Skip to content

Main Navigation

Puget Systems Logo
  • Solutions
    • Recommended Systems For:
    • Content Creation
      • Photo Editing
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Adobe Lightroom Classic
        • Adobe Photoshop
      • Video Editing
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Adobe After Effects
        • Adobe Premiere Pro
        • DaVinci Resolve
        • Foundry Nuke
      • 3D Design and Animation
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Autodesk 3ds Max
        • Autodesk Maya
        • Blender
        • Cinema 4D
        • Houdini
        • ZBrush
      • Real-Time Engines
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Game Development
        • Unity
        • Unreal Engine
        • Virtual Production
      • Rendering
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • OctaneRender
        • Redshift
        • V-Ray
      • Digital Audio
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Ableton Live
        • FL Studio
        • Pro Tools
    • Engineering
      • CAD
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Autodesk AutoCAD
        • Autodesk Inventor
        • Autodesk Revit
        • SOLIDWORKS
      • Photogrammetry
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • ArcGIS Pro
        • Agisoft Metashape
        • Pix4D
        • RealityCapture
    • Scientific Computing
      • Recommended Systems For:
      • Data Science
      • Machine Learning / AI
      • Scientific Computing
    • More
      • Recommended Systems For:
      • Compact Size
      • Live Streaming
      • NVIDIA RTX Studio
      • Quiet Operation
      • Virtual Reality
  • Products
    • Intel Core i7 & i9
      Workstations with 13th Gen Intel Core i7 & i9 processors on Z690 and Z790 chipsets
    • AMD Ryzen 7 & 9
      Workstations with AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processors on B650 and X670 chipsets
    • AMD Threadripper PRO
      Workstations with AMD Threadripper PRO 5000 WX processors on the WRX80 chipset
    • Intel Xeon W
      Workstations with Intel Xeon W 3300 processors on the C621E chipset
    • Rackmount & Server
      Servers and workstations in rackmount chassis
    • Custom Computers
      Customize a desktop workstation from scratch
    • Custom Servers
      Customize a rackmount server from scratch
    • QNAP Network Attached Storage
      Check out our external storage options as an authorized reseller for QNAP
    • Recommended Third Party Peripherals
      View our list of recommended peripherals to use with your new PC
  • Publications
    • Articles
    • HPC Blog
    • Blog Posts
    • Case Studies
    • Podcasts
    • Press
  • Support
    • Contact Support
    • Support Articles
    • Warranty Details
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Press Kit
    • Testimonials
    • Careers
  • Talk to an Expert
  • My Account
  1. Home
  2. /
  3. Hardware Articles
  4. /
  5. Lightroom Classic CC 2019 CPU Roundup: Intel vs AMD

Lightroom Classic CC 2019 CPU Roundup: Intel vs AMD

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Matt Bach
Always look at the date when you read an article. Some of the content in this article is most likely out of date, as it was written on December 10, 2018. For newer information, see Lightroom Classic CC 2019 CPU Roundup: Intel vs AMD

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Test Setup & Methodology
  • Benchmark Results
  • Benchmark Analysis
  • Intel vs AMD for Lightroom Classic CC 2019

Introduction

Choosing the right hardware to use in your system can often be overwhelming due to the sheer number of part models you can pick from. Even if you are just trying to decide on a CPU, it can still be daunting to find one that not only fits your budget, but will also give you the best performance for your dollar in applications like Lightroom Classic. In this article, we are going to be benchmarking a wide range of processors from Intel and AMD including the Intel 9th Gen, Intel X-series, AMD Ryzen 2nd Gen, and AMD Threadripper 2nd Gen CPU lines to help you decide which model makes the most sense for your new workstation.

One thing to note is that we will not be including results for any previous-gen CPUs in this article. At first, we were going to include them but the charts and tables soon got out of hand. Instead, if you want to know how these CPUs compare to previous generations, we recommend checking out the following articles:

  • Lightroom Classic CC 2019: Intel X-series 2018 Refresh Performance
  • Lightroom Classic CC 2018: Core i7 9700K & i9 9900K Performance
  • Lightroom Classic CC 2018: AMD Threadripper 2990WX & 2950X Performance

If you would like to skip over our test setup and benchmark result/analysis sections, feel free to jump right to the Conclusion section.

Test Setup & Methodology

Listed below are the systems we will be using in our testing:

Intel-based PC Test Hardware  
Motherboard: Gigabyte AORUS Z390 Pro WiFi Gigabyte X299 Designare EX
CPU: Intel Core i9 9900K 8 Core
3.6GHz (5.0GHz Turbo)


Intel Core i7 9700K 8 Core
3.6GHz (4.9GHz Turbo)


Intel Core i5 9600K 6 Core
3.7GHz (4.6GHz Turbo)
Intel Core i7 9800X 8 Core
3.8GHz (4.5GHz Turbo)


Intel Core i9 9820X 10 Core
3.3GHz (4.2GHz Turbo)


Intel Core i9 9900X 10 Core
3.5GHz (4.5GHz Turbo)


Intel Core i9 9920X 12 Core
3.5GHz (4.5GHz Turbo)


Intel Core i9 9940X 14 Core
3.3GHz (4.5GHz Turbo)


Intel Core i9 9960X 16 Core
3.1GHz (4.5GHz Turbo)


Intel Core i9 9980XE 18 Core
3.0GHz (4.5GHz Turbo)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S Noctua NH-U12DX i4
RAM: 4x DDR4-2666 16GB
(64GB total)
8x DDR4-2666 16GB
(128GB total)
AMD-based PC Test Hardware  
Motherboard: Gigabyte X470 AORUS GAMING 7 WIFI MSI MEG X399 Creation
CPU: AMD Ryzen 2700X 8 Core
3.7GHz (4.3GHz Turbo)
AMD Threadripper 2990WX 32 Core
3.0 GHz(4.2GHz Turbo) – DLM On


AMD Threadripper 2970WX 24 Core
3.0 GHz(4.2GHz Turbo) – DLM On


AMD Threadripper 2950X 16 Core
3.5 GHz(4.4GHz Turbo)


AMD Threadripper 2920X 12 Core
3.5 GHz(4.3GHz Turbo)
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H80i v2 Corsair Hydro Series H80i v2
RAM: 4x DDR4-2666 16GB
(64GB total)
8x DDR4-2666 16GB
(128GB total)
Shared PC Hardware/Software
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11GB
Hard Drive: Samsung 960 Pro 1TB M.2 PCI-E x4 NVMe SSD
OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (version 1803)

To thoroughly test each processor, we will be using two sets of images: one set of 22MP.CR2 RAW images taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III and a set of 45MB .NEF RAW images taken on a Nikon D850.

A big thank you to Chris Shreve for helping get us these images to test!


While our Lightroom testing is still evolving, we are currently able to accurately benchmark the following tasks with both sets of images:

Bulk Tasks

  • Import
  • Export to JPEG
  • Build Smart Previews
  • Convert to DNG

Module Tasks

  • Library Module Loupe Scroll
  • Develop Module Loupe Scroll
  • Library to Develop switch

Photomerge

  • Panorama Merge
  • HDR Merge

We are currently working on putting up an alpha version of our benchmark for public download (similar to our Photoshop and After Effects Benchmarks) which will have a much more in-depth description of each of these tests. Keep an eye out in the coming weeks (or months)!

Benchmark Results

While our benchmark presents various scores based on the performance of each type of task, we also wanted to provide the individual results in case there is a specific task someone may be interested in. Feel free to skip to the next section for our analysis of these results.

Benchmark Analysis

Lightroom Classic CC 2019 Benchmark CPU Roundup - Intel 9th Gen, Intel X-series, AMD Threadripper 2nd Gen, AMD Ryzen 2nd Gen

In our Lightroom Classic benchmark, our tests are divided into three categories: Bulk Tasks (importing, exporting, etc.), Module Tasks (scrolling through images & switching modules), and Photo Merge. In addition, there is an Overall Score which is simply the average of the three sub-scores. The scores shown in the charts above are relative to the best possible performance for each task when using a Core i7 8700K CPU along with a NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti 8GB in Lightroom Classic CC 2018. In essence, a score of "900" would mean that it gave 90% the performance of the reference system while a score of "1100" would mean it was 10% faster.

If we sort by the overall score, we get a great idea of how each CPU performs in Lightroom Classic CC. While there are some interesting performance distributions with the Intel X-series CPUs, one thing that is clear is that Intel currently has the lead over AMD. While all the AMD Threadripper CPUs performed well in Lightroom Classic, they were all about 10% slower overall than the Intel Core i9 9900X which was the top performer.

Another thing to point out is that the Core i9 9900K does very well for its price as it is quite a bit less expensive than any of the Intel X-series CPUs. If you look at the individual results you will see that it (and the other Intel 9th Gen CPUs) are not as good as the X-series or Threadripper CPUs for tasks like exporting, but it is faster for things like scrolling through images.

Intel vs AMD for Lightroom Classic CC 2019

For Lightroom Classic CC 2019, Intel currently has the lead over AMD with the Intel X-series being around 10% faster overall than AMD Threadripper. At the same time, the Intel 9th Gen CPUs should also give higher performance over the AMD Ryzen CPUs.

Overall, there are really only a couple desktop CPUs that we would currently recommend for a workstation that is going to be primarily used for Lightroom Classic. The most well-rounded CPU is likely going to be the Intel Core i9 9900X. Not only did it perform very well in our Module Tasks, but it was also among the fastest for tasks like exporting where it is almost twice as fast as the Intel 9th Gen CPUs. If the i9 9900X is just a bit outside your budget, the Intel Core i7 9800X also did very well for its cost if exporting performance is a concern of yours.

For even better performance while scrolling through images or switching between the Library/Develop modules, the Intel Core i9 9900K was about 10% faster than the Intel X-series for that kind of work. However, be aware that it (and the other Intel 9th Gen CPUs) are significantly slower than the X-series CPUs for tasks like exporting.

If you are interested in how the latest Intel and AMD processors perform in other applications, be sure to check out our recent Processor articles as we have a number of articles looking at CPU performance in Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and many other software packages.

CTA Image
Lightroom Classic Workstations

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

Configure a System!
CTA Image
Labs Consultation Service

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

Find Out More!

Related Content

  • Puget Systems Hardware Trends of 2022
  • Intel Xeon W-3400 Content Creation Preview
  • Intel NUC 13 Extreme Content Creation Review
  • Intel Core i9 13900KS Content Creation Review
View All Related Content

Latest Content

  • Puget Systems Hardware Trends of 2022
  • Guide To Removing Instapak Foam
  • Basic Guide to Identify and Remove Malware
  • Should I Upgrade My Gpu
View All
Tags: 2700X, 2920X, 2950X, 2970WX, 2990WX, 9600K, 9700K, 9800X, 9900K, 9900X, 9920X, 9940X, 9960X, 9980X, 9980XE, AMD Ryzen 2nd Gen, AMD Threadripper 2nd Gen, Intel 9th Gen, Intel X-series, Lightroom CLassic

Who is Puget Systems?

Puget Systems builds custom PCs tailored for your workflow

Extensive in-house testing
making you more productive and giving you more performance for your dollar

Reliable workstations
with fewer crashes and blue screens means more time working, less time waiting on your computer

Support that understands
your complex workflows and can get you back up and running ASAP

Proven track record
check out our customer testimonials and Reseller Ratings

Get Started

Browse Our Workstations

Fractal Design Define 7 Chassis with Puget Systems Logo

Select your workflow:

Content Creation
Engineering
Scientific Computing
More

Latest Articles

  • Puget Systems Hardware Trends of 2022
  • Guide To Removing Instapak Foam
  • Basic Guide to Identify and Remove Malware
  • Should I Upgrade My Gpu
  • Case Study with Lost Boys Interactive
View All

Post navigation

 After Effects CC 2019 CPU Roundup: Intel vs AMD vs MacDaVinci Resolve 15 CPU Roundup: Intel vs AMD vs Mac 
Puget Systems Logo
Build Your Own PC Site Map FAQ
facebook instagram linkedin rss twitter youtube

Optimized Solutions

  • Adobe Premiere
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Solidworks
  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Machine Learning

Workstations

  • Content Creation
  • Engineering
  • Scientific PCs
  • More

Support

  • Online Guides
  • Request Support
  • Remote Help

Publications

  • All News
  • Puget Blog
  • HPC Blog
  • Hardware Articles
  • Case Studies

Policies

  • Warranty & Return
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Delivery Times
  • Accessibility

About Us

  • Testimonials
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

© Copyright 2023 - Puget Systems, All Rights Reserved.