OpenGL Sometimes Slower than Just Disabling it

Update! I forget to mention that OpenGL causes Photoshop CS5 to crash a lot, see System or application crash when using Photoshop CS4 and later after updating to Mac OS X 10.6.4. Adobe says the problem is due to a bug in Mac OS X 10.6.4.

Update 2: On August 17, Apple issues an Open GL bug fix. Whether it addresses the Photoshop problem is not yet known.

That “fast” graphics card with OpenGL saves you time in Photoshop, right? Not necessarily.

Today I could repeat over and over this simple fact: my diglloydSpeed1 benchmark runs in 21.7 seconds with OpenGL disabled, and 22.4 seconds with OpenGL enabled (Mac Pro Nehalem 3.33GHz, 24GB memory, GT120 video card, OpenGL at Normal).

That’s only 3% slower, but with the other hassles of OpenGL, I’d rather just leave it disabled.

Maybe it’s one of those “pacifier” settings?

I’m not saying it doesn’t help with something. But I haven’t been able to find any benefits for anything I do. It might help for those using brushes to “paint” in Photoshop— but don’t assume, test it.