Skip to main content
szymon_5776
Known Participant
October 5, 2026
Answered

Atrocious performance when applying effects : too much strain on CPU and GPU

Took 10 minutes to apply the film grain effect, after waiting 3 minutes to apply the blur effect

I cannot understand why it takes so much GPU and CPU just to apply a effect in Illustrator.

Is it because of the overwhelming amount of other useless features and effects? or just poor software coding and programing? most likely the latter I think.

 

System info:

 

Components: 

dvametadata 25.4.0.1

AdobeSFL 

AdobeXMPScript 1.000000 1.000000

dvasystemcompatibilityreport 25.4.0.1

Torq Native local

ICUUnicode  14.4.0.2316be3

ICUConverter  14.4.0.2316be3

AdobeCrashReporter 2026.9.0.f6b3948

boost_system 1

AdobeACE 7.0.0 79.625377

dvanet 25.4.0.1

AdobeSplashKit 1.0

uxtech 

AITracing 30.8.2.7

dvawhatsnew 25.4.0.1

AdobeOwl 1

dvascripting 25.4.0.1

typequest_bravo 1

CloudIndra 30.8.2.7

dvaappsupport 25.4.0.1

AdobeAXE8SharedExpat 1

AIDE 1

boost_asio 1

boost_chrono 1

dvametadataui 25.4.0.1

AdobeARE 5.0.0 79.625377

AdobePDFPort 5.0.0 79.625377

AdobeExtendScript 1

dvawhatsnewui 25.4.0.1

AIACPL 30.8.2.7

AdobeSangam 6.0.0.29 1.00000

dvastorage 25.4.0.1

ICUInternationalization  14.4.0.2316be3

boost_filesystem 1

dvaworkspace 25.4.0.1

AdobeSVGExport 9.0 1.

boost_asio_ssl 1

Alcid 1.0

ae_dvascriptui 25.4.0.1

AdobeBIB 5.0.0 79.625377

AdobeXMPFiles 1.000000 1.000000

AdobeLinguistic 17.2.0.7882c0c

filterport 30.4.0.9999

PlugPlugOwl 12.1.1.3

scintilla 1

AdobeAGM 8.0.0 79.625377

dvaadameve 25.4.0.1

AdobeSVGRE 1

AdobePDFL 1

dvavulcansupport 25.4.0.1

dvaai 30.8.2.7

dvatexteditor 25.4.0.1

dvacore 25.4.0.1

aiport 30.4.0.9999

AdobePDFSettings 1.7

AITextViewModel 30.8.2.7

dvabravoinitializer 25.4.0.1

AdobeAXEDOMCore 1

AdobeAFL 3.5

drawbotagm 25.4.0.1

exo 25.4.0.1

dunamis-ingest 1.48.1+20250904

AdobeXMPCore 1.000000 1.000000

AIUXPExtensionHostAPI 30.8.2.7

AdobeJP2K 1

PlugPlugExternalObject 12.0.0.3

utest 1

AdobeScCore 1

AdobeSVGAGM 1

AIPostman 30.8.2.7

boost_container 1

AIPSL 30.8.0.9999

wrservices 20.0.3

AdobeAXSLE 1

AdobeBIBUtils 5.0.0 79.625377

CloudAILib 30.4.0.9999

boost_serialization 1

SPBasic 30.4.0.9999

AdobeCoolType 11.0.7.1 79.625377

boost_regex 1

boost_program_options 1

boost_date_time 1

dvauxpui 25.4.0.1

AdobeSangamML 6.0.0.29 1.00000

Torq Native local

AdobeMPS 10.0.0.1 1.418152

dvaui 25.4.0.1

pie 1.70.0 1.70.0 - ccd2137

ahclient 4.5.0

dvauxphost 25.4.0.1

MacMemory 30.4.0.9999

boost_thread 1

dvaaiuxp 30.8.2.7

AILib 30.4.0.9999

ICUData  14.4.0.2316be3

aifm 30.4.0.9999

ATE 7.11.0 (c23df5b)

NGL 1.42.1.5

AGL/ICU 77.1

zlib 1.3.1

zstd 1.5.7

ZString 5.12

 

OS: macOS

Version: 27.0

Process Architecture: arm64

Built-In Memory: 16384 MB

 

User Name: Szymon Shields

Serial Number: 90970490387307083177

 

Login Name: szymonshields (501)

Group: staff (20)

Process ID: 4833

 

Application Folder: 

/Applications/Adobe Illustrator 2026/Adobe Illustrator.app/

Primary Scratch Folder: 

/var/folders/xq/7k74m87114s13dxqryv4wpp80000gn/T/TemporaryItems/NSIRD_Illustrator_ARj7QU/AI_30_8/

Secondary Scratch Folder: 

 

 

Plug-ins: 

Live Menu Item

Adobe AI Application Plugin

Adobe Cloud Document Link

AI Safe Mode Plugin

Adobe Repeat Model Plugin

Adobe Font Session

Adobe Cloud AI

Adobe Symbol Model Plugin

Hello Experience Plugin

Document Window Plugin

Color Conversion

New Cache Plugin

AdobeLicenseManager

ZStringTable

Main Filters

Main File Formats

Adobe PGF File Format

AI File Format

Mesh Object

Control Groups

Composite Fonts

Place Gun Tool

AppAnnotators

Window Menu

Not Genuine Manager

AI Incremental Save File Format

File Format Place EPS

Debug Menu

SLO Text Tool

AI Tool Plugin

Pen Tool Plugin

Sweet Pea 2 Adapter Plugin

Mojikumi UI

AdobeActionManager

Adobe Illustrator User Interface

FrameworkS

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Targa

Photoshop Plugin Adapter OpenEXR

Photoshop Plugin Adapter BMP

Photoshop Plugin Adapter IFF Format

Photoshop Plugin Adapter ZigZag...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Wind...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Wave...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Twirl...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Tiles...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Spherize...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Smart Blur...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Shear...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Ripple...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Radial Blur...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Polar Coordinates...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Pointillize...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Pinch...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Mezzotint...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter HSB/HSL

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Lens Flare...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Fibers...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Extrude...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Displace...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter De-Interlace...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Crystallize...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Crop and Straighten Photos Filter

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Color Halftone...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Paths to Illustrator...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter PCX

Photoshop Plugin Adapter NTSC Colors

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Unsharp Mask...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Legacy Gaussian Blur...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter PNG

Photoshop Plugin Adapter CompuServe GIF

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Pixar

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Water Paper...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Watercolor...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Underpainting...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Torn Edges...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Texturizer...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Sumi-e...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Stamp...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Stained Glass...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Sprayed Strokes...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Sponge...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Spatter...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Smudge Stick...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Rough Pastels...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Reticulation...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Poster Edges...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Plastic Wrap...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Plaster...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Photocopy...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Patchwork...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Palette Knife...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Paint Daubs...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Ocean Ripple...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Note Paper...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Neon Glow...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Mosaic Tiles...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Ink Outlines...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Halftone Pattern...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Graphic Pen...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Grain...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Glowing Edges...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Glass...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Fresco...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Film Grain...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Dry Brush...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Diffuse Glow...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Dark Strokes...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Cutout...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Crosshatch...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Craquelure...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Cont^e Crayon...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Colored Pencil...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Chrome...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Charcoal...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Chalk && Charcoal...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Bas Relief...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Angled Strokes...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Accented Edges...

Photoshop Plugin Adapter Filter Gallery...

CurveFittingSuite

Shape Suite

AdobeSlicingPlugin

Spell Check Dictionary

TxtColumns

TypeCase

TextFindFont

Smart Punctuation

TextModel

Pathfinder Suite

FlattenTransparency

AI Robin Client

Scripts Menu

Adobe Planar Edit Plugin

Adobe Color Harmony Plugin

Adobe Generate Core

SmartExport

Adobe Path Core

AdobePaintStyle

Shape Core

Adobe Partial Rearrange UI

Control Panel Plugin

Transform v2

SVG Filter Effect v2

MCPToolkit

Services

GradientMeshPlugin

Adobe Multi Threaded Rasterization

SeparationPreviewPlugin

Adobe Variables Palette

Adobe Diffusion Coloring

AdobeLinkPalette

Adobe Firefly Service

AdobeSwatch_

Vulcan Service

BeautifulStrokes Suite

FileClipboardPreference

Character and Paragraph Styles

Adobe Turntable UI

Adobe Swatch Libs Core

Experimentation Plugin

AdobeArtboardPanel

Adobe CCX Import

Properties Panel

Stroke Offset v2

DimensionUI

CSSExtract

Package

AdobeNavigator

Adobe Notifications UI

Adobe Nudge

Adobe Task Manager UI

Adobe Custom Workspace

AdobeTransparencyEditor

Adobe Commenting

Vectorize

AdobeToolSelector

Vector Sculpting

Adobe Smart Edit

Kinsoku Dlg

AdobeLayerPalette

Shaper

Adobe On Demand Module

Adobe Sensei Agents Plugin

AdobeAlignObjects

Adobe Deep Learning

KBSC Plugin

Adobe Art Style Plugin

Adobe One Exit

Adobe Path Core UI

Adobe Selective Unlock Plugin

Adobe Live Shapes

Adobe Uxp Extension

Adobe App Bar Controls Host

Adobe ReType

Asset Management

Adobe Substance Viewer Vulcan Connector

Adobe Geometry Suite

Adobe Path Blends

Adobe Image Segmentation

Adobe Animation Panel UI

AdobeTransformObjects

Snapomatic

Adobe Symbol Palette Plugin

DocInfo

AI CCLibAccessor Plugin

AIHostAdapter

AIAgenticSystem Plugin

3D v2

AdobeBrushMgr

DynamicCorners

MeasureDistance

Adobe Deform Plugin

Adobe Generative Text UI

GenerativeTraceUI Plugin

Flattening Preview

Adobe Masking Ai Core

Adobe History Panel UI

Alternate Glyph Palette

AI Bottlenecks Plugin

ScriptingSupport

Adobe Recolor Core

Adobe Perspective Guides

Adobe Repeat Arts UI

Print Plugin

AdobeActionPalette

Adobe Constraints UI

PDF Suite

JSONFormat

TIFF File Format

MPSCommon

PNGExport

ImageDecoderEncoder

TextExport

MPSParser

JPEG Plugin

AISangamMapper

Adobe DxfDwg File Format

Save4Web

SvgFileFormat

MPSExport

PNG File Format

AdobeDiffusionRaster

Inverse

AdobeDither

DropShadow

ShapeEffects v2

AddArrowHeads v3

Round v2

Cleanup

Overprint

Adobe Vector Edge

Distort v2

Punk v2

Expand

TextWrap Dlg

Scribble v2

MaskHelper v2

Colors

AdobePathfinderPalette

Saturate

Add Anchor Points

FuzzyEffect v2

Adobe Materials

Adobe Geometry3D

Adjust

AI Object Mosaic Plug-in

Roughen v2

OffsetPath v2

Adobe Scribble Fill

Find

ZigZag v2

TrimMark v2

FO Conversion Suite

Path Suite

ExpandS

SvgFileFormatUI

Spell Check UI

PDF File Format UI

PlanetXUI

SangamFormatsUI

DropShadowUI

Adobe Touch Bar

LiquifyToolUI

PuckerAndBloatUI

ShapeEffectUI

RasterizeUI

Adobe PSD File Export UI

FlattenTransparencyUI

Adobe Smart Edit UI

Adobe Calligraphic Brush Tool UI

MenuConfigurator

Adobe Vector Edge UI

Adobe Generate UI

ZigZagUI

GlobAdjToolUI

AIPreferenceUI

AI Toolbox UI Plugin

Adobe Geometry3DUI

Shape Core UI

IllustratorUI

RoughenUI

RoundUI

TransformUI

Adobe Crop UI

SmartExportUI

Adobe Curvature ToolUI

ParticleSystemUI

OffsetPath UI Plugin

ScribbleFillUI

AdobeBrushMgrUI

Adobe dBrush Brush Tool UI

DeformUI

PathfinderUI

ObjectMosaicUI

Adobe Bullet And Numbers UI

Adobe Live Shapes UI

TextExportUI

ArtOnPathBrushToolUI

ScribbleUI

DistortUI

FuzzyEffectUI

PerspectiveUI

Adobe PSD File Import UI

Find Replace UI

LiveBlendsUI

FlareUI

Asset ManagementUI

Adobe Image Decoder Encoder UI

ScatterBrushToolUI

JPEGFormatUI

ExpandUI

VectorizeUI

TwirlToolUI

DxfDwgUI

TIFF File Format UI

CSSExtractUI

Design Library

VariablesPaletteUI

AdobeSlicingUI

AddArrowUI

OnBoarding

PSLFilterAdapterUI

Rasterize 8

DebugPanelPluginName

Adobe PSD File Export

Adobe PSD File Import

Lasso

Adobe Crop Tool

SketchingTools

Reshape Tool

Adobe Curvature Tool

Adobe Calligraphic Brush Tool

ShaperUI

Adobe Vector Sculpting UI

Magic Wand

Knife Tool

Adobe Flare Plugin

Adobe dBrush Brush Tool

AdobeArtBrushTool

BoundingBox

Advanced Select

Segment Tools

Adobe Eraser Tool

Liquify

Simplify

AdobeTextDropper

Twirl v2

Adobe Scatter Brush Tool

ShapeTool

Adobe Symbolism

Art Converters v2

PSLFilterAdapter

PhotoshopAdapter

PDF File Format

GPU Info: 

Illustrator Version: 30.8.2

Rendering Framework: Metal Renderer

Number of Displays: 1

Number of Drivers: 1

Driver[0] Name: Apple M1 Pro

Driver[0] Adapter RAM: 12124

DefaultEnableGPU: 1

 

SVGWriterCPP Version: 2.1.4

AdobeGrowthSDK Version: {{Version}}

UXP Version: uxp-9.4.1-local

ACPL Info: 

ACPL Model Version: 15.1.7

ACPL SDK Version: 5.11.7

Sync Engine Version: 4.0.0

Minimum Supported Sync Engine Version: 4.0.0

SharedAssetModelVersion: 15.1.7

LiveEditSDKVersion: v6.1.1

Agentic Backend Info: Not available

CMDN Version: 1.35.3

UAB Version: 2.18.0-17

UXP Extensions Info- 

com.adobe.ccx.start: 10.14.0.5

com.adobe.illustrator.propertiespanel: 0.0.3

com.adobe.ccx.timeline: 3.1.8

com.adobe.ccx.sharesheet: 30.37.4

com.adobe.unifiedpanel: 2606.145.0.2

com.adobe.ccx.comments-webview: 30.5.4

com.adobe.illustrator.OnBoarding: 1.0.0

ccx-in-app-rtt: 1.1.7

ccx-in-app-plg-rtt: 0.0.48

com.adobe.stock.unified.content.panel: 1.0.35

com.adobe.illustrator.inAppNotifications: 2.0.22

com.adobe.uam: 1.50.0

com.adobe.illustrator.agentsui: 1.0.0

 

    CORCTON34033231
    CORCTON34033231Correct answer
    Community Expert
    October 5, 2026

    Film Grain and Blur are raster effects — they generate pixels rather than vector data, so they're inherently CPU/memory-intensive. The render time scales directly with your Document Raster Effects resolution.

     

    Try Effect > Document Raster Effects Settings: if it's set to 300 ppi, drop it to 150 ppi (or 72 ppi for screen-only work). That alone can cut render times dramatically. Also keep the Preview option ticked in the effect dialog so you're previewing rather than committing a full render each time.

     

    More detail in the official doc: https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/effects.html

     

    Hope that helps!

    View reply

    5 replies

    szymon_5776Author
    Known Participant
    October 6, 2026

    ​@Bobby Henderson ​@CORCTON34033231 

    I’ll try adjusting the raster effect settings. Thanks for the tip.

    Translate
    Community Expert
    Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 5, 2026

    What is the size of the document and the resolution level of document raster effects? The reason I ask is because I’ve seen people create large format sized documents yet roll with a default 300ppi document raster effects setting, which is sheer overkill and can bog down a computer system really badly.

    It looks your computer system has only 16GB of RAM. For the current version of Illustrator that is a pretty minimal amount of RAM. Matters are made worse by the system using that pool of RAM for both system functions and GPU functions.

    Translate
    szymon_5776Author
    Known Participant
    October 6, 2026

    It looks your computer system has only 16GB of RAM. For the current version of Illustrator that is a pretty minimal

    Great. So now I have to spend another 2K on top of the 2K laptop I already bought just so that illustrator can run smoothly, on top of what am already paying to even use Adobe.

    Translate
    Community Expert
    Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 6, 2026

    For a long time Apple had a very BAD habit of limiting several of their computing product lines to no more than 16GB of RAM. This included iMacs and various MacBook models. To get above the 16GB limit required buying a MacBook Pro or Mac Pro tower. Apple finally relented somewhat on that nonsense over the past couple years. But they still try to push customers into the most expensive product tiers depending on the amount of RAM or feature they might want/need.

    I wouldn't buy a new computer system for visual creative uses with any less than 64GB of RAM. OSX is better at memory management than Windows. Still, current applications (like Illustrator) are more demanding than they were just a few years ago. On the Windows side, I would want a dedicated graphics board with its own separate pool of GDDR memory (I can't stand integrated graphics chip solutions that draw from main system memory).

    To add more insult to injury the data center building craze has made computing parts like RAM cost more money. Hopefully if/when the A.I. bubble pops it might result in massive price drops for RAM, GPUs, etc. 

    Translate
    CORCTON34033231
    Community Expert
    CORCTON34033231Community ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    October 5, 2026

    Film Grain and Blur are raster effects — they generate pixels rather than vector data, so they're inherently CPU/memory-intensive. The render time scales directly with your Document Raster Effects resolution.

     

    Try Effect > Document Raster Effects Settings: if it's set to 300 ppi, drop it to 150 ppi (or 72 ppi for screen-only work). That alone can cut render times dramatically. Also keep the Preview option ticked in the effect dialog so you're previewing rather than committing a full render each time.

     

    More detail in the official doc: https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/effects.html

     

    Hope that helps!

    Translate
    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices