Photoshop CS4 is a disaster

I'm using a Wacom Intuos 2 with the latest driver. But I get identical performance problems whether I use the mouse or the tablet. On my second computer, I use an Intuos 3. Same thing, identical whether using mouse or tablet. Both systems are Win XP SP3. One is single monitor 1920x1200, the other is dual monitor 1600x1200.

No tablet installed

Ok, here's another data point I need: are people who are experiencing the lag using a tablet?

If so, do you have the latest drivers?

Also, do the performance problems continue if you use a mouse instead of a tablet to drive the PS UI?

This information would be very helpful for those of us investigating this problem.

Thanks again,
-Adam

David Nicol,

I agree with you, the rotate canvas tool is awesome... as are all of the new features. I'm not saying the features are a disaster, but the quality of programming and performance of photoshop CS4... that is the disaster. With GPU, this program should be lighting quick... Without GPU it should be lighting quick. :) Its neither... However CS3 is lightning quick without GPU! So CS4 introduced GPU support but the performance is worse than the old display code they were using in CS3!!! Whats the point ?

And its not the GPU, because in software display mode in CS4... its almost as slow as with GPU... and its still far slower than CS3 was.

Do i think they can fix this? Sure... When? I dont know. But why was it released this way? And what is the real cause for this severe problem?

I'm glad there are trial versions.

Please dont tell me its because us 30inch guys run at 2560x1600 because that would be an entire industry of graphic artists.

I cant even use the stamp tool effectively. Its too slow to register my "alt click clone areas" Often it misses the fact that i chose a new area of the image to clone because its lagged. The Curve editor is terrible now. The sliders in just about all of the color correction ui's are very unresponsive. Brush Strokes start out smooth but if you draw a long stroke, they lag greatly. If you draw fast strokes, its lagged. If you switch layers on and off, you can see them litterally redraw slow on screen. Its all a lot slower than CS3. Again check the liquify tool. It uses the old display code, and its far faster than regular painting or panning an image inside CS4.

The system i tested on...

Intel QX6700 (quadcore extreme)
Intel D975XBX2 motherboard
Nvidia 8800GTX
8GB Ram
Latest Nvidia drivers (I also tried running the newest beta drivers)
HP 30inch monitor - Native resolution 2560x1600
Wacom Intous 3
Local Raid 0 (sata)
Vista 64bit.

yes, the native resolution of 30inch LCD's is 2560x1600

For troubleshooting, all users affected should maybe give more info:
Screen Resolution; for each screen if there are several.
Videocard type; brand; firmware version; Driver version
CPU type, speed; motherboard; amount of memory
Windows version, peculiarities (window blinds, anti-virus)
Photoshop settings: Cache, amount of ram allocated, what Open Gl settings etc.
How does the issue appear, when (immediately?)

Thanks J
I fixed it.

[ed]

John,

Adobe makes it very easy to return CS4. However, they won't sell anything CS3 since CS4 has been released. If you want CS3 you need to check with Amazon or some other third party vendor.

Paul

>P.S. DOES ADOBE HAVE A RETURN/EXCHANGE POLICY?

return for 30 days. call customer support.