How does it get this bad?

[Onnnnnnnn]

Photoshop version 26.8, Windows 11

Laptop has an Intel Iris Xe gpu and a 13th gen Intel core i7-1355U

For over a year now (ver. 24.x), standard image sizes, like 1920x1080, have had abysmal performance. The response from a simple draw with the brush tool clearly lags behind, and zooming resembles a slide show, rather than a smooth transition.
Previously, this type of lag only occurred with large image sizes, like 50,000x20,000.

Various performance settings, reinstallations, and updates have not fixed this issue.

Attached is a blank preset with one new layer. Scrubby zoom and pan is a slide show.

[D Fosse · Accepted solution]

Dual graphics is always a potential conflict and a very common problem with laptops. You may have to completely disable the Intel GPU as per section 6&7 here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/troubleshoot-gpu-graphics-card.html 

Photoshop uses the GPU for actual data processing, and the result returned to Photoshop for further processing. You can't send data to one GPU and get it back from the other. There can only be one GPU in this equation.

[Srishti Bali]

Hi @Onnnnnnnn

Thanks for sharing the details. To help us investigate further, could you please confirm the following:

• When did you first start noticing this lag? Was it after a specific Photoshop or Windows 11 update?

• Is the issue consistent across all files, or does it vary based on file content — such as multiple layers, effects, or specific brushes?

• Are you using any third-party plugins or extensions?

In the meantime, you can also try the steps outlined here to optimize Photoshop’s performance and let us know if it helps: Optimize Photoshop performance

We appreciate your patience — we're here to help get this sorted!

Regards,

Srishti

[Onnnnnnnn]

Hi,

Unfortunately, I do not have an exact time or version of when the lag started to occur.
This issue does not seem to be with the file content or size, as an empty 120KB PSD behaves the same as a 313MB PSD. Mainly masks, brightness and vibrance corrections were used over 25 layers. I have attached an image of the larger PSD, as the PSD exceeds the file size limit.

To my knowledge, I am not using any plugins or extensions.

In the meantime I have disabled using the gpu, and while panning and brush strokes were a lot smoother, I am unwilling to compromise on scrubby zoom, which requires the gpu.

There was not a time when I haven't used scrubby zoom, so unless it was not reliant on the gpu more than a year ago, I have always had the gpu enabled.

[Srishti Bali]

Thanks for sharing the details, @Onnnnnnnn

In this case, I’d suggest checking if there are any pending updates for your GPU. Also, please follow the steps shared in the link provided by @D Fosse — that should help resolve the issue.