Memory

[jalopy]

Hey everyone

Another macbook pro related question from me- I recently completed two caricatures using photoshop and painter, swapping between the two programs but mostly using painter. Every time I'd been using painter for a couple of hours straight I noticed that it was getting very sluggish- not switching between tools quickly, not zooming in and out quickly, not even panning with the hand tool properly. Once I restarted my whole system it worked okay, but after a couple of hours, the same thing.

I don't know if this is normal, or if I don't have the memory preferences set properly, or if I need more memory in my laptop. Currently I have 2 G of ram. I have a 10 G partition on an external hard disk that I use as the scratch disk for both photoshop and painter. I have no idea what the optimal size is for a scratch disk so I went for more than I thought was necessary. I've got painter set up to use 80% of the available memory.

Anyone got any ideas what's happening? Have I got the settings wrong, or would it be worth buying some extra ram? (the apple store charges $400 for an extra 2 G!!!)

Cheers,

James

[jalopy]

...forgot to mention- the file dimensions were A3....

[leesheppard]

Firstly don't buy memory from Apple stores. They charge insane prices for the same brands that most PC stores will sell you them for. They've all seemed to develop the knack for charging Mac users with the notion that they think it's genuine Apple product, which Apple don't make. Apple Centre Bondi Junction may be different in that it is a store not attached to the Next Byte chain. Also RAM is like petrol, it's price is all over the shop. I'd suggest you try Kingston memory as an example and go from there.

With regard to your sluggish Mac, it's your settings. Take the file size you are working on, let's say it's a 5MB file. These programs retain a snapshot of up to 5 images so that should you make a mistake you can go back to previous versions. Undo is the key word here. So to allow you to keep undo-ing mistakes, the programs keep versions of your artwork in memory. Painter and Photoshop can be set to remember a certain number of undo's. Photoshop as an example of before, will keep 5 backup "states" of your image in memory taking your actual working file size to 25MB.

If you are working on an A3 caricature, your image size should not really exceed 160dpi as most bubble jet and laser printers no matter what size or brand do not print more than 120dpi. Even newspaper and magazine's can't print beyond this level. If you were to be increasing the print size beyond A3 then yes increase the DPI size. If not, keep it low.

So check the preferences in your programs, look for History and make your changes there. Keep your undo's to a minimum. Also you'll find the program works faster if you regularly save. Alternatively in Photoshop you can purge history in the Edit menu and see a speed difference.

Another thing is, your processor is possibly overheating after hours of work. It is a laptop and doesn't get air as quickly as a desktop machine. Logitech make a nice perspex laptop angled stand to allow better airflow, and Griffin Technology make the iCurve. Both will increase the airflow to the processor's casing and allow minor cooling. Just remember, you are doing a function that requires heavy use of the processors in this computer. If this work is normal, you should look at buying a desktop rather than laptop machine.

[jalopy]

Awesome, thanks Lee. I'll change those settings.

James