Operating System
When selecting a computer, the first step is to select the operating system. There are two main operating systems to use:- Mac OS ®
- Microsoft ® Windows ®
- Which operating system am I most comfortable with?
- Is there any software I need to use that's only available in a specific operating system? (ex. Apple Aperture)
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64-bit
64-bit computing allows Photoshop to use approximately 3.5 GB of RAM. If you will be using more than 2GB of RAM, make sure that you use a 64-bit operating system such as Mac OS X, Windows XP 64-bit Edition, or Windows Vista 64-bit Edition. Generally, we recommend investing in 64-bit hardware and software to adapt to the new generation of computers.RAM\Memory
RAM (Random Access Memory) is a major factor in determining the speed of Photoshop. For the current generation of computers, we recommend a minimum of 1 GB of RAM. Keep in mind that your operating system and other running software will also be using your RAM. RAM is relatively cheap and is generally the best performance gaining hardware for your money.Capacity
How much ram do you really need? This depends on your usage. If you're working on large files with many layers, you'll need to get more RAM. However, if you're using Photoshop just for simple task such as resizing photos and correcting color and you don't have a lot of programs running in the background, 1 GB of RAM should be enough. Here's a method to determine how much RAM is required:- Run Photoshop and open a typical file you usually edit. For example, if you edit high resolution digital images a lot, open a high resolution photo.
- Make sure that your document isn't maximized. You can ensure that it isn't by choosing Window> Arrange> Cascade.
- On the bottom of the window, locate the ► arrow. Click on the ► arrow and choose Show> Efficiency. The status bar beside the ► button shows the efficiency. If your computer has enough resource to display the image, the efficiency should be 100%. Anything lower means that more RAM may be beneficial.
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- Try opening several of your typical Photoshop files. If it stays at 100%, it means that your current system has enough RAM. Use this to judge how much RAM you'll need for your next computer. For example, when I ran the test, I opened 7 high resolution photos and my efficiency dropped to 72%. Because my current system has 1 GB of RAM and the efficiency was at around 72%, I can conclude that 2 GB of RAM is a safe amount of RAM to get on my next computer.
High Speed RAM
There are many types of RAM available; some reaching speeds of 1111 MHz such as the Corsair XMS2 Dominator PC2-8888. It's disappointing to say that using 1111 MHz RAM is not much different than using a 667 MHz RAM on a current-generation computer. The speed RAM can operate depends on what your entire system supports. This means that you should only purchase the fastest RAM your computer will be able to use. Unless you have extensive knowledge with computer hardware and plan on overclocking your computer, there's no reason to purchase in top of the line RAM.ECC (Error Correction Code)
Some types of RAM you may bump into will have the acronym ECC on its name. This simply means that the RAM will automatically detect and correct errors that may arise during the data transmission. ECC RAM is slower and much more expensive than normal RAM and isn't necessary for Adobe Photoshop. They're meant for critical tasks so we don't recommend using ECC RAM.Processor\CPU (Central Processing Unit)
The next most important component to building a Photoshop computer is the processor, also known as the CPU. The processor processes all the calculations and instructions required to run tasks such as a filter. Many Photoshop filters are processor intensive and their speed depends on the CPU.Speed
As new and faster processors emerge, software will adapt to take advantage of the faster processor speeds. The fastest processor usually cost around two to three times more than the average processor and slower processors aren't that much cheaper. When choosing a processor, choose one that's the best bang for the buck or one that fits within your budget.64-bit
If you'll be using more than 2 GB of RAM, you should be using a 64-bit processor. Adobe Photoshop will only be able to recognize up to 3.5 GB of RAM on a 64-bit computer. The current generation of processors is all 64-bit and there's little reason to stay with 32-bit processors. Although most applications are 32-bit, support for 64-bit is growing and new 64-bit computers will be able to take advantage of the larger 64-bit address space. Only Photoshop CS2 and future versions of Photoshop support 64-bit.Some recommended desktop 64-bit processors are:
- Intel Core 2 Duo
- AMD Athlon 64
Multi-core
Most new processors are dual core meaning that there are two processors in one chip. This allows improvements in multitasking. Photoshop 4.0 and above supports dual processor configuration and will benefit from a dual-core processor.{mostip}Update: Quad core processors are now available and benchmarks show that Photoshop does support quad core processors and benefit from them. Currently, quad-core processors are expensive so we don't recommend getting them unless everything else in your computer is the top of the line. While they may perform faster in Photoshop, keep in mind that not all software support quad core processors and those software will not use all four processors.{/mostip}
AMD vs Intel
{mosimage} All current generation of Macs use Intel processors. For users building a Windows computer, you have the expanded choices of both AMD and Intel processors. Currently, we recommend using an Intel Core 2 Duo processor over the AMD processor. Intel Core 2 Duo processors provide more bang for buck compared to AMD processors. For example, the Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 is cheaper and faster than the AMD FX-62. However, if you're looking to build a budget computer, nothing beats the price of a low end AMD Sempron CPU.Hard Drives
{mosimage} Hard drives are the main storage device for computers. The time it takes to load and save a file greatly depends on the hard drives speed. Hard drives are especially important for Photoshop. If your typical Photoshop and image files are small, one hard drive is enough. However, if your files are large, there are several configurations that may help optimize your computer for Photoshop:- Install a separate hard drive for usage as a scratch disk. When your computer runs out of RAM, temporary files are stored on a scratch disk which also makes Photoshop slower.
- Use a RAID 0 configuration. This setup uses two hard drives as one and requires two hard drives and a RAID controller. By using two hard drives, the performance of the drives is greatly increased. However, keep in mind that if even one out of the two hard drives fails, you may lose all your data on that drive. Therefore, we only recommend using RAID 0 as a scratch disk or for usage as the main system drive (without any important documents). There are also other configurations such as RAID 5 that uses at least one hard drive to backup the files. This ensures that if one of the drives fail, there will be a backup to recover from.
Video Card
The video card is perhaps the least influential component for Photoshop. Most new video cards are already capable of displaying accurate 32-bit color, high screen resolution, and fast response rate. When choosing a video card, there are several features you should consider:- DVI or VGA compatibility. Does your monitor use DVI or VGA cables? Pick a video card that will support the type of connection your monitor uses.
- Multi-monitor support. Will you be using more than one monitor? If yes, then ensure that your video card supports dual monitor output. If you have more than two monitors, you may need to purchase more than one video card. Some video cards support more than two monitors but those are can be costly and it would be economical to simply purchase a second video card.
- 3D graphics. Will you be playing 3D games or using 3D applications on this computer? Make sure the video card works with all your programs and not just Photoshop.
Photoshop Setup
To take advantage of Photoshop CS2 with a fast 64-bit computer, there are several things that need to be setup.Enable access to 2+ GB RAM
If your computer is running a Windows and has more than 2 GB of RAM, you may need to modify the boot.ini file to set the 3 GB switch. For more information on this, please visit the Microsoft® support website and search "3gb".Scratch Disk
If your computer has a separate internal hard drive dedicated as a scratch disk, make sure that it is set as your primary scratch disk.- Inside Photoshop, choose Edit> Preferences> Plug-Ins & Scratch Disks.
- Change the primary scratch disk to the hard drive you've setup as our dedicated scratch drive.
- Set the second, third, and/or forth scratch disk as your other drives. Keep the fastest and least used hard drives first and the slowest last.
Image Cache
When redrawing a high-resolution image, Photoshop can use a low-resolution version of the image to update the image on-screen so that we're able to continue working faster. To enable this:- Inside Photoshop, choose Edit> Preferences> Image Cache.
- Set the Cache Levels to the amount that fits your computer specifications. The default setting is 4. More levels make editing high resolution images faster but also make it slower to open the file.
- Restart Photoshop.
Bigger Tiles Plug-In
The Bigger Tiles plug-in allows Photoshop to process image data in larger chunks to reduce overall time and increase responsiveness. This plug-in is recommended only for computers with more than 1 GB of RAM.- Browse to the folder Adobe Photoshop CS2\Plug-Ins\Adobe Photoshop Only\Extensions\Bigger Tiles folder. On a typical Windows computer setup, this folder is usually found c:\Program Files\Adobe\Plug-Ins\Adobe Photoshop Only\Extensions\Bigger Tiles.
- Remove the ~ from the beginning of filename of ~Bigger Tiles.8BX. The file name should now be "Bigger Tiles.8BX" instead of "~Bigger Tiles.8BX".
- If Photoshop is opened, restart Photoshop.
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