2013 Mac Pro: Photoshop CC Filters: CPU vs GPU

Get Mac Pro at B&H Photo. See also MPG’s computer gear wishlist as well as diglloyd-recommended performance packages for Mac Pro.

A big thanks to Other World Computing for loaning MPG the upgraded 2013 Mac Pro! Ditto for B&H Photo for loaning the 6-core Mac Pro. 64GB memory kit for 2013 Mac Pro provided by OWC.

Introduction

Support for a fast graphics processor (GPU) holds huge potential.

The Jan 16 2014 release of Photoshop CC v14.2 delivers upon that potential for sharpening, but how does it do in general on filters in the Filter menu?

See also 2013 Mac Pro: GPU and Sharpening.

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Results

See the test machine configurations.

Photoshop CC v14.2

Until Adobe implements GPU support for more of the Filters menu, it’s clear that there is no GPU benefit to a good number of the filters with Photoshop CC 14.2.

Of course, what matters is which filters are actually used in any particular workflow, and the benefits for sharpening are manifest. Moreover, when use of the GPU cuts the time down by 50-80% for some operations, this is a savings for the whole workflow, even if other areas do not benefit, particularly if the operation is long-running (e.g., total time to get the job done).

The Liquify and Oil Paint and Lens Corrections require the GPU and so they should be counted as beneficial.

2013 Mac Pro performance: Photoshop CC filters with and without GPU