[Qgis-user] RAM and processing speed requirements for QGIS

[Zoltan]

Hi Helena/List,
For all the good intentions everyone who has responded to you, have had 
- they are truly "not that useful"

So, before I get shot:
Yes, more memory, HD->SSD->NVMe does help a lot - but did Mac's have M.2 
slots 7 years back? If yes, were they configured as NVMe or SATA?
Is "new" Mac memory different from 7-year-old Mac memory? (yes, of 
course it is)

So let's get pragmatic:
Buying any of the suggested HW to upgrade might be throwing good money 
after bad - because if they do not help you sufficiently, you will still 
have to buy a newer PC, and you may end up being stuck with components 
you cannot use in your newer PC.

So, judging by your original post below - you have not even tried QGIS yet.

It is free!
Download it.
Try it.

If your electricity bill goes up because you are boiling your kettle 
more often than normal (while waiting for QGIS to respond), then buy a 
new PC - that is, if you are unable to_borrow _extra memory to see if 
that helps sufficiently.

If you buy a new PC, then yes, look at all the responses you have received.
Buy at least 16GB memory - preferably 32GB
Do not buy any 'old' HDs (those with moving parts) unless you need >4TB 
of disk space. (very easy with GIS data) - but keep system & swap on the 
fastes SSDs you can afford.
If you buy SSDs, make sure they are NVMe and not SATA-SSDs.

No matter what GIS SW you choose, it will need a 'decent' PC if you are 
asking it to do stuff more than just play around with simple maps.

Hope this helps you with your way forward.

Kind regards,
Zoltan


On 2022-04-20 14:00, Patrick Dunford via Qgis-user wrote:
> As others have written it will depend on the tasks you are doing.
>
> The performance of any computer can be significantly improved by 
> replacing HDDs with SSDs. Modern computers using the NVMe standards 
> for SSD (M.2 interface etc) can offer a great deal of speed 
> improvement for SSD storage over SATA which is very significant when 
> working on intensive projects that use a lot of resources.
>
> The PC platform is significantly easier to expand if resource needs 
> change. My seven year old system started out with 8 GB of RAM and 
> currently has 32 GB, whilst the swap file performance (virtual memory) 
> has been significantly improved with SATA and M.2 SSD storage (now at 
> 200 GB). The latter provides almost limitless performance capability 
> enhancements to the system at modest cost without having to upgrade 
> the entire system. I use Ubuntu as the operating system for this 
> computer.
>
> On 20/04/22 06:46, Helena Farrell via Qgis-user wrote:
>> Hello, I am seeking input on whether my 7 year old Mac with 8GB RAM 
>> and a 2.7gigahertz processor is likely to perform poorly at running 
>> QGIS. Since these are like the bare minimum in terms of power, and I 
>> assume QGIS is a data-heavy program, I may need to invest in a new 
>> computer. Anyone have advice on RAM and processing speed 
>> specifications  that I should look for and whether a PC be better 
>> than a Mac for running this program?
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
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-- 

=============================================
Zoltan Szecsei GPrGISc 0031
Director, Geograph (Pty) Ltd.
GIS and Photogrammetric Services

Cape Town, South Africa.

Mobile: +27-83-6004028 (Signal, not WhatsApp)
www.geograph.co.za
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