Quote Originally Posted by Rongar View Post
Straf is correct about reserving enough system memory. Allocating too much RAM to GIMP will slow down your entire system, including GIMP. So it would basically be a lose-lose-scenario. I once read about using approximately 1/4 of memory to GIMP to be on the safe side, but that was ages ago. I'm currently using 2/3 (so 2 GB of my whopping 3 GB) and it seems to be alright. But then again, I'm on Linux and I don't use that many applications at once. If I were you, I'd start with using 2 of your 4 GB for GIMP and see how it goes.
Rongar! I missed you with all the guys talking tech!

Thanks for all your help and support

All this memory allocation stuff is confusing for me, since CC3 (my main mapping tool) is very economic with system resources. I think it uses far less than half my RAM, and only 1-2 processors, even though I can work on a map that is infinitely bigger than the GIMP or Krita versions without any upset. I think it has something to do with the fact that CC3 only references the graphic source files, rather than actually importing them.

GIMP is coping well now I've made a very slight adjustment to the balance. Krita seems to be far too hungry for power, so I probably won't use it for anything other than tiny maps or for making new symbols now.