Ge Force GTX 460 vs GTX 560 in PS CS6

[steve_bingham]

<p>PC platform. Assuming I only use PS CS6 for photography, why would I want to spend more money for a GeForce GTX 560 as opposed to a cheaper GeForce GTX 460 - both with 1 gig. What would the advantages be?</p>

[peterbcarter]

The only real answer could be given by Adobe. What they actually use from the GPU is still a bit of a mystery...except they do use it.

 

On my system I could not use Phase1 because I have integrated graphics. The API is was not provided for these chips. Unless you are a gamer, I would go with the cheapest.

[waltflanagan]

<p>Here's a list of some features that are GPU accelerated.<br>

http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/gpu-opengl-features-preferences-photoshop.html</p>

<p>I have yet to find any review site that has benchmarks showing how long an operation takes with and without GPU acceleration. If you're not playing high end 3D video games then the integrated graphics are probably more than enough for anything you're doing. </p>

[richard__]

<p>I have yet to locate Adobe's approved list of video cards for CS6.</p>

<p>I looked for this when CS6 told me that my video card is not approved, but so far I haven't located something that will guide me to what is approved. Possibly someone has a link to that ?</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>NVidia cards are the safest choice (as they have been supporting GPU acceleration longest), but as Walt said: so far, there seems to be a serious lack of testing to which extend a graphics cards accelerates photoshop, and to which extend a faster graphics cards would help.<br>

If Photoshop is the main reason to get a dedicated graphics cards, I would suggest way "tamer" Nvidia cards, like a GT640 - cheaper, consuming a lot less power, creating less heat and far more silent than their bigger brothers.<br>

___<br>

Richard, see here: http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-cs6-gpu-faq.html.</p>

[peter_cohen]

<p>Found this with a quick Google serach:</p>

 

 

<p ><strong>Tested video cards for Photoshop CS6</strong></p>

<p >Adobe tested the following video cards before the release of Photoshop CS6­­­. This document lists the video card by series. The minimum amount of RAM supported on video cards for Photoshop CS6 is 256 MB. </p>

<p ><strong ><em>Note:</em></strong><em> Adobe tested laptop and desktop versions of the following cards. Be sure to download the latest driver for your specific model. (Laptop and desktop versions have slightly different names.)</em></p>

<p ><strong>nVidia GeForce</strong> 8000, 9000, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 series </p>

<p ><strong>nVidia Quadro</strong> 400, 600, 2000, 4000 (Mac & Win), CX, 5000, 6000</p>

<p ><strong>AMD/ATI Radeon</strong> 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000 series</p>

<p ><strong>AMD/ATI FirePro </strong>3800, 4800, 5800, 7800, 8800, 9800, 3900, 4900, 5900, 7900</p>

<p >Intel Intel HD Graphics, Intel HD Graphics P3000, Intel HD Graphics P4000</p>

<p ><em>Note:</em> ATI X1000 series and nVidia 7000 series cards are no longer being tested and are not officially supported in CS6 – some basic GL functionality may be available for both these cards.</p>

<p >Personally, I use a GTX 460SE and it performs wonderfully with everything in CS6. I'm no expert, but I would have difficulty seeing the advantage of moving up to a 5-series card, given that I am not a gamer.<br /></p>

<p > </p>

<p >Save the money and buy more RAM ;-)<br /></p>

 

[steve_bingham]

<p><strong>Thanks, all!</strong> These have pretty much been my findings also. My earlier google pretty much discovered all of the above. As I do no 3D and no video (or very little) I guess I will simply go with the less expensive GeForce 460 GTX (1 GB). My current 7800 seems to lack some features in CS6 AND it is only 256 - but it does "work" with CS6- to a degree. As for DDR, I have plenty at 16 GB.</p>

[EricM]

<p>I'm running hardwareheaven.com benchmarks http://www.hardwareheaven.com/photoshop.php and I found no difference in CS6 benchmark speeds between my ubber expensive 2gig raedeon hd6950 card and my cheap five year old 9400GT.</p>

[steve_bingham]

<p>Eric,<br>

Very interesting. I have used this benchmark with my system with CS5. Got some fantastic scores a few years back, but not sure it would even work with CS6?????? In any case, the reviews of the 2 year old GeForce 460 GTX please me - especially the low power and noise figures. I am NOT a gamer - but I am a photographer (uh, at least I try to be.)</p>

[EricM]

<p>Hi Steve, yes on the CS6. I think it was written for CS4 but works on CS5 and CS6 as well. There's a couple of us showing results on this link, (I'm "Eric") http://www.hardwareheaven.com/photoshop_results.php?page=results</p>

<p>I'm about to put in 32 gig of ram, re-test, then add a second Intel 520 ssd as raid 0, then re-test. I'm tired of waiting for LR...</p>

[john_reynolds10]

<p>GTX 460 gets REALLY hot according to web reports. Thats why I got a GTX 560 (superclocked with 2MB of RAM to be exact). CS5 seems to run faster though I haven't empirically tested it. The gains though pleasant weren't overly dramatic. Onboard graphics with i7 2600k were fine. I got a higher end card mainly for Premiere, 3DsMax and Revit where it makes a greater difference. Pricewise you may be able to get a good deal on GTX 560 (or a GTX 460 for that matter) if you keep a lookout. Both are older technology and Nvidia is in the process of releasing the GTX 6xx series.</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Steve, if you're not a gamer, I would say a GTX460 is overkill. It's not that low noise, nor that energy efficient - the new generation NVIDIA and AMD cards are significantly more efficient with power in fact. Unfortunately, the latest generation NVIDIA chips only exists for the high end at the moment.<br>

But I'd strongly consider looking at a much tamer card, along the lines of a GT520. Yes, performance is much lower, but if what Eric found is still valid, you simply won't see a difference. The GT520 consumes way less than a GTX460, is much smaller and can be passively cooled (hence: silent). Most of all, it can be found for ~$40.</p>

[steve_bingham]

<p>Wouter,<br>

I will take a serious look at the GT520. I assume it comes in a 1 GB version. Thanks. I hate noise.</p>