Extreme Performance Drops When Background Layer is Active on M3 Ultra (Photoshop 26.10)

[Petra_Kosak9106]

On a new Mac Studio with M3 Ultra and 265 GB RAM, Photoshop 26.10 shows extreme lag and stuttering when a document has the default locked background layer visible – even if it is completely empty. As soon as the background layer is hidden or converted to a normal layer, performance is perfectly smooth.

Same files work without issue on an iMac or M1 Mac.

Issue appears reproducible with some PSB file that contains the locked background layer.

It is not an operating error but clearly a bug.

System:

• Mac Studio M3 Ultra

• 265 GB RAM

• macOS Sequoia 15.6.1 

• Photoshop 26.10

• GPU acceleration: On

• Rosetta: No difference

Adobe closed this case:

Thank you for reaching out to Adobe Support. We appreciate your patience while we worked on your case. Below is a summary of the issue and its resolution:
Issue: Very slow performance when having multiple layers and background layer. 
Resolution Steps: Guided the customer to hide the background layer. 
We hope this resolves your concern. If you experience any further issues or have additional questions, please feel free to reach out.
Best regards,
Adobe Technical Support

[Sameer K]

Hey, @Petra_Kosak9106. Welcome to the Photoshop Community. I'll help you figure this out. Please share a video of the issue and the system info from Photoshop Help > System info > Copy and paste into a text document > Upload and attach here.. 

Could you share a sample image PSD document to showcase the exact layer properties? 

As a test, try these steps:

1—Go to Photoshop > Settings > Performance > Advanced Settings > Disable/uncheck GPU Compositing & restart Photoshop. 

2—Please test and confirm if Photoshop (Beta) has an issue. You can get Photoshop (Beta) from the Creative Cloud > Apps tab > Beta Apps section. 

Thanks! 
Sameer K

(Type '@' and type my name to mention me when you reply)

[Petra_Kosak9106]

Hello @sameerk 

I have already tested Photoshop with an M1, M2 Ultra, M3 Ultra and M4 Max. You can't work on any M without a workaround. I work partly with and partly without Rosetta. Deactivating the GPU makes it even worse. Cache levels set to min. 6. PSD compression disabled. Compatibility disabled (only work on ps). 2TB SSD in addition. Always save in stages. Create multiple files instead of multiple levels. However, this workaround is different for every file. You often have to deactivate or rename the background layer and then save it temporarily.  It is not possible to work smoothly and undisturbed like on the other iMacs. I have since found a few agencies and photographers via Instagram who have the same problem. Tip for all those who work with Adobe Photoshop and with large psb files and many layers: Don't switch to the M-series until Adobe has fixed this bug!

[Srishti Bali]

Hi @Petra_Kosak9106

Sorry for the delayed response. I hope the issue has already been resolved. If not, we’ve recently released version 26.11, which includes several bug fixes and performance improvements. Please update to the latest version and see if that helps.

If the problem still persists, could you please share a short video of your workflow along with the details requested above? This will help us better understand and troubleshoot the issue.

Regards,

Srishti

[Petra_Kosak9106]

Ich habe auf meinem neuen Mac Studio M3 Ultra (256 GB RAM, macOS aktuell, interne SSD + externe 2 TB SSD als Scratch Disk) massive Performance-Probleme mit großen .PSB-Dateien (40–200GB).

Symptome:

• Betroffen sind rahmenfüllende Ebenen (z. B. Hintergründe, Musterfüllungen, Architekturpläne).
• Bei aktiver Ebene reagiert Photoshop extrem verzögert (scrollen, zoomen, verschieben = ruckelig).
• Workaround: Ebene umbenennen, minimal verschieben oder de-/aktivieren → dann läuft alles kurzfristig wieder flüssig, bis das Problem erneut auftritt.
• Tritt bei jeder Datei auf, immer mit einer anderen Ebene.

Getestet:

• PS 25.x, PS 26.10 und Beta → Problem identisch.
• GPU-Beschleunigung ein/aus, Render-Modi (Basis/Normal/Erweitert) getestet → keine Änderung.
• RAM-Zuweisung 60–80 %, Cache-Stufen 4–8 → keine Änderung.
• Scratch Disk intern / extern (2 TB SSD) → keine Änderung.
• Cloud-Speicher, Sync & Lizenzmodell ausgeschlossen (Dateien liegen lokal, Internet getrennt getestet).
• Auf M1 Mac und altem Intel-Mac: gleiche Dateien funktionieren ohne Probleme