Do I need a GPU for photo editing?

[Sepster]

I was looking to build a PC that would only be used for normal daily web browsing stuff and photo editing. I am a photographer and won’t need it for gaming (or video editing at this time). I was wondering if for now, I can get away with basically no gpu and use a iGPU or like a cheap gt710 or something from ebay?

[Nathanpete]

Getting a Ryzen APU (Ryzen 5 is preferred) and a A520 board and lots of RAM will suffice for your purposes. Also an M.2 drive. 

[Eigenvektor]

2 minutes ago, Sepster said:

I was wondering if for now, I can get away with basically no gpu and use a iGPU or like a cheap gt710 or something from ebay?

Yes. While programs like Photoshop do support hardware acceleration it is not a must outside of some very specific features (see Photoshop GPU FAQ)

[TudorF]

Unfortunately, the Adobe suite uses lots of GPU acceleration these days. And they don't seem to support older iGPUs anymore.

That was one of the reasons why I decided to build a new computer. I had to work on a project for a client, which involved using some Adobe programs in order to create some vectors and make some renders, and since my old i5 3210m was not recognised by Illustrator and AutoCAD, I decided it was time to actually get a real GPU, even if not the greatest I could find.

 

So, imo, either go with the CPU that has the best iGPU right now or actually see if you can still find some midtier GPU for a price that is not too far from its MSRP.

But it's getting harder and harder to find an acceptable deal even for cards like a GTX 1650, which can go for well above 350 bucks right now.

 

So, the choices are not great right now for professionals who actually need GPUs for work, not just for playing games.

[TudorF]

The difference between using integrated graphics on the CPU and a discrete GPU is that the iGPU uses system RAM, it doesn't have its own VRAM.

Whereas a GPU has its own dedicated VRAM, which can be faster and spare your system's resources, that can be used on other tasks.

 

So maybe if you have enough RAM, you might be able to do a decent job with a powerful CPU that has a last generation iGPU.

But I would try and see if I could still find a GPU somewhere, even if it's just a GTX 1050 Ti or anything with at least GDDR6, because it's going to be way above what even the last generation iGPUs can offer.

[GuiltySpark_]

Potentially worthwhile reading on the topic. 

 

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-cc-gpu-card-faq.html

[brob]

Given current gpu availability and pricing, you might find stock and better pricing amongst the Quadro offerings.

[TudorF]

Dunno where OP is located, but I can only find very old Quadro GPUs at low prices here.

Quadro P400 V2 2GB DDR5, 64Bit, Low Profile  $150

 

The cheapest Quadro with GDDR6 is:

Quadro RTX 4000, 8GB, GDDR6, 256bit   $2700

 

Or a Radeon with HBM2 memory:

Radeon Pro WX 9100 16GB, HBM2, 2048bit $2200

 

In between these, lots of other older Quadros with 2GB DDR5 that cost as much as a GTX 1650 with 4GB GDDR6 (somewhere under $400).

[brob]

1 hour ago, TudorF said:

Dunno where OP is located, but I can only find very old Quadro GPUs at low prices here.

Quadro P400 V2 2GB DDR5, 64Bit, Low Profile  $150

 

The cheapest Quadro with GDDR6 is:

Quadro RTX 4000, 8GB, GDDR6, 256bit   $2700

 

Or a Radeon with HBM2 memory:

Radeon Pro WX 9100 16GB, HBM2, 2048bit $2200

 

In between these, lots of other older Quadros with 2GB DDR5 that cost as much as a GTX 1650 with 4GB GDDR6 (somewhere under $400).

 

Ouch! Those aren't very good options.