Most important component for processing photos.
- Thread starter Andy Ang
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Processor speed (FSB too) and Ram.. The ram becomes more imposrtant as you work with bigger or more files. My PS takes up 600+mb of ram if its under heavy usage..
You people don't digress from OP's simple technical question lah! Considering that processor speed are so fast nowadays, even for an entry level system offering around 2000~3000Mhz, I will say that the actual bottleneck is RAM capacity. I will recommend minimum 1GB for RAW + postprocessing of large MP files and 2GB recommended for speed.
I think monitor is the most important. A $50 graphics card will more than suffice in giving excellent colour.
Given the difference between a edited image ...
1) with bad colours and contrast done in 10seconds
2) with great colours and contrast done in 20seconds
I'll gladly sacrifice the extra 10seconds 100% of the time.
Given the difference between a edited image ...
1) with bad colours and contrast done in 10seconds
2) with great colours and contrast done in 20seconds
I'll gladly sacrifice the extra 10seconds 100% of the time.
Cheesecake
Senior Member
personally, a calibrated monitor is the most important. i can put up with slower speed and processing powers but not mis-aligned colours!!!:sweat:
lsisaxon said:
Not true... certain photoshop functions will not be exectued without sufficient RAM. I supposed you've never had a "Photoshop can't complete the request because the system has insufficient RAM" warning"
Its not simply just waiting time.
The most critical component is the PC operator actually :devil:
With that said there is no single critical physical PC component, although there are several critical components (plural).
1) Monitor - In conjunction with the graphics card this is the part of the most critical component chain for good graphics display. A quality CRT is required with high levels of contrast, small onscreen pixel size and a flat low reflectivity screen. It is also highly desirable to have individual RGB control and adjustable white point temperatures. LCD monitors don't work well due to low contrast ratios and limited bit depth (16 bit typical).
CRT monitors need to be replaced every few years as they fade and their illumination levels drop.
2) Graphics card. 3D performance is not critical, what is critical is 2D colour accuracy and having a high refresh rate and a 32 bit or higher bit depth per pixel.
3) RAM - The more the merrier if working with PhotoShop. 2 Gig is a good starting point and if you are using a 3rd party RAW/NEF converter such as Nikon Capture or Bibble add an extra Gig for it and at least 512mb for the OS. This means 4 Gigs of RAM is a good starting point.
4) FAST Hard Disk for working space. - There's nothing worse than being bogged down waiting for large files to open and close in a graphics editor. If you can afford it then implemnt a 2 drive RAID 0 array using either SATA-2 drives or Ultra SCSI 320 Drives for your working hard disk array. The choice of drives is also quite critical so do your homework in this area.
5) CPU Selection. Really now a simple question of AMD Vs Intel as Apple have finally realised the error of their ways and gone to Intel CPU's :devil: Dual processors (Intel D series, AMD X series) really kick butt when using PhotoShop.
The bottom line:
Building a quality graphics editing computer is a holistic process, there are a number of critical components and their impact on the whole performance is sufficiently critical that they cannot be singled out and treated as the single most important component. Items that are less important, motherboard, PSU, Case and so on.
With that said there is no single critical physical PC component, although there are several critical components (plural).
1) Monitor - In conjunction with the graphics card this is the part of the most critical component chain for good graphics display. A quality CRT is required with high levels of contrast, small onscreen pixel size and a flat low reflectivity screen. It is also highly desirable to have individual RGB control and adjustable white point temperatures. LCD monitors don't work well due to low contrast ratios and limited bit depth (16 bit typical).
CRT monitors need to be replaced every few years as they fade and their illumination levels drop.
2) Graphics card. 3D performance is not critical, what is critical is 2D colour accuracy and having a high refresh rate and a 32 bit or higher bit depth per pixel.
3) RAM - The more the merrier if working with PhotoShop. 2 Gig is a good starting point and if you are using a 3rd party RAW/NEF converter such as Nikon Capture or Bibble add an extra Gig for it and at least 512mb for the OS. This means 4 Gigs of RAM is a good starting point.
4) FAST Hard Disk for working space. - There's nothing worse than being bogged down waiting for large files to open and close in a graphics editor. If you can afford it then implemnt a 2 drive RAID 0 array using either SATA-2 drives or Ultra SCSI 320 Drives for your working hard disk array. The choice of drives is also quite critical so do your homework in this area.
5) CPU Selection. Really now a simple question of AMD Vs Intel as Apple have finally realised the error of their ways and gone to Intel CPU's :devil: Dual processors (Intel D series, AMD X series) really kick butt when using PhotoShop.
The bottom line:
Building a quality graphics editing computer is a holistic process, there are a number of critical components and their impact on the whole performance is sufficiently critical that they cannot be singled out and treated as the single most important component. Items that are less important, motherboard, PSU, Case and so on.
yup, like I said operator is critical... 
but aren't LCD screens 16bit in each colour channel...those that are 16 bit that is...most I think are 12 bit...
one thing about the Mactels at the moment...the pioneers of 64bit processing seem to have chosen a 32bit processor for the new machines, and won't/can't introduce a 64bit "G6" until end of this year, when Intel's Merom processors come out...which brings to mind the question of program optimization (different, faster? Mac OS and other Mac programs?) and the eventual shift to 64bit by PS...not a prob for the short term I guess...
but aren't LCD screens 16bit in each colour channel...those that are 16 bit that is...most I think are 12 bit...
one thing about the Mactels at the moment...the pioneers of 64bit processing seem to have chosen a 32bit processor for the new machines, and won't/can't introduce a 64bit "G6" until end of this year, when Intel's Merom processors come out...which brings to mind the question of program optimization (different, faster? Mac OS and other Mac programs?) and the eventual shift to 64bit by PS...not a prob for the short term I guess...
Enlarger.......... Neg .......... Paper.........
Toning..........Drying........ Mounting.............
KNIGHT ONG said:
Toning..........Drying........ Mounting.............
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