AI Denoise takes 45 minutes on new computer

[ltbu08]

Got a new XPS 15 to replace my old XPS 15. Newer graphics cards, more memory, yet AI Denoise takes an INSANE 45 minutes to render, sometimes more. Even on the old (8 years) computer, it never took more than maybe 5 minutes. What in the world is going on? Any help is tremendously appreciated. 

[AxelMatt]

You're using a Notebook and normally there's build in a CPU with an internal graphic processor. This can be reason for several issues. Try to disable the internal GPU.

To disable  use the Device Manager on Windows. In the Device Manager, right-click the card's name and choose Disable.

[ltbu08]

Thank you, that definitely helped - cut 45+ minutes down to 15-22. Still seems incredibly slow, but an improvement.

[dj_paige]

Newer graphics cards

Come on, don't leave us guessing ... specifically what graphics card?

[ltbu08]

I don't think anything particulary special, just 8 years newer. Intel Arc(TM) A370M

[Jao vdL]

It seems you got the laptop with the sloweest AI denoise perofrmance out there. Post from 2 years ago: https://community.intel.com/t5/Graphics/Iris-Xe-outperforms-A370M/td-p/1553889 

See also official answer from intel that they do not care their driver is so slow for this card and only focus on games.

That said 45 minutes seems almost impossibly slow and something else is wrong. My now four year old Apple M1 Mac Book Pro does 48 MP files in 15 seconds. According to the link above you should be able to get 4 to 5 minutes which I would consider extremely slow, but it sounds you would be happy to get even that. Do you have antivirus software running? Are your files on a OneDrive managed section? Make sure you exclude the classic catalog and file section from AV software and do not run your catalog and files from a cloud service. Both cause extreme slowdown of Lightroom actions on later versions of windows.

[ltbu08]

Seeing those other times drives me crazy. Currently back to 25 minutes. 

[dj_paige]

For what it is worth, this card scores relatively low at https://www.videocardbenchmark.net with a benchmark around 5,500 whereas the Nvidia RTX 4070 comes in around 27,000. So maybe that's why it takes 15–22 minutes (or maybe something else is going on here)

[Conrad_C]

Just for context, this is a rough guide to what you should realistically expect for Denoise processing times (actual time depends on the number of megapixels in the image):

• Recent laptop with pro-level graphics hardware and graphics memory: 15 to 30 seconds per image. 
• Recent laptop with decent consumer-level graphics: 30 to 90 seconds. 
• Recent computers with low-end/weak graphics hardware: 1 to 2 minutes. 
• Old computers or with low-end/weak graphics hardware: More than 5 minutes. 

So if I saw a time of 45 minutes (or even 15 minutes) for a new computer, I would definitely call that unacceptable. (My 3-year-old base level MacBook Pro with M1 Pro processor/graphics takes 35 to 70 seconds depending on the number of megapixels.)

There is not much the user can do to change the timing, in terms of application or system settings. The main one has been making sure the correct version of the graphics driver software is being used. For example, the driver software should be up to date, and if a gaming-optimized driver is being used, it should be replaced with a professional driver. If a new computer does Denoise slowly with an appropriate graphics driver, the computer should be exchanged for one with more powerful graphics hardware.

Note that the CPU and RAM aren’t major factors for Denoise, it’s all about the GPU. 

[ltbu08]

That is beyond infuriating. My old XPS 15 took a few minutes. This brand new $1,800 XPS 15 is taking 30 minutes minimum. 

[.Michael.]

Your built in GPU "Intel Arc(TM) A370M" is not (well) supported (by many applications, not only LrC), i.e. you bought something w/o prior investigation what you need ... How looks your system info? My one:

"AI denoise optimized" GPU manufacturers in descending order:

NVIDIA

Apple

AMD

Intel (far away from the other brands)