On Thu, 9 Jul 2009 11:26:24 -0700, Mike Russell
wrote:
On Wed, 8 Jul 2009 14:54:23 -0400, S. Fishpaste wrote:
But how much graphics card memory is "enough?" I shoot Nikon NEFs that are about 25 MB in size before RAW conversion, and do the "usual" edits.
Things are changing, for example with the new 3D features in CS extended. On the whole, though, Photoshop is still a 2D application. For Photoshop,
True enough, but on their website Adobe talks about how certain Photoshop CS 4 functions will be executed on a suitably equipped graphics card, rather than main memory.
So my question may be rephrased a bit:
"Even though Photoshop CS 4 is still mainly a 2D application, how important is it to have xxxMB of graphics memory or a fast GPU, to get the best possible performance in P’shop? I shoot Nikon NEFs that are about 25 MB before RAW conversion."
I would add two additional questions:
How important is PCI-e lane speed?
Is there any benefit for P’Shop for multiple graphics cards? (I am not a gamer so P’Shop would be only reason to get more than one graphics card.
—————————————————
Here is info various sources on the Adobe web site:
From:
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/404/kb404898.html GPU Accelerated Features in Photoshop CS4 and Bridge CS4
Below is a list of the Photoshop CS4 and Bridge CS4 features that are accelerated by a GPU. To read more about these features, see "GPU accelerated features in Photoshop and Bridge CS4" (TechNote kb405745).
OpenGL/GPU features in Adobe Photoshop CS4 are:
* Smooth Display at ALL Zoom Levels
* Animated Zoom Tool
* Animated Transitions when doing a One Stop Zoom
* Hand Toss Image
* Birdseye View
* Rotate Canvas
* Smooth Display of Non Square Pixel Images
* Pixel Grid
* Move Color Matching to the GPU
* Draw Brush Tip Editing Feedback via GPU
* 3D GPU features include:
o 3D Acceleration
o 3D Axis
o 3D Lights Widget
o Accelerated 3D Interaction via Direct To Screen
GPU features in Bridge CS4 are:
* Preview Panel
* Full-screen preview
* Slideshow
* Review Mode
From a web page on CS 4 Master Collection system requirements:
# 1,280×900 display with OpenGL 2.0compatible graphics card # Some GPU-accelerated features require graphics support for Shader Model 3.0
From a John Nack blog posting about improvements in CS 4 for Photoshop:
GPU acceleration: No more jagged pixels at various zoom levels. Instead, what you see is what you get at any zoom ratio, from .07% all the way up to 3200% (and everywhere in between). This gives us previews of cloned/healed data clipped to the brush and faster performance from the color management engine, HDR preview adjustments, and much more!
going out to the swap disk is probably the biggest performance hit of all. It’s better to put your money into main memory than into a better video card. Up to 4 GB for a 32 bit system, 8GB or more for 64 bit CS4.
