Introduction
Regular readers may recall that we released Puget Bench for Lightroom Classic 1.0 in early November. However, we haven’t published hardware articles for this application for several months. This was due to a significant performance bug introduced in Lightroom Classic 15.0, especially affecting DNG exports. With Adobe’s latest update, the issue has been largely resolved, allowing us to resume testing. In this article, we examine the performance of various modern CPUs and GPUs in Lightroom Classic 15.2.
Our Lightroom Classic benchmark involves importing 250 photos from a single camera source and measuring the time for import without previews. We then measure the time to generate smart previews, exporting images as JPGs and DNGs, and repeat this process with other camera types. We also use AI tools to perform tasks like “select subject” and “super resolution,” recording the duration for each task. These times are converted into scores.
We calculated the geometric mean of import, export as DNG, and export as JPG across the four image sets to evaluate performance, independent of file format.
Puget Bench for Creators benchmarks are freely available for personal use, offering free press licenses and a paid license for commercial use with advanced features.
Test Setup (Expandable)
AMD Ryzen Test Platform
Intel Core Ultra Test Platform
AMD Ryzen Threadripper Test Platform
Benchmark Software
We characterized hardware performance using a variety of platforms and GPUs, with up-to-date Windows installations, drivers, and BIOSes. All platforms featured JEDEC RAM modules at maximum frequencies, with overclocking disabled, and VBS and ReBar enabled. GPU testing was done on AMD Ryzen™ 9950X3D-based platforms.
Raw Results
We provide a spreadsheet of our test data, minimally processed. Lightroom Classic performance can depend on the specific camera model, so this allows users to focus on specific data points. We cleaned up outliers and averaged multiple benchmark runs for the results.
CPU Performance
Lightroom Classic performance was historically CPU-bound. Adobe has increased hardware acceleration in the application. We added new AI tests to the benchmark, processed locally and primarily GPU-based.
Overall score (Chart #1) shows Intel’s Core™ Ultra 265K as the fastest CPU, followed by the 285K, outperforming AMD’s Threadripper™ 9970X and Ryzen™ 9950X3D. AI tests (Chart #2) found the 9850X3D leading, 8% faster than other Ryzen parts and 15% faster than Intel’s fastest processor.
Importing photos (Chart #3) showed the fastest processors completing the task in about 5 seconds. Exporting photos (Chart #4) had the 9970X, 285K, and 265K tied at the top, with Ryzen 9950X3D slightly slower.
Exporting to JPG (Chart #5) showed the 9970X leading, 16% faster than the 265K. Exporting to DNG (Chart #6) showed little difference between components and inconsistent times.
Based on the data, Intel’s Core Ultra 265K offers great performance for its price, with AMD’s Threadripper 9970X as an overkill option. Ryzen 9850X3D offered the best AI task performance, though GPU upgrades for AI performance are recommended.
GPU Performance
Lightroom Classic can now benefit from a powerful GPU. Testing was done on the AMD Ryzen 9950X3D. The overall score (Chart #1) shows NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX™ 5090 as the fastest GPU, though most midrange, modern GPUs performed similarly. The RTX 5060 and Intel Arc B580 were inferior to other GPUs.
AI tests (Chart #2) showed significantly varied results between GPUs. The RTX 5090 led, with the 5070 Ti offering a good price-to-performance ratio for AI workflows.
Importing (Chart #3) is not GPU-accelerated, so there was no difference between video cards.
Exporting to JPGs (Chart #5) saw minor differences due to a potential CPU bottleneck. The 5060 was much slower than other GPUs.
NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5070 Ti provides a great price-to-performance ratio. The RTX 5090 is recommended for heavy AI task users, while Intel’s B580 is a solid budget option.
Conclusion
Lightroom Classic scales well across CPUs and GPUs. GPUs are crucial for AI tasks, while CPUs impact importing, exporting, and generating previews. Inconsistent DNG export results complicate recommendations.
The Core Ultra 265K and GeForce RTX 5070 Ti offer good price-to-performance. The Threadripper 9970X and RTX 5090 provide higher performance at a cost. Intel’s B580 is a budget option, and the Ryzen 9850X3D offers top AI and Photoshop performance.
We didn’t delve into camera