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theis · Feb 4, 2006, 09:57 AM

I'm seriously considering buying a iMac Core Duo 20", but there are a couple of things that I'm concerned with.
First I don't know if I'll be able to install Creative Suite 2 (Standard) at all. My license is an upgrade version which requires a earlier version of Photoshop on the machine. I own Photoshop 6.0 but as you all probably know it is a Classic app which can't be installed on an Intel Mac. Does anyone know if I can install the CS2 package simply by pointing to the PS6 CD without installing it or by pulling some other trick?
The second issue is whether the performance will be sufficient for me. I have read dozens of Rosetta and Photoshop CS2-related posts so I'm fully aware that there is going to be a substantial performance impact compared to a matching iMac G5. Actually I don't care much about how long time it takes for a certaing filter to complete (which seems to be the de facto comparison criteria) but UI responsiveness, multitasking capabilities (for instance running Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign simultaneously) and the ability to open dozens of documents in one session matter more to me. Does anyone know how these factors compare to for instance an iMac G5 (or my current iBook G4/933 for that matter)?

mduell · Feb 4, 2006, 01:20 PM

You can probably copy CS2 from your old hard drive to your new one.

It's going to be a lot better at multitasking than your iBook (two CPUs, faster architecture all around), but it's going to need a lot of RAM because Rosetta adds some overhead.

macintologist · Feb 4, 2006, 02:10 PM

You bring up a good point. If you keep on buying these "upgrades" they ask for the previous version.

What if you bought Adobe Photoshop 4.0 outright, and have been upgrading ever since. That means you have to install PS 4, first? Then upgrade to 5, then to 6 and so on?

Why don't they just verify you are a registered user and then send you a full version labeled as an upgrade. God dammit I hate Adobe.

purplegenie · Feb 4, 2006, 10:40 PM

All you have to do for an upgrade is install the latest upgrade from the discs. If the program doesn't find the program already on your system, the installer will simply ask that you insert the original media (the one that made you eligible for the upgrade) in the drive just to verify, and then you can continue with the newest version install.

You do not have to have the earlier version actually installed to install the upgrade version.

Originally Posted by macintologist

You bring up a good point. If you keep on buying these "upgrades" they ask for the previous version.

What if you bought Adobe Photoshop 4.0 outright, and have been upgrading ever since. That means you have to install PS 4, first? Then upgrade to 5, then to 6 and so on?

Why don't they just verify you are a registered user and then send you a full version labeled as an upgrade. God dammit I hate Adobe.

theis · Feb 5, 2006, 07:51 AM

Thank you very much for your useful replies. If it is as easy as simply pointing to the original installation CDs it shouldn't be a problem to install it. And given that the multitasking capabilities under Rosetta are much better than my current setup I think I might push the order button soon :-)

I will order the iMac CD with 2 GB of RAM. Has any of you got the chance to use any of the CS applications with that amount of RAM?

fpark · Jun 20, 2006, 04:55 PM

InDesign:

I recently upgraded from CS1 to CS2. However, when attempting to package a file from InDesign, it crashes on.

I've tried different file sizes and it doessn't seem to matter what I'm "packaging" it still crashes. At first I thought it might be a font issue, any thought?

stefanicotine · Jun 20, 2006, 05:53 PM

My experience with CS2 hasn't been as exceptional as CS1. I find it runs slower. Which is too bad, because it's an amazing program. Just, make sure you have 2 gigs of ram in there. I went into my Photoshop preferences and cranked up the resource allowance and now my tablet runs alot smoother. So you could do that. Try giving it 1.5gb. Although, that could be bad if you have all those other apps running. I usually have CyberDuck, iTunes, Adium, Safari, Firefox, Dreamweaver 8, Photoshop CS1, and Textedit open at once and it runs perfectly fine.