4 gigabytes of address space is an absolute limit in a 32-bit OS. You need to move up to 64-bit Vista to use 8gb (or more) ram.
That said, it’s perfectly possible to work with those file sizes on 4 gb ram. But it’s extremely important in that case to have a separate, dedicated drive for Photoshop scratch, preferably 2 drives set up as RAID 0.
Go with x64 vista first then try the file again ( in a 64 bit environment you can set PS to use just over 3gb ) then if you need more RAM then get 8GB.
But, like Freeagent said, x64 bit is the only way you will be able to use 8gb.
I work with massive files ( 45000 x 12000 pixels @250ppi ) and I need 16gb to keep things in check…..with vista ( search index, prefetch/superfetch etc disabled), photoshop and the image loaded, Vista will take up 12-14gb of RAM.
So the more ram the better IMO.
You will see improvements in performance with 8gb in PS. One thing I have noticed since upgrading to 16gb is that save times are dramatically faster – what would normally take 15 mins to save now takes between 2 to 5 mins.
Even with 16gb PS still goes to the scratch disk so a fast dedicated disk ( pref Raid 0 or 10k / 15k drive) is good advice.
Chris, just a suggestion:
prefetch/superfetch etc disabled
Try enabling it again and see how it works out. There’s some very smart caching going on there, saving you a lot of time, and if that RAM is needed elsewhere it’s immediately released. When the caching is at its most effective, you should have only a couple of MB’s free RAM.
BTW, is that the Asus P5Q Premium you have there, with 16 GB?
So with 8GB on Vista 64, what % do you allocate PS in the preferences?
In theory, 100% should be safe. I chickened out and stopped at 95…haven’t had any problems with that.
With the new 64-bit Photoshop I guess around 6 GB or 75 % will be a good starting point.
EDIT: …depending, of course. With heavy multitasking (PS/AI/ID/Bridge/Firefox etc) it might be a good idea to back down a little. Also remember, running huge files through ACR will come on top.
Hi Freeagent,
I will try that suggestion with the superfetch and monitor progress now I have 16gb – I disabled it as I noticed it was caching a lot of my large format files 2-4GB’s which resulted in a lot of read and writes when I was using Photoshop.
I just thought the RAM and hard drive access would be better served doing the job in hand and not loading stuff in case I needed it.
Also, Sometimes Vista does use up all the RAM especially when I needed to load two files then it shows 10 to 0 mb free.
Also, I have the Asus P5Q deluxe – It’s a really nice board and 4 x 4gb OCZ vista memory sticks. Sweet!
PS at 100% – did this even with 8GB and it was fine.
Chris,
P5Q Deluxe, of course. I want one, too…except the upcoming CS4 upgrade will wipe me out for a while (European price). Even if only the Design Standard suite. I shudder when I think of what the Master Collection crowd will have to part with just to stay current…
The Vista caching is wonderful. 0 MB free RAM is what you want.
Also, Sometimes Vista does use up all the RAM especially when I needed to load two files then it shows 10 to 0 mb free.
No it doesn’t…it just tells you it does.
Bob
