Photoshop Workstation

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bustaplz

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 26, 2007
Messages
130
A little explanation:

I'm likely going away from home for an extended period(not to prison and I'm not going to explain). My little sister(15) is way into creating art, both digital and those old ways. Right now she is using a machine with the specs following for gaming(another one of her passions), Photoshop and a myriad of other design programs:

i7-930@4GHz
Gigabyte GA-X58-UD3R
6GB GSKILL DDR3-1600
HIS Radeon HD5870

It's my previous rig and seems to be doing quite well for her, but since I'll be leaving and taking my current rig just isn't all that practical, I'm thinking of leaving it for her. Specs:

[email protected]
GA-P67A-UD4-B3
2x4GB G.SKILL DDR1600
Radeon HD6990
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD
500GB Seagate Barracuda
1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3
Corsair H70
Silverstone Raven 2
3x ASUS VE276Q 27" LCD's
Windows 7 HP x64

I don't know all that much about Photoshop, but I understand that it is GPU accelerated. With the 5870, turning on GPU Acceleration causes quite a few problems for her(artifacts appearing while drawing an stuff). I have to admit that she is currently using an unlicensed version of Photoshop which I expect may have something to do with the issues, but I really have a hard time thinking about spending $700 for a piece of software. Would my system be good for running Photoshop, is there something I could upgrade that would help? Obviously the system would serve her gaming needs several times over so I'm not worried about that.

I'm seriously considering purchasing a Wacom Cintiq as it's a definite dream item of hers. It seems the 21" Cintiq is way out of stock and reviews on the 12" Cintiq seem to make the point that the 12" and 21" versions are quite different. Are there alternatives to Wacom for a pen tablet with a screen? The Cintiq's price tag is very off putting, but what do I know?

Any advice is of course appreciated greatly.
 
Download a Photoshop alternative and see if the artifacts persist. Artifacts are bad. If it's the Radeon's fault, RMA that beast and develop a further plan of action afterwards. I don't know a lot about Photoshop either, but unless you are using it to do something ridiculous (I watched a presentation of a Photoshop-created web site... it was horrifically slow... hmm, let me think, maybe because Photoshop isn't a website development tool?) it shouldn't need a monster computer.
 
Moved to a more appropriate subforum.

Don't bother with GPU acceleration: The problem is that you're using an AMD card. Last I heard, Photoshop's acceleration feature worked only with Nvidia cards.

Also, get her a legal copy of Photoshop. Or better yet, have her try out the numerous other free image manipulation programs out there like GIMP or Photoshop Essentials. Or if you know someone who is in college, see if they can buy you a copy of Photoshop from their school's bookstore. Many colleges, even community colleges, offers a pretty huge discount for Adobe products. My college offers the entire Adobe CS5 Design Premium for $365. That's ten different adobe products, including photoshop, for $365
 
+1 for Gimp.

The interface is a bit different then PS, but it is a very very good piece of software.

There are a ton of free plugins available, and she should be able to do everything in Gimp that she can do in PS.

If she wants to start doing 3D rendering and animation, have her checkout Blender3D. It is also open source and an absolutely awesome piece of software.

Either one of those machines should be just fine for both Gimp and Blender.
 
Danny Bui said:
Last I heard, Photoshop's acceleration feature worked only with Nvidia cards.
Click to expand...

Incorrect; Ps uses OpenGL for hardware rendering.
The CUDA features in some of the other suite apps are nVidia-only, yes. Most of the 3D acceleration stuff though is all OpenGL. The only time the CUDA really works is with AE.

Either you could have a driver issue or a card issue; I've never had any issues with the OpenGL in Ps CS5 working with any of my nV cards (8800GT, GTX260) or my ATi card (6950). Try updating the drivers, if that doesn't work, RMA the card.
 
Thanks everyone for your input and advice.

I personally use GIMP over PS, the quick download/install/config and IMO more intuitive interface makes it a complete winner. But my sister loves Photoshop and knows her way around it better than I think I've every known a program. Watching her work with her tablet, keyboard and mouse so seamlessy is truly impressive. I've tried to find a friend that could get me a legit copy of PS through student discount, but I don't have any close friends at a school that is part of that program. I am trying to get a legit copy as I am of the belief that if the software is good, I want to pay/donate to those who are responsible. The $700 price tag unfortuneatly is somewhat out of my range for a single piece of software for a limited application.

I'm thinking that with school starting back up, I may be able to track down someone who can help out with the student discount.

Also, cyclone3d, thank you for the Blender suggestion, I'll tell her to look into it. I know she has an interest in the subject.
 
Shouldn't a high school kid qualify for the student editions?

http://www.adobe.com/education/purchasing/qualify.html

Eligibility

The following individuals are eligible to purchase Adobe Student and Teacher Editions:
Primary and secondary school students — students enrolled at an accredited public or private primary or secondary school providing full-time instruction
 
Rethink your screens. You probably want IPS on a photoshop computer.
 
I'm seriously considering purchasing a Wacom Cintiq as it's a definite dream item of hers. It seems the 21" Cintiq is way out of stock and reviews on the 12" Cintiq seem to make the point that the 12" and 21" versions are quite different. Are there alternatives to Wacom for a pen tablet with a screen? The Cintiq's price tag is very off putting, but what do I know?
Click to expand...

I've been tossing around this idea for a while, but this made me post it.
 
If your sister plans on creating a career out of this, please ignore everyone telling you to use gimp, it is a rubbish piece of software in comparison to PS.
 
Pylon said:
Rethink your screens. You probably want IPS on a photoshop computer.
Click to expand...

Excuse me for playing devil's advocate, but....no.
I've been in the graphic design industry for over 15 years (from school to now) and in the print industry for over 10 years now.

No one I know of has ever taken on screen color representation seriously. No one. It's an exercise in futility.

The only way you're going to get true to print colors on your screen is if you calibrate the monitor and the digital printer daily; even then you're still probably going to be off by a little bit because unless you're working with a digital press, you're still converting a PMS color into a CMYK and that always throws things off even if your digital printer has spot color matching (of which ours does).

There's a lot of FUD going around to the contrary, but no...just no. No way I'd tell anyone with a straight face to buy an IPS for design just so they can get better color representation when the file is printed. There's too many variables there. Never once have I expected a PMS color in my files to match what prints out; that's why if the job is color-reliant I have to calibrate the copier, print out a swatch palette, and then adjust my file to match the copier's representation of the swatches.

Buy an LCD; you don't need to get an IPS.

Laffles said:
If your sister plans on creating a career out of this, please ignore everyone telling you to use gimp, it is a rubbish piece of software in comparison to PS.
Click to expand...

It's a good starting point for someone with limited knowledge/skill or money. That's all it is. Of course no devout self-appointed "professional" is going to rely on Gimp, Inkscape, and Scribus over CS5 Design Premium.
 
zero2dash said:
The only way you're going to get true to print colors on your screen is if you calibrate the monitor and the digital printer daily; even then you're still probably going to be off by a little bit because unless you're working with a digital press, you're still converting a PMS color into a CMYK and that always throws things off even if your digital printer has spot color matching (of which ours does).

There's a lot of FUD going around to the contrary, but no...just no. No way I'd tell anyone with a straight face to buy an IPS for design just so they can get better color representation when the file is printed. There's too many variables there. Never once have I expected a PMS color in my files to match what prints out; that's why if the job is color-reliant I have to calibrate the copier, print out a swatch palette, and then adjust my file to match the copier's representation of the swatches.

Buy an LCD; you don't need to get an IPS.
Click to expand...

^This.

I too work in graphic design/print, calibrate your monitor and have a decent LCD but there's no point shelling out for super expensive.The only way you are going to know what something looks like printed is when you print it, that is why things are always proofed. Computers transmit color through RGB light, print is in 4C CMYK (unless spot colors are with/or used). If you look in photoshop there is a gamut warning when you are in RGB which tells you what colors will not come out properly when printed.

My radeon 6950 works fine with PS, and my work Mac has an 8800 that works fine too, try reinstalling your drivers or photoshop.
Gimpshop is better than the gimp if you are used to photoshop, it has a similar interface.

Both computers are almost more than you need for graphic design work, your sisters is more than enough, though it never hurts to have more RAM for PS.
 
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