CS3 memory allocation question

CS3 PS recognizes up to 3gb of installed memory even on boxes with more, should the prefs slider be set to use 100% of the 3gb if much more is available (10gb) in the mac?



Does the ''ideal range'' indication assume that the 3gb that has been identified is actually the total installed amount?



thx.
CS3 memory allocation question
Memory allocation/utilization is complex, not simple math. Many folks with plenty of RAM (including me) find some number less than 100% (e.g. 70%) works best, others seem OK with 100%. Do trial and error with your specific workflow.



Although apps can only

i directly

address ~3 GB RAM, Mac OS X works with the apps to effectively utilize much more than that. E.g. Adobe engineer Adam Jerugim in 2008 posted:

i ''CS4 (running on OS 10.5.x) will take advantage of all the RAM you have in your system as long as VM OS buffering is active (up to 32GB - I haven't tested more than that).''



The ability under Mac OS X to access large amounts of inexpensive RAM is a big benefit to the tower configuration.
CS3 memory allocation question
hi Allen,



I guess the question that I'm curious about is whether the calculation for the ''ideal range'' takes into consideration the additional ram, or whether this was a legacy tool, developed when there was a real ram limitation.



thanks again,



j

IMO it is complex, not properly a
calculation under MacIntels with appropriate RAM. How Adobe gets to ''ideal'' I do not know. My guess is that it is legacy; after all there are lots of legacy hardware setups out there

IMO it is complex



most definitely : )

%26gt;when there was a real ram limitation



There is still a RAM limitation. It'll be there until Photoshop for the Mac is a 64-bit application, like CS4 is in Windoze.

%26gt;There is still a RAM limitation.



you're right!



I wonder if Adobe and Apple have created a problem with the Mac desktop, desktop hardware is in need of an update from the mini to the pro and in need of something to fill the void, and not a very compelling argument for a non-64bit CS4 with the exception of the built-in obsolescence of ACR.



Maybe the concept of the desktop is a dinosaur or has it just been ignored.

Mac,



Yes, we could certainly use some new desktop hardware.

%26gt;and not a very compelling argument for a non-64bit CS4 with the exception of the built-in obsolescence of ACR.



???



Neil

%26gt;There is still a RAM limitation. It'll be there until Photoshop for the Mac is a 64-bit application, like CS4 is in Windoze.



Yes, in terms of
directly addressing RAM a limitation remains. However focusing only on directly addressable RAM often leads to a flawed thought process as to RAM utility.




CS4 under OS X already can take advantage of up to at least 32 GB of onboard RAM and very few users have beefed their setups to use the full 32 GB already available
today. Folks need to be looking to setups with more RAM on board rather than worrying about when CSx Mac will be 64-bit.

Concerning 64-bits:

Mac users can PRINT at 64-bits Widows Users cannot.

%26gt;Mac users can PRINT at 64-bits Widows Users cannot.



I think you mean 16-bits, Ann. :)

%26gt;CS4 under OS X already can take advantage of up to at least 32 GB of onboard RAM



Hi Allen,



If CS4/mac was a 64bit app would it perform better than the current memory management?



regards, j

%26gt;If CS4/mac was a 64bit app would it perform better than the current memory management?



I have no idea, but consider that a hypothetical question anyway. Most likely the next version will perform better, but that is simply the nature of
next versions.

And then there was Photoshop 5.

%26gt;but that is simply the nature of next versions



true but with CS4 still an infant, there may be a full CS lifecycle before we see a Mac 64bit version, maybe it matters, maybe not. But in the meanwhile we have a 64bit OS and nothing to wear (metaphorically speaking : )

on further thought.... I bet we see a 4.5 mid-upgrade

CS4 will never be 64-bits, period. CS5 will be the first opportunity to see a 64-bit Mac version, if it materializes.



%26gt;I bet we see a 4.5 mid-upgrade



How much money are you willing to lose?

Re: #10



Indeed! 16-bits PRINTING.( And it is available to others apart from ''widows'' too.)

%26gt;How much money are you willing to lose?



sounds like the theme song of 08-09 : )



my guess is that CS4 will not be selling like hot cakes, for a variety of reasons, some the economy, some marketing, lack of defining features, etc. Apple will eventually release new faster desktops and Adobe will use the opportunity to put some new gift wrapping on the CS4.



just thinking out loud.



best regards

I had totally missed the
widows part, Ann. :D

%26gt; Adobe will use the opportunity to put some new gift wrapping on the CS4.



Converting Photoshop to a 64-bit version can hardly be called ''gift wrapping''! It's a bit more involved than putting it in a new box. B)

%26gt; It's a bit more involved than putting it in a new box.



agreed, but an 18-24 month product lifecycle offers some headroom for re-development, especially since Adobe has been aware of the Cocoa situation for almost 1 year already. I'm no software engineer but it seems that the timeline is doable before the next CS release, since there is a potential total 2.5-3 years between the Cocoa announcement and CS5.



In conjunction with the 64bit question, John Nack has already mentioned transitional PS products that Adobe has released in the past such as 2.5 when there was a 68%26gt;PPC upgrade, or the upgrade for G5 when that evolved. He hasn't committed to any timeline or any specific CS for a 64bit version, except that it's been pursued since the Carbon%26gt;Cocoa announcement.



.... it was just a thought, and there are both product, marketing and external issues that might keep it on the table for discussion.



regards.

MacWright,



It involves pretty much a complete rebuilding of the application, not just swapping out some processing module, so a mid-cycle release may not be practical.



Neil

My guess is that despite the praises from a few fangirls like Ann (who are countered by silly issues like lost Contact Sheet functionality), the overpriced upgrade cost CS3--%26gt;CS4 has significantly limited upgrade sales. E.g. it is the first upgrade that I did not immediately purchase - - and that was
before the recession was in full swing.



Product test cycles cost money. In a recession/depression tightening the upgrade cycle to achieve an x.5 release would not make a lot of sense unless it was used as an opportunity to lower price. If the engineering is complete it would make more sense to accelerate the full CS5 upgrade by a few months and offer CS5 at lower more realistic pricing.



Adobe apps and top Mac towers provide a marketing synergy when Adobe and Apple manage to get the timing
and pricing right. CS5 performance running under Snow Leopard on new Nehalem-based Mac Pros would offer a compelling reason to upgrade to all three (MP, 10.6, CS5) if all are priced reasonably.



Only a very significant price cut will sell Creative Suite upgrades at this point. After all, CS3 is a very good app, and trying to drive upgrade sales by limiting things like ACR upgrades to CS4 just drives folks like me further into Aperture, C1, NX2, etc. workflows.

%26gt; It involves pretty much a complete rebuilding of the application, not just swapping out some processing module, so a mid-cycle release may not be practical.



CS5 will be a feature bump to the new CS4 interface... add-ons. So a mid cycle upgrade would allow Adobe to push towards the later portion of the CS cycle to release CS5 and extend the sales of CS4.5 (which becomes the current product, not an upgrade from CS4 but from CS3)



%26gt;Only a very significant price cut will sell CS4 upgrades at this point.



that may be the point, if CS4 isn't selling with the exception of new boxes/seats, then CS4.5 becomes an economical way (for Adobe) of extending the time between CS4 and CS5, and... gives a reason to make a first purchase into the CS4/4.5 suite.



If CS4 was a 64bit app, whether it was a substantial speed increase or not I would guess that more upgrades would be sold, and more MacPro's etc. So there is reason from both Adobe and Apple to make it happen.



%26gt;CS5 performance on Snow Leopard running under new Nehalem-based Mac Pros would offer a compelling reason to upgrade both if both are priced reasonably.



is Adobe going to wait for 18 months to release CS5 to increase sales... I don't think so.



%26gt;just drives folks like me further into Aperture, C1, NX2, etc. workflows.



lack of real competition always creates havoc with the marketplace.

%26gt;countered by silly issues like lost Contact Sheet functionality.



Contact Sheets are still included: you can make them in Bridge; AND you can still make them in Photoshop CS5 if you install the optional Plug-ins and Scripts.



Anyone who uses a digital camera is REALLY missing out if they don't install CS4 if for no other reason (and there are A LOT of other reasons!) than to get ACR 5.2 and Bridge CS4.



Isn't it strange that those that are knocking CS4 the most vocally, don't actually seem to have bought it?!



The Grapes are much sweeter than you think!



8/

MacWright, read this and you will see that the 64bit version will not happen till CS5.



http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/2008/04/photoshop_lr_64.html

%26gt;Isn't it strange that those that are knocking CS4 the most vocally, don't actually seem to have bought it?!



I have the CS4 extended suite.... but because my clients will not be updating it creates a long term complicated workflow issue, so CS3 will be on my computer for quite a while.



%26gt;will not happen till CS5.



I spent far too much time ''discussing'' the idea of feathered paths in PS a couple years ago on this forum and nobody thought that was going to happen. Oops, it's in CS4. Things happen, things change. I didn't read anything absolute in that article except that it wasn't going to happen in CS4, maybe CS4.5 or an earlier than normal cycle to deliver CS5? I'm just chatting about the future. that's all and now its time for me to sign off for awhile.



best regards everyone.

%26gt;Contact Sheets are still included: you can make them in Bridge; AND you can still make them in Photoshop CS5 if you install the optional Plug-ins and Scripts.



Of course there are workarounds like opening another app that unlike you some of us do not like, but unless one finds and jumps through new hoops

i Contact Sheet functionality

was lost.



I agree it is a silly thing, no kind of a deal breaker but each issue like that adds up when deciding whether or not to endure the learning curve and (in the case of CS4 very expensive) upgrade cost. Just like you and I both have skipped the OS 10.5 upgrade.



%26gt;Anyone who uses a digital camera is REALLY missing out if they don't install CS4 if for no other reason (and there are A LOT of other reasons!) than to get ACR 5.2 and Bridge CS4.



As a long-time PS user but very nouveau DSLR person

i you

think Bridge is great and that somehow ACR is better than all the other RAW conversions. I do not doubt that for many old film scan PS hands Bridge is a good choice, but for many (IMO most) modern DSLR users Aperture, LR or other choices are superior to Bridge/ACR.



%26gt;Isn't it strange that those that are knocking CS4 the most vocally, don't actually seem to have bought it?!



Not strange at all. Why pay a $600 upgrade if you are not convinced that $600 of value-add is provided? Especially when CS3 remains a fully competent suite of apps and historically ACR has
not provided the best RAW conversions.

Never mind ''historically'' have you actually tried ACR 5.2?

:)



And regarding ''other converters'': I did try Capture NX2 and found it to be far too slow and unwieldy and to offer no advantages over ACR.



I probably also think that Bridge is great because it integrates all of the applications within the Suite.



I can put all of the files (of what ever kind) that are needed for a project into a single Collection and then use a single window as a Command Post when flitting between ACR, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat and Web-authoring applications.



The way that Collections now work is another one of the compelling new features in Bridge CS4 as far as I am concerned.

MacW,



Adobe lawyers and bean counters will simply NOT allow any new features to be added in a dot release, period. They cite
''legal reasons'' for it. So any new feature, no matter how small, will have to wait for CS5. It's that simple.

%26gt;also think that Bridge is great because it integrates all of the applications within the Suite.



and even some applications outside the suite. ;)

%26gt;Adobe lawyers and bean counters will simply NOT allow any new features to be added in a dot release, period.



but it's been done before.



%26gt;John Nack says: I can offer a little bit of history, though. When Apple moved from 68k processors to the PowerPC, Adobe offered a free update to PS 2.5. (Quark, as I recall, charged handsomely for the equivalent update.) Later, when the G5 came out, we offered a free update to Photoshop 7, even though CS1 was just six weeks off. (It would have been easy to say, ''Well, to get that update, you have to buy the new version,'' but that's not how we wanted to roll.) Then when the PPC-%26gt;Intel transition happened, the scope of the changes were too great to offer that kind of update, but I was able to persuade the company to do something it had never tried: releasing a public beta of Photoshop so that all current customers could get native performance six months earlier than would otherwise have been possible. It was quite a gamble, but it was the right thing to do.

%26gt;Ps 2.5



That was eons ago. Adobe was a different corporation back then, not the mammoth bureaucracy with over 5,000 employees it is today. Today's legal department is probably larger than the whole of Adobe was back then.



%26gt;Ps 7



A free update of a dying application is quite different from a dot release.

Besides, Adobe has already stated there will not be a 64-bit version of Photoshop for the Mac before CS5

at the earliest
.

Hi Ram贸n,



I'm definitely not saying that your thoughts are wrong, but that it's not the same economic environment that it was back in April '08 when we last heard about Adobe's plans.



Adobe has said (in '08) that it wasn't going to happen in the CS4 release. If CS4 stalls, there might be 1 or 2 meetings in San Jose to re-evaluate the plan.



I think we've played this one out, let's meet back here in 8 months and see how the market has evolved. We can sit back, put our feet on the desk and dream about Adobes next move.



Cheers

8 months from now will be a full year since the release of CS4. The life cycle of CS3 was 18 months.



Your expectations are wishful dreaming.



%26gt; it was back in April '08 when we last heard about Adobe's plans



Nope. It was in late October.



But this is a totally useless, mindless exchange. I'm killing my participation right here.

%26gt;a totally useless, mindless exchange



don't take things so seriously : )



my original original thread was about the thought behind the ''ideal range'' calculation and whether this is an updated process. Since there's no real tech support on this forum it morphed into a different conversation........ just a conversation.



bye

%26gt;just a conversation.



Right, a mindless one. ;)