How much free space does Elements 11 need for processing ?

[jim_air]

<p>I use Photoshop Elements 11 for post processing. Recently I have been finding that some things are running too slow for me. For instance - opening up a RAW image in ACR and then slow from ACR into Elements itself.<br>

<br />It has been suggested to me elsewhere that I need a bigger hard drive. Currently I have a 465 GB hard drive with my data on it with 152 GB free. If 152 GB not enough, then it seems that Elements uses a lot of the drive for processing. I am open to the idea though it does seem a long stretch.<br>

<br />My Processor is <br>

2.93 gigahertz Intel Pentium Dual-Core<br />64 kilobyte primary memory cache<br />2048 kilobyte secondary memory cache<br />64-bit ready<br />Multi-core (2 total)<br />Not hyper-threaded<br>

<br />and i wondered whether a quad core with 8GB RAM (rather than 4) would be better ? Essentially would a faster processor or a bigger hard drive be a better bet ??<br /><br>

</p>

[CharlesBecker-Toronto]

<p>It's not a question of the hard drive-it's a question of how much RAM is available to you. I use Elements 12 on a Mac and the default setting (which I use) is 70%. Hope this helps. cb :-)<br>

I just noticed the last sentence of your post. I think that upgrading the memory from 4GB to (at least) 8GB would solve your<br>

problem; I have 16GB.</p>

[bgelfand]

<p>8 GB of RAM will help only if you are running a 64-bit operating system. If you are running a 32-bit system, you already have more RAM than you can address.</p>

<p>If you are running Windows 7 or Vista go to START > CONTROL PANEL > SYSTEM Look under the heading "System" for "System type:" Does it say "64-bit Operating System"?</p>

[jim_air]

<p>Hi Brooks, thanks for that feedback ! I do know already that it is a 64bit operating system. The operating system and programs are all on a separate small SSD 128 GB</p>

[John Seaman]

<p>Do you have a scratch disk set up? They are supposed to improve performance. It should be on a separate physical drive from the main programme.</p>

[jim_air]

<p>Hi John<br>

The operating system and programs are all on a separate small SSD 128 GB. I understand that where you have an SSD then that should be your scratch disc - it has 78 GB free. Only where you have a HDD should your scratch disc be a different one.</p>

[bgelfand]

<p>One other "trick" to speed things up, without spending money. Set your page file to be a fixed amount, in your case about twice the amount of RAM or 8192 MB, which is 8 GB. Windows defaults to a variable Page Set, and it takes time and CPU and disk cycles to expand and contract the Page Data Set.</p>

<p>Go to START > CONTROL PANEL > SYSTEM and click "Advanced system settings" in the left hand pane. Under the "Performance" heading click "Settings". On the "Performance Options" page, select the "Advanced" tab. Under the "Virtual Memory" heading click "Change" and set both the minimum and maximum values to 8192 MB. Be sure the Page Data Set is on your SSD.</p>

<p>Since you do have a 64-bit operating system, upgrading memory to 8 GB would probably provide the most cost effective way to speed things up. </p>

[steve_dunn2]

<p>Troubleshooting this sort of problem can get into all kinds of technical issues, so let me warn you in advance that I'm trying to put this answer into relatively simple language, with the consequence being that I'm glossing over some technical details.</p>

 

<p>I don't think it's an issue of hard drive space. Elements will use disk space for its scratch file if memory isn't adequate, but we're talking hundred of megs or at most a few gigs, and you have 150 gigs or so.</p>

 

<p>As for memory, use Task Manager and/or Resource Monitor to see how much is actually being used, both overall and specifically by Elements. Also, if you're keeping other programs open in the background while using Elements, you might want to exit the other programs. On my previous computer (32-bit XP, Elements 8, 3.25 GB of usable RAM), having a couple of browsers and an email client in the background had a noticeable impact on availability of memory for Elements; on my current computer (64-bit Windows 7, Elements 12, 8 GB of RAM), Elements is happier than on my old computer, no matter how many other programs I have in the background.</p>

 

<p>But Elements is a 32-bit program, and even on 64-bit Windows, the most memory a 32-bit program can use is 4 GB*. If the issue is that you're trying to run a grand total of more than 4 GB of stuff (including Windows itself plus all applications you currently have open), then adding more memory will likely help. If the issue is that what you're trying to do in Elements itself requires more than 4 GB, then you're stuck; you'll have to rely on the scratch file. This is why I suggest monitoring how much memory you're actually using before buying more.</p>

 

<p>*: Traditionally, a 32-bit Windows program couldn't use more than 2 GB of memory. But there's a setting when compiling a program that allows it to use up to 3 GB on certain configurations of 32-bit Windows and 4 GB on 64-bit Windows, and at least the last few versions of Elements have been set this way. You're running Elements on 64-bit Windows, so Elements can use up to 4 GB of memory.</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<blockquote>

<p> You're running Elements on 64-bit Windows, so Elements can use up to 4 GB of memory.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Not always true; 32=bits software needs to be specifically compiled to be able to use 4GB. I doubt PS Elements is (as there is an increased risk of compatibility issues), so more likely PS Elements is limited to using 2GB of RAM. If you have more than 4GB, I wouldn't necessarily upgrade the memory actually, unless you run a LOT in the background, or have other programs that could use it.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Set your page file to be a fixed amount, in your case about twice the amount of RAM or 8192 MB, which is 8 GB</p>

</blockquote>

<p>In Windows 7 and 8, this trick no longer delivers any performance increase; it used to be a bit of a help in Windows XP, but on the newer versions the differences are so negligible that it's not worth the bother. Let Windows handle its memory, it typically does a better job at it than most 'tweak tips'.</p>

<p>PS Elements make some use of multiple cores, but whether a CPU upgrade really makes it worth it - I doubt. If I look up the Intel site for 'Dual-Core Pentium 2.93GHz' than the most recent I find is already fairly old (2008-2009 more or less). I wouldn't invest money in a system older than 3-4 years myself, but set the money aside to get a completely new system instead.</p>

 

[steve_dunn2]

<p>Wouter, I can say from personal experience that Elements 8 and 12 are both compiled with that switch enabled (though there's a bug somewhere in 8 that limits its effectiveness; 8 actually allows the use of more RAM on a suitably configured 32-bit Windows system than a 64-bit one). The original poster is using Elements 11, and while I've never used it, it would be odd if it didn't also support more than 2 GB since both older and newer versions do.</p>

 

<p>(Adobe has <a href="http://kb2.adobe.com/community/publishing/856/cpsid_85658.html" target="_blank">this document</a> on enhancing Elements' performance, including mention of support for more memory, but it fails to mention which versions of Elements include it.)</p>