Mac OS X handles memory differently than Win XP, however, that said, there are plenty of people working in Photoshop using 1gig or less of memory. The key is in knowing how to set up the memory, allocating the proper amount to Photoshop and making sure the OS and Photoshop features have enough memory to function properly. For example, numerous filters that are used within Photoshop actually use system memory, not memory allocated to Photoshop. One of the problems is that many users who have a lot of memory (2gb or even more) think that they can get PS to work better by using a greater percentage of that memory for PS, but, unfortunately, the way PS uses memory in Windows, that's not always the best route. Many experts suggest running PS with but 50% or 55% of available memory, allowing plenty of the OS, filters, and other PS features.
What the PS user has to do is learn where the "sweet spot" is for his or her system, and that can change depending on the files that are being worked upon, filters and tools used, the number of history states retained, the amount of cache used, and so forth. It's also important to consider what programs and processes are running in the background. If you're running your system with a relatively low amount of memory, say 512mb, this can be crucial. It's suggested that all non-critical programs or processes be turned off. Use the Task panel to see what's running in the background and be guided accordingly. In addition, PS makes heavy use of the scratch disk, and it's sometimes critical, but always important, to have the scratch space set up properly. It's also important to have the Windows Paging File properly configured so that it doesn't conflict with Photoshops use of the scratch space. Photoshop is a program that can put great demands on system resources, so it's helpful to have the program and the Windows environment properly configured. Here's but one resource that provides info about setting up your system for PS: http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/318243.html Shel > [Original Message] > From: Godfrey DiGiorgi > On Aug 30, 2005, at 1:51 AM, Toralf Lund wrote: > > > ... I haven't used PS much, but when people here and other places > > talk about how you need gigabytes of memory to work with images as > > *small* as the ones a digital camera generates... > > I've had no problem working with large files (up to a couple hundred > Mbytes) using Photoshop on a Mac OS X system fitted with 512M of RAM. > it's simply a lot faster/more productive used with more RAM and a > fast hard drive. > > I've not seen as much of a benefit from going greater than 1G vs > buying a faster hard drive. Or using a system with a faster > processor, for that matter.
