Mac Pro 6 Core + CS5 - best graphics card?

[LuckyButtons]

Hi,

I am about to order the new Mac Pro 6 core, and will be mostly using CS5 Design programs including Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. No gaming.

I have a few questions regarding Radeon HD 5870 versus the 5770...

1. Does CS5 (especially photoshop) make much use of graphics cards in general, and will the 5870 make a big difference in speed over the 5770?

2. Is the 5870 going to make things louder? (i have a G5 now and it's like a jet engine, so I'm hoping for a quieter machine)

3. Will the 5870 use a lot more power than the 5770?

Thanks for any assistance!

[Honumaui]

get the 5770 use the money for SSD ?

sadly in PS at this point its quicker to turn off Open GL !!!!!

also unless you are using the 3d side of the one version ? I dont know about that but the regular working on photos graphics cards dont do much for PS since its really a basic 2d program

things that make PS work memory and disc speed and CPU or clock speed

snow leopard and CS5 have been a big boost in performance for us so now we can use more than the old 3 gigs of memory we were stuck with

[goMac]

1. Does CS5 (especially photoshop) make much use of graphics cards in general, and will the 5870 make a big difference in speed over the 5770?

Only the video apps really make use of GPUs.

[PeterQVenkman]

Only the video apps really make use of GPUs.

Photoshop CS4+5 both make use of the GPU:

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/405/kb405745.html#main_GPU%20features%20added%20in%20Photoshop%20CS5


As for the video programs - they use CUDA - nVidia only.

[goMac]

Photoshop CS4+5 both make use of the GPU:

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/405/kb405745.html#main_GPU%20features%20added%20in%20Photoshop%20CS5


As for the video programs - they use CUDA - nVidia only.

If you enable GPU mode, and they actually perform worse with GPU mode on.

I would actually avoid GPU mode in Photoshop. The GPU mode is entirely half baked.

The video programs use OpenGL, not CUDA. Premiere Pro only (not After Effects) has some additional CUDA support for it's playback engine, but the OpenGL stuff works just fine on an ATI card. CUDA is not a replacement for OpenGL.

[Honumaui]

Photoshop CS4+5 both make use of the GPU:

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/405/kb405745.html#main_GPU%20features%20added%20in%20Photoshop%20CS5


As for the video programs - they use CUDA - nVidia only.

but their are glitches with it and its quicker with it turned off :)

I will just say to the OP go check out www.macperformanceguide.com he has a write up on it ?

I find it better with it off ? hope they fix it ;)

[reel2reel]

I actually work with video as a profession, but I saved up and got a new Hex for my photography. I'm not a pro by any means, but I love shooting and processing in PS and LR.

So I'm definitely not an expert when it comes to performance in photo app's, but I can honestly say it's like night and day compared with my old iMac Intel. I can actually use sliders in real time in LR now without getting spinning wheels. Everything feels very responsive.

Keep in mind there are some reported problems with these new video cards, especially when using more than one monitor. Hopefully that will be fixed via firmware. Soon.

[LuckyButtons]

Seems like most of the PS applications for the GPU is for 3D, which I may do some of but not a lot.

Anyone know if the 5780 is actually loud or uses an extraordinary amount of power? I see some people saying yes on both fronts, and others saying no.

Looks like there A LOT of differing opinions out there about graphics cards!

Would it seem that the 6 core + 8gb ram will suffice to make things run well?

[Honumaui]

Seems like most of the PS applications for the GPU is for 3D, which I may do some of but not a lot.

Anyone know if the 5780 is actually loud or uses an extraordinary amount of power? I see some people saying yes on both fronts, and others saying no.

Looks like there A LOT of differing opinions out there about graphics cards!

Would it seem that the 6 core + 8gb ram will suffice to make things run well?

how big are your PS files ?

I would say 16 GB min for PS to run nice if your files are over 300 megs ? 24 might be nicer and have you hitting scratch less ?


the graphics card thing I dont play around with 3d at all ? so cant say but if its just a fun once in a while play thing AND money is a concern and pushing pixels in PS is your main thing then the money would be better spent on RAM or SSD for scratch or both ? their are some unknowns on SSD for scratch ? being that its unknown how long it will last ?

[LuckyButtons]

Yeah, there wouldn't be much 3D happening over here. Copy that, on the RAM front.

I was told to get an SSD as the main drive, running the apps and use the 2nd bay for scratch and storage. do I have that wrong?

I am reading right now about the OWC Mercury Extreme SSD and trying to figure out if it will work with the 2010 Mac Pro desktops. A call to MacMall told me that anything SATA that is 3.5" will work, but it seems the OWC Mercury Extreme SSD is 2.5". So I'm a little confused at the moment.

[darlenea]

I have the 3.33 hex core and love it - I am figuring out the monitor issues and I sure that will be resolved.
I have the OWC ssd and it is in the second opitcal bay - you just plug it in and you can still have 4 HD in the other 4 bays. Darlene

[LuckyButtons]

I have the 3.33 hex core and love it - I am figuring out the monitor issues and I sure that will be resolved.
I have the OWC ssd and it is in the second opitcal bay - you just plug it in and you can still have 4 HD in the other 4 bays. Darlene

forgive my ignorance - what are you using the SSD for in that scenario?

[Sean Dempsey]

Yeah, there wouldn't be much 3D happening over here. Copy that, on the RAM front.

I was told to get an SSD as the main drive, running the apps and use the 2nd bay for scratch and storage. do I have that wrong?

I am reading right now about the OWC Mercury Extreme SSD and trying to figure out if it will work with the 2010 Mac Pro desktops. A call to MacMall told me that anything SATA that is 3.5" will work, but it seems the OWC Mercury Extreme SSD is 2.5". So I'm a little confused at the moment.



This was in the other thread, but:

Step 1 - http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internal_storage/Mercury_Extreme_SSD_Sandforce/Solid_State_Pro

Step 2 - http://eshop.macsales.com/item/IcyDock/MB882SP1S2B/

Step 3 - http://cdn0.knowyourmeme.com/i/1570/original/so_much_win.png?1240906921

[darlenea]

I am using the ssd for my operating system, my programs and I think I will use it for some of my lightroom catalogs. Darlene

[Honumaui]

some more pics of the icy dock and a Lian Li adapter I used in the optical bay :)

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1015412&highlight=