Photoshop on a Mac Pro vs PC?
Discussion
I'm thinking of upgrading to a Mac Pro, as under XP, PS can only use 2GB of RAM, which just isn't enough and I'm fed up with it grinding to a halt and falling over every so often.
Firstly, will I regret the move in any way? I suspect not, but don't really know much about Macs, so don't know what their downsides are.
Does anyone here run PS with big psd files (500+MB) on a Mac Pro, and how does it fare? The one I'm looking to get has two dual-core Xeon 3GHz CPUS, and 5GB of RAM.
Also, is there anything I need to look out for when moving from PC to Mac? I think that Adobe will swap my PS licence over so that hopefully won't be an issue, but I'm going to need a new RAW converter as RawShooter doesn't work on the Mac - any recommendations?
TIA!
Firstly, will I regret the move in any way? I suspect not, but don't really know much about Macs, so don't know what their downsides are.
Does anyone here run PS with big psd files (500+MB) on a Mac Pro, and how does it fare? The one I'm looking to get has two dual-core Xeon 3GHz CPUS, and 5GB of RAM.
Also, is there anything I need to look out for when moving from PC to Mac? I think that Adobe will swap my PS licence over so that hopefully won't be an issue, but I'm going to need a new RAW converter as RawShooter doesn't work on the Mac - any recommendations?
TIA!
PS2 isn't yet native to the Intel chip in the Pro, and so will run on the Pro under Rosetta (see: www.apple.com/uk/rosetta/ ).
As a result, PS2 is hardly faster on the Pro than it was on the G5 Power Mac (despite the Pro offering at least 50% more power), but is also hardly slower which is quite an achievement.
PS3 is to be released in the next few months, and all indications are that it will fly on the Pro!
I don't know my arse from my elbow when it comes to PS, but from what I've read the speed of PS2 is dependant more on the scratch disk than RAM (once you get above 4GB RAM). Many also recommend the HD's be made into SATA drives.
Therefore, I would recommend the following configuration:
Mac Pro 2.66 - the 3GHz offers only an 8% increase in performance for a lot more than an 8% increase in cost
4GB RAM - this will suffice for now, until the RAM comes down in price. Buy more later.
250GB HD - you can add a few more drives, possibly one being a 70GB 10,000rpm scratch disk?
Radeon X1900 card - offers the best bang for buck and is a 'must' if you're to use Aperture, which you should...
APPLECARE - I've just had my G5 go wrong, and it's out of warranty - big £££
Usually people will recommend you source your RAM away from Apple as theirs is extortionately expensive, but the Mac Pro's RAM is a new type, and other manufacturers are having heat problems with their offerings. Right now, Apple are the only choice IMO.
Quite the contrary on the HD - I'd source your HD's away from Apple as you can find them for a lot cheaper.
Hope this helps! I'm loving my Mac Pro by the way 
As a result, PS2 is hardly faster on the Pro than it was on the G5 Power Mac (despite the Pro offering at least 50% more power), but is also hardly slower which is quite an achievement.
PS3 is to be released in the next few months, and all indications are that it will fly on the Pro!
I don't know my arse from my elbow when it comes to PS, but from what I've read the speed of PS2 is dependant more on the scratch disk than RAM (once you get above 4GB RAM). Many also recommend the HD's be made into SATA drives.
Therefore, I would recommend the following configuration:
Mac Pro 2.66 - the 3GHz offers only an 8% increase in performance for a lot more than an 8% increase in cost
4GB RAM - this will suffice for now, until the RAM comes down in price. Buy more later.
250GB HD - you can add a few more drives, possibly one being a 70GB 10,000rpm scratch disk?
Radeon X1900 card - offers the best bang for buck and is a 'must' if you're to use Aperture, which you should...
APPLECARE - I've just had my G5 go wrong, and it's out of warranty - big £££
Usually people will recommend you source your RAM away from Apple as theirs is extortionately expensive, but the Mac Pro's RAM is a new type, and other manufacturers are having heat problems with their offerings. Right now, Apple are the only choice IMO.
Quite the contrary on the HD - I'd source your HD's away from Apple as you can find them for a lot cheaper.
Hope this helps!
I'm loving my Mac Pro by the way Edited by Andy M on Thursday 9th November 10:48
ehasler said:
Ooh - didn't know about PS3 - will keep my eyes open for that.
I've actually been offered a good deal on a 2nd hand Mac Pro with the above spec, but I'm intending to add in a couple of Raptor HDDs once I get it.
I've actually been offered a good deal on a 2nd hand Mac Pro with the above spec, but I'm intending to add in a couple of Raptor HDDs once I get it.
It can't be too 'second' hand - they've only recently been released
I say go for it. OS X is hugely superior to XP, and even if you get cold feet you can run XP on the Pro as well
dcw@pr said:
AFAIK PS CS2 and earlier can only use a maximum of 2GB of RAM, no matter how much your system has installed, and no matter what OS you are running. I *think* this is being changed for CS3, but I wouldn't swear on it
Are you sure? I've read that on the Mac, PS CS2 can use up to 4GB.
matthew_h said:
Please excuse my ignorance but what are these scratch discs you speak of?
Basically it uses a hard disk as virtual memory.
Adobe says - www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/320005.html
I've got 2x 250GB drives and a 300GB drive, so allocating some space for scratch disks, not on the primary volume (the one Windows works from) can speed things up.
Edited by Podie on Thursday 9th November 14:14
ehasler said:
dcw@pr said:
AFAIK PS CS2 and earlier can only use a maximum of 2GB of RAM, no matter how much your system has installed, and no matter what OS you are running. I *think* this is being changed for CS3, but I wouldn't swear on it
Are you sure? I've read that on the Mac, PS CS2 can use up to 4GB.http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:www.macworld.com/2005/04/features/
maybe you're right - I only use CS anyway so what would I know!
wildeep said:
I run CS2 on my Mac Pro which has 2GB of RAM and its perfectly fine, in fact running some benchmark filter tests it produced some awesome results. Only time it slows down is when you have too many rosetta apps open, for example illustrator as well.
I have 2GB in mine and it's excellently fast
My Dual 2.5 G5 was no slouch, but this is another level. Go for it Ed!!
p.s. I'm pretty sure CS2 can use 4GB.
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