iMac: is a 256mb graphics card enough for Photoshop

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Hi,

My wife is looking at switching to an iMac. She is studying art & design, and is looking at doing a degree. She wants to use Photoshop and Illustrator, and I'd like to know if the dedicated 256mb graphics card is sufficient, or would she the 512mb card? Also, will 2GB of RAM be enough? Many thanks in advance for any helpful responses.

Andy :D
 

vansmith

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The vid card is more than enough. If you are concerned, here are the Illustrator system requirements and the Photoshop system requirements.

As for the RAM, it depends on how much she will be doing at a time. If she has a lot of windows open, I would recommend getting more. That said, don't get it through Apple - you can get RAM much cheaper yourself from a computer store. If you have trouble replacing the RAM, we would be more than glad to help. If the iMac is anything like the MB, the manual that comes with it will tell you how to replace the RAM.
 
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She would be fine with a 64MB video card... even a 32MB one would be fine... though, you would be hard pressed to find any new computer with one that small these days.

What will make the biggest difference is the amount of System RAM she has.
I would suggest at least 2GB, though if she is going to school for design 4GB might be better.
Just get whatever the base model has, then purchase the RAM after the sale and install it yourself.
 
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She would be fine with a 64MB video card... even a 32MB one would be fine... though, you would be hard pressed to find any new computer with one that small these days.

What will make the biggest difference is the amount of System RAM she has.
I would suggest at least 2GB, though if she is going to school for design 4GB might be better.
Just get whatever the base model has, then purchase the RAM after the sale and install it yourself.

32mb? Even with CS4 utilizing the video card?
 

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