique workflow.

Configure a System!

Labs Consultation Service

Our Labs team is available to provide in-depth hardware recommendations based on your workflow.