Two versions of PS on same PC

I have the CS4 Master Collection installed on my Windows Vista PC along with several Photoshop plugIns (OnOne, Photokit Sharpener, Photomatix, Lightroom). I only really need Photoshop and the plugins, but I got the Master Collection just to experiment with Premier and InDesign--to have it in case I ever need it really. Because upgrading the Master Collection is expensive and because I mostly only need PS, I was thinking of installing PS 6 stand alone software on the same PC as the CS4 suite, but in a separate directory. The purpose being to be able to upgrade Photoshop regularly. It costs $200 to upgrade PS stand alone, but $700 to upgrade the Master suite. Its not worth it to me to stay current on all the Adobe programs other than PS. I read that it is possible to have multiple versions of PS installed on the smae machine, but what do I do about my plugins? Can plugins like Lightroom and Silver Effex be plugged into multiple versions of PS? Do i need to buy new versions of these plugins. How does this work?

texshooter wrote in post #14711474
I read that it is possible to have multiple versions of PS installed on the smae machine, but what do I do about my plugins? Can plugins like Lightroom and Silver Effex be plugged into multiple versions of PS? Do i need to buy new versions of these plugins. How does this work?

You can definitely have multiple versions of the Adobe suite installed.

As for the plugins, you'd have to double-check with the plugin developer but typically this type of software is licensed to be run on a single machine and it would be simply the matter of you installing the same plugin and point it to the CS6 version.

You may also have to check with the developer to see if there is a more up-to-date version of the plugin that is specifically compatible with CS6.