Processor speed and at least a gig of ddr memenory i would sugest, video cards are genreally 3D based.
Not entirely true. I am currently researching the same question. I have been unable to find any resource that can recommend a system configuration for Photoshop. Individually I have heard people say that the best increases come from the hard drives, the amount of RAM, the processor, and the graphics card. If anyone has some real expertise on this subject, or access to some real expertise, your help would be greatly appreciated. Maybe someone can answer these specific questions:
1. What is the Ultimate configuration for running photoshop on HUGE image files (over 400mb)Can you recommend specific brands, or features of the motherboard, processor, memory, Hard drive and video card?
2. If you had to compromise on one or more parts of this "ultimate system", where would you start to compromise? What choices would you make?
– would you prefer a P4 3.0 ghz with an 800mhx FSB and a cheap video card? Or would it be better to go with a P4 2.0 ghz and hhigh-end video card.
….etc.
Also, can anyone tell me if a high-end consumer video card ( like ATI’s Radeon 9800 Pro is going to provide better or worse performance than a low end Workstation card, like the Matrox Parhelia? The manufacturers never mention Photoshop, they focus on Gamers, CAD designers ( both 3d), and what they call 2d – which, I gather from their literature, is focused on running multiple monitors for business and financial apps.
One would think that Adobe could make some recommendations, but I can’t seem to find any. Do they have any kind of certification for hardware manufacturers? Do they recommend any specific hardware configurations for Photoshop, do they get specific about minimum configurations for working with files larger than X mb in size?
I stick by what i say, due to experience with diferent systems, page file issues can be adreesed for fine tuning.
2. If you had to compromise on one or more parts of this "ultimate system",
where would you start to compromise? What choices would you make?
the video card. the 3d functions have nothing to do with what photoshop does. if you ‘re not going to be playing games, you can save money and get a relatively inexpensive card that does 2d and color management well. Matrox cards are highly recommended here.
Hard disks, not so much, although a raid 0 serail ata setup would speed thing up some, but – as TDO says – the biggest bang for the buck is memory and more memory on top of a good, fairly recent processor(s).
Thanks Dave and Dark Overlord,
I am currently using an AMD Athlon (1.4 ghz)and have 1 gig of RAM and an older nvidia GeForce MX440, and a second card, an older ATI, driving a second monitor.
I am leaning toward a Millenium P750, and a P4 2.8 with 2 gig of RAM on an ASUS P4P800 Deluxe motherboard. The motherboard has an 800 mhz front side bus, RAID and Firewire capability – which will let me upgrade to faster hard drives later.
Should I just skip the graphics card and save the $212? I already have dual displays, and just want more rendering power for photoshop.
save the $212 and invest in more hard drive space! I have a Matrox 550 and it works just swell for Pshop and other Adobe products!
save the $212 and invest in more hard drive space!
or ram… 🙂
Speaking of video cards, is anyone out there using the Matrox P650? It’s a cheaper version of the Parhelia, without all the 3D gaming bells and whistles, apparently. I’m thinking of upgrading my Matrox G450, but haven’t been able to find reviews of the P650, except on the Matrox site.
Thanks for the link, WH. Much appreciated.
I’m using the P650 along with a Sony Artisan and a cheapy second monitor. I don’t know if it’s the monitor, video card, or something else, but I can’t quite get a solid black across the entire Sony monitor. There’s a bit of vertical 2-inch wide banding, the bands going from (0,0,0) to (4,4,4). It’s not noticeable on any real world image, just when the whole window is set to total black. The P650 has only a heat sink and will be quieter than the P750, which has a fan. The Matrox cards have a 10 Gigabit color setting, if you think that’ll add to your viewing precision.
Quale, thanks, you’re the first person I’ve found that’s actually using the P650 with PS. I’d hate to think it’s your Artisan causing the problem, given its price.
I’m not familiar with the "10 Gigabit color setting" spec. Can you tell me more about what that actually relates to?
Nick
I’d also like to hear more about the 10 bigabit color. Rumor has it that it only works in a seperate window with photoshop, and that you need a truly great monior (like the Artisan) to take advantage of it. Another question for you, Quale- what did you have before the P650, and did you notice significant gains in photoshop rendering speed on large files, and overall image quality – even on your cheapy second monitor?
Just a note: Thanks for the input, everyone, and thanks tomola for starting this thread. It’s terrific to finally get good technology information from photoshop professionals seeking productivity gains, and not hype from gamers who don’t seem to understand that 1.)there is a real world outside the magic interactive idiot box and 2.) it’s on a deadline.
You’ve probably read Matrox product information on 1 billion color feature at <
http://www.matrox.com/mga/products/parhelia512/technology/gi gacolor.cfm>. With the images I use in PS or the DVDs I watch, I’m unable to discern if there’s an improvement with this GigaColor option turned on compared to the standard 16.7 million colors.
The max refresh rate with my dual monitor setup is 85Hz. Other discussions in this forum talk up the benefits of dual monitors, and I’ve found they are right. Many cards nowadays have two monitor capability <
http://www4.tomshardware.com/graphic/20040216/index.html>.
I have used only the P650 card in my PC. The drivers and s/w loaded without problems. I spoke up here, partly because I was curious about the banding problem, noted above, on the larger monitor.
Quale, have you tried just switching the two monitors?
Nick, yes, I’ve tried that with no improvement. The next test will be to swap the card for something else.
OK, if you manage to isolate the problem to the card, please let us know. I think the G550 would probably fit my needs, but I’d spend the extra for the P650, if only to get the extra video RAM.
Nick
Quale,
Maybe it’s not a fix for your problem, but I had a similar thing with my Sony G400 which was cured when I calibrated the monitor with OptiCal & Spyder. The monitor had drifted with age I guess….
Fred.
