Datasheet

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Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended White Paper
10. Optimize Cache Level and Cache Tile settings
Whenever you make a change to an image onscreen, your computer must redraw the image. The larger the
image, the more processing power and time required. To make screen redrawing as fast as possible, Photoshop
CS5 uses caching to continuously update a lower resolution version as you work. The default setting is four
cache levels, but if you routinely work with images that have large pixel dimensions, you can improve
redrawing performance by setting the level higher. Conversely, if you typically work with small-dimension
images that contain many layers, you may want to set Cache Level to a level of two. As the cache is also used
for other operations, such as the Healing Brush, it is not recommended to set a value of one as this will turn off
caching completely, reducing performance in these allied areas.
When Photoshop processes a photo, it splits the picture into smaller image sections called tiles, and it works
on each in turn. By default, the size of each tile is 128Kb. You can alter the amount of memory allocated for the
processing of each tile via the options in the Cache Tile Size pull-down menu in the Performance panel. Larger
tile sizes reduce the amount of time Photoshop takes to process an image, especially on computers with more
than 1GB of RAM.
You’ll notice improvements in the speed with which images are drawn
to screen when both Cache Level and Cache Tile settings are
optimized. To help with accurately setting values, the History & Cache
section of the Performance panel in the Preferences dialog box now
contains three buttons to help match settings with your work
environment. The values set by these buttons will vary depending on
the amount of RAM and number of processors in your computer. Click
the option that best fits your workflow to set both Level and Tile
settings.
Tall and Thin—Best for users working with images with smaller
document dimensions and many editing and enhancement layers.
Default—Designed for general use when a user will be working with a
variety of document types. This is the default setting.
Big and Flat—Works well with large images and few editing or
enhancement layers.
11. Reduce patterns and brush tips
Each custom pattern and brush tip you load increases the overall RAM required to run Photoshop CS5,
increasing the scratch disk size in the process. If you load up all the patterns and brush tips that ship with
Photoshop CS5, your scratch disk file will grow by hundreds of megabytes. To reduce the total RAM used,
minimize the number of patterns and brush tips and reduce the number of patterns used in Layer Styles that
use Bevel and Emboss Texture or Pattern Overlay.
12. Optimize GPU settings
With the increasing ability of Photoshop to use of the video card GPU for extra processing power, the
Preferences dialog box now includes dedicated GPU settings in both its Performance and 3D sections.
If a suitable video card is installed on your system, it will appear in the GPU Settings area of the Performance
section. To enable GPU acceleration, make sure that the Enable OpenGL Drawing option is selected. To
fine-tune the card’s performance, click the Advanced Settings button and select Basic, Normal, or Advanced,
matching the option with your requirements.
Basic—Uses the least amount of GPU memory to run the most basic OpenGL features when sharing the GPU
with other applications or when experiencing slow responsiveness. Select this option if you have other
programs running that also use the GPU or if you notice bad screen redraws or slower performance when using
GPU-accelerated features.
SeingtheHistoryandCachevaluesiseasierin
Photoshop CS5 thanks to the inclusion of three
buons—Tallandin,Default,andBigand
Flat—inthePerformancesectionofthe
Preferencesdialogbox.Selecttheoptionthat
bestmatchesyourworkload.