Slow PC with Topaz problem solved

Andy W

Senior Member
My six year old Dell was struggling so much Denoise it wasn't usable. It would take up to 25 minutes to make one adjustment and save the photo. A Topaz tech support guy recommended installing a graphics card and that did the trick. I put in a GTX 1650 and it runs my trail Denoise and Sharpen just fine.

I had tried Topaz Studio 2 because I heard that it was more resource friendly than Denoise and Sharpen. It ran slow but it was usable. After installing the graphics card I asked the tech support guy what the difference is between Denoise & Sharpen VS Studio 2:


I need help to determine which Topaz product I need.

My wife and I are hobbyist wildlife photographers shooting a lot of birds, sometimes in low light with high ISOs. My main concern is noise reduction, secondary concern is sharpening. I do not need the creative tools in Studio 2, but the AI Clear seems to work well.

My question is this; how does Studio 2 compare to Denoise as far as noise removal and sharpening?

For wildlife, are we better off with Studio 2, or Denoise + Sharpen?



As for your question, DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI are definitely more robust and effective for removing noise and sharpening, respectively, than Studio 2. The noise removal and sharpening tools that Studio 2 has are only minor editors that don't use the AI processing models the AI programs have.

I'd also note that Suppress Noise in Sharpen AI and Sharpen in DeNoise AI are made as options for users who need minor tweaking that doesn't necessarily require the robust noise reduction of DeNoise AI, and vice versa, but where minor adjustments in another program may prove useful without disrupting the user's workflow with two separate programs. It is important to note that noise reduction in Sharpen AI is not the same as DeNoise AI, and vice versa, and should be considered minor editors. These minor editors don't use the AI processing models that the AI products have.

Based on the shooting you do, I do believe DeNoise AI will be more useful for you and your wife if you have to decide between the two programs, but you can also feel free to trial with Sharpen AI and check the results from each program. I'm also happy to share with you a coupon of 15% off in case you decide to make a purchase. You can feel free to use the coupon code
loyal15 and get an additional 15% off.

I hope this helps clarify, Andy, but please let me know if you have any questions, or if I can help with anything else.


 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
I have been really happy with DeNoise in the 3 weeks or so that I have been using it. Sharpen AI has worked well in most cases, but at times I am just as well off using Photoshop solutions. Of course, this could be a learning curve thing for me.

What I found interesting was that I get faster performance by selecting the processor acceleration rather than graphics card acceleration with both products. This is on my new iMac. I have a pretty nice graphics card, too. AMD Radeon Pro 5300 4 GB graphics card and 3.1 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i5 processor.
 

Danno

Senior Member
There has been a lot going on with software the past few months. I have the Topaz AI and Luminar 4 with amazing sky replacement AI and other AI tools that have got me considering moving from LRC to Luminar 4. Now if I was not having enough trouble making a decision Luminar is introducing Luminar AI which will be better than Luminar 4. The goal is to take the mundane steps out of the workflow.

This is me waiting to see what comes next.
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
There has been a lot going on with software the past few months. I have the Topaz AI and Luminar 4 with amazing sky replacement AI and other AI tools that have got me considering moving from LRC to Luminar 4. Now if I was not having enough trouble making a decision Luminar is introducing Luminar AI which will be better than Luminar 4. The goal is to take the mundane steps out of the workflow.

This is me waiting to see what comes next.

Agreed. The "mundane steps" problem I have is how long it takes to use DeNoise AI or Sharpen AI as a plug in within Lightroom compared to just processing in Lightroom. It takes much longer, plus it adds a TIFF file that uses more HD space. I only use the Topaz software on a few pictures, but it really does slow things down. I guess that eventually Lightroom will probably have the same kind of built in features, but who knows. :)

I have so may pictures living in Lightroom catalogs that I don't really want to think about changing to another basic processing/organizing application. Adobe has me on the hook. :)

I'll be interested in how Luminary's AI performs. It might push Adobe to step up the game with Lightroom.
 

Danno

Senior Member
Agreed. The "mundane steps" problem I have is how long it takes to use DeNoise AI or Sharpen AI as a plug in within Lightroom compared to just processing in Lightroom. It takes much longer, plus it adds a TIFF file that uses more HD space. I only use the Topaz software on a few pictures, but it really does slow things down. I guess that eventually Lightroom will probably have the same kind of built in features, but who knows. :)

I have so may pictures living in Lightroom catalogs that I don't really want to think about changing to another basic processing/organizing application. Adobe has me on the hook. :)

I'll be interested in how Luminary's AI performs. It might push Adobe to step up the game with Lightroom.

I am interested as well. I have been playing with luminar 4 of late and it is ok. the adjustments are more dramatic than Lightroom to begin with but can be fine-tuned easily. They also can pull files from a LR catalog very easily.

I, too, feel kind of locked into LR, but we will see how it goes when they release Luminar AI. It may be worth the jump, or it may just be enough to get LR and PS to make some improvements and additions.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Just adding to the info here, if invoked from Ps it's simply an added layer in the stack which can then be flattened so it's far less a file management issue.
 
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