Computer Requirements

What is the best computer for running Photoshop? One can get by with modestly priced computers and enjoy Photoshop CC’s marvelous performance enhancements. However, if your computer has a 64-bit operating system, Photoshop may well benefit tremendously. I say “may” because the benefit this allows is Photoshop’s active use of more than 2GB of RAM.

One of the goals of 64-bit architectures is the use of more RAM, or memory. Do not confuse these bits with the bit depth of images. In mainstream desktop computers where 32 bits is common, only 4GB of RAM can be accessed. (Did I just write “only 4GB”? Wow) 64-bit computers can handle over 16 million times that. Not that any of us can afford that much RAM, but the ceiling has been ...

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