Speed issues: CS2/CS3 on iMac G5 Power PC

Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi

I'm running InDesign CS2, Photoshop and Illustrator CS3 at home on:

– iMac G5, PowerMac8,2,
– PowerPC G5 (3.0),
– 2GHz(CPU speed),
– 512 KB L2 Cache on 1 CPU and
– 512MB memory

And my programs are very slow compared to the new Macs at work. I've heard certain versions of CS wont run well on non intel machines (like mine). However I cant use older versions of CS because I need to bring stuff home from work (all CS3).

Can anyone explain my problem and maybe suggest any solutions. Would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Marc
 
Joined
Jan 3, 2008
Messages
107
Reaction score
0
Points
16
It is probably slow because your running modern, intensive software on an older machine. The PowerMac G5 (I'm assuming thats what you mean) you have now is a very capable machine -- with enough resources put into it. I recommend putting a lot more RAM into your machine. Dependent on your model, you can put as much as 4-16 GB into it. Now, if it's and iMac (I was a bit confused on your "iMac G5, PowerMac 8,2'" statement) you can only upgrade to 1 GB I think. System maintenance with a program like OnyX or MainMenu wouldn't be bad either.
 
Joined
Mar 30, 2004
Messages
4,744
Reaction score
381
Points
83
Location
USA
Your Mac's Specs
12" Apple PowerBook G4 (1.5GHz)
A memory upgrade would be a cheap way to get a large speed boost, not only for the Creative Suite, but for most everything you do on that computer.

Having a PowerPC Mac, at least for now, is not a factor. The CS2 generation runs much faster on PowerPC machines than on Intel machines; CS3 runs well on either.

Even so, an older Mac will not match the performance of a newer Mac; that's a fact of life.
 
OP
M
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Okay, should have done this a while ago.

Given my Mac (spec above), and the DDR SDRAM / PC3200U-30330 memory I already have in. Can someone point me in the right direction for an extra 1Gb card that meets my type of Mac?

Also, would anyone advise to replace my existing 512Mb card too to gain a maximum 2 Gb of memory? (My Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign are running slowly at the moment)

One last question, I have the 17inch version of this mac. Does anyone know of a reliable site that I can use to install this memory myself?

Cheers

Marc
 
Joined
Oct 22, 2007
Messages
8,967
Reaction score
287
Points
83
Location
London
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Mini Core i7 2012 | White 2009 MacBook 2 Ghz | 733 Mhz G4 Quicksilver
OWC or crucial can supply the ram you need

also, another way of speeding up CS2 a bit is to adjust the undo levels in Illustrator and Photoshop (I set it as 10 which is fine for me)

Also, Photoshop's history can slow you down, ramp the levels back to a sensible amount


And finally - what are you using for font management and do you usually have tons of fonts open

Lastly - how much free space does your hard disk have
 
OP
M
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thanks

I'll try the undo/history thing sounds useful.

I'm just using Font Book at home and there are a lot of fonts in there, but there doesn't seem to be a way to activate / deactivate the fonts like you can in Suitcase at work.

How does it work? Should you just delete the fonts out of Fontbook when you're done with them?

Hard disk wise, I've just moved everything to an external hardrive. So I'm only using 39Gb of my 149Gb available.
 
Joined
Oct 22, 2007
Messages
8,967
Reaction score
287
Points
83
Location
London
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Mini Core i7 2012 | White 2009 MacBook 2 Ghz | 733 Mhz G4 Quicksilver
You can manage your fonts easier this way

If you are going to start loading quite a few fonts, font book is not the best app, the free font explorer is much much better

http://www.linotype.com/fontexplorerX

If you really want to manage your fonts well I suggest the suitcase (another font management tool - not free) guide (the guide is free)

dl.extensis.com/downloads/ SC/EN/P/Fonts_Best_Practices_in_OSX.pdf

Just substitute use Suitcase with use Linotype FontExplorer
 
Joined
Aug 2, 2005
Messages
1,229
Reaction score
75
Points
48
Your Mac's Specs
2.6GHz Core i7 15" MacBook Pro - 8GB DDR3 SDRAM - 750GB 7200 RPM HDD - GeForce 650M GT 1GB VRAM
– 512MB memory

There's your problem.

Ah, I see I others beat me to the punch, so to speak. :p

For good deals on RAM, try newegg.com. Just make sure you know the exact specifications of your RAM before looking it up, and you should be good. The stuff there ranges from very low quality to very high quality, though, so be sure to read up on a given model before buying it.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top