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2 Graphics cards or 1 for Photoshop?

Tags:
  • Photoshop
  • Graphics Cards
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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May 4, 2014 8:41:42 AM

Hi

I have two graphics cards and can use SLI but, do I need 2 or is 1 better for Photoshop and general pc use?

My setup:
CPU: Intel Core i7 2600K
Operating System:Windows 7 Ultimate
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3P
Memory: 8GB DDR3 1333mhz (2x 4GB)
Hard Drives: Corsair 60GB Force3 SSD S-ATAIII 6.0Gb/s, OCZ Agility 3 120gb SSD SATA III, Seagate Barracuda 3TB,
Optical Drive: 22x DVD±RW DL S-ATA
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB + another of the same if needed
Sound card: Onboard 7.1 Audio
Case: Zalman Z9 Plus

Am thinking of getting a Corsair silent PSU - not sure which one, suggestions welcome!

Thanks.

More about : graphics cards photoshop

a b U Graphics card
May 4, 2014 8:44:44 AM

Honestly, unless you plan on gaming or video editing, i think you will need only one gpu and you don't even need an i7.
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a b U Graphics card
May 4, 2014 8:45:10 AM

For described usage 1 card is enough because 2 cards require much more energy, output much more heat and are more noisy.
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May 4, 2014 8:49:05 AM

OK thanks guys.

I already have the i7 from a previous computer just wasn't sure about graphics cards.
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a b U Graphics card
May 4, 2014 8:52:23 AM

oh ok. remember to choose best answer.
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a b U Graphics card
May 4, 2014 8:52:30 AM

None of the Adobe products uses dual GPU. None of the video editing software as well. Currently the only software that uses multiple GPUs is the IRay rendering engine.

1 single strong video card is always better than 2 weaker ones. Anyway Photoshop is GPU accelerated, but still the CPU is the main part. Any GPU over 660/760 does not offer any significant performance gains in the Adobe Products.

For Photoshop - I7 2*** or newer and 16 GB of RAM is what I consider a bare minimum. I can barely live with the 16 I have. The 32 on the workstation at work makes a lot more things possible. Consider upgrading the RAM before you touch the 550. The 550 TI is good. The 500 generation is better than the 600 and 700 generation for software usage (not gaming). You need a 660/660TI to match that 550TI in productivity.
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May 4, 2014 1:13:54 PM

Thank you to everyone for your replies all a great help.
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!