Need video card advice

LD
Posted By
Lorie_Davison
Oct 15, 2008
Views
459
Replies
11
Status
Closed
I have a Dell Dimension 4600i with the stock Intel(R) 82865G Graphics Controller, and 4 gig of ram. I use Photoshop CS3 for my digital scrapbook business, working with image files that are often almost a gig. Besides tweeking PS and XP to get the fastest performance I’m thinking I probably need a beefier video card. I’ve read decent reviews for the GeForce 7600GT and other video cards but these are aimed at gamers. The sales rep at Dell seemed to think that their top video card wouldn’t be that much better for Photoshop work.

Are there video cards out there that would speed up PS? Is it a waste of money getting a card designed for gamers?
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How to Improve Photoshop Performance

Learn how to optimize Photoshop for maximum speed, troubleshoot common issues, and keep your projects organized so that you can work faster than ever before!

DE
Dave_Evanson
Oct 15, 2008
Photoshop CS4 will make more use of the advanced capabilities of the graphics card, so there could be an advantage in upgrading the graphics card in the future.
JJ
John Joslin
Oct 15, 2008
If you want to take advantage of the new features in CS4 you need at least 256MB VRAM and some GPU-accelerated features require graphics support for Shader Model 3.0 and OpenGL 2.0.
C
Curvemeister
Oct 15, 2008
Photoshop is not a video intensive program, compared to games. For large images the bottleneck is generally memory. So throw memory at the problem. If your version of windows supports it, use the /3GB switch in your boot.ini (documentation at microsoft.com). Even so, a 1 gig image is pushing it. Longer term, move to CS4 and a 64 bit processor and OS.
LD
Lorie_Davison
Oct 15, 2008
The 3GB switch is only available in Windows XP Professional and Windows Server 2003. So I guess right now I’m going about as fast as I can. Dang.
DM
dave_milbut
Oct 15, 2008
I would be leery about buying an nvidia card right now…

Nvidia Chip Problems Might Be Warning for Everyone
< http://industry.bnet.com/technology/1000386/nvidia-chip-prob lems-might-be-warning-for-everyone/>

We are hearing of early failure rates in the teens per cent for 8800GTs and far higher for 9600GTs, so this is not a quibble over split hairs.

google news search for "nvidia flaw":
< http://news.google.com/news?source=ig&hl=en&um=1&amp ;tab=wn&nolr=1&q=nvidia+flaw&btnG=Search+News>

it’s not apparent yet if these are the only chipsets affected. if you had to go with a new card now, i’d go ati. i like nvidia and i’ve switched to them after being an ati supporter for years, but right now i wouldn’t buy an nvidia card.

(currently running an older 7600gtx with no problems)
M
Mylenium
Oct 15, 2008
Dave, please don’t leave out the important part: NVidia has long moved on to different manufacture processes. These problems were well-known internally and rectified, it seems. Only over those shareholder inquiries the truth surfaced to the public because they had to report it and everyone went crazy over it. So in all fairness: This may not be a problem at all and even if you are one of the unlucky ones: NVidia have promised free service and even replacements to everyone affected.

Mylenium
DM
dave_milbut
Oct 15, 2008
were well-known internally and rectified

have they been? i’m still hearing tales of companies coming out and saying they have problems. hp and apple very recently.

NVidia have promised free service and even replacements to everyone affected.

that’s good to know. do you know if the failures affect other system components? (overheating, shorts and the like?) if so, then i’d still be leery. they’d be likely to only cover replacing a defective card. not much good if your system is toast.

like i said, i like nvidia’s cards and i’m running a good one, but right now, i’d think twice about buying another until the dust settled. if i had to have a new card today, it’d be an ati card.

just my opinion.
DM
dave_milbut
Oct 15, 2008
robert, were you a beta tester? (assuming you can tell us without violating an nda or something).
SG
steve_guilhamet
Oct 16, 2008
Hi Lorie,

Here’s a link for more info on video cards specific to CS4.

<http://www.adobe.com/go/kb404898>

Getting a new card won’t buy you any speed ups for CS3. And as mentioned before, you should consider Vista64 with lots o’ RAM, and PsCS4, if regularly working with files over 500-700MB.
TD
Tad Davis
Oct 16, 2008
I have an NVidia 8800GTS (640MB) and just installed CS4. I also just installed the updated driver (Ocober 15, 2008) from NVidia.

CS4 *screams* with the hardware acceleration.

Tad
RB
Robert_Barnett
Oct 16, 2008
Photoshop CS4 will show great gains in some areas with a good video card. Some of the things Adobe has been able to do using the video cards GPU is incredible and makes for a much speedier experience. While traditionally video cards have been more for games and to a lesser extend video editing (with certain cards) that is changing and CS4 shows that.

Robert

How to Improve Photoshop Performance

Learn how to optimize Photoshop for maximum speed, troubleshoot common issues, and keep your projects organized so that you can work faster than ever before!

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