I need to increase to 512MB of vRAM for Photoshop on iMac. How do I do that? Current Graphics ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro 256MB
iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5), GraphicsATIRadeon HD 2600 Pro 256MB
That is a discreet GPU with fixed amount of VRAM. You cannot change it. You can sell it and buy a newer model with a GPU that provides more VRAM.
You cannot.
There are no user serviceable or replaceable parts (other than, possibly, the iMac's optical drive and internal hard drive).
The CPU and GPU are NOT upgradeable.
Do you need to run the latest Photoshop?
Older versions are less hardware demanding.
I still only use both PS CS3 and CS4 on my older 2009 iMac.
After those two replies that brings up the question as to how badly do you really need Photoshop, enough to get a new Mac?
Also, you're worried about your VRAM amount, you should also be worried about your currently installed RAM, too!
To run both the OS and Photoshop, your iMac is going to need a lot more RAM than 4 GBs.
OS X 10.9 Mavericks really needs the use use of your entire 4 GBs of RAM.
I recommend installing, at least, 16 GBs of RAM.
Correct and reliable Mac RAM can be purchased from online Mac RAM sources Crucial memory or OWC (macsales.com).
By installing 16 GBs of RAM, you'll have, at least, 12 GBs of RAM available to applications, as well as for use with Photoshop.
And I tend to agree with Allan Eckert.
Do you really need Photoshop?
What do you think you need Photoshop for?
What do you want to be able to do with Photoshop?
A pretty good and powerful Photoshop-like replacement, IMO, is Pixelmator OR the cheaper version of Photoshop called Photoshop Elements.
Pixelmator is still cheaper and is nearly as powerful as Photoshop for image editing work.
Thank you.
I'm a graphic designer so I do need both illustrator and photoshop.
Yes, that's an option too.
Then you need new hardware that can support that software.
I see when I bought my computer many moons ago, I was told it was the max I could get, Memory 4 GB and 500 GB of disk space? I think that's how it went, all I know is that I ended up paying $6,000 for it, probably not the smartest thing but I was planning to keep the computer for a looooooong time which I have and now I'm looking for the most cost effective option, don't have that kind of money right now to invest in a new machine. As I mentioned I was told at the apple store at the time I got the most memory and disk space I could get, I'm not a very techie person so I went with whatever I was advised and computer was run very smoothly for years but the new Adobe suite is requiring more space.
So if I have the following:
Processor: 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRam
Capacity: 400.25 GB
Available: 230.88 GB
Can I upgrade the memory like you said or is this machine limited to those 4 GB? If I can indeed upgrade what do you recomend I get? Mainly I'm wanting to solve the issue of being able to do 3D work in my current computer as I don't have more than a few hundred bucks to solve this for now.
So I'm thinking that for now I should just work on an older eversion of Photoshop until I can upgrade and get a new computer. Thank you for helping clarify these doubts.
Yes, thank you but for now I can't afford a new computer, I'm on a very tight budget at the moment. I was hoping I could fix this in another way but it is what it is, thank you, though.
With 667 MHz RAM, it sounds like you have a Mid 2007 24" iMac with the configure to order 2.8 GHz Extreme Processor.
see > iMac (Mid 2007) - Technical Specifications
If that is the case, you could get 2 more GB of RAM with OWC's 6GB kit. (even though the Apple spec's say 4GB)
see > http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/iMac/Intel_Core_2_Duo
Although personally this late in the game (7+ year old iMac), I would not spend that much for just a 2GB gain.
I decided to do some "extra" research based on den.thed's response to you and it does appear that you have a 2007 iMac.
To make sure about this so we can better advise,
To find out info about your system,
Click on the Apple symbol in the upper left of the OS X main menu bar. A drop down menu appears.
Click About this Mac. A smaller popup window appears. This gives you basic info like what version of OS X your iMac is running, the speed of your iMac's CPU and how much RAM is installed.
Click on the button that says More Info. A larger window appears giving you a complete overview of your iMac's hardware specs.
Highlight all of this info and copy/paste all of this into another reply to this post, editing out your iMac's serial number before actually posting the reply.
This will tell us everything about your iMac so we may begin to help with your iMac issues.
If you, indeed, have a 2007 iMac, that year and model can take a max of 6 GBs of RAM.
You can replace one of the 2 GB RAM modules with a 4 GB RAM module.
The only reliable and compatible supplier of the 4 GB RAM module is OWC (macsales.com)
Found here.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/5300DDR2S4GB/
I would purchase and install the max. RAM for your iMac, if your iMac turns out to be a mid 2007 iMac model.
Also, if you do not need the latest and greatest version of Adobe Photoshop, look to places like amazon.com for older versions of PS OR the entire creative suite. Sometimes you can find good deals from other sellers on Amazon other than Amazon, itself.
This is what I did.
If you find a deal from a private or third party seller, on amazon, you just need to contact that seller before an actual purchase and find out if the seller has completely de-authorized the software package from Adobe's website, and that the software will come with both the serial/registration codes, as well as, the online registration code that is needed to properly activate and register the software under your own name and Adobe ID, if you have one ( if you do hot have an Adobe ID and password to Adobe's website for registering their newer software, up to CS5, you will need to create one at some point if you purchase newer Adobe software from CS3 to CS5).
The oldest version of Photoshop you can still run on OS X 10.9 Mavericks is Photoshop CS 3 or higher OR the entire CS3 package or higher.
I have the complete print/design edition of Adobe CS3 that runs fairly well on OS X 10.9.4 Mavericks.
I, also, have and run just Adobe InDesign and Photoshop CS4, as well, running on Mavericks.
The CS4 versions appear to run pretty well under OS X Mavericks, too!
den.thed wrote:
If that is the case, you could get 2 more GB of RAM with OWC's 6GB kit. (even though the Apple spec's say 4GB)
see > http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/iMac/Intel_Core_2_Duo
Although personally this late in the game (7+ year old iMac), I would not spend that much for just a 2GB gain.
$100 for a 4 GB RAM module is a LOT cheaper than a new or " newer" ( used iMac)...no?
Yes it is, but it is also that much less than one has saved towards buying a seriously needed new Mac.
Yeah.
I realise and understand that. That's not always an option for some users, though.
It's just that not everyone can afford to purchase a new Mac at the time it may be needed. The OP has had this iMac for seven years.
Sort of tells me that the OP really can't afford a new or newer( used) Mac right now, either.
I had still had a 2003 G4 PowerMac for nearly 8 years before I was finally able to afford and purchase my current late 2009 iMac in 2011.
I need to increase to 512MB of vRAM for Photoshop, on an Imac version 10.9.5 processor 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Memory 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. What are my options?
