Lightroom Classic extremely slow on Macbook Pro 16" 2020 - Help Needed! Not possible to work!

[WatraczDesign]

Hello guys, I purchased a new Macbook Pro 16". Maxed out version. 8 cores i9 cpu. 64GB of Ram. Stronger graphic card with 8GB of memory.

...And I cannot edit 24MB photos from my old Canon 80D in Lightroom....

I'm attaching a video here where you can see how it performs. Basically zooming takes several seconds, switching photos several seconds, panning photos is extremely laggy.

I also have an old PC with 4 cores cpu - runs much much better. Without any issues like that. I have Macbook Pro from 2016. Runs much much better.

This doesn't look right for a software to run like that on a $5K brand new computer. What is worth mentioning is that:

1) It runs much better on Lightroom CC (Not Lightroom classic)

2) I tried several different versions of Lightroom Classic CC (same results)

3) I tried resetting preferences, switching on / off graphic card and all sort of "basic fixes" that usually come with performance issues - same results.

4) I don't have performance issues with other software - just with the Lightroom Classic CC.

I uploaded the photo from video to dropbox so you can test how it performs on your machine and compare: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rxbpxbut8f9oigq/IMG_1776.dng?dl=0

Here is the video on YouTube how it performs on my MBP 2020: https://youtu.be/GA9VI6BroVU

Please help as it's not possible to do any work when the software is slow like that.

{Thread title edited by moderator}

[nikunj.m]

Hi there,

We are sorry about the experience with Lightroom Classic on your new MacBook Pro. Since it is the new 16" model, I believe you are running macOS Catalina on it, right?

If yes, please go to the System Preferences for you Mac, then to Security and Privacy, then select the Privacy Tab. Then select Accessibility from the list on the left and add Lightroom Classic to the list (if not there already) by unlocking the window using the lock on the bottom left. Also, you would see Full Disk Access as an option under Accessibility, please grant Lightroom Classic full permissions under that. Once done, please restart the computer and check if that helps.

If the issue persists, please check the below mentioned steps to check if it helps.

1. Go to Preferences > Performance and increase the Camera Raw Cache size to 10.0GB or more.
2. On the same tab, check the option to Use Smart Previews instead of Original for image editing and uncheck the option to Generate Previews in Parallel.
3. On the Performance tab itself, select off from the drop down for Use Graphic Processor
4. Go to the General tab and check the box to Replace Embedded previews by standard previews during idle time.

Once you have made the above-mentioned changes, quit and relaunch Lightroom Classic prior to testing the application.

Regards,

Nikunj

[WatraczDesign]

Hello.

Thanks for suggestions, however:

- First of all. You haven't watched the video where I demonstrate the issue. And you are asking what system I have installed. Well, it's visible in the video that I attached. Please consider exploring attached materials firstly...

- All needed access in preferences was already granted.

- This is not issue of smart previews. It happens right after I import photo from the library with any of those settings: Minimal Preview, Standard Preview, 1:1 Preview.

- If you have watched the video, you would see that I had only 1 (ONE) photo in my Lightroom library (and a virtual copy of it, without any edits). How it could even reach 10GB cache? Your suggestion makes no sense to me. The photo takes 20MB on HDD. How much cache in your opinion do I need for this amount of photos?

- If you have watched the video you would notice that I demonstrate the issue also on UNEDITED photo. In the Library panel. Without any edits.

- Overall your response sounds like you just copied and paste it from some template. Without firstly reading, understanding, and watching the video I attached. This is not nice.

In case you have no idea what's going on, here is what I found after digging for couple of hours. The Lightroom has issues with the new Radeon 5500M GPU. It doesn't use this card (even if it "displays" that it uses it - but on Activity Monitor, there is no usage on this GPU - as demonstrated on my video). There are several articles about that, I suggest getting familiar with them:

https://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/lightroom-classic-cc-9-x-using-wrong-gpu-on-m...

https://www.reddit.com/r/Lightroom/comments/ehrtmo/lightroom_cc_31_not_using_gpu_intel_630_or_radeon...

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4451757

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic/lightroom-classic-used-on-new-16-quot-macbook-pro-w...

The consensus is. You guys from Adobe did not write good code to cooperate between Lightroom and newest GPU Radeon 5500M.

In my case wiping out the system and installing everything from scratch helped.

Regards,

[GoldingD]

/FOLLOWUP/EDIT/HEADS UP/ see last posting, this is probably an Energy Saving issue in your MACOS going on and fouling use of the GPU up. See Solution 4, part 5 in: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/kb/troubleshoot-gpu.html

1. System Info

Please post your System Information as Lightroom Classic reports it. In LRC click on Help, then System Info, then Copy. Paste into reply (include all info from first line diwn to just past plugin info, info after plugin info a mystery)

[GoldingD]

2. Use GPU info

Please post a screenshot of your performance panel inside preferences.

[GoldingD]

And yes, I did not view your vid just yet, just occured to me that I goofed up in that.

Moving on

Look at: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/kb/troubleshoot-gpu.html

perhaps solution 4 part 5

[GoldingD]

Ok waatched the vid. Yikes, issues in Library module, nasty. Usalyy slow... on new MAC is in Devlop on 4K displays with adjustment brushes.

Noted a few things, but not related to (I think) your issue

Camera RAW CACHE set at crappy Adobe default 5GB , up that to at least 20GB, more like 70GB

MACOS 10.15.3,  10.15.4 niw out, but I do not think it will help

Read that link on GPU troubleshooting.

[GoldingD]

In your vid, when you bring up About this MAC, It only lists your Integrated video control, does not include your Discrete GPU? Why? Nothing to do with Lightroom Classic. On my MACBook, I see both.

Might be about power saving settings, MACOS may have turned the GPU use off, Yes, that link I provided, talks about Energy saving.

And googleing on "About This MAC does not show GPU" yields (for example):

https://www.quora.com/Why-does-About-This-Mac-on-Apple-macOS-sometimes-not-show-the-discrete-graphic... 

[WatraczDesign]

The issue with MacBook doesn't displaying a correct GPU were explained in articles that I linked above (basically an issue with Lightroom drivers for new Macbook GPU Radeon 5500M) 🙂

- In other apss MacBook enables the discrete GPU, just not in Lightroom.

- Anyway after wiping out the system and installing everything from scratch (Mac Os 10.15.4), it worked. Just "update system" did not help. I firstly updated, nothing changed, so did a clean installation from scratch.

- Hopefully any new Lightroom update will not break it.