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Windows Tablet recomendation for use with Topaz Denoise

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sootyvrs

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Currently using Ipad Pro 11 M1 for Lightroom for when I'm travelling away as I prefer a smaller form factor and using a pen (Apple pencil) works well and quickly whilst away. I upload raw images to Lightroom for Ipad using a sd card reader.

When I return home I then use my Mac Mini to do any final editing if neededin Lightroom Classic after synching files from the cloud and may include using Topaz Denoise, Sharpen & Gigapixel (these don't run on Ipad OS).

I'm thinking about exploring Windows options which may allow me to do more whilst away from home and considering a Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (i7 12th gen with 16gb Ram) but concerned the GPU might struggle with Topaz AI software so wondering if anyone else has gone a tablet route which work with GPU intensive software?

I may consider 2 in ones which work with a pen but I suspect these are bigger/heavier especially if squeezing a dedicated GPU?

Open to suggestions and would love to hear your experiences if anyone uses a tablet style of Windows PC
 
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sootyvrs said:
Currently using Ipad Pro 11 M1 for Lightroom for when I'm travelling away as I prefer a smaller form factor and using a pen (Apple pencil) works well and quickly whilst away. I upload raw images to Lightroom for Ipad using a sd card reader.

When I return home I then use my Mac Mini to do any final editing if neededin Lightroom Classic after synching files from the cloud and may include using Topaz Denoise, Sharpen & Gigapixel (these don't run on Ipad OS).

I'm thinking about exploring Windows options which may allow me to do more whilst away from home and considering a Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (i7 12th gen with 16gb Ram) but concerned the GPU might struggle with Topaz AI software so wondering if anyone else has gone a tablet route which work with GPU intensive software?
Click to expand...
Which i7? What is the iGPU? What size photos are you working with? The answer to those questions will determine whether it would be acceptably fast to use while traveling (which you probably do not need to be as fast as at home).
sootyvrs said:
I may consider 2 in ones which work with a pen but I suspect these are bigger/heavier especially if squeezing a dedicated GPU?

Open to suggestions and would love to hear your experiences if anyone uses a tablet style of Windows PC
Click to expand...
 
sootyvrs: The Topaz suite of products are absolutely great - but to perform their greatness, they require real processing power to do their work.

Even the fastest CPUs will leave you getting up to go get another cup of coffee while you wait, since it is GPU power that the Topaz suite needs. With a good mid-range GPU, it completes quickly. Your post didn't say what GPU you were looking at.

In order to get better Topaz performance on my PC (a 12 core Core i7-12700K, overclocked to 5.2GHZ - and water cooled of course), I had to upgrade my GPU from an Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti (now available on eBay), to a new Nvidia RTX 3060. That GPU upgrade produced amazing results in processing speed. GPU power is the key with photo processing software.

When using sophisticated photo processing software like the Topaz suite of products, it is the GPU power that maters, not the CPU. I doubt any tablet hardware will be suitable.
 
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bakubo said:
Which i7? What is the iGPU? What size photos are you working with? The answer to those questions will determine whether it would be acceptably fast to use while traveling (which you probably do not need to be as fast as at home).
Click to expand...
12th Gen Intel Core i7-1255U processor

Intel Iris Xe Graphics

I will be working with Sony A7C raw images but may move to A7R V in the near future.
 
JerseySailor said:
sootyvrs: The Topaz suite of products are absolutely great - but to perform their greatness, they require real processing power to do their work.

Even the fastest CPUs will leave you getting up to go get another cup of coffee while you wait, since it is GPU power that the Topaz suite needs. With a good mid-range GPU, it completes quickly. Your post didn't say what GPU you were looking at.

In order to get better Topaz performance on my PC (a 12 core Core i7-12700K, overclocked to 5.2GHZ - and water cooled of course), I had to upgrade my GPU from an Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti (now available on eBay), to a new Nvidia RTX 3060. That GPU upgrade produced amazing results in processing speed. GPU power is the key with photo processing software.

When using sophisticated photo processing software like the Topaz suite of products, it is the GPU power that maters, not the CPU. I doubt any tablet hardware will be suitable.
Click to expand...
Thanks that is my fear with the integrated graphics.

I'm not sure if there is a small lightweight tablet available that can successfully use Topaz with a dedicated GPU so may have to reconsider my options.

May still go this route as I can merge images (HDR & Panorama) with Lightroom Classic where as I can't with Lightroom for Ipad.
 
sootyvrs said:
JerseySailor said:
sootyvrs: The Topaz suite of products are absolutely great - but to perform their greatness, they require real processing power to do their work.

Even the fastest CPUs will leave you getting up to go get another cup of coffee while you wait, since it is GPU power that the Topaz suite needs. With a good mid-range GPU, it completes quickly. Your post didn't say what GPU you were looking at.

In order to get better Topaz performance on my PC (a 12 core Core i7-12700K, overclocked to 5.2GHZ - and water cooled of course), I had to upgrade my GPU from an Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti (now available on eBay), to a new Nvidia RTX 3060. That GPU upgrade produced amazing results in processing speed. GPU power is the key with photo processing software.

When using sophisticated photo processing software like the Topaz suite of products, it is the GPU power that maters, not the CPU. I doubt any tablet hardware will be suitable.
Click to expand...
Thanks that is my fear with the integrated graphics.

I'm not sure if there is a small lightweight tablet available that can successfully use Topaz with a dedicated GPU so may have to reconsider my options.

May still go this route as I can merge images (HDR & Panorama) with Lightroom Classic where as I can't with Lightroom for Ipad.
Click to expand...
From what I have been reading and watching, topaz and intel worked together to make their software work great with Xe graphics systems, just as Blackmagic has with resolve. I think you will be fine with the new surface pro.

Have a look at skylum as well, I am running luminar neo and it is great on my system with xe graphics. It has all the goodies too.
 
sootyvrs said:
12th Gen Intel Core i7-1255U processor

Intel Iris Xe Graphics

I will be working with Sony A7C raw images but may move to A7R V in the near future.
Click to expand...
The i7-1255U has the Iris Xe with 96 execution units. Some other CPUs have the weaker Iris Xe iGPUs that has only 80 execution units. If you want a tablet and not a small laptop (such as the M1 Macbook Air which will run Denoise AI fast) then that expensive Surface may work okay for your travel use.

I have a Windows ultrabook with an older i7 with UHD 620 iGPU. The UHD 620 is much weaker than the Iris Xe with 96 execution units. It runs Denoise AI fairly well though. Here are timings I did recently with 46mp Nikon Z7 II raw files:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66828940

And here are timings with 20mp and 16mp TIFF files:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66831045

I would expect the Iris Xe with 96 execution units to be several times faster to process those files than the UHD 620.

Maybe someone here has a PC with Iris Xe with 96 execution units and could process the Nikon raw files I linked to and report the times. Here the raw file links:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66823522
 
Last edited:
sootyvrs said:
JerseySailor said:
sootyvrs: The Topaz suite of products are absolutely great - but to perform their greatness, they require real processing power to do their work.

Even the fastest CPUs will leave you getting up to go get another cup of coffee while you wait, since it is GPU power that the Topaz suite needs. With a good mid-range GPU, it completes quickly. Your post didn't say what GPU you were looking at.

In order to get better Topaz performance on my PC (a 12 core Core i7-12700K, overclocked to 5.2GHZ - and water cooled of course), I had to upgrade my GPU from an Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti (now available on eBay), to a new Nvidia RTX 3060. That GPU upgrade produced amazing results in processing speed. GPU power is the key with photo processing software.

When using sophisticated photo processing software like the Topaz suite of products, it is the GPU power that maters, not the CPU. I doubt any tablet hardware will be suitable.
Click to expand...
Thanks that is my fear with the integrated graphics.

I'm not sure if there is a small lightweight tablet available that can successfully use Topaz with a dedicated GPU so may have to reconsider my options.

May still go this route as I can merge images (HDR & Panorama) with Lightroom Classic where as I can't with Lightroom for Ipad.
Click to expand...
Your best W10/W11 option might be a 13" laptop with discrete GPU such as RTX 3060. I'm not up-to-date on PC laptops, but perhaps someone could suggest a 3-in-one (laptop, tent, tablet) with good GPU.

It's hard to find benchmarks for Xe, perhaps because Intel doesn't want to show them, but here is a gaming comparison showing 3060 to be often 10x faster. Similarly, videocardbenchmark.net shows Irix Xe at 2699 3Dmark, RTX 3060 at 17170 (6.4x).

https://www.thefpsreview.com/2021/04/07/intel-uhd-graphics-750-i9-11900k-xe-game-performance/5/

https://www.thefpsreview.com/2021/03/03/evga-geforce-rtx-3060-xc-black-gaming-review/5/
 
Last edited:
JerseySailor said:
sootyvrs: The Topaz suite of products are absolutely great - but to perform their greatness, they require real processing power to do their work.

Even the fastest CPUs will leave you getting up to go get another cup of coffee while you wait, since it is GPU power that the Topaz suite needs. With a good mid-range GPU, it completes quickly. Your post didn't say what GPU you were looking at.

In order to get better Topaz performance on my PC (a 12 core Core i7-12700K, overclocked to 5.2GHZ - and water cooled of course), I had to upgrade my GPU from an Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti (now available on eBay), to a new Nvidia RTX 3060. That GPU upgrade produced amazing results in processing speed. GPU power is the key with photo processing software.

When using sophisticated photo processing software like the Topaz suite of products, it is the GPU power that maters, not the CPU. I doubt any tablet hardware will be suitable.
Click to expand...
Very glad to see your post. I also have a 1050 TI & it was good for LRC & PhotoShop.

When I started using Topaz I quickly found it was very slow. I have been considering a RTX 3060 with 12 GB of Ram. Reviews & reports I have seen indicates it is actually better than the 3060 Ti & slightly less expensive. Do you have opinion on this.

Thanks
 
JerseySailor said:
Austinian said:
I had a quick look around, and this machine is the closest thing I've found to what I think you're asking for:

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-i7-12700H-Detachable-Keyboard-GZ301ZC-PS73/dp/B09RMPV211/
Click to expand...
That was interesting. It is the first tablet that I've seen with both the CPU and GPU power to run power hungry photo processing software such as the Topaz suit of products.
Click to expand...
I don't think I've ever seen anything else quite like it. I prefer bigger screens for photo and general use (my old, basic Surface Pro is almost entirely an e-book reader), but of course that comes with considerably more size and weight.
 
bakubo said:
sootyvrs said:
12th Gen Intel Core i7-1255U processor

Intel Iris Xe Graphics

I will be working with Sony A7C raw images but may move to A7R V in the near future.
Click to expand...
The i7-1255U has the Iris Xe with 96 execution units. Some other CPUs have the weaker Iris Xe iGPUs that has only 80 execution units. If you want a tablet and not a small laptop (such as the M1 Macbook Air which will run Denoise AI fast) then that expensive Surface may work okay for your travel use.

I have a Windows ultrabook with an older i7 with UHD 620 iGPU. The UHD 620 is much weaker than the Iris Xe with 96 execution units. It runs Denoise AI fairly well though. Here are timings I did recently with 46mp Nikon Z7 II raw files:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66828940

And here are timings with 20mp and 16mp TIFF files:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66831045

I would expect the Iris Xe with 96 execution units to be several times faster to process those files than the UHD 620.

Maybe someone here has a PC with Iris Xe with 96 execution units and could process the Nikon raw files I linked to and report the times. Here the raw file links:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66823522
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info.

I forgot to mention I also have a Macbook Air M1 which I have tried whilst travelling but unfortunately I can't get away with the trackpad. I can use a mouse though but I tend to do my editing on the hotel bed usually where use of a mouse can be problematic hence why I prefer to use a tablet and using the pen/pencil is relatively intuative.

Maybe I need to practice a bit more using lightroom with the trackpad...
 
sootyvrs said:
bakubo said:
sootyvrs said:
12th Gen Intel Core i7-1255U processor

Intel Iris Xe Graphics

I will be working with Sony A7C raw images but may move to A7R V in the near future.
Click to expand...
The i7-1255U has the Iris Xe with 96 execution units. Some other CPUs have the weaker Iris Xe iGPUs that has only 80 execution units. If you want a tablet and not a small laptop (such as the M1 Macbook Air which will run Denoise AI fast) then that expensive Surface may work okay for your travel use.

I have a Windows ultrabook with an older i7 with UHD 620 iGPU. The UHD 620 is much weaker than the Iris Xe with 96 execution units. It runs Denoise AI fairly well though. Here are timings I did recently with 46mp Nikon Z7 II raw files:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66828940

And here are timings with 20mp and 16mp TIFF files:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66831045

I would expect the Iris Xe with 96 execution units to be several times faster to process those files than the UHD 620.

Maybe someone here has a PC with Iris Xe with 96 execution units and could process the Nikon raw files I linked to and report the times. Here the raw file links:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66823522
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info.

I forgot to mention I also have a Macbook Air M1 which I have tried whilst travelling but unfortunately I can't get away with the trackpad. I can use a mouse though but I tend to do my editing on the hotel bed usually where use of a mouse can be problematic hence why I prefer to use a tablet and using the pen/pencil is relatively intuative.

Maybe I need to practice a bit more using lightroom with the trackpad...
Click to expand...
Yes, I prefer a mouse too. I do not edit while in bed though. You already have the M1 MBA so that, as you know, runs Denoise AI very well and you are already accustomed to it and your Mini -- plus you already own them. If you cannot get accustomed to using the trackpad then you might consider a trackball instead of a mouse. Do not need a flat surface for it like you do with a mouse.

If it must be a tablet that can run Denoise AI then you have found the choices. Best of luck with whatever you decide. Come back and let us know what you end up doing.
 
AikenMooney said:
Very glad to see your post. I also have a 1050 TI & it was good for LRC & PhotoShop.

When I started using Topaz I quickly found it was very slow. I have been considering a RTX 3060 with 12 GB of Ram. Reviews & reports I have seen indicates it is actually better than the 3060 Ti & slightly less expensive. Do you have opinion on this.
Click to expand...
I was in the same boat only weeks ago, using a 1050 Ti, and being bored to tears waiting for Topaz to finish processing a picture. I bit the bullet, and picked up an RTX 3060 12GB GPU, and I'm super pleased at the speed increase and ROI.

I love the Topaz products, but found that they really need a good GPU to get timely output (unless you want to go brew another coffee while Topaz uses just the super-slow CPU, or the also-slow CPU graphics chip).

I'm glad I bit the bullet and spent the money for the RTX 3060. The older 1050 Ti is now on sale on eBay, with the auction ending next Sunday at 8:45 PM EST. Hey, that would be a great buy if you don't mind waiting between each Topaz rendering. :-D

If you want more acceptable processing times, I'd suggest a faster GPU, like the 3060, would be a good investment.
 
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I have a Surface Pro 6 now and keep an eye on these devices in case I ever need to upgrade or replace mine.

I'd say for on the go use due to the size and performance of the screen/pen the Surface Pro 9 is probably your best one. The GPU will be lacking but a dedicated one would eat up battery life and those systems have the other issue such as size/weight/their pens. But if you want to dig into the higher spec alternative the ASUS ROG Flow x13 is it. You get an RTX 3050 Ti and Intel chips with a lot more P cores.
 
CBR1100XX said:
I'd say for on the go use due to the size and performance of the screen/pen the Surface Pro 9 is probably your best one. The GPU will be lacking but a dedicated one would eat up battery life and those systems have the other issue such as size/weight/their pens. But if you want to dig into the higher spec alternative the ASUS ROG Flow x13 is it. You get an RTX 3050 Ti and Intel chips with a lot more P cores.
Click to expand...
As far as I can tell, the Asus Rog Flow X13 is a 3-in-one, whereas the Z13 is a kickstand style tablet like the Surface. In US markets both have a choice of GTX 1650 or RTX 3050.

Notebookcheck.net praised the excellent low-noise cooling design.
 
CAcreeks said:
CBR1100XX said:
I'd say for on the go use due to the size and performance of the screen/pen the Surface Pro 9 is probably your best one. The GPU will be lacking but a dedicated one would eat up battery life and those systems have the other issue such as size/weight/their pens. But if you want to dig into the higher spec alternative the ASUS ROG Flow x13 is it. You get an RTX 3050 Ti and Intel chips with a lot more P cores.
Click to expand...
As far as I can tell, the Asus Rog Flow X13 is a 3-in-one, whereas the Z13 is a kickstand style tablet like the Surface. In US markets both have a choice of GTX 1650 or RTX 3050.

Notebookcheck.net praised the excellent low-noise cooling design.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that! And sorry about that and the weird grammar error in the post not sure how that "use" got in there. I might have been using speech recognition for it and forgot to double check.
 
Last edited:
CBR1100XX said:
I have a Surface Pro 6 now and keep an eye on these devices in case I ever need to upgrade or replace mine.

I'd say for on the go use due to the size and performance of the screen/pen the Surface Pro 9 is probably your best one. The GPU will be lacking but a dedicated one would eat up battery life and those systems have the other issue such as size/weight/their pens. But if you want to dig into the higher spec alternative the ASUS ROG Flow x13 is it. You get an RTX 3050 Ti and Intel chips with a lot more P cores.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Not heard of the Z13 before so will possibly explore this option. Can't seem to see if there is a dedicated pen with it.

Noticed it's on offer in UK right now, perhaps as it's a 12th gen now that 13th gen machines are out now
 
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