I'm working on spec'ing out a Hackintosh for my daughter to use while in HS. The main requirement is that the system can handle Photoshop CS5 and other comparable graphic arts type programs and be as budget friendly (cheap) as possible.
Right now I'm thinking something like this (Starting Reference Point)
- Core i3 2100
- Gigabyte GA-H67N
- 2x4GB Corsair RAM
- Video Card ????
- Case, PS, DVD drive, HDD
Would something like this cut it? Is PS more CPU or GPU intensive?
Also, any budget (~$200 or less) CinemaDisplay-like monitors out there?
One option is to use the same card Apple is using (or has used). Makes driver issues much easier.
Check out this article:
http://lifehacker.com/5837615/how-do-i-choose-the-right-hardware-when-building-a-hackintosh
Also note the link to build articles at the beginning. This is actually the best way to build one, just mimic what someone else has done since you know it works.
Yeah, maybe my question is more of a "what's a decent P'shop card that is also Hackintosh compatible" one. I'm familiar with the Hackintosh resources but not so up to speed on what Photoshop likes/needs.
Photoshop is not really that video card intensive generally. I use Photoshop on a laptop with built in graphics a lot and it's not really and issue at all. If you deal with HUGE files then it might become more important.
There are specific supported cards that do allow the use of OpenGL to speed up some processes, but I don't think I would call it a critical thing to have. This is the list I found:
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
GeForce 9600M GT,
GeForce 8600M GT,
GeForce GT 120,
GeForce GT 130,
GeForce GTX 285,
GeForce 8800 GT,
GeForce 8800 GS,
Quadro FX 4800,
Quadro FX5600
ATI Radeon HD 4670,
ATI Radeon HD 4850,
Radeon HD 4870
Here is another comment on the acceleration:
When OpenGL is enabled in Photoshop CS5, there are 3 selectable modes available. Basic, Normal and Advanced.
Basic - This mode used the least amount of GPU memory and the most basic OpenGL features. Use this mode when experiencing visual defects or general slowdowns in your document window or when running other applications that preoccupy the GPU.
Normal - THis mode uses a large amount of GPU memory and advanced OPenGL features to perform color matching, tone mapping and checkerboard blending. This frees the CPU to perform other tasks but may cause visual defects on some GPUs.
Advanced - This mode is the most GPU intensive. It uses the same amount of memory as the Normal mode while enabling more advanced techniques to improve drawing performance. This may cause visual defects on some GPUs.
