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nickh78896922
Participating Frequently
Aug 15, 2023 2:20 PM UTC
Answered

the new photoshops are so terrible.... how and why?

I have been using PS since 1999 and these new versions [cursing removed] are unusable. I have spent days trying to solve erros and bugs. Why did you nuke such a well oiled software. almost every update since 2018 [cursing removed].... why is there no alternative to PS [cursing removed].

 

why break something that worked so well decades ago

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D Fosse
D FosseCorrect answer
Community Expert
Oct 1, 2023 5:04 PM UTC

This is almost always caused by one of two things:

  • an outdated graphics card that no longer meets Photoshop requirements (or driver bugs, but that's much more rarely seen now)
  • not enough scratch disk space (or memory allocation in preferences set too high)

 

If you're interested in troubleshooting, go to Help > System Info and paste the whole thing in a reply here.

49 replies

Community Expert
Aug 4, 2026 9:07 AM UTC

This is an old thread an all posts in the past are very vague and meaningless.

There are no specific questions regarding problems.

I’ll agree with ​@D Fosse and ​@davescm  and close the thread.

 

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My System: Intel i7-8700K - 64GB RAM - NVidia Geforce RTX 3060 - Windows 11 Pro 26H2 -- LR-Classic 15 - Photoshop 27 - Nik Collection 9 - PureRAW 6 - Topaz Photo AI
sbn85
Inspiring
Aug 4, 2026 8:45 AM UTC

hard to disagree with author

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rogerb48348072
Participant
Aug 4, 2026 3:16 AM UTC

I am a pro. Photoshop doesn’t just freeze, it actively does it’s best to sabotage your work. I hate it. 

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Community Expert
Aug 4, 2026 7:30 AM UTC

​@rogerb48348072 It seems that’s your first post here and it’s kept very general. Only with such statements it’s impossible to try to help and all suggested solutions are a look into a crystal ball.

And my crystal ball is on vacation at the moment. 😉🤗

Please give us more and detailed informations about the issue(s) that you see in Photoshop.

What exactly you’re trying to do?

What do you like to get and what do you really get?

Please describe the steps you’re doing, so we can try to reproduce.

Do you get an error message? If yes, please post the message word-by-word.

We’re also need more informations about your system. Please provide a copy of your 'System Info'. This can be get from the Photoshop menu item Help > System Info. There's a copy button in the System Info dialog. Press this button and paste the info into a text file and attach it to your next forum post.

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My System: Intel i7-8700K - 64GB RAM - NVidia Geforce RTX 3060 - Windows 11 Pro 26H2 -- LR-Classic 15 - Photoshop 27 - Nik Collection 9 - PureRAW 6 - Topaz Photo AI
lorio21555405
Participant
Feb 26, 2026 6:18 PM UTC

Why isn't Photoshop any good! Ive used it for 20 years and its the worst its ever been. I was asked by a camera club if I would recommend it. I am sorry to say NO DON'T UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! My Dad has already cancelled Photoshop and I am thinking of following suit! Its awful sort it out! They must be loosing swathes of customers!

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jane-e
Community Expert
Community Expert
Feb 26, 2026 7:23 PM UTC

​@lorio21555405 wrote: Why isn't Photoshop any good! 

 

I see that this is your first post to the  Adobe Community forums. Your post is vague. Do you have any specific issues that you want to share with us?

 

Jane

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lorio21555405
Participant
Feb 26, 2026 8:19 PM UTC

Every time I use RAW and Bridge I get half way through editing and it freezes

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Derek Cross
Community Expert
Community Expert
Aug 28, 2024 4:49 PM UTC

Hasn't this deary thread run its course and needs to be closed?

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davescm
Community Expert
Community Expert
Aug 28, 2024 5:16 PM UTC

Agreed, it is going nowhere, since the original 2023 answer.  Locked

 

Dave

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Participating Frequently
Aug 26, 2024 3:21 AM UTC

I've been using Photoshop since 1992, and the more recent versions are garbage. When I actually need to get some work done, I use CS5.

 

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D Fosse
Community Expert
Community Expert
Aug 26, 2024 4:50 AM UTC

@MCPeter  Then it might be time to upgrade your hardware, in particular your GPU. There is a world of difference in terms of hardware requirements between CS5 from 2010 and the current versions.

 

I use Photoshop 8 hours a day, I rely on it for a living, and have no problems.

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Participating Frequently
Aug 26, 2024 7:37 PM UTC

My issues have nothing to do with GPU/hardware performance. It's just the user interface wants to tke over where I want control, too many manual tools have been removed or are more hassle to get to and use.

 

You be you Mrs. Fosse.

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Participating Frequently
Jun 14, 2024 7:31 PM UTC

I absolutely agree.  I'm using a new Mac Studio with lots of RAM and huge scratch disks and each new version of Photoshop is worse than the last, with aspects that don't function properly and increasing performance issues.  We need fast and sleek to maintain workflows but after more than thirty years of using Photoshop it has become more and more of a bloated dysfunctional pig.  

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Derek Cross
Community Expert
Community Expert
Jun 14, 2024 8:26 PM UTC

Can you be more specific about an issue that we can replicate please.

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Participating Frequently
Mar 29, 2024 11:23 AM UTC

fully agree!!

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D Fosse
Community Expert
Community Expert
Oct 1, 2023 6:08 PM UTC

Photoshop is, and has always been, professional-grade software. As such, it's optimized for speed and efficiency, and makes no concessions for limited hardware resources. It is the user's responsibility to make sure it has the resources it needs.

 

If you want something simpler and more user friendly, there's Photoshop Elements. There's also a new range of mobile-oriented apps from Adobe.

 

The thing with Photoshop is that it has such a total market dominance that everybody feels ownership to it. That can be a problem, because it can't make everybody happy at the same time. A lot of consumer-oriented features have been added, but Photoshop cannot compromise on its high-end capabilities. That would pull the floor out from under it.

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Participating Frequently
Mar 29, 2024 11:31 AM UTC

I'm very advanced user from 1996, now I have M2 MAC and I see photoshop now unuseful, buggy, sluggish

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c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
Community Expert
Mar 29, 2024 11:37 AM UTC

In my experience the people who feel the need to mention just how long they have been using Photoshop on this Forum are not necessarily as insightful as they think. 

 

Please read this (in particular the section titled "Supply pertinent information for more timely and effective answers”):
https://community.adobe.com/t5/using-the-community/community-how-to-guide-tips-amp-best-practices/td-p/11601738?page=1

 

What have you done about general Photoshop performance and Scratch Disks so far?
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/optimize-photoshop-cc-performance.html
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/scratch-disks-preferences.html

What have you done for all-purpose trouble-shooting so far?
Restoring Preferences after making sure all customized presets like Actions, Patterns, Brushes etc. have been saved might be a good starting point:
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/preferences.html
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/basic-trouble-shooting-steps.html
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/troubleshoot-gpu-graphics-card.html

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Participant
Oct 1, 2023 5:48 PM UTC

Congratulations.

I have 35 TB at work, but not on my laptop that is use on the road and at home.

Photoshop used to be a go-to app for all photo editing.  Apparently they have given up that market and only want the pro market.  That is what I needed to know.  The good news is that Photoshop being so unusable has opened the market for competitors like Affinity, or even freeware like GIMP to become more popular.  I guess I got the message.

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