Massive CPU Usage from Lightroom Classic CC

[dmshort]

So this has been going on for quite some time starting with some version of Lightroom CC 7.x (I don't remember exactly which). Basically Lightroom is going to kill my computer and uses a massive amount of CPU power when doing things. My fans are always running at full throttle whenever I open and work in Lightroom and I haven't been able to find any solutions. I've cleaned my fans of all dirt, dust and debris and that didn't stop the fan problem. Still wouldn't explain the CPU usage problem. Anyway, it's getting ridiculous and I'm about fed up with it. But of course Adobe has me hooked and I'm not taking, nor do I have the time to try and learn another program and figure out how all of my presets I've created translate to that program.

Can anyone offer a solution short of wiping my entire computer and starting over from scratch?

[johnrellis]

The problem started around half a year ago when I updated Lightroom. Basically generating previews kills the computer and it becomes totally useless until the import ends.

Originally, LR made poor use of multiple processors.  Starting a couple of years ago, Adobe started changing LR to use multiple processors for import and export, and it works OK for most people. But there have been a number of reports like yours where it's too aggressive.

To make preview generation more friendly, try these steps:

1. Make sure Catalog Settings > File Handling > Standard Preview Size is set at 1440 (no need to make it larger for your display).

2. In the Import window's File Handling, set Build Previews: Embedded & Sidecar.

3. Set the option Preferences > General > Replace Embedded Previews With Standard Previews During Idle Time.

4. Uncheck the option Preferences > Performance > Generate Previews In Parallel.

[matthias.quail]

Thanks for response.

That's correct, older LR versions did not suffer that issue. Parallel operation were not that aggresive like today.

I need 1:1 previews to speed up my selection process and Adobe themselves recommend using 1:1 previews for performance reasons.

Obviously unchecking "Generate Previews in Parallel" helps, but at the same time it means wasting capabilities if the high-end processor with 28 CPU threads that I use. Today's systems are not single/dual core anymore.

Besides, the whole issue looks to me more or less like some bad scheduling, locking mechanism design inside LR. No other application, even when utilizing all 28 threads on my PC is as as unstable as Lightroom. Just to give you examples: Rendering with Cinema4d, h264 video enconding, multiprocess archiving, all can eat the whole 100% of 28 threads and the system always responds immediately. I think it is time for Adobe to do some serious optimization work.

[johnrellis]

With standard previews, you can import with Build Previews: Embedded & Sidecar and then have the standard previews built on demand as you work and in background while LR is idle. But there isn't any way to accomplish that with 1:1 previews.

Similar reports suggest this problem is most severe on computers with larger numbers of processors (e.g. 8 cores / 16 processors). I recommend you post a bug report on the official Adobe feedback forum, where Adobe wants all product feedback: Lightroom Classic | Photoshop Family Customer Community . They read everything there but rarely participate in this forum and won't see this thread. Be sure to include the first ten lines from Help > System Info and the four settings in my previous post. 

Any one report about performance is less likely to be acted upon by Adobe. But they do pay attention the more the reports. There are existing reports for unusability during export, but I couldn't find any for imports.

[cosimoo52908182]

This is a ridiculous issue and by a matter of fact Lightroom is almost unusable. I’ve been having this issue since may 2018. If could go back i would never updated it. Don’t understand people saying this is how it should be/work as it was clearly not like that before the update even when editing and/or exporting

[johnrellis]

Make sure you add details of your issue to the existing bug report in the official Adobe feedback forum: Lightroom Classic: High CPU usage makes it unusable during export | Photoshop Family Customer Commun... . Be sure to include the first ten lines from the menu command Help > System Info. Be sure to click Me Too and Follow in the upper-right corner. That will make it more likely Adobe will prioritize a fix, and you'll be notified when the bug's status changes. Adobe product developers read everything posted there but won't see your feedback here.

[ViaCaballero]

I have 32 procesors and same issue, set Lightroom affinity to only use 1/2 your processor count and thats it! 

Yw.

[francescom93255314]

how do you do this? thanks!

[Botty1963]

I did a clean windows install on mine, I only open LR (latest version) and have no other 'sneaky' programmes running in the background and mine has the same issue with the CPU being hammered and the fan racing. I use an I7 vPRo laptop with 20Gb RAM and a 512gb SSD. 

[francescom93255314]

I also have this problem with an iMac i9-40GbRam-RadeonRX580 ... I called the adobe and the technician made the changes that I highlighted with the screenshoot (sorry, the System Preferences / Security panel is in Italian)

[Rodrigo Luft]

Thanks man. Worked like magic!!!