What can I do with 1GB of RAM??

[Camara]

Damn,my computer is 2 or 3 years old,it´s full of images,anime chapters and several programs...the problem is that it has only 1 GB of RAM and I suffer a lot when using photoshop,for instance,I can hardly use resolutions above 200 pixels per inch,which is not only annoying,it´s very frustrating.Iff this is not enough,I discovered some days ago that it is not DDR,is other kind of RAM which is very difficult to find (and expensive).What can I do to optimize my computer most of all for photoshop?????

Note: I don´t have money enough to buy a new computer!!!

[Arshes Nei]

You could look for a downgraded version of photoshop. You could also delete any old temporary internet files and keep a good amount of swapfile space on your drive. Get a secondary or external drive for the photoshop's swapfile usage.

Lower the amount of undos and history in your preferences.

Whenever you get a computer, always max out on RAM first, because it's harder to find in the future as they discontinue it.

[HunterKiller_]

Tough luck trying to find pre-DDR RAM these days.

A Photoshop worthy PC doesn't cost that much these days. Best thing you could do is just save up.

- When you're running Photoshop, make sure there are no other memory intensive programs running.

- Look in task manager at how much RAM your PC is using on idle, and give the rest to Photoshop.

- Set the sratchdisk to a drive or partition that Photoshop isn't on. Preferably a drive or partition that isn't used very much.

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Graphics card > ram as far as I can tell. My OLD computer (was 7 years old before it died), had only 512 Ram and a decent GC, but handled photoshop better than my current computer with more ram and minimal GC.

[hatface]

if you don't mind my asking, what kind of RAM does it need? being that it's only 2 or 3 years old, I was wondering if it uses FB-DIMM buffered memory, a la' workstation memory. that stuff is pretty expensive.

just curious.

[Camara]

Fuck!!!I revisited the insides of my laptop with other program and my RAM is DDR2!!!Yeah!!!Now,if I upgrade it in 2 GB,will I notice some results??Or do I have to upgrade my Graphic Card????

[Kfeeras]

alright so what graphic card do you have?

[Camara]

Nvidia GeForce Go 6150 256 MB

Is it good enough??

[Robert.B]

Welll you just made me laugh so I think we solved the mystery hahahahahahahaah

[Aphotic Phoenix]

This thread (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=147402) may also be useful. (From the Photoshop section of the forum.)

*Edit* Thing is...since it's a laptop you're really not going to have a lot of options.

[Camara]

Welll you just made me laugh so I think we solved the mystery hahahahahahahaah

Why???Is it a shit???Hahaha,sorry,but I don´t know too much about computers!!!!

[tensai]

ram over video card.

[Not Pink]

or with 20 bucks you could go to walmart, buy a 2gig stick and shove it into your motherboard. 3 gigs could get a lot done, I'm working on 3.

oh, and you can't change the graphics card on a laptop, it's built into the motherboard. it sucks ;_;

[Robert.B]

Sorry for being an asshole. If you can afford it get a Nvidia Gt 9800 or a 9600. Check and make sure your mother board has the slot to fit a gt card. for instance I have the 8800 GTX EVGA ultra which is the size of a long slim shiny brick with a fan.You might want to upgrade your ram first though.

[tsujni]

Fuck!!!I revisited the insides of my laptop with other program and my RAM is DDR2!!!Yeah!!!Now,if I upgrade it in 2 GB,will I notice some results??Or do I have to upgrade my Graphic Card????

It all depends, more RAM will allow you to work with larger images. However, brushes are CPU bound. So you may find yourself disappointed if you double your RAM and your brushes still lag. Regarding GFX card, only if you have CS4 and you need to make sure it will utilize it. All I can remember is it needs to be PCI-E and there may be RAM and Shader Model requirements too.

[PieterV]

AFAIK, any pre CS4 photoshop isn't GPU dependant at all, all the pixel calculations are done trough the CPU. So you need a fast CPU and as much RAM as possible.

My 5 year old 2.8ghz P4 with 1gig ram runs CS3 just fine unless I use complex brushes on large resolutions. I keep it as clean as possible tough, useless apps get deleted, background processes are kept to a minimum etc...

[Kiera]

here's a tutorial how to optimize PS for your pc, maybe it helps (http://norke.deviantart.com/art/How-to-Optimize-Photoshop-36714486)

[Rist]

AFAIK, any pre CS4 photoshop isn't GPU dependant at all, all the pixel calculations are done trough the CPU. So you need a fast CPU and as much RAM as possible.

My 5 year old 2.8ghz P4 with 1gig ram runs CS3 just fine unless I use complex brushes on large resolutions. I keep it as clean as possible tough, useless apps get deleted, background processes are kept to a minimum etc...

I was thinking the same thing.

[Hexokinase]

Remove all unnecessary programs and move all of your non-vital files to an external hard drive. If your hard drive is getting full, the entire computer becomes noticeably (and painfully) sluggish.

[HunterKiller_]

Graphics card doesn't make much difference to Photoshop.
As long as you have one, it's fine.

Good thing is, laptop RAM is much more common nowadays, and not much more expensive than desktop RAM.

[JL.Alfaro]

I do not like 1 Gig or RAM, Sam I am
....could you use it on your Vista?
I could not use it on my Vista, Sam I am

You should really consider saving up for a decent desktop, you can configure a good set up for under 400 bucks at Tigerdirect. Im building one for my son and if its good enough for gaming...its good enough for PS.
Sometimes dropping more RAM into an older pc is like dropping a bigger gas tank on a compact car...it does nothing but show up on your system. If your CPU is not fast enough and your PSU not powerful enough then you are left with most of the same problems or you get brand new problems. You have to take into consideration the bus speed allowed by the mobo and then find the highest compatible RAM for that speed. For any work PC I would seriously suggest using a 64bit OS, which allows for larger bus speeds and more RAM. PS takes up alot of CPU power as well as RAM. If you have any other program open while working on PS on a single processor setup with minimal RAM(1Gig) you might experience PC crashing, program freezing etc. A better CPU would be ideal- I would suggest a quad if you like to multi-task like myself. ( I usually have music, PS, Illustrator, Firefox, and/or a video playing on the bg with no problems)but thats IMO, a decent dual core will do.

Laptops age faster than dogs do, it might be time for an upgrade. Get to workin' and savin' and get yourself a good Toshiba or that Dell that seems decent or even a macbook if you are not planning on doing much 3D stuff.

good luck