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Participant
November 4, 2022
Question

Why it so slow and makes my Mac hot using 735% of CPU?

  • November 4, 2022
  • 2 replies
  • 736 views

 

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2 replies

George_F
Community Expert
Community Expert
November 4, 2022

A bit more info about your system would be helpful like ram, graphics card, etc.

 

I don't disagree with @dj_paige though.  I've never been a fan of laptops for photo editing for this very reason.  It's just harder to dissipate the heat under sustained load.

George F, Photographer & Forum Volunteer
get5CA8Author
Participant
November 8, 2022

I bought it a little over a year ago and it started to get so warm almost immediately using LightRoom. I used to use an older version of Lightroom on an old MacBook Pro from 2013 and never had this kind of overheating, it didn't even make noise.

George_F
Community Expert
Community Expert
November 8, 2022

To add to @dj_paige's great reply:. With newer laptops, we are continually asking them to perform better, use less battery, and be smaller.  I wouldn't be surprised to hear that a demanding program like Lightroom generates enough heat to cause throttling with the processor.  Some of the MacBooks I've been reading about don't even have heat sinks, let alone the absence of fans.  I would expect throttling to happen very fast with those particular models.  So in this case older the older laptop may be able dissipate the heat a bit better.

 

That's not to say there isnt anything else going on here, but I think that would be a great place to start.

George F, Photographer & Forum Volunteer
dj_paige
Legend
November 4, 2022

If it makes your Mac hot, then this is a cooling system problem. If you have a laptop, make sure all the vents are clear (not blocked) and not up against a barrier such as a wall or furniture. Here is an actual report from someone who used a cooling device successfully on his laptop. If your computer is not a laptop, then this indicates something in the case that performs cooling has failed.

get5CA8Author
Participant
November 8, 2022

I just don't understand why I need to look for a special cooling system when using a new laptop. It overheats with and without a case, and always only with LightRoom. Especially if I start using masks...
I'm already so tired. Any action either freezes or you need to wait 4-5 seconds and I do the work for days, although it could be completed in a couple of hours

dj_paige
Legend
November 8, 2022

I think the "new" laptop is irrelevant, this can be an issue for any laptop, 1 day old or 10 years old, the CPU will generate heat if you work it hard (as you apparently are doing). You are asking the CPU to do a lot of work, that generates heat, which must be dissipated. When the CPU gets hot, Macs will throttle back the speed of the CPU to prevent overheating, which then appears as freezing or slowness to the user.

 

The choice of getting a cooling device or not is yours. I gave an example of someone who did that and it helped.