Adobe Photoshop: A case for keeping an Intel or PowerPC Mac - Low End MacLow End Mac

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Over the years the Photos app and Quick View in Finder have gained a set of photo editing features, allowing users to make basic edits to their picture/photo files without going out of their way to install something that could do such things. While these features are indeed convenient and helpful, they lack the refined precision of an application like Adobe Photoshop which is far more flexible with a vast arrange of tools at your disposal.

Photoshop can indeed be a bit of a learning curve, but in the time I spent learning how to use the program and ways I’ve benefitted from the skills – I’d say it was worth it. While I’m no graphics arts expert of any sorts, I’ve managed to get many things done including making logos and art for Low End Mac articles and this website.

This day in age many apps and services follow more of a subscription model, which is true unfortunately for Photoshop CS, being offered for $22.99 per month on Adobe’s website. Having a depreciated PowerPC or Intel Mac means you can have a dedicated photo editing machine with a standalone app that doesn’t need a subscription, payment, or. connection to the internet. What’s been made thus far – even the one made free by Adobe (CS2) is a good option. That is an even older version which can only run on machines up to Snow Leopard, and as early as Jaguar.

In this article I’m gonna talk about one version of Adobe Photoshop – CS4, as it is an app from 2008 so therefore can run on both PowerPC and intel but also is newer so it has more features. CS4 is available on the Macintosh Garden for download, and the activation servers are no longer required for this abandonware to work. In my case on my Power Mac G5 I have to deal with an unusual workaround, but it’s a small issue to deal with when in return you can take advantage of CS4.

System Requirements (CS4)

See: Link on the Macintosh Garden

Mac OS

• PowerPC® G5 or multicore Intel® processor, unofficially runs well on 7450 G4s.

• Mac OS X v10.4.11–10.5.4 (10.5.6 in 11.0.1, 10.5.8 in 11.0.2)

• 512 MB of RAM (1GB of RAM or more recommended)*

• 2GB of available hard-disk space for installation

• 1,024 x 768 display (1,280 x 800 recommended) with 16-bit or greater video card

• DVD-ROM drive

• Some GPU-accelerated features require graphics support for Shader Model 3.0/OpenGL 2.0

• QuickTime 7.2 required for multimedia features

• Broadband Internet connection required for online services

*NOTE: 3D features in Photoshop Extended require a minimum of 1GB RAM

(Above: Running Adobe Photoshop CS4 on a Power Mac G5)

Using a Power Mac G5

Part of the reason I put together the Power Mac G5 Dual 2.0 was to run Adobe Photoshop CS4 in Leopard/Sorbet Leopard. I also went for a strong graphics card – a 256 MB ATI Radeon X850XT which was originally a PC card but flashed with a Mac ROM. It uses an SSD RAID0 array, is topped up with 8 GB of RAM, and uses a 1080p display. Photoshop runs plenty fast and has a decent amount of space on this monitor.

See: Enable momentum scrolling on your PowerPC Mac

Also: Keepin’ the Power Mac G5 running cool: What worked for me

Tech Specs on this: Maximizing the AGP Power Mac G5 into space.. and beyond!

I would strongly recommend using the Magic Mouse with Photoshop as you have 360 degree scrolling. This is quite helpful with moving around a picture in mostly any application in Mac OS X/macOS/OS X, but will also save you time with navigating and make it less tedious to use the application overall. Magic Trackpads are also good for this situation too, although I personally only use them on laptops. The multitouch surface works perfectly well and is ahead of it’s time – giving this PowerPC Power Mac G5 have tinges of modernity.

Using a PowerBook G4 Hi-Res

Just like the Power Mac G5, the PowerBook G4 1.67 Hi-Res is another machine I put together partly for using Photoshop, to mirror many of the same things which can be done on a Power Mac G5, but away from the desk. Over time projects can fill a drive, so I opted to get a 1TB fanxiang msata SSD a while back.

See: Fanxiang 1 TB mSata SSD in a Hi-Res 15″ PowerBook G4: So far so good

The Power Mac G5 definitely feels like the more competent machine as CS4 is not even officially supported on the G4, but it still runs quite well on the PowerBook nonetheless. Among the many other reasons one could look at a PowerBook G4 from 20 years ago and get utility out of it, Photoshop was one of the best tools for sure. It’s always fun hopping on a PowerPC Mac again with the purpose of intently using the machine with a project!

Why Adobe Photoshop

This app contains a wide array of tools to edit photos with that are well refined and precise. The...