R trademark symbol photoshop file series#
We asked Photoshop to assemble a poster by executing a series of pre-determined actions. The results speak for themselves, yet underestimate just how much of a speed gain you might see because our Photoshop test script involved manipulating images and applying effects that had already been pre-loaded and created.
While the system we tested was an older model that was capable of installing only 16GB of memory, it provided a good baseline to assess the role memory and storage plays in completing a sample workflow. These steps were then turned into a script, which would allow us to remove the human element from poster assembly and look at pure component performance.īefore running the script, however, we launched six other applications and left them running in the background because we’ve found that most designers are constantly multitasking between project elements, and we wanted to simulate a real-world design scenario as realistically as possible. Our design team took one of our finished files and created a script that delineated 72 steps that culminated in the finished poster.
By testing four configurations of the same base system, we were able to isolate performance variables and assess how DRAM and SSDs impacted a typical graphic design project – creating a poster. While it’s well known that more memory and faster storage speed up graphic design in general and slow-running Photoshop in particular, we wanted to put theory to the test and quantify the impact you might see. It’s also a gift that keeps on giving because SSDs have no small moving parts, meaning they’re less prone to failure – and less prone to crashing and losing a client’s files. When you factor in ever-increasing resolution requirements, growing file sizes, and the need to save projects constantly in case clients change their mind, the ability to save and call up files quickly is a gift to yourself. That’s the power of an SSD, and it really kicks in if you frequently save incremental versions of a project. Switching from a hard drive to a solid state drive in Photoshop is like moving from dial-up Internet to broadband – it’s that big of a jump and the speed never lets up. It’s also what loads Photoshop, and it’s what your system uses to manipulate images and render when you run out of memory (a common occurrence when multitasking). Why an SSD is so important: Your system’s storage drive is what loads and saves every image and document you’re working on. Everyday actions that rely on storage: Booting up, opening Photoshop and other applications, loading images, saving files, rendering and manipulating media when your computer uses virtual memory (use the storage drive in place of memory, or as a “scratch disk”)