Ok, ok, I admit it.  I've been using Photoshop 5.5 for close to eight years now.  It's fast and light; it works well with my Wacom tablet and dual-core cpu and it has been a great work-horse for both personal and professional projects for a long time.  That said, I've been playing with a trial version of CS3 and from what I can see... it's just Photoshop... but it takes much longer to load than my old favorite.  I still don't have a solid reason to upgrade because 5.5 does everything I want it to do and it does them well, EXCEPT it lacks the ability to use ABR custom brush sets.  

I've read about CS versions being resource hogs and a lot of CS/2 reviews said they wished they hadn't upgraded from 7.  Can any CS users convince me to shell out the cash?  Are there any features CS has that you "can't live without" now that you've used it for a while?   Is it really worth it just to gain the ability to use those cool brush sets?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

I can live without being able to edit animation frames, being able to view 3D objects, being able to edit HDRI files, et al., but these things are probly vital to some folks. when ya say it's slow-loading, can ya give us times for 5.5 and cs3? in my case, with various other apps running, it takes approx. 15 seconds to load. APS 4 takes 6 seconds, so I reckon if I had 5.5, it might take about 8 seconds.

I just upgraded from PS7 to CS3 a couple of days ago. Can't give an overall reaction yet, but I will say that the upgrade process was simple and easy (I got the DVD version from Amazon, so I can't say about the electronic dl version). 

CS3 starts up fast and doesn't seem to run a bit slower or hog more resources (the fear of that was a big reason for me not upgrading to CS2). Outside of having to reset all my preferences, the transition has been seamless so far.

There's no way you could PAY me to go back to PS7 or lower because there's too many features I depend on (Healing Brush for example). THAT being said, if 5.5 does everything you need it to, why upgrade?

Yes, Photoshop is a resources hog, but so was 5.5 when I was using it (granted, on a P3 with a whopping 512MB or RAM and an astoundingly big 13GB hard drive - oh yeah, living the fast life - ya jealous?). Given today's systems, it kind of balances out really.

Good luck-
-Lew ;-)

imho 5.5 is one of the best versions of Photoshop ever, so i can see why you've stayed with it for so long. I have CS3 at work and i like it One feature I cannot live without is the Screen Mode, that lets you position a corner of your image in the center of your screen to work on just that area. Layer Groups is a very nice feature which lets you select a few layers and cause them to group into a layer folder, which you can then turn off the whole set or move them all at once I use those 2 features most every day

Thundering1 brings up a good point in asking why I would consider upgrading if 5.5 does what I need.  The answer to that is simple, there may be aspects CS3 that I don't yet "know" that I need. :)  

I have spent some time experimenting with the CS3 features that people have mentioned in this thread and I can see the value of those features.  Originally I was only interested in being able to use new brush sets, but with each passing day I find new reasons to love CS3. 

Twoo - vewy twoo.
Well, I guess my advice might be this - yes, upgrade EVENTUALLY, but as 5.5 does what you need it to at this point, don't break your neck and go into debt to upgrade. Take your time and just do it when you have the resources.

When we talk about things WE can't live without - you've been living without them and doing just fine. It's $600 - most people don't have that lying around, so save a little here, a little there...

Good luck-
-Lew ;-)

Sorry - $650 for standard, $1000 for Extended - and I have NO idea if you can upgrade from 5.5 (I don't think so, but it's worth asking if it's possible - save you a LOT of money).

I would double check with Adobe.  From what I understand you will not be able to upgrade from 5.5.  The min upgradable version is 7.0.  So you would have to purchase a new full version.

I'm using the CS3 Extended demo and it's just laggy enough to be frustrating. Could someone who has CS3 Extended suggest some of the ways to perhaps get it to run faster? I've adjusted the Cache and given it all the memory it recommends (about 68% of my total memory or 700 megs RAM), the scratch disk is giant (well over 250 gigs free), and I'm using Bilinear filtering. Could the Bridge be slowing things down and does that have to be installed when installing CS3 (I have no other Adobe products for it to bridge to)? I'm going to upgrade if I can get it running as smoothly as 7, but if not, I might pass.

Thanks in advance.

SnowS

What are your machine specs? CPU (brand, model and clock), graphics card, RAM (type and amount)?

Yes, Bridge, while running, is a resource hog, but you don't have to run it while running PS. Since I've got 4GB of RAM it doesn't slow much down, but I can still tell there's a performance hit. It's just easier for me to keep it running than load it every time I wanna open an image.

-Lew

My system is a PC with XP SP2, Pentium D dual-core 2.66 ghz, 1 gig of RAM, nVidia GeForce 7600 card with 512 RAM.

I read some posts on other forums from a CS3 user who had 4 gig of RAM and it turned out an off-line printer was the cause of his slowdown. Was that you?  :)

SnowS

No - that one wasn't me.

Wow - those are nice specs to have CS3 lag for you!

All I can think is up the RAM? 1GB isn't that much for Photoshop - it's above minimum soecs, but still not too much.

CS3 uses 70MB of RAM (pretty sure that's what I'm reading), and x-amount (you said 700MB?) is allocated to CS3 for files, and keep in mind there are other operations running on your computer that take up decent amounts of RAM (I think Explorer - your desktop - takes up around 45 on its own). So, yeah, all I can come up with is up the RAM - it's the most immediate thing that comes to mind, and XP can handle and distribute 2GB no problem.

Does CS3 recognize that you have 2 cores?

Possibly out of date drivers being used with the new CS3? Maybe nVidia has a new one?

Any computer experts out there with ideas?
Hope that helps-
-Lew ;-)

SnowSultan,

You and I have very simular specs (the only difference is that I have 2 gigs of ram and am overclocking my rig a little), I have CS3 and can run it with Poser and 3ds Max all open at the same time with no lag.

So your rig should be good, but maybe you need to up your ram a little. Right now that's where I would say you are bottle necking a little bit.

Regards

Thanks very much for the advice so far.

" Does CS3 recognize that you have 2 cores?"

I'm not sure, do you know how I can tell it that I do?

EDIT: Um, I must have misread something because I just ran a scan for RAM upgrades at Crucial and it says I have 2 gig of RAM. Here's what the report said:

• Maximum Memory Capacity:  2048 MB
• Currently Installed Memory:  2048 MB
• Available Memory Slots:   N.A.
• Number of Banks:  4
• Dual Channel Support:   N.A.
• CPU Manufacturer:  GenuineIntel
• CPU Family:   Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 2.66GHz Model 4, Stepping 7
• CPU Speed:  2672 MHz

I had a problem with some bad RAM a while back, which probably led to me forgetting how much working RAM I actually had. Sorry about that!

So now I really don't know what the problem could be. Maybe the demo runs slower than the full version for some reason?

SnowS

@SnowS

CS3E was a bit slow out of the box for me, but after a few tweaks it runs faster than CS or CS2.

Try this….

Open Bridge>Edit>Preferences>Startup Scripts>and click the “Disable All” button.

I also deleted the folder “Version Cue” found in “C:Program FilesCommon FilesAdobeStartup Scripts CS3”, as that was launching my browser and slowing down the system (all the time…not just when an Adobe product was running).

Turning off auto updates also helps a lot.

There is also a way to kill off the “Bonjour” crap that runs, but I wouldn’t mess with that on the demo version (Not sure that it slows down anything…but it is annoying).

“…Bridge… does that have to be installed when installing CS3…”

With this version of PS, Adobe installs everything with no options not to…
However with some very simple text editing on one file you can do a custom install and choose which components you don’t want/use (Bridge, Stock Photos, etc.).

I can post a “how-to” if you’re interested.

SWAMP

Thanks very much SWAMP, those fixes may have helped slightly. There's still a slight lag when opening new images, but there doesn't seem to be as much when applying filters. I'll try working with it more and see if the lag is apparent anywhere else.

What is the 'Bonjour crap' you mentioned? I haven't come across anything like that yet.

Thanks again, I'm a little bit closer to upgrading now.   ;)

SnowS

Bonjour is Apple’s technology for Networking and file sharing that Adobe uses in its Version Cue (it’s also used in iTunes, printer software, etc.).
Adobe’s implementation of it has it always running and searching for and trying to connect to networks and servers.
You’ll see it running (in Task Manager) under names like “Bonjour” or “mDNSResponder”.

It’s very intrusive, unwanted, and installed without your knowledge… hence my “crap” label.

Anyway… you said the scan you just ran showed you had 2048 MB of memory “installed”, but when you set Photoshop to 68% it’s using 700MB (?).
If I understand you correctly, that sounds like you have some more bad memory.

SWAMP

Ah, I do see "mDNSResponder" in the Task Manager. It's tiny though (like 3k), but I wouldn't have known it was from Apple. Thanks for that info.

I just got back from the computer store and now have 2 gig of working RAM in my system. CS3 still lags just like before, so that wasn't the problem.   :(    I guess there are just two more things to wonder about: what Thundering said about telling Photoshop that I have a dual-core system (how?) and could the fact that I'm running it on a 37" 1920x1080 widescreen monitor have anything to do with the lag?

Thanks very much in advance and for the advice so far.

SnowS

(Newb poster poking his head in)

Based on your gallery and my limited understanding of 3d rendering, I can't imagine much use for CS3 for you. The huge advantage to me, as a photographer, between older versions of PS and the PS/CSx versions is layer masks, smart objects and non-destructive filters. This, of course, is also ignoring the photo-specific bits that make Bridge, ACR, etc so beneficial for me.
 
Looking at your images, it seems you are basically using PS for final touch up of your work. Unless you're spending a lot of time using custom brushes to add realistic skin tone, filters for motion blur and foreground separation, that sort of thing....then the more advanced versions of PS aren't really going to be worth your time.

On the other hand, if you want to use saturation/blur tricks to enhance your compositions; blur, noise, and skin mottling to add realism, if you want to be able to edit your images non-destructively....then there's a lot of power between the CSx versions and what you're using.

Hrm....I hope that doesn't come across as too critical for my first post.

Thank you for the honest comments, Amul, they're not critical at all. Although I do like the non-destructive filters and a few other features of the CS3 demo, there isn't enough for me to justify upgrading (not to mention putting up with the inexplicable lag). When I loaded a small GIF in the CS3 demo today and my MP3 player ground to a screeching halt, that was enough for me. 7 is fast and does what I want, I'll stick to that.

Thanks to everyone who provided information and help, it's appreciated.  :)  Take care.

SnowS

Go 7 ! holding on strong !  too many fatures can make the purpose this program was made for a bit vague... as dynamic as PS is attempting to be i think 3D/film and other nefarious addons could be seperated from PS much like imageready is ....