Anyone else getting playback lag in Premiere Pro 25.3?

It's still working quite well in all. I am considering replacing the 2080Ti though.

On a side note, I’ve been editing on this HP ENVY x360 for quite some time. Together with my external 4K monitor, it has been a compact and reliable workhorse. It handled 4K editing surprisingly well, especially with Premiere Pro 22.2.

That said, I’m starting to feel it might be time for an upgrade. With AI-powered tools and heavier version requirements, newer releases demand more from the hardware.

I’m considering having a custom-built PC assembled locally and I’m currently researching key components. Do you have any recommendations for graphics cards, or general specs?

Also curious how your setup with the Ryzen 3960X, 128 GB RAM, and 2080 Ti performs with the current versions of Premiere. It sounds powerful on paper, but I’d love to hear how it holds up in daily editing work.

Thanks Neil, appreciate the response.

System Information
Laptop Model: HP ENVY x360 Convertible 15-cn0xxx
OS: Windows 10 Home, Version 10.0.19045 (64-bit)
Processor: Intel Core i7-8550U @ 1.80GHz (4 cores / 8 threads)
Memory: 32 GB RAM

Graphics:
NVIDIA GeForce MX150 (4 GB VRAM)
Intel UHD Graphics 620
GPU Driver: 576.98

Storage Drives
SSD (C:) – 238 GB, ~26 GB free
HDD (D:) – 932 GB, ~105 GB free
External SSD (F:) – 465 GB, ~152 GB free (project files)

From analyzing all of this, I suspect the issue might be related to the available storage on my C: drive. Since Adobe applications can consume significant temporary space and memory during playback, 26 GB free might be on the low side. I will try clearing more space on the drive and report back here with the results. Hopes this isolates the issue.

Issue:
Playback in Premiere Pro 25.3 runs fine for about 4 seconds, then starts stuttering, even at 1/4 resolution (both time line and media playback window). Rendered sequence no issues. No effects are applied.
The same projects run flawlessly in version 22.2, which strongly suggests this is a version-specific regression or optimization issue.

I was actually quite enthusiastic about Premiere Pro 25.3, and as you can see from the version I was running before installing 25.3 (v22.2), I tend to stick with stable releases. I usually avoid updates unless absolutely necessary, because in my experience they often introduce new complications. That said, version 25.3 has some impressive new features, but unfortunately I am experiencing this playback issue.

As always, OS/CPU/RAM/GPU, what sort of drives in use abd their connection type, aby other effects used.

Personally not having any such issues oon a 24 core Ryzen 3960x 128GB 2080Ti and twin Nvme for OS/programs and several internal SSDs for Production projects and media.  BRAW up to 4.6K, ProRes, various Sony abd other log media. Some H.264. 

Hi Adobe Community,

I’m encountering severe performance issues in Premiere Pro v25.3, specifically:

• Laggy playback, even at 1/4 resolution
• Choppy timeline scrubbing

Playback runs smoothly for the first 4 seconds, then suddenly starts lagging and stuttering. This also happens at 1/4 resolution, which should never be the case for basic 4K H.264 footage. Something is clearly off in this version.

To verify the issue, I tested the exact same footage and timeline in Premiere Pro 22.2; playback and scrubbing are perfectly smooth. No lag at all. Same system, same footage, same settings.

Operating System: Windows 10 Home, Version 10.0.19045 (64-bit)

Processor: Intel Core i7-8550U @ 1.80GHz (4 cores / 8 threads)

Memory: 32 GB RAM

Graphics:

Dedicated: NVIDIA GeForce MX150 (4 GB VRAM)

Integrated: Intel UHD Graphics 620

GPU Driver Version: 576.98

Primary SSD (C:): 238 GB NVMe, ~26 GB free (OS and applications)

Secondary HDD (D:): 932 GB, ~105 GB free (media and general storage)

External SSD (F:): 465 GB, ~152 GB free (project files)

My system meets Adobe’s official requirements for version 25.3. I have also confirmed that my dedicated NVIDIA GPU is recognized and properly configured. I’ve used Premiere Pro 22.2 for a long time without any performance issues, including editing 4K footage, and the difference is night and day.

This strongly suggests a regression or optimization issue introduced in 25.3.

I’ll probably just revert back to 22.2 for now, but I’m curious if anyone else is experiencing the same problems. Any confirmation or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!