| Speed freaks
One sure fire way to make
enemies on the Internet, is to slag off the
Operating System they use. To make the move from
one computer platform to another is like changing
the way you vote, or switching camera systems
even. These are not just aesthetic
considerations, there is the expense of having to
re buy software. Neither computer operating
system can claim to be perfect, so it's also a
case of 'better the devil you know'. The speed
tips described here relate to the Macintosh,
which is the system I use, though many will apply
to PCs as well. For example, you should be able
to buy the same utilities packages and PCI boards
which are now common to both platforms.
System
software
A computer that's in daily
use, will after a while noticeably slow down
without regular house keeping. You should once a
month rebuild the desktop file by holding down
the Command and option keys simultaneously at
start up. This maintenance operation makes it
easier for the computer to locate files (just as
when you tidy up your own desk). Norton Utilities
is a suite of programs that add functionality:
Norton's Speed disk has to be run from a separate
start up disc (one built on a floppy for example)
and will defragment files on the main hard disc
or any other drive. This is essential on the
drive you allocate as the primary scratch disc to
Photoshop. If you're experiencing bugs or
operating glitches and want to diagnose the
problem, running Nortons Disc Doctor will hunt
out disc problems and fix them on the spot.
Configuring the system is important. Switch off
non-essential extensions, this will reduce start
up times and improve overall operating speed.
Make sure you understand what you are doing and
can correctly identify what each extension does
(you'll need to refer to a system book). Some
extensions are essential to run software and
external drives but most you don't really need.
In the memory control panel, switch off virtual
memory and reduce the disk cache to its lowest
level (if you mostly intend running one software
program at a time like Photoshop). I haven't
tried out RAM doubler 2.0 yet , but I know
Photoshop doesn't like version 1.0 and nor does
my printer, so I recommend you leave it switched
off. Live Picture seems to be OK with RAM Doubler
though, but its still best to buy more memory and
allocate a sensible amount of RAM to each
application. Photoshop should be run on its own
with an allocation of 1.5 MB to 2MB less than the
total available after taking into account system
requirements.
One of the good things about Now Utilities is its
ability to quickly navigate through nestled
folders. When you mouse down on any folder icon,
a sub-menu of folders or documents appear, drag
to any folder there and you can see the contents
of each. A similar trick can be achieved by
placing an alias of the hard disc in the Apple
Menu items folder. Aliases are useful for all
sorts of things, you can make an alias of each
image archived on a removable drive and keep
these stored on the hard disc. The alias folder
will occupy only a small amount of space. Double
click on an image thumbnail and you'll get a
message telling you which disc to insert. One can
get carried away and create too many aliases and
duplicates of files. Laundromac is a new
utilities software package, designed to remove
duplicate documents and aliases and help keep
track of alias changes - it generally promises to
keep your hard disc in better shape.
If you're a Power PC user, then you'll benefit
from installing the latest system update. The
earlier System 7.5 relied on old code being run
under emulation. The current update runs more of
the system software on native Power PC native
code.
Hardware
solutions
Top of everyone's shopping
list should be RAM memory. At time of writing,
memory chip prices have dropped to about a fifth
of what they were at the beginning of this year.
Its all right to learn on low resolution files in
Photoshop using a machine configured with 16MB to
24MB total memory, but once you intend carrying
out work on full size files you should think of
upgrading to at least 56MB. Quite a few
photographers I know, have 256MB installed and
find this very useful for working on image files
between 35MB - 60MB. Live Picture will prefer to
work with more than 24MB but Live Picture
performance is linked more to video display, hard
disk and processor speed. These factors also help
boost Photoshop's performance, so lets start with
the processor. Recent mid to top of the range
Macs such as the 7500, allow a full processor
upgrade whilst some older LC, Centris and Quadra
Macs can be upgraded to Power PC. Another option
(if a slot's provided), is to soup up the
performance of your processor chip by adding a
level 2 cache, which will add a 10 - 30% speed
increase. Or add a turbo clip on device such as
the Warp factor 135 turbo clip. A friend of mine
who installed one of these, described it as quite
nerve racking taking the computer apart to clip
on this primitive looking device to the
motherboard, praying it wouldn't irrevocably
damage the processors, but apparently it works a
treat!
If Photoshop is accused of being slow, that's not
the fault of the software, but the architecture
of the computer running it. Desktop computers are
designed to run all types of programs. The
inclusion of Nubus or PCI expansion slots on the
motherboard means you can add from a whole range
of components to the basic computer, converting
it to a customised workstation for broadcast
video editing, 3D modelling or professional image
editing. Radius make accelerating boards like
Photoengine, which is dedicated to boosting
Photoshop performance. Powershop (from Adaptive
solutions) is another dedicated Photoshop board,
and can add a 300% speed boost, on the 9500 given
enough RAM. Adding Video RAM (VRAM) increases the
screen display potential, so you can choose a
larger resolution display on multi sync monitors
at greater colour depths. With Nubus / PCI video
accelerating boards, you get all this and at
faster speeds. In fact with accelerated 24 bit
video boards now starting at around £400.00,
they are no longer such an expensive option.
Apple, Umax, Daystar and Power computing now make
multiprocessor or multiprocessor expandable
computers. The Daystar Genesis is a prime
example, with four Power PC604 150 Mhz
processors. To take full advantage of
multiprocessing, the user must run 'enabled'
software. Available so far are: Photoshop,
Premier and After effects all from Adobe, with
Quark, Macromedia and Strata not far behind.
Image files continually read and write data to
the hard disc (which leads to the disc
fragmentation problem I mentioned earlier). The
fastest disc drives are either 1 or 2 gig SCSI AV
drives, wide SCSI 3 drives (requiring a PCI card)
or RAID systems (a highly reliable mini tower of
2 or more drives working in tandem). There are
essential benefits to having an extra drive. keep
one separate as the primary scratch disc in
Photoshop and once a month defragment the disc.
When you work in Live Picture, have the Ivues on
one disc and build to the other.
The larger the monitor the better. A great new
feature of Photoshop 4.0 is faster and more
efficient screen displays, but you'll still
appreciate working with a decent sized screen and
adding an extra monitor if your system allows,
use the smaller screen to display the palette
windows. Graphic tablets with a cordless stylus
are much easier to use than a mouse and pressure
sensitive too. Keep the imaging workstation free
of unnecessary clutter - the more applications
and files you load up the more the machine will
slow down. It is best to have a separate computer
to run all the office software Internet / modem
connections and games etc.
The best overall advice I can give is to think
ahead, don't just dash in and start manipulating.
Work out what you want to do and plan a computer
session in stages. This is especially true for
Live Picture work. Don't rely solely on the
manuals and tutorials, read up as much as you
can. I highly recommend the Photoshop WOW book,
which includes lots of useful tips for newcomers
and advanced users alike and has some decent
images too.
Speed
tips
Speed tips for
Photoshop
- Load Photoshop first
allocate as much RAM as you can, and run
on its own.
- Have plenty of free
hard disc space available (must at least
match the available RAM).
- Regularly clear the
clipboard memory (Purge command on
V.4.0).
- Learn to use the
keyboard shortcuts.
- Learn to use the
Command palette and install you own
custom macros.
- Get rid of unwanted
mask channels as you work.
- Consider converting
some mask channels to paths and erasing
the channel mask. Paths occupy only a few
K of disc space.
- Keep the minimum
number of image files open at any one
time.
- Use the move tool to
copy selections and layers between
documents
- Work on a low-res
version of an image first.
- Merge layers whenever
you can to save on memory usage. Use
Quick edit to work on large Tiff files.
- If you can't run a
filter, try filtering each colour channel
individually.
- Or, select half the
image, filter, inverse the selection and
filter again.
- Save in native
Photoshop format or uncompressed Tiff
format to the desktop.
- Save to the hard disc
not to removable media (except Jazz
drives).
- Stop using magic wand
and lasso tools to make selections. Learn
to draw paths!
- Version 4.0 will offer
many excellent speed improvements
including screen display, batch
processing via actions palette and free
transform tool.
Speed tips for Live
Picture
- Live Picture needs
RAM, but processor speed is the more
important factor.
- Again, use a fast hard
disc, ideally have 2 drives - one for
Ivues, one for building to.
- A few shortcuts
available with the option key.
- If new to Live
Picture, using the program simply as a
positioning / composite tool will provide
immediate time saving compared to
performing the same tasks in Photoshop.
- Problems with slow
screen refreshing? Try switching off the
eyeball icons on layers you don't need to
view all the time, especially colour
correction and colourize layers. Another
suggestion is to reduce the document
window size.
Copyright - Martin Evening 1996
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