Skip to content
Main Navigation Puget Systems Logo
  • Solutions
    • Content Creation
      • Photo Editing
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Adobe Lightroom Classic
        • Adobe Photoshop
        • Stable Diffusion
      • Video Editing & Motion Graphics
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Adobe After Effects
        • Adobe Premiere Pro
        • DaVinci Resolve
        • Foundry Nuke
      • 3D Design & 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:
        • Keyshot
        • OctaneRender
        • Redshift
        • V-Ray
      • Digital Audio
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Ableton Live
        • FL Studio
        • Pro Tools
    • Engineering
      • Architecture & CAD
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Autodesk AutoCAD
        • Autodesk Inventor
        • Autodesk Revit
        • SOLIDWORKS
      • Visualization
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Enscape
        • Lumion
        • Twinmotion
      • Photogrammetry & GIS
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • ArcGIS Pro
        • Agisoft Metashape
        • Pix4D
        • RealityScan
    • AI & HPC
      • Recommended Systems For:
      • Data Science
      • Generative AI
      • Large Language Models
      • Machine Learning / AI Dev
      • Scientific Computing
    • More
      • Recommended Systems For:
      • Compact Size
      • Live Streaming
      • NVIDIA RTX Studio
      • Quiet Operation
      • Virtual Reality
    • Business & Enterprise
      We can empower your company
    • Government & Education
      Services tailored for your organization
  • Products
    • Puget Mobile
      Powerful laptop workstations
      • Puget Mobile 16″
    • Puget Workstations
      High-performance desktop PCs
      • AMD Ryzen
        • Ryzen 9000:
        • Small Form Factor
        • Mini Tower
        • Mid Tower
        • Full Tower
      • AMD Threadripper
        • Threadripper 7000:
        • Mid Tower
        • Full Tower
        • Threadripper PRO 7000WX:
        • Full Tower
      • AMD EPYC
        • EPYC 9004/9005:
        • Full Tower
      • Intel Core Ultra
        • Core Ultra Series 2:
        • Small Form Factor
        • Mini Tower
        • Mid Tower
        • Full Tower
      • Intel Xeon
        • Xeon W-2500:
        • Mid Tower
        • Xeon W-3500:
        • Full Tower
    • Custom Computers
    • Puget Rackstations
      Workstations in rackmount chassis
      • AMD Rackstations
        • Ryzen 9000:
        • R132-4U
        • R550-6U 5-Node
        • Threadripper 7000:
        • T121-4U
        • T120-5U
        • Threadripper PRO 7000WX:
        • T141-4U
        • T140-5U (Dual 5090s)
      • Intel Rackstations
        • Core Ultra Series 2:
        • C132-4U
        • Xeon W-3500:
        • X131-4U
        • X141-5U
    • Custom Rackmount Workstations
    • Puget Servers
      Enterprise-class rackmount servers
      • 1U Rackmount Servers
        • AMD EPYC:
        • E200-1U
        • Intel Xeon:
        • X200-1U
      • 2U Rackmount Servers
        • AMD EPYC:
        • E120-2U
        • E140-2U
        • Intel Xeon:
        • X240-2U
      • 4U Rackmount Servers
        • AMD EPYC:
        • E280-4U
        • E281-4U
    • Comino Grando GPU Servers
    • Custom Servers
    • Puget Storage
      Solutions from desktop to datacenter
      • Network-Attached Storage
        • Synology NAS Units:
        • 4-bay DiskStation
        • 8-bay DiskStation
        • 12-bay DiskStation
        • 4-bay RackStation
        • 12-bay FlashStation
      • Software-Defined Storage
        • Datacenter Storage:
        • 12-Bay 2U
        • 24-Bay 2U
        • 36-Bay 4U
    • Recommended Third Party Peripherals
      Curated list of accessories for your workstation
  • Publications
    • Articles
    • Blog Posts
    • Case Studies
    • HPC Blog
    • Podcasts
    • Press
    • PugetBench
  • Support
    • Contact Support
    • Onsite Services
    • Support Articles
    • Unboxing
    • Warranty Details
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
    • Enterprise
    • Gov & Edu
    • Our Customers
    • Press Kit
    • Puget Gear
    • Testimonials
  • Talk to an Expert
  • My Account
  1. Home
  2. /
  3. Hardware Articles
  4. /
  5. Pix4D 4.3 vs 4.4 Performance Differences

Pix4D 4.3 vs 4.4 Performance Differences

Posted on June 11, 2019 by William George
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 June 11, 2019. For newer information, see our more recent articles.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Test Hardware
  • Benchmark Details
  • Results – Intel Core i9 9980XE
  • Results – AMD Threadripper 2990WX
  • Analysis
  • Conclusion

Introduction

Pix4D is an advanced photogrammetry application, suited to a wide range of uses, with a focus on handling images captured by drones. Processing of those images into point clouds and 3D meshes/textures is time-consuming, heavily utilizing a computer's CPU and GPU. We have recently updated our benchmark tools for Pix4D, and published articles looking at CPU and GPU performance on version 4.3 – but in the midst of our testing, version 4.4 was released. Now it is time to see if that update had any impact on performance that might alter our recommendations.

Test Hardware

Here is a list of the hardware we tested Pix4D 4.4 on. We used two different configurations, utilizing processors which we found to offer very good performance in Pix4D 4.3 and representing both of the major CPU manufacturers. The video card and RAM capacity were kept the same across both platforms and software versions, to avoid either of those throwing off the comparison.

Test Platforms
CPU Intel Core i9 9980XE
AMD Threadripper 2990WX
CPU Cooler Noctua NH-U12DX i4
Corsair Hydro Series H80i v2
Motherboard Gigabyte X299 Designare EX
Gigabyte X399 AORUS Xtreme
RAM 8x DDR4-2666 16GB (128GB total)
Video Card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11GB
Hard Drive Samsung 960 Pro 1TB
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (version 1809)
Pix4D 4.3.33 & 4.4.12

Benchmark Details

We have improved our benchmarking for Pix4D compared to previous articles. Now we have four image sets that we own the rights to, covering both smaller and larger size Model and Map projects. The smaller image sets are included in our public Pix4D benchmark, which you can download and run if you want to compare your system's performance to what we measured in our testing.

  • Rock Model – 82 photos at 20 megapixels each
  • School Map – 51 photos at 18 megapixels each
  • School Model – 278 photos at 18 megapixels each
  • Park Map – 810 photos at 18 megapixels each

Each image set was processed 2-3 times on each version of Pix4D, and the fastest overall result was used for the comparisons below.

Results – Intel Core i9 9980XE

Here are charts showing the performance impact that updating to Pix4D 4.4.12 had on the Intel Core i9 9980XE. The newer software version is shown in a darker color, and there are graphs showing raw processing time (in seconds) as well as relative performance.

Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Previous Next
System Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Previous Next

Results – AMD Threadripper 2990WX

And here are charts showing Pix4D 3.3.33 versus 4.4.12 performance on AMD's Threadripper 2990WX. Again, the newer software version is shown in a darker color – and there are graphs showing raw processing time (in seconds) as well as relative performance.

Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Previous Next
System Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Previous Next

Analysis

It looks like performance in Pix4D 4.4.12 is actually a bit slower than in the previous release – particularly when processing 3D Models. To dig a little deeper into what is going on, here is a table showing how long each step took on each combination of CPU and version:

Pix4D 4.3.33 Versus 4.4.12 Performance on Intel Core i9 9980XE and AMD Threadripper 2990WX
Image
Pix4D 4.3.33 Versus 4.4.12 Performance on Intel Core i9 9980XE and AMD Threadripper 2990WX
Open Full Resolution

It looks like the bulk of the slowdown on 3D Model projects is coming from Step 1 – "Initial Processing" – which includes computing keypoints on images and then matching and aligning them using those keypoints. It doesn't look like the 3D Map projects had the same slowdown, though, so I suspect that the way these project types are handled in Step 1 has changed between version 4.3.33 and 4.4.12.

I reached out to our contacts at Pix4D, to get their input on this discovery. The response from their developers was that they were aware of the slowdown I observed, and that it is due to a fix they made to increase stability. It sounds to me like there was good reason for the change, and hopefully they can work to improve performance again in future versions while retaining the increased stability.

Conclusion

It is unfortunate that Pix4D 4.4.12 is a little slower than the previous version when it comes to processing 3D Model projects. However, the slowdown was similar on both the Intel and AMD processors we tested – so I don't think it will impact our overall recommendations.

The Core i9 9980XE remains the strongest CPU we have tested for 3D Maps, while AMD's Threadripper 2990WX is slightly better for large 3D Model projects (while costing less) and Intel's i9 9900K takes the top performance with small models (and is far, far cheaper).

Looking for a
Photogrammetry Workstation?

Puget Systems offers a range workstations tailored for Pix4D, Metashape, and RealityCapture. Even in the most demanding situations, our workstations and designed to minimize downtime and allow you to work as efficiently as possible.

Configure a Photogrammetry Workstation

Tags: 2990WX, 9980XE, AMD, AMD Threadripper 2nd Gen, Core i9, CPU, Intel, Intel X-series, Performance, Pix4D, Version

Who is Puget Systems?

Puget Systems builds custom workstations, servers and storage solutions tailored for your work.

We provide:

Extensive performance testing
making you more productive and giving better value for your money

Reliable computers
with fewer crashes means more time working & less time waiting

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

A proven track record
as shown by our case studies and customer testimonials

Get Started

Browse Systems

Puget Systems Mobile Laptop Workstation Icon

Mobile

Puget Systems Tower Workstation Icon

Workstations

Puget Systems Rackmount Workstation Icon

Rackstations

Puget Systems Rackmount Server Icon

Servers

Puget Systems Rackmount Storage Icon

Storage

Latest Articles

  • Impact of PCIe 5.0 Bandwidth on GPU Content Creation Performance
  • Network-Attached Storage Guide
  • NVIDIA 5060 Ti vs. AMD 9060 XT for Content Creation
  • Unreal Engine 5.6: Faster Open Worlds, Smoother Animation, Better ICVFX
  • Unreal Fest 2025: Highlights from Orlando
View All

Post navigation

 RealityCapture 1.0.3: NVIDIA GeForce and Titan Performance ComparisonMetashape 1.5.1: NVIDIA GeForce, Titan, and AMD Radeon Performance Comparison 
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
  • Newsletter

© Copyright 2025 - Puget Systems, All Rights Reserved.