Just curious, if I get a video with 256M of video ram (vs 128M), will I see a dramatic increase in speed when working with large files on photoshop? What about an overall increase in speed from Apple's Core Graphics packages? Aperture? Thanks!
Core Image/Aperture: not necessarily. More VRAM means you can work on more and larger images at the same time, without it having to page back to system memory.
It's just like regular RAM. Buying RAM won't speed up your computer unless you're running out of it all the time and constantly paging out to the hard disk, in which case it will speed things up dramatically.
Actual PS calculations won't be any faster. If I'm thinking correctly here, photoshop only uses vram for window buffers. I don't think any of photoshop's hardware acclerated effects rely on the GPU. Instead, I think they're all altivec, SSE, or delicately coded general CPU stuff.
However, your workflow might be impacted by the ammount of vram. GPU accelerated things like expose are drastically improved with more ram.
When switching between 20 windows with expose, I can definately tell the difference between 128 and 64 megs of vram. On my system, this is the difference between running a single LCD or splitting the vram in half while using a second display. It reaches a point where expose will drop to a mere 4 or 5 frames per second. Disabling the 2nd display speeds expose back up to it's normal, flawless performance.
Other programs like iPhoto however will directly bennefit from additional vram. CI accelerated apps really do bennefit from vram, as much vram as you can throw at them.
I have comparable G5 systems at home and at the office.
The older system at home has an ATI 9800 Pro w/ 128 MB VRAM.
The newer system at the office has an ATI 9650 w/ 256 MB VRAM.
I haven't done any framerate tests or anything, but I can say that the 256 MB do improve Expose when I have lots of windows open. The 128 system is fine, but I'd prefer more VRAM if it was an option.
Comments
Core Image/Aperture: not necessarily. More VRAM means you can work on more and larger images at the same time, without it having to page back to system memory.
It's just like regular RAM. Buying RAM won't speed up your computer unless you're running out of it all the time and constantly paging out to the hard disk, in which case it will speed things up dramatically.
However, your workflow might be impacted by the ammount of vram. GPU accelerated things like expose are drastically improved with more ram.
When switching between 20 windows with expose, I can definately tell the difference between 128 and 64 megs of vram. On my system, this is the difference between running a single LCD or splitting the vram in half while using a second display. It reaches a point where expose will drop to a mere 4 or 5 frames per second. Disabling the 2nd display speeds expose back up to it's normal, flawless performance.
Other programs like iPhoto however will directly bennefit from additional vram. CI accelerated apps really do bennefit from vram, as much vram as you can throw at them.
The older system at home has an ATI 9800 Pro w/ 128 MB VRAM.
The newer system at the office has an ATI 9650 w/ 256 MB VRAM.
I haven't done any framerate tests or anything, but I can say that the 256 MB do improve Expose when I have lots of windows open. The 128 system is fine, but I'd prefer more VRAM if it was an option.
The key is how much is the upgrade worth to you?