Mac Pro for CS4 and Photography Question

[MacBird]

I've been lurking for quite a while and hope to get some input from you about a photography-related question.

I do a lot of wildlife photography, using RAW files only. I used to have a 24'' iMac, which was OK but I did not like the color consistency issues even after calibrating the screen using EyeOne Match 3. After selling this computer, I got a new i7 27'' iMac. Unfortunately, it was surprisingly noisy and I was not really impressed with the display, either, and returned it. I then bought a 24'' ACD, which I really like but am stuck with a 15'' MacBook Pro with 4GB RAM and a fast SSD hard drive for now.

The TIFF files out of ACR are between 100-200MB each and the laptop really struggles in CS4 with the fan going up to 6000 rpm and when I import a 32GB CF card into Bridge.

I'm wondering where to go from here. I would like to be able to use the upcoming CS5 in 64bit kernel mode and at least 8GB RAM. If I were to buy a MacPro, which one would be sufficient? I'm considering using a SSD as boot drive and a 2TB for storage. I have no idea as for processor (I don't know how many cores CS5 can use) and video card and if a Mac Pro would be overkill since I don't do photography for a living.

Should I wait until the new models are released and then buy the current model used or would it make sense to get a new one?

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[benborman]

You may benefit from reading this guide. Hope that helps!

 

[MacBird]

You may benefit from reading this guide. Hope that helps!

Thank you, this is a very useful link!

 

[Loa]

Hello,

Nobody knows how many cores CS5 will be able to use, but precious few apps can use more than a few (4). Not because they're not coded for it: some processes are simply not "parallelizable". If you absolutely can't wait for April 12th, the safest bet is a higher clocked speed Quad.

As far as RAM goes, it's for you to decide. 8GB should be a good place to start, unless you use a huge lot (30+) of layers.

These days the critical part of the mac pro is the storage. Getting a SSD is the smart thing to do for general, all around performance and snappyness, but it won't help you much in photoshop itself. And, at least for CS4, a very fast 2TB drive or a RAID0 set won't help you much either. If CS5 can harness the power of multiple cores for open / save, then a RAID0 will be a lot more powerful than a single 2TB drive.

But, as I said, on April 12 we'll be able to know a lot more about what will help CS5. We're all waiting!

Loa

 

[MacBird]

Hello,

Nobody knows how many cores CS5 will be able to use, but precious few apps can use more than a few (4). Not because they're not coded for it: some processes are simply not "parallelizable". If you absolutely can't wait for April 12th, the safest bet is a higher clocked speed Quad.

As far as RAM goes, it's for you to decide. 8GB should be a good place to start, unless you use a huge lot (30+) of layers.

These days the critical part of the mac pro is the storage. Getting a SSD is the smart thing to do for general, all around performance and snappyness, but it won't help you much in photoshop itself. And, at least for CS4, a very fast 2TB drive or a RAID0 set won't help you much either. If CS5 can harness the power of multiple cores for open / save, then a RAID0 will be a lot more powerful than a single 2TB drive.

But, as I said, on April 12 we'll be able to know a lot more about what will help CS5. We're all waiting!

Loa

Thanks, Loa! I will definitely wait until CS5 has been released. My best guess is that 4 cores might suffice and instead of more cores, I could get more RAM to take advantage of the 64 bit application. I have never had a Mac Pro before and have no experience with RAID0. I guess I will read about the experiences of people with this combo.

If I remember correctly, Adobe will only announce CS5 on the 12th but won't ship it until mid-May.

 

[Loa]

I have never had a Mac Pro before and have no experience with RAID0. I guess I will read about the experiences of people with this combo.

If I remember correctly, Adobe will only announce CS5 on the 12th but won't ship it until mid-May.

You'll finds lots of RAID0 threads in the mac pro section of this forum, and don't get your hopes up on that mid-May: unless new info has come up, some ppl are expecting a fall shipping date...

Loa