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WCollier
Participating Frequently
November 25, 2023
Answered

AI Denoise & Mac Mini M1

  • November 25, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 604 views

Hello.

I'm getting mixed messages in various places about denoise times for those with a Mac Mini M1 16GB RAM (2020 build). The GPU is 8 cores Metal 3 according to my system information and I'm using ios Sonoma 14.1.1. It's taking 2-3 minutes to process each picture.

 

Is the consensus that this is a normal process time? My Mac Mini was purchased April 2021 so it surprises me that the processing time takes so long compared to Topaz and DxO. But then, I understand that Adobe hasn't added the Apple's neural engine support to Denoise?

 

I don't want to purchase another computer. The Apple Care hasn't even run out.

 

Thanks for any input.

 

 

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer johnrellis

    See here for some crowd-sourced Denoise benchmarks on the same image:

    https://www.lightroomqueen.com/community/threads/my-recent-gpu-experience-gigabyte-nvidia-rtx-4070-ti-12gb.47572/page-2#post-1315545

     

    Your experience with the Mac Mini M1 is similar. Apple has supposedly fixed its Neural Engine drivers, so perhaps we'll see LR try to use it once again.

    1 reply

    johnrellis
    johnrellisCorrect answer
    Legend
    November 26, 2023

    See here for some crowd-sourced Denoise benchmarks on the same image:

    https://www.lightroomqueen.com/community/threads/my-recent-gpu-experience-gigabyte-nvidia-rtx-4070-ti-12gb.47572/page-2#post-1315545

     

    Your experience with the Mac Mini M1 is similar. Apple has supposedly fixed its Neural Engine drivers, so perhaps we'll see LR try to use it once again.

      W
      WCollierAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      November 26, 2023

      Thank you so much for that link. When I purchased my Mac Mini with the specs I have, they told me it was the latest and greatest for my photography needs. Clearly, a lot can happen in a couple of years. LOL Even more unfortunate (or whichever way you look at it) is that I find that Adobe's AI Denoise far superior to DxO and Topaz Photo AI... except for the processing time. Fingers crossed that Adobe will upgrade the software soon. Maybe I'll have to learn to love Topaz in the meantime.

      Conrad_C
      Community Expert
      Conrad_CCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      November 27, 2023
      quote

      When I purchased my Mac Mini with the specs I have, they told me it was the latest and greatest for my photography needs. Clearly, a lot can happen in a couple of years. LOL

      By @WCollier

       

      Yeah, any computer is the latest and greatest at the time we buy them, and then technology continues to march on.

       

      Don’t fret too much about that…you are actually in a relatively good position. The M1 is a larger step up than normal from the previous generation, so that was good timing. In other words, if you had bought the last Intel Mac mini model before the M1, you would be in much worse shape today…it would run significantly slower and hotter, with weaker graphics hardware. Even with the progression of Apple Silicon to M2 and M3, the M1 still holds up pretty well. That’s why many are still recommending and buying the original M1 MacBook Air today. I am still using an M1 Pro for daily use in Lightroom Classic, and I have no plans to upgrade for a while. Although, if I had to run AI Denoise on 200 images a day, instead of only occasionally, I would consider upgrading because the M3 has many more GPU cores, and those are important for AI Denoise.

       

      The fact that Topaz is well known to be faster than Lightroom Classic at AI noise reduction on the same hardware suggests that there may still be some performance optimization left for Adobe to do. And, if Apple does fix the bugs with the Neural Engine, that would be a second major possible way for AI Denoise time to drop. If you and I hold on with our M1s, there is a fair chance that either or both of those scenarios will speed up AI Denoise without us having to change our computers.

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