Photoshop and computer specs

**Loathsome** · May 16th, 2011, 10:44 AM

Hey!

I've been experiencing some problems with photoshop cs5. Some of my brushes lags like crazy, especially softer brushes and some texture brushes.

I have a decent computer I'd say but maybe I need an even faster one? I'm thinking of getting a desktop computer (I'm using a laptop at the moment with an extra monitor).

My specs are:

4gb RAM
AMD Athlon(tm) X2 Dual-Core QL-65
Windows 7 64bit
500gb harddrive.. I think
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 Graphiccard size 512 bus width 128 bits

Should I have a faster computer or are these specs fine?

What are the specs you'd say that I should have? Cause I'm going to get a new computer soon enough and I don't need to go overboard cause I don't really play heavy games ever. I just need a computer that can run photoshop smoothly without lag when working on something.

I don't want to get a mac cause I'm comfortable with PC's.

**ikken** · May 16th, 2011, 11:58 AM

how old is your videocard, and what brushes are you talking about, is it wet paint or standard brushes?
also make sure you have enough ram allocated in PS preferences (edit -> preferences -> somewhere, I don't have PS right now, just reinstalled my OS)

**Portus** · May 16th, 2011, 01:54 PM

Any (desktop) i3 and up is more than fine, on AMD 640/955/965 are the only decent CPU's but have really dodgy single-thread performance so old programs run not so great. On my i3 2100 I can have quite complex brushes with no lag up to 150px, more than that and they start to lag if I do really fast brush strokes, simple brushes I can go up to 800-1000px without major lag, capture stamp brushes I can max out Ps limit. What CPU do you have exactly? Download CPU-Z to check your computer specs.

**iMigraine** · May 16th, 2011, 03:47 PM

I think your 4GB of RAM is insufficient, that would be a cheap upgrade.

**Loathsome** · May 17th, 2011, 02:53 PM

So if I'm working on a print-picture that's like 3500 pixels wide and what to soften something with a soft brush, it would lag because the brush is too big? Or because the canvas is too big? Probably both I'd imagine.

Originally Posted by Portus

Any (desktop) i3 and up is more than fine, on AMD 640/955/965 are the only decent CPU's but have really dodgy single-thread performance so old programs run not so great. On my i3 2100 I can have quite complex brushes with no lag up to 150px, more than that and they start to lag if I do really fast brush strokes, simple brushes I can go up to 800-1000px without major lag, capture stamp brushes I can max out Ps limit. What CPU do you have exactly? Download CPU-Z to check your computer specs.

I don't understand all the inumbers thing you mentioned there but I do have a graphiccard that's an AMD Althlon X2 Dual-core QL-65 according to that program you wanted to try. Does that tell you anything?

Originally Posted by ikken

how old is your videocard, and what brushes are you talking about, is it wet paint or standard brushes?
also make sure you have enough ram allocated in PS preferences (edit -> preferences -> somewhere, I don't have PS right now, just reinstalled my OS)

It came with the computer and I bought it 3 years ago I think. So it's not THAT old I suppose. The brushes I use are pretty simple. I have a few particle brushes for texture and 2 soft brushes. the 50%soft brush actually lags more than the 100%. My brushes aren't that super crazy. They are for clouds and quick textures. I'll try the ram thing

Originally Posted by iMigraine

I think your 4GB of RAM is insufficient, that would be a cheap upgrade.

Hm. I'm using a laptop, is it possible to upgrade laptops?
I'm going to get a desktop computer soon enough though.

**Loathsome** · May 17th, 2011, 02:58 PM

updated the specs

**nonameowns** · May 17th, 2011, 03:30 PM

typically more rams the better. however, make sure to check how much are being allocated for photoshop to use. 4gb ram is actually fine. Giant brush would lag on a high resolution document. use smaller size if can. and install CCleaner and defrag your hard drive. Your laptop will be running anew again. Also potential dusts can clog your laptop if any are inside.

**Loathsome** · May 17th, 2011, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by nonameowns

typically more rams the better. however, make sure to check how much are being allocated for photoshop to use. 4gb ram is actually fine. Giant brush would lag on a high resolution document. use smaller size if can. and install CCleaner and defrag your hard drive. Your laptop will be running anew again. Also potential dusts can clog your laptop if any are inside.

Yeah. I do have ccleaner and I run in every now and then. I should open the sucker up and dust off some stuff, I've never done that. Defraging is something I might have to do too.

**Portus** · May 17th, 2011, 05:07 PM

Px is the size of the brush in pixels.

Your laptop is not good for graphic arts, 4GB of RAM is more than enough unless you're working with gigantic files which you are not, the problem is your CPU which is very weak but chances are you have GPU acceleration enabled in the Photoshop preferences, disable it, your graphics card is not powerful enough to be used by Photoshop, you need something with a decent opengl perfomance such as a 8800gt and up or a 4770/5770 and up.

**ikken** · May 19th, 2011, 01:30 AM

or at least make sure your videocard drivers are up to date, it can make quite a vast difference too.

**Arshes Nei** · May 19th, 2011, 08:13 PM

Well one other thing.

If you're not using most of the new features in CS5 and keep it pretty simple, you have to ask if you need the latest version in the first place.

Many people are content with older software and stick with it for years.

**Loathsome** · May 20th, 2011, 03:36 AM

I downgraded to cs3. Is it easier on the computer?
I dunno.

Anyway. So I guess I need a computer with a faster processor. How fast?

Also, isn't the graphiccard more for 3d stuff? I'm not really using that stuff in photoshop.. All I do is paint. Most of my brushes aren't too complicated, really. I have only a few texture brushes. The ones that lags the most are the dusty/particle brushes I have and the soft brushes. Does that lag have to do with the graphicscard? Sounds a it weird to me.. but I guess it has an impact on the performance?

Maybe I should just get a mac.. lol

**Jason Ross** · May 24th, 2011, 12:30 AM

If you have a 64 bit os then you need 6+ gigs to make it worthwhile. 32 bit os can only access 4 gigs (3.5 usable). 64 bit os can utilize 6- whatever gigs of ram.

**modi123** · May 25th, 2011, 12:22 AM

The issue is you are on a laptop. To get the constant performance it is throttling your cpu around. What do you have? An Acer Aspire?

On the plus side your video card is separate and not partitioned out of your RAM.

If your OS is Vista try turning *on* Aero. It seems to jive better.

There's also a bug in CS2 or CS3 that if you have the rulers on it slows things down. Turn them off and see what happens.

You're on CS4, right?

Downgrading to CS3 won't really help. Also make sure your video drivers are up to date..