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Jeff. · Jul 28, 2006, 12:24 PM

Hello. I might get a 1.83GHz Macbook this winter. I will probably upgrade the RAM to 1GB and the HD to 80GB. I want to run Photoshop CS2 on it. I plan to get CS2 by purchasing an older version of Photoshop on ebay (like version 5 or 6) and then buying the CS2 upgrade for $150. Will that work? And if it does, how does Photoshop run on the 1.8 Macbook given the upgrades I'm going to get? Thanks.

iREZ · Jul 28, 2006, 12:51 PM

you need ALL the RAM you could get to run non UB apps. with 2gb of RAM, photoshops performance on my 1.83 imac was on par with a 1.5-1.67gh g4, but with only 1gb of RAM i dont even bother doing heavy tasks unless i quit all other apps running. if i were you, id spend cash for ps 7 and use that till cs3 comes out, due early next year (but hopefully adobe gets their s*** in order and surprises us earlier). also realize you wont be able to run either ps5 nor ps6 seeing how theyre os9 apps, but cs2 offers a way to only punch in your previous serial number to upgrade rather than having the app actually installed on your system.

Jeff. · Jul 28, 2006, 12:56 PM

Ok so I can buy Photoshop 5 on ebay, punch in the old serial number and use CS2? I'm hesitant to upgrade it to 2gb because I'm on a budget. Apple's upgrade is just too expensive. Is there a place I can get RAM on the cheap?

nickw311 · Jul 28, 2006, 01:30 PM

I use Photoshop 7 on my 2.0/1gb MacBook and it is alright. I am not a graphic designer so I don't use it very often but I will tell you that it is a ton faster with a gig of ran than with 512 mb.

Jeff. · Jul 28, 2006, 01:37 PM

I'm really into photography, so I use it to edit and enhance my photos. That's why I'm not going to pay full price for it.

Jeff. · Jul 28, 2006, 07:07 PM

Anyways, what is the cheapest (legitimate) way to get 2gb of RAM for a Macbook?

davidflas · Jul 28, 2006, 07:58 PM

Originally Posted by Jeff.

Anyways, what is the cheapest (legitimate) way to get 2gb of RAM for a Macbook?

I've been a Mac user since 1996 and have had many Apple computers since then. I've come to to trust www.datamem.com. The aren't the absolute cheapest, but they have great customer service (they actually answer the phone when you call, ... no automated system to deal with) They have lifetime warranty RAM for your MacBook that will cost $210USD for 2GB.

SierraDragon · Jul 28, 2006, 10:16 PM

Originally Posted by Jeff.

Hello. I might get a 1.83GHz Macbook this winter...

Wait until winter to ask your questions, because the Mac landscape will change between now and then.

fox-orian · Jul 28, 2006, 10:37 PM

I'm a digital artist, and I actually use Photoshop CS2 with a Wacom Intuos3 6x8.
I can't complain about the performance. It's very doable until CS3 comes out.
The performance is on par with my 2.4GHz Pentium4 PC with 1GB DDR 333mhz memory.

I have a 2.0GHz 1GB memory macbook. You can draw and do things just fine, however for large multi-layered images, expect to do some minor block-processing as Rosetta peices together the elements of the image. It's worth it, I would say. The MacBook screen adapts well to Photoshop, especially in the full-screen mode.

You could actually watch part of the latest Apple Keynote on the Apple Quicktime website. (The Q1~Q2 2006 Keynote -- not the upcoming WWDC one... not that it's even happened yet anyway.] Jobs gives a small live demo on how well Photoshop runs on the first intel imacs. It pretty much runs like that on the macbook too, if you have the memory.

You'd think Adobe could just release a little Universal Patcher like every other program out there?
It seemed like they were pissed about the move to Intel.

Case · Jul 28, 2006, 11:02 PM

I have the 1.83 with opnly 512 in that puppy and she runs photoshop CS2 fine. The open time is longer than on a PPC mac but when its open your fine. Im ordering 2GB's for it then that sucker will SOAR! : )

iREZ · Jul 28, 2006, 11:36 PM

go to outpost or newegg...two sticks should cost you no more than 180 after tax

msuper69 · Jul 29, 2006, 01:08 AM

Originally Posted by fox-orian

...

You'd think Adobe could just release a little Universal Patcher like every other program out there?
It seemed like they were pissed about the move to Intel.

Um, it's not as easy as creating "a little Universal Patcher".

They have to recompile the source code using an Intel compiler. This could (and probably does) mean a ton of work to rework the code to be compatible.

The problem with Adobe is that they have not migrated their source code to Xcode due to the amount of work that entails. Whether Adobe ever does (I think they will eventually) is debateable. Those developers who use Xcode to develop their programs can pretty much (although not always) just check the "Compile for Intel" box and create a Universal Binary.