Photoshop: which computer is better to choose in 2020

Photoshop - what is it?

A multifunctional graphics program released by Adobe System is designed for processing photographs and pictures, creating your own masterful graphics and much more. The technical component of the application is very strong, so Photoshop supports a large amount of functionality for users. The priority goal of the program is to work with raster images, but a range of possibilities for working with vector graphics is also always open to users.

Photoshop Features

A lot of tools, parameters and other subtleties of the program are open to all users. The working toolbar can be used to create or edit graphic objects. Professional photo retouching is carried out together with correction operations (adjusting brightness, adjusting levels, adding noise and others).

One of the key features of Photoshop is working with layers. It consists of managing and editing layers created by the user. The application provides the creation of 3D models and their use at the level of a graphic editor.

Adobe Photoshop Versions

Like any successful product, Photoshop has a huge history behind it. Beginning in 1988, the program, created by Thomas and John Knoll, was included in the Adobe Systems line. The company released new versions of the product year after year, and then, starting with the eighth version on October 28, 2003, Photoshop received a prefix to the CS version.

Since 2013, the prefix has changed to CC. And today, the latest and most improved version of the product is Photoshop CC 2018. Next, we will look at the system requirements of Adobe Photoshop for different versions that are most popular among users.

Photoshop CC 2020

In this version, the developers paid the greatest attention to the toolbar and brushes. Most likely, this is due to the integration of the program and graphics tablets. Before purchasing the product, users should ensure that their PC settings will meet the minimum system requirements for Adobe Photoshop. This will help to avoid unwanted moments after paying for the product.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 system requirements:

• Installed OS: Windows 7 and higher.
• Processor - Intel Core Duo, AMD Athlon 64 or higher.
• RAM - at least 2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended for stable operation).
• Disk space: 2.6 GB for installation on a 32-bit system and 3.1 GB for installation on a 64-bit system. The installation process may require temporary additional free space on your hard drive.
• Monitor - screen resolution from 1024 x 768 pixels. Recommended resolution: 1280 x 800 pixels, native 16-bit color support;
• Video card - 512 MB video memory or higher (2 GB recommended).
• A video adapter that supports DirectX 10 version.
• Support for the open graphics library OpenGL 2.0.
• Internet connection to use online services.

Processor for Photoshop

The biggest question is whether Photoshop can effectively use all the CPU cores. For example, if you buy an expensive multi-core processor, will Photoshop work faster than on more affordable options with fewer cores?

Something like this is written about this in Photoshop help in the article Optimize Photoshop CC performance:

“Photoshop generally runs faster with multi-core processors, although some tools benefit more from the extra cores than others. The more cores you use, the less you get from each additional core. For most users, the performance increase from more than 6 cores does not correspond to the increased cost of such a system."

Smart people have already checked this and posted it in the article Adobe Photoshop CC Multi Core Performance, which I have already recommended more than once in the comments. The article is from 2020 and is already a little outdated, but the conclusions are still relevant:

1. Photoshop doesn't work well with multiple processors. For example, two xeons, which are traditionally respected by third-party workers, will work even slower than 1 in some operations.
2. Most tools only use 1 or a few CPU threads.
3. The performance gain in multi-threaded tools drops after 6 cores and disappears after 8.

The same smart people tested a variety of modern processors on Photoshop CC 2020.1.1 to find the real champion. All results can be viewed here - Photoshop CC 2017.1.1 CPU Performance. The main takeaway from these tests is that the new Core i7 8700K is the best choice for Photoshop for 2020 - 2018.

What should people who cannot afford the Core i7 8700K do? We see that you can buy an i5 8600K for $100 cheaper and lose in power from 3% in single-threaded tasks to 20% in multi-threaded ones. And even the i3 8350K isn't far behind.

Unfortunately, it's not so easy to know which Photoshop tools can use multiple threads and which can only use 1 thread. Based on scattered publications on the Internet, I found the following multi-threaded features:

• some effects - color mode conversion, many blurs, hue/saturation, brightness/contrast, shadow/highlight;
• Compositing layers (especially blending);
• background saving.

It is clear that this is not all, but I simply did not have the patience for further searches. Let's trust Adobe's assurances that many of Photoshop's features have been multi-threaded for a long time, that they continue to improve, that they are doing everything possible, and all that...

Photoshop CC 2020

Quite a popular version among users, some consider it the best in the CC line. Compared to the previous one, Photoshop CC 2020 has improved optimization of libraries, work with glyphs, and artboards. The developers allowed users to independently configure their work environments. We have significantly simplified working with 3D objects and increased layer styles.

The system requirements for Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 are almost the same as for the 2020 version.

Graphics card for Photoshop

There's a little more information here because Adobe's website has a list of Photoshop features that use the graphics card. The following is a copy-paste from this list.

Features that don't work without a GPU

If your GPU is not supported or the driver is corrupted, the following Photoshop features will not be available:

• 3D
• Oil paint
• Transformation – flame, picture frame, wood
• Scale. drag and drop
• Bird's eye view
• Fast panning
• Convenient tools for changing brush size

Features that require GPU acceleration

• Artboards
• Camera Raw (more details)
• Image Size – Preserve Detail
• Focus selection
• Blur Gallery - Field Blur, Iris Blur, Tilt-Shift, Path Blur, Rotate Blur (OpenCL accelerated)
• Smart Sharpening (Noise Reduction - OpenCL Accelerated)
• Perspective Warp
• Selection and Masking (OpenCL Accelerated)

If you actively use these tools, then it is advisable to think about buying a powerful video card. If this is not important, then you can take a cheaper video card, or even get by with the built-in one.

How powerful does a graphics card need to be for Photoshop? Today, the best choice is NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 or 1050 Ti. Test results show that much more expensive cards perform slightly better or exactly the same, detailed results here - Photoshop CC 2020 NVIDIA GeForce GPU Performance. Similar tests for the Quadro series tell us that there is no point in overpaying for a professional card for Photoshop - the performance will be the same as that of a cheap GeForce, source here - Photoshop CC 2020 NVIDIA Quadro GPU Performance.

Unfortunately, I did not find any comparative tests of AMD and NVIDIA video cards, so I suggest going with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti as a more universal option - if the card is needed for some CUDA application, for example, rendering in V-Ray.

Photoshop CS6

A version familiar to everyone, which has won millions of user recognition. It contains a huge number of innovations. A clear difference from older versions is the redesigned program design and toolbar, to which new functions have been added. We updated and improved the shadow effect, work with 3D objects, and auto-correction. We expanded the standard set of brushes. Increased the number of filters and settings. The drawing set has been completely redesigned. The developers were able to link the program with a mobile application from Adobe.

Adobe Photoshop CS6 system requirements:

• Installed OS: Windows XP with SP3 or higher.
• Processor - Intel Pentium 4, AMD Athlon 64 or higher.
• RAM - at least 1 GB of RAM (4 GB recommended for stable operation).
• Disk space is 1.1 GB for installation on a 32-bit system and 1.4 GB for installation on a 64-bit system, and may require temporary additional free hard drive space during the process.
• Monitor - screen resolution from 1024 x 768 pixels (recommended resolution - 1280 x 800 pixels), built-in support for 16-bit color.
• Disk drive - DVD-ROM.
• Video card - 512 MB video memory or higher (1 GB recommended).
• Support for the open graphics library OpenGL 2.0.
• Internet connection to use online services.

Photoshop CS5

A breakthrough among other graphic editors in 2010. In this version, the developers changed the text engine and redesigned the technical part of the program. In addition, the program interface was changed, work with key points was improved, and the coordinate system was updated.

Adobe Photoshop CS6 system requirements:

• Installed OS: Windows Vista with SP1 and higher.
• Processor - Intel Pentium 4, AMD Athlon 64 or higher.
• RAM - at least 1 GB of RAM (4 GB recommended for stable operation).
• Disk space: 1.1 GB for installation on a 32-bit system and 1.4 GB for installation on a 64-bit system. The process may require temporary additional free space on your hard drive.
• Monitor - screen resolution from 1024 x 768 pixels (recommended resolution - 1280 x 800 pixels), built-in support for 16-bit color.
• DVD-ROM drive.
• Video card - 256 MB of video memory or higher (one gigabyte recommended).
• Support for the open graphics library OpenGL 2.0.
• Internet connection to use online services.

Quite acceptable. Earlier versions require much less than modern ones, thereby the user is able to choose the best option with the available Adobe Photoshop system requirements.

How to change the language to Russian?

Let's dwell on how to translate the program into Russian, what needs to be done for this. If you have the English version of Photoshop installed and you need to change the program interface language to Russian, do the following:

1. Go to the "Edit" menu.
2. In the menu that appears, open the “Preferences” submenu.
3. Select “Interface” from the context menu. After this, you will see a pop-up window with interface settings.
4. Go to the “Text” section of this window and select “Russian” in the “UI Language” line.

We invite you to watch a video on how to change the language to Russian in Adobe Photoshop CS6:

Lightroom

The Lightroom program has found its place in the Adobe Systems collection. It is very similar to Photoshop, but has its own differences from other editors. The difference is that Lightroom processes images in a different way than Photoshop. The program is mainly used for exporting and quickly editing photos. The main advantage is simplicity - all settings are in a visible place.

Adobe Lightroom system requirements:

• Installed OS: Windows 7 with SP1 and higher.
• Processor - Intel Pentium 4, AMD Athlon 64 or higher.
• RAM - at least 2 GB of RAM (4 GB recommended for stable operation).
• Disk space: 2 GB for installation on a 32-bit system and 2.7 GB for installation on a 64-bit system. The installation process may require temporary additional free space on your hard drive.
• Monitor - screen resolution from 1024 x 768 pixels (recommended resolution - 1280 x 800 pixels), built-in support for 16-bit color.
• Video card - 512 MB video memory or higher (1 GB recommended).
• Support for the open graphics library OpenGL 2.0.
• Internet connection to use online services.

Disk drives

To speed up file access and write and read files from disk faster, it is recommended to use RAID 0 arrays. They will significantly increase the speed of writing and reading files. Using this technology requires some knowledge in the field. An easier way is to use modern SSD drives. They have a very high rotation speed of 10,000 rpm and above.

You can install the operating system and Photoshop on the SSD. It is also worth storing files that are accessed frequently. For long-term storage of files, you can use a regular HDD.

SSD drives have proven themselves to be not very reliable devices, so it is not worth storing information on them. Photoshop and the OS can be reinstalled, but lost photos cannot be returned.