All My Christmases .................. (NIK and Topaz).

[johntwo]

I've been in conversation with DXO since about the turn of the year because my (paid for) NIK software will not boot up consistently from Photoshop.  Having uploaded oodles of data for them to analyse, they haven't come up with a solution and I had given up any hope that they might.  They still haven't but out of the blue this week I received an e-mail thanking me for my patience and providing a link to download a complimentary copy of  the new Photolab 2.  Still won't work consistently from within PS but it provides an alternative workflow that just about solves the problem.  In the same week, I receive another email telling me that as an existing user, I'm entitled to a gratis upgrade to Topaz Studio which has now become Topaz Studio 2.  So all in all, I well chuffed. Nik doesn't seem to have changed much but TOPAZ seem to have added a lot to Studio 2.  If I can get Bitdefender to sort my desktop, I can have a good rummage.

[Clicker]

Look forward to seeing results from your new addition to the family  John ...

[Korky]

I was quite chuffed when I saw Topaz Studio 2 was available - I downloaded and installed the trial version in quick styx, but I'm not really impressed.

On my MacBook (a 2.9 GHz Intel i7) it seems to spend a lot of time spinning its little wheel when moving between presets, and after a while it's started to twist my melon. I love the way it looks and the filters are excellent, but that spinning thingy is a soddin' nuisance. 

The original Studio runs so much smoother and I can't understand why a better version isn't better at all. I'll be giving it another wazz, but I don't think I'll be offering up the plastic for this one.

Korky

[Ryewolf]

23 minutes ago, Korky said:

The original Studio runs so much smoother and I can't understand why a better version isn't better at all.

My guess, after looking at the minimum system requirements (which are 4GB of Ram and a Graphics Card with at least 1GB) is that your graphics card is the problem. Topaz Studio 2 apparently uses a much greater reliance on the GPU (graphics card) to run. The optimum setup is 16GB of Ram and 3GB+ Graphics Card. Unless you're a serious Gamer you're unlikely to have a 3GB+ graphics card in your machine.

https://help.topazlabs.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004759908-Minimum-Requirements-and-Recommended-Hardware

 

[Korky]

9 hours ago, Ryewolf said:

Unless you're a serious Gamer you're unlikely to have a 3GB+ graphics card in your machine.

4Gb Radeon Pro graphics in my MacBook - I wonder if the settings in PS are causing a problem.

Thanks, Rye, off now to check settings etc.

Korky

Edit ----- Rye, you're a soddin' genius. I went into the Mac preferences and changed the settings so that the 4Gb graphics card is used all the time. TS2 now whizzes along like an Aston Martin rather than a Morris Minor van. Thanks!

Edit 2 ----- It's taken less than ten minutes for me to fall in love with TS2 - I can see a purchase on the horizon. Some of the people who post on YouTube offer a coupon code for Topaz - one is Jim Nix and if you enter the code JIMNIX at checkout, it'll give you an extra 15% off. It takes the price down to $67.99.