Lightroom Classic CC: over 90% CPU during export

[adamj65786281]

Since few months I almost can't work in Lightroom or any other software on my computer during Lightroom export as it's using around 90% off mu CPU. Maybe exporting itself is a bit faster but when exporting 2000 pics I'm unable to work for over half an hour as there are huge lags (even in mouse movement). In the end I would rather prefer slower export working in a background and still have ability to work with pics without such noticable slow down. It was much better balanced before updating to Classic CC. It doesn't depend on number or size of files exported. I had to take a picture of task manager with my phone as while exporting my computer wasn't reacting to print screen button.  It's quite annoying and it slows down my workflow a lot.

My CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K (4 cores, od 4.00 GHz do 4.20 GHz, 8 MB cache)

32GB RAM, nVidia GeForce GTX 1070

Lightroom catalogue is on SSD and exporting files to WD Black HDD

Lightoom ver 7.3

[Mohit Goyal]

Hi adamj,

We're really sorry for all the trouble. Could you please update Lightroom to 7.4 version via Creative Cloud desktop app and check f that helps.

Also, turn off the GPU from the Lightroom preferences and let us know the results.

Go to Lightroom > Preferences > Performance > Uncheck GPU > Restart Lightroom.

Regards,

Mohit

[adamj65786281]

I have updated to 7.4 and GPU is and was always disabled but it did not change anything...still using over 90% CPU. When editing pics like applying presets etc. it stays under 50% (20-50%). Only on export goes it is over 90%.

Regards,

Adam

[johnrellis]

Adobe has struggled from the beginning getting the right balance between export throughput and interactive response, across the wide range of users' machines, file formats (raw is particularly CPU intensive), workflows, and editing styles. Originally and for many years, there were many complaints that LR didn't take full advantage of multiple CPUs, and people would fire up multiple concurrent exports manually or use a plugin to do that. But in LR 6 (I think) Adobe changed LR to be more aggressive in using multiple CPUs. Based on the reports in the forums, I think that generally works well, but there have been continual reports like yours where it fails.

It's not a simple engineering problem. I've worked on these sorts of problems in years gone by, and my most recent LR plugin faces the problem too. Given that there's always been some fraction of users for whom LR gets it wrong, it's clear that Adobe isn't able to implement a completely automatic rule, and in such situations, the traditional solution is to give the user a knob that controls how aggressive the export is at using the CPUs (that's what my plugin does). Product designers understandably hate throwing in a new manual knob each time a problem rears its head, but I think it's called for here.

Regardless, Adobe wants all product feedback posted on the official feedback site: Lightroom Classic CC | Photoshop Family Customer Community . I suggest you repost there, and be sure to include the first ten lines or so of Help > System Info. LR product developers actively participate there but are rarely seen in this forum.

[chrislangham123]

I have exactly the same problem as Adam. This problem has only recently surfaced, possibly due to an update, I'm not sure as there's so many updates it's hard to keep track.

As a full time professional photographer as well this just completely halts my workflow. Until recently I could set an export of around 50 images and crack on with the next edit, but now the export seems to take 10 times longer and makes the computer unusable.

[johnrellis]

As a full time professional photographer as well this just completely halts my workflow. Until recently I could set an export of around 50 images and crack on with the next edit, but now the export seems to take 10 times longer and makes the computer unusable.

Please post your feedback in the official Adobe feedback forum, where Adobe wants all product feedback:

Lightroom Classic CC | Photoshop Family Customer Community

Which forum should I post to? (Feedback vs Forums)

Adobe product developers read everything posted there and sometimes reply, but they are rarely seen here.

[danilamednikov]

I experience the same thing. I'm a wedding photographer, expert 700-800 photos sometimes it can be even more, but I would like to edit something during the exporting. I waste so much time waiting for Lightroom to finish expert. The funniest thing you can't use your computer during export.

[dj_paige]

danilamednikov  wrote

I experience the same thing. I'm a wedding photographer, expert 700-800 photos sometimes it can be even more, but I would like to edit something during the exporting. I waste so much time waiting for Lightroom to finish expert. The funniest thing you can't use your computer during export.

Please read the post immediately above yours and post your feedback in the specified forum.

[danilamednikov]

What are you talking about?

[Z3PP]

I'd like to throw my my experience in as well.

I just did an upgrade from an i7 2600k (4.4OC) to a Ryzen 2700x hoping to nab some improvement in export time. I frequently export a few hundred images down to medium sizes jpg (2048). I've been doing this for years and while it took a bit on the 2600k I could kick off the export and go do whatever else I wanted on the computer. My last export before upgrading was around a week ago with no issue. Last night I did my first export and not only did my computer become unusable like others have been saying (good luck even moving the mouse) but I think export might have taken longer if not the same amount of time. CPU was pegged at 100% the whole time.

I don't understand how this could possibly be. Hopefully it helps others troubleshoot.

[dj_paige]

Z3PP  wrote

I don't understand how this could possibly be. Hopefully it helps others troubleshoot.

This has already been explained in this thread by johnrellis​

Please post your feedback at the link given instead of in this forum.

[wlandecastro]

Same problem right now.

any update on this issue? i am thinking to upgrade my system and get a liquid if this is the solution to keep my proc. running.

because right now, if i export 100 photos with preset in a jpeg (in whatever file size). My system crush after. its a pain that i cannot export in that many... i tend to do a 20 photo per batch to avoid system shutdown (due to overheating/ overload).

btw. my system setup is

ryzen 1600x

32GB RAM

500SSD (lr runs here when editing)

1060 6GB super jetstream

but still keep on crushing if i export that many.

[dj_paige]

No update. Please read the information provided earlier in this thread by johnrellis​. High CPU usage at export happens because Adobe designed it to be that way. If you want faster export performance, you need a faster CPU with lots of cores..

[joep43662405]

I have 128gb RAM and a 16-core processor, my CPU spikes at 100% during export and I cant use any other programs until it is finished. Hardware has nothing to do with this issue, it's the software.

[dj_paige]

Yes, exporting is very CPU Intensive, it can max out the CPU, and right now that's the way it is, that's the way Adobe has designed the software. LR used to be different, exports took longer because the CPU was intentionally not maxxed out, so you could do other tasks on your computer, but this is no longer the way LR works.

If you'd like to let Adobe know, the link has been given above.

[mottib91448129]

It is software issue and not hardware issue. Lightroom became a patchwork of fix-ups instead of a flowing software. Many popular programs are like that, but with apps like Lightroom, Photoshop, Premier and such, patches can go only so far.

At some point, Adobe needed to sit down and redesign the whole program, but they did not nor tht they seem to be willing to do so. The gaming industry is a great example of how to use resources like high count and high speed RAM, high power GPU's or even multiple GPU's etc.

Only recently Lightroom started taking SOME advantage of graphic cards but still not enough.

My biggest issue with Lightroom is that it starts to degradde the longer you use it. At the first hour of editing everything is OK but the longer I work the slower and more laggy it gets until it is impossible to do anything and I have to quit and restart.

I just now upgraded my PC to Ryzen 7 3700X with a new X570 MB. It has only been  week so I just did  couple of short tests but it looks like teh Ryzen can really handle Lightroom really well. I just hope it does not degarde as I keep using it.

[dj_paige]

This is the wrong forum. This is the forum for technical support. No one here can do anything about the way Lightroom is programmed. If you want to make product suggestions like this, there is a link on the main page of this forum that says "Submit Product Feedback".

[mottib91448129]

I am here voicing my experience about Lightroom like everyone else. If this forum is to help people than my suggestion to move to AMD would be a help.

I have no interest in wasting my time suggesting anythiong to Adobe, they don't really care or listen.

[fviero]

I´m on version 7.5 and Lr lags a lot while exporting. I´ve turned off GPU just in case. Same thing. Exporting photos is now a slow and resource hungry process. CPU tops at almost 100% and stays there during the whole export rendering the whole system unusable.

[dj_paige]

fviero  wrote

I´m on version 7.5 and Lr lags a lot while exporting. I´ve turned off GPU just in case. Same thing. Exporting photos is now a slow and resource hungry process. CPU tops at almost 100% and stays there during the whole export rendering the whole system unusable.

As stated above, this is how LR 7.5 works when you do a large export, it uses a lot of resources.

[fviero]

While testing, the only difference between a "small" (3 pictures) export and "large" (26 pictures) is CPU spike duration. No matter how many pictures, the CPU will spike as long as the export is running, so i guess it´s not dependent on how large the export is.

System Specs are not top notch but they can handle very well other intensive tasks without hogging resources

AMD FX-6300 6 core OC´ed to 4.2Ghz

16GB RAM

Nvidia GTX 960 4gb GDDR 5

Lr is running on a Kingston SSD

[dj_paige]

fviero  wrote

While testing, the only difference between a "small" (3 pictures) export and "large" (26 pictures) is CPU spike duration. No matter how many pictures, the CPU will spike as long as the export is running, so i guess it´s not dependent on how large the export is.

Okay, thanks for the information. This makes perfect sense.

System Specs are not top notch but they can handle very well other intensive tasks without hogging resources

A relatively meaningless statement, since other "intensive" tasks don't require the CPU to do as much, they are not as intensive as a Lightroom export, otherwise you'd see the same CPU response.

[fviero]

I would love to have some light shed as to why exporting an image is such a heavy task. The way you say it, it appears that a Lr export is one of the most intensive tasks a computer system will have to deal with. Is it? What are the benchmarks?

Wondering why Phase One Capture 1 never get it wrong and has a much more flexible export system letting you export in more than one format and in multiple sizes in the same batch, which i guess make things much more complicated resource-wise then exporting in a single format single size in a single batch.

I´ll get back to this thread and report after the latest upgrade.

[johnrellis]

I would love to have some light shed as to why exporting an image is such a heavy task. The way you say it, it appears that a Lr export is one of the most intensive tasks a computer system will have to deal with.

Exporting a single high-resolution raw as a full-resolution JPEG doesn't use that much CPU -- 1-2 processors for a couple of seconds.  But exporting a batch of 100 photos uses much more, obviously.  When exporting batches, Adobe designed LR to use 80-90% of all the processor capacity to make the exports go as fast as possible.

For example, exporting a batch of 100 raws as full-resolution JPEGs takes about 180 seconds on my 4-core / 8-processor Macbook.  It would take much, much longer if LR used just one of the 8 processors (12.5%) instead of 7 (87.5%). 

It doesn't matter how CPU-intensive exporting a single photo is -- by design, to make the export as fast as possible, LR is going to use almost all of the available processors when exporting a batch until the export completes.   Earlier versions of LR used only about 15 - 25% of total CPU for exports and many users complained that LR wasn't using their machine to the fullest.  As long as exports of batches of photos don't complete in a couple of seconds, most users will want the exports to go faster.  There were tips posted about how to split up your export into 2 - 4 pieces and start them concurrently, and Rob Cole had a plugin that would do this for your automatically.

There are few apps on a typical personal computer that will use 90% of its modern multiprocessor for minutes at a time.

[ManiacJoe]

Referencing the Windows Task Manager in the OP, one option is to lower the process priority of Lightroom before you kick off the export:

In the "processes" tab, right-click on Lightroom, select "go to details".

In the "details" tab, right-click on Lightroom, select "set priority" > "below normal".

This should give the foreground apps the responsiveness you desire while letting Lightroom consume all the unused CPU time.