graphics problem?

[karen]

hi,

i am having alot of problems with the computer freezing
when i use a graphic program... it doesn't matter which i
use, i have bryce, poser and photoshop.

before i invest money in a new card, i came here to see
if anyone has any ideas... it was suggested to me that i
should get a geforce video card and i just read that
someone here has had a problem with it.

i am running win xp pro
i have 2 hard drives - 19 and 112
my video card is a trident
i have 512 ram, and it says sharing 8,000 - whatever that
means
i have an amd athlon 1300

is there anything else i forgot?

if anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

thanks,
k

 

[Guest]

If youre having video problems,1st update the drivers/software from the
mfg web site.After or before the update,go to run,typeXDIAG
Run the direct x utility to have it chk video and audio.Nvidea is ok,try ATI
though they seem to have better performance,get one from visiontek (made
by ATI ),for the value thier hard to beat.

 

[Cari \(MS MVP\)]

PhotoShop is a very hungry app,ication. Athlon 1300+ is barely enough, it
likes a high end P4 with HyperThreading or fast AthlonXP, as much RAM as it
can get (and it can use up to 3gb) and the fastest graphics card you can
give it.

Now, the all important question - what's your budget?

 

[karen]

hi,

my budget is about middle of the road. if you think i
need more than amd for this, would it be better and
cheaper in the long run to get a new pc? i keep
upgrading pieces and parts .. maybe i should think of a
new pc?

k

 

[Graham Hughes]

I use photoshop extensively for my work, and if my video editing pc is busy
I'll often use my office one to do a dvd cover design or something similar.
This is an Athlon 750mhz with 256mb ram, a 30 + 80gb hdd and a 32mb n-vidia
graphics card, XP sp1a.
I do not have any problems with p/shop freezing with this pc, though
sometimes when adding layers with effects you need to wait a little while
for it to process all the instructions, but it's only seconds rather than
minutes.
Photoshop works best when it has the app installed on a different hdd to the
hdd that is used for files (scratch disc). What sort of files are you
dealing with? What size are they? File type? What sort of processing are you
doing to them? Where have they come from? Which version of photoshop is it?
Does it happen with any other app? Does it freeze at particular times, ie
can you pinpoint what you are doing when it freezes? Does alt/ctrl/del
enable teh task manager and what are the results of apps running and
processes?
Graham

 

[karen]

hi graham,

i have psver 7... it freezes some of the time, but mostly
with bryce when i render or use the paint can. my files
are sorta big because i use bryce alot. the files i use
in bryce are 3ds, obp, ... that sort of thing.... in ps i
use mostly jpg. and when it freezes the only thing that
gets it un stuck is to use the restart button on the
pc... i hate using that cuz then i have to go thru scan
disk. any ideas? i read that nvidia video was not
compatible with xp even tho it says they are... am i
using a pc that is not setup for all the graphic programs
i use?

thanks,
k

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

nVidia are absolutely fine, although you do have a very low end card. I
really believe your PhotoShop is freezing because your PC specs are not
adequate for the applications.

 

[karen]

hi cari,

what do you mean by specs? do you think i need other
imporvments? i have gone to the mfg web site but there
are no better drivers available for my card.
what do you suggest?

thanks,
karen

 

[Cari \(MS MVP\)]

A better graphics card! I'd suggest at least an FX5900 with 128 mb of RAM.
What are you currently using?

 

[Graham Hughes]

How many applications do you have open at a time, and how many files at a
time? It's possible that if you have too mnay open you exceed the amount of
memory you have and it gets stuck trying to cope.
Graham

 

[karen]

hi guys,

sorry it took so long to write back.

my video card is a trident 32 bit. the pc freezes
whenever i render while using bryce or if i am enhancing
a photo in photoshop.

i usually turn everything else off, aim, norton... that
sort of thing.

i have an athlon 1300 mhz... my son just got a new pc and
his old one has a pentium 4, should i change?

thanks,
karen

 

[Graham Hughes]

What are the other specs of his old pc, which graphics card, how much ram,
size of P4 etc... It may pay to use his old one.