Lightroom: Kind Of

A vacuum cleaner is something that uses a fan to push air out to create some vacuum to suck up dust and dirt. So what's that got to do with Lightroom? You see, Lightroom is a software that runs on a computer.

Most computers have many fans, my workstation has five fans. Four of the fans pull air out and the fifth fan push air in. To allow for the air flow, there are many slots in the front, one on the side and many more holes at the back of my computer.

In December 2011, I needed to replace my video card, so I bought a replacement video card, shut down the computer, unplugged all the cables and opened it, there's only one screw to remove and… Horror! The slots at the bottom of my computer/workstation were completely plugged with dust bunnies.

I took the vacuum cleaner hose and vacuumed all the dust, making sure that I didn't touch anything with the hose.

The computer runs cooler, the CPU runs 4° less at 47° instead of 51° at a 50% load. The video card now runs at 39° instead of 54° (it's a new video card, so it can't be compared) but it generates less heat. Heat and dust are the enemies of all the electronic components.

Will Lightroom run faster? Not really. But think of it, you are using less electricity, not that much (do I hear global warming?), your computer will last longer before breaking down. Most of the fans, including the CPU's fan, are temperature controlled. The warmer it is, the faster they spin. Also think about the marketing spin:

Green photography, we use 7.24% less electricity

Why 7.24? I just made it up, but it sounds impressive. Isn't it what the big companies do with “Green” and “Healthy”?

  • In the “good old days”, computers needed an air conditioned room with an elevated floor.
  • If you don't feel too confident in doing it yourself, find any high school geek, he will clean and vacuum your computer for $20 or less, it's only 5 minutes. For another 5 minutes, he can clean the grim from your keyboard with some Windex and a clean lint-free rag.