Dedicated video card - worth it for Photoshop

[DionM]

I am thinking about upgrading my main PC.

Typically in the past I have always bought motherboards with integrated video as all I use is Windows (no gaming). Hence my current desktop, my server and my wife's PC all have integrated video motherboards.

However now that I do more digital editing (ie photos) I am wondering if a dedicated video card would provide any benefits when using photoshop (in terms of speed). Like I said, I don't play games - all the machine is used for is windows and digital photo editing.

If I don't get the video card I will just get 1GB of RAM (instead of 512MB).

[tim]

A dedicated card means the graphics subsystem isn't stealing system RAM or bus bandwidth, so yes, get one. You don't need a fancy 3D card - actually you don't need a 3D card at all - if you can find one just get an older Matrox card, that'll work fine.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Get 1GB of ram and get a used 16MB AGP Matrox G400 for $35.00 .. ;)

[DionM]

I'm not worried about the graphics system stealing RAM (1GB will fix that) but does it also affect speed?

[andygrif]

PS will use the 1gb for you, so a separate video card is good option...even a used one from ebay might be a good idea.

I've a gig in my comp and PS will quite happily consume 3/4's of it all...I guess if I had more it would have that too!!!

[Rob612]

Get the most memory you can (my main machine has 4 GB on installed). For the video card, any Matrox will be just great from the low-end G400 (discontinued, I believe, but can be bought used) to the top notch Parhelia. Any of these will do an excellent job. Moving towards the upped end, you'll have also dual/triple monitor capabilities. And that's something interesting to have, if it fits in the budget.

[mdr]

Get a dual head Matrox, connect two monitors, one for your pic and one for all your tool palettes, navigation, menu etc. Works a treat. No hassle with opening/closing and moving tools.

[foxbat]

In terms of speed alone a dedicated video card will buy you nothing. All the video chipsets do the basic 2D windows raster ops so fast these days that nobody bothers measuring them any more.

If you're using a CRT then the difference worth paying for is in the RAMDAC. A good one will produce a sharper display with less fuzziness bordering high-contrast areas. Having spent more than 20 years staring at CRTs driven by every chipset under the sun I feel confident to say that nobody has come close to matching Matrox in this respect.

The DVI output that connects an LCD panel should be a great leveller in terms of image quality, however people have noticed differences in the signal frequency produced by the different cards. 165Mhz is required by the standard and significantly less than that will mean that the card will have difficulty driving big high-res panels.

[RAitch]

All I can say is get RAM. Screw the video card. You can use a POS video card and still get fast results.
If you're worried about clarity, resolution, and colours... then make sure you have a descent video card and CRT monitor. What you have on board is probably good enough for 95% of the population.

RAM is the most important thing with Photoshop. If you're creating multiple layers and adjustments, you'll see your image file shoot way up. All of this processing requires quite a bit of RAM. Once the processing is done, it's displayed. You don't need a "fast" video card to do this... the image will get displayed when it's done being processed.

I seriously doubt you'd see any difference with an on board video card and a brand new 3D card (speed wise).

Stay away from LCD monitors. Not only do they produce inconsistant luminocity and colour from different angles, they also have a display delay. CRT monitors are instant... LCDs are not. You'll notice this when scrolling a window or playing a 3D game. Everything blurs while the screen moves.

Get the RAM!!! It's the best bang for your buck for EVERY app; not just PS.
If you're happy with the image quality of the display, keep your video card and monitor. They'll work fine.