Hello tech masters,

I have been researching the current CPU options and still don't know which CPU would be the most ideal for the LRTimelapse and Lightroom workflow. I don't know if simply getting the most cores, even with a slower clock speed, would be the best for parallelizing tasks, or getting the fastest combination of clock speed and number of cores would be better.

Is there even a CPU out there that would allow processing at near real-time, or at least bringing down the wait time from minutes to seconds?

If cost was not a barrier, which CPU would you use in a new computer build, or, if you needed to rent a machine to do a LOT of time lapse processing, which one would you get?

AMD Ryzen 7950x
Intel i9 14900k
32 core Threadripper
64 core Threadripper
Something else

Most of the reviews out there seem to be for gaming or video editing, but there are some benchmarks for Lightroom that are addressed. I know there is someone out there that can explain why a certain CPU is the BEST for the time lapse workflow.

Thanks in advance!

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Chris

Lightroom and LRTimelapse try to maximize performance by parallelizing tasks. That basically the biggest leverage you have.
Launching 2 Tasks on 2 cores in parallel will be basically twice as fast as 2 tasks on 1 core.

Of course clock speed, ssd speed, etc. will also matter, but not scale as well as the number of cores do. Also Graphics performance will usually not be so valuable.

Of course there is only so much you can do to speed things up, at some time a higher invest wouldn't necessarily bring so much gain anymore.
Personally I'd try to narrow down the task - do you really need all of those clips? Will you need them in full length? How much editing are going to do on them? This all costs time that might be longer than the actual export and render time (which you can run in batch during the night).
Personally I do all my timelapse work an a MacBook Pro M1 Max now, just because it's portable and I can take it on location.
Of course a current threadripper workstation might be faster, but I see the other advantages.
Make sure to watch my video about parallelizing the workflow via batch: https://lrtimelapse.com/tutorial/advance

Unfortunately I cannot give you the definitive answer, if this or that CPU is the one that you should go for because for that I would have needed to test every CPU and Computer configuration with your exact workflow and sequences. This is impossible. The whole "performance" question is highly complex. I hope you can use the information from my answer to make your decision.

Maybe you should really rent out a multi core workstation if that's possible instead of investing so much money for buying something.

Gunther,

Thanks for the response.

I am considering renting out a machine or two from a VFX solutions company in L.A. to see which direction to go, or just rent until I have the bulk of my footage processed.

When it comes to parallelizing tasks, I don't know how each processor utilizes that ability.

The following is just the little bit I have been able to retain after nonstop research for a couple weeks:

The EPYC 9654 is a 96-core processor with 192 threads based on AMD's newest Zen4 architecture. This is currently AMD's flagship EPYC processor. Officially this CPU offers a base clock of 2.4 GHz and boosts up to 3.7 GHz, which is a slower clock speed than many other high performance CPUs, but a lot more cores.

Threadrippers have 32 and 64 cores, but clock speeds seem to go down with the more cores and they are pricey. Is the speed difference great enough to really make a difference in editing? I have no idea.

Intel i9 has P cores and E cores, so while they may have more cores, apparently demanding tasks can get sent to the E cores and slow things way down. It's also at the end of its life cycle so future upgrading will cost more.

AMD Ryzen 9 7950x seems to be a great CPU and will have a better update path with future CPU releases still coming in the life cycle, but it's slightly slower than the i9 (or is it actually faster for this because it has all P cores?).

I don't understand enough about how LRT and LR use/maximize the cores to be able to tell a professional PC builder what I need. I'm trying to understand more about having more cores vs the clock speed of the cores. Should I just pay attention to the Lightroom exporting scores? Is there anything else I need to research or discuss with a professional PC builder that is important in the LRT and LR workflow?

Thanks for the help.

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Chris

One additional note: Currently the maximum number of parallel rendering processes LRTimelapse does allow, is 64.
Personally, I think that more wouldn't deliver the same amount of scaling due to management requirements, even with a 96 core processor. But if you really rent out one of those I'd be interested in some tests. Let me know then, and I'll build you a special version of LRT that allows for 96 threads.

Thank you, Gunther. I have spent the last month continuing my crash course in CPUs. I have reached out to several people about workflows and the best machines for them.

The new Threadrippers just came out. The 64 core is $5,000 and doesn't score well on active testing compared to Intel and AMD Ryzen, so I doubt I will go that route - that's a very expensive investment for not enough return. The 32 core looks really promising, though, especially at half the price of the 64 core, but I am waiting to see some test scores in Lightroom. Intel 13900K and 14900K are the fastest, but they are power hungry and need better cooling - something I don't really want to contend with when I am out being a nomad - and it is probably at the end of its lifespan before they change the architecture. The AMD 7950x is a solid choice and the 8950x should be coming out soon enough next year with pretty significant speed increases, so that is a pretty solid upgrade path. As of right now, I am leaning towards the 32 core Threadripper 7970x or the 16 core AMD Ryzen 7950x.

The Epyc is apparently really sluggish on the front end (active), so that would probably defeat the purpose of the higher back end (passive). I bet it would crank out the Lightroom exports (and Deflickering?), though.

One thing I wanted to ask - is Deflickering in LRTimelapse a passive task since it can be done in the background? The two most time-consuming tasks for my workflow are Deflickering and LR exports (because of my massive quantity).

I hope this helps anyone that is looking to build a machine that already didn't know this info.

_
Chris

This post was last modified: 2023-11-25, 12:16 by Gunther.

Thanks for the info!
Yes, deflicker can be done as a batch background tasks in LRTimelapse Pro.
Check out the "Speed up editing of multiple timelapse sequences" tutorial on https://lrtimelapse.com/tutorial/advanced/

I am doing the batch workflow. I just wanted to confirm that Deflicker is a background task in that workflow. Didn't you have a Threadripper, Gunther? Did you see a big speed increase on Deflickering and Lightroom exporting on it?

Generally, the more processor cores a system provides, the faster such multithreaded tasks will be because they can be parallelized. This scales well. A 16 core will for example do 16 previews or exports in parallel while an 8 core will only do 8.

Selecting the fastest CPU for LRTimelapse and Lightroom is pivotal for seamless photo editing. After extensive research and personal experience, I found that processors like the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X or Intel Core i9-11900K offer exceptional performance. These CPUs handle the demanding tasks of timelapse rendering and photo editing with impressive speed and efficiency. Investing in a robust CPU significantly enhances workflow, ensuring a smooth and responsive editing experience. Always consider your specific needs, budget, and compatibility when choosing the best CPU for your photography endeavors. Happy editing! ? #TechEnthusiast #Photography #CPUPerformance