Computer processor speed to run photoshop elements

[hammerhead man]

I was thinking of getting a netbook or mini to take on vacation so that I could start editing my photos using Photoshop Elements. I have Elements 7 and 8 and both say that the minimum processor speed required is 2 Ghz; however, I was wondering if the new processors that run 1.66 Ghz would work. I know that the new chips are more powerful even if they run at slower speeds. Most use the Intel Atom(TM) Processor N450 (1.66GHz, 512KB). Does anyone have any experience with using Elements on small netbooks?

Regards,

Bill

 

[HerraduraDivers]

Hmmmm,
a netbook will be fine to store and view your jpg-photos but he will be deadly slow editing them, especially raw files.
It's not only the processor speed, the onboard grafic chip will influence the speed greatly.
Netbooks are neat things but the are not made for that.
I use a Lenovo T61 with Windows 7 64 bit, 2.2 Ghz Core 2 duo, 4GB memory and Nvidia Quadro FX570M graphic processor and
i can work +/- fluently with Adobe Creative Suite and Lightroom.

In any case buy one with at least 2 Gb of memory and 250GB harddisk from a well known brand and
set your camera to save jpg and raw files contemporary so that you can view the pictures in jpg.
Another solution may be to get a Netbook with Linux as OS so you may use native linux version of GIMP for editing,
but if you have no experience with Linux it would be troublesome and i have no idea how (and if) it would be faster.

Chris

 

[hammerhead man]

thanks for the information Chris. It's too bad that the netbook won't work well. Space and weight are always a problem when traveling and netbooks address both of those issues.

Regards,

Bill

 

[Tigerman]

I wouldnt even CONSIDER a netbook for photo editing, simply because the screen is way too puny. Heck, my 15,6" laptop is even on the small side to my liking when it comes to photo editing.. 15-16" is however in my opinion the best balance between useful and transportable though.

 

[HerraduraDivers]

Netbooks are great machines for travelling and they fit most of the needs of a traveller.
One they don't fit is photo editing.....

You still have 2 options:
Set jour camera to shoot RAW and JPG, so you may be able to view the photos on a Netbook
Buy a small but powerful notebook with a sceen between 10 and 15' for travelling and editing like the Lenovo Edge, X, T or W series.
At home you can attach it to a external monitor in the size you like.
Here in Costa Rica i use exclusively my labtop for all uses, from checking e-mail to editing photos and creating my ads ready to print.

I carry my 15' laptop, camera, external hard disks, chargers, and and and in a camer backpack with a laptop compartment and this works fine for me.

Chris

 

[Peter Guy]

I tried loading an earlier version of Elements onto my Acer Netbook and it wouldn't load since it didn't meet the minimum screen requirements (as I recall that was the error message). I ended up installing Picasa so that I could do quick and dirty editing while on vacation in the Red Sea and that worked fine.

When I got home I loaded everything onto the main 'puter and did the full edits.

I love traveling with the Netbook!

 

[diversteve]

Just to see, I loaded PSE8 on my Mini tonite. (N270(1.6GHZ) - 1GB Ram - 16GBSSD) As expected it is unusable.

PSE8 loads reasonably fast - 10-15 secs. but loading the Organizer took about 2 minutes. And I hadn't indexed any images yet. Menu selections took from between 2-20 seconds - some longer for any indication that they were functioning. Noticeable lag time on even "open" and other simple commands.

Since PSE8 loads some toolbar etc. clutter the image space is about 4x6" on a 10" screen so it's hard to see. I'm sure there's a full screen option, I just didn't bother trying to find it.

Conversely I do run the full version of Photoshop 7 on the same machine with acceptable results. Screen is a little small for any detailed editing unless you zoom though.

 

[hammerhead man]

Diversteve, if I understand you correctly, you can run Photoshop Elements 7 on your mini and it runs well. Is that correct? I have a copy of Photoshop Elements 7 and have found it to be a great editing program.

Regards,

Bill

 

[bvanant]

I think he meant Photoshop 7, not elements. Long ago and far away version.
Bill

 

[hammerhead man]

Thanks for the info Bill. BTW, I have really enjoyed your pics and videos. You and your wife do great work.

Regards,

Bill