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18

Photoshop is extremely slow

Explorer ,
Oct 07, 2020 Oct 07, 2020

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Ive seen other posts here regarding photoshop running slow, but here's my 2 cents worth.

The new 2020 update is just cripplingly slow. I have a really fast PC as well as the benefit of a server farm for processing and rendering.

 

I've switched to legacy compositing, altered the ram usage, added, removed, and added scratch disks again and I don't use my C:\ drive for any scratch disk, also switched off PSD Compression.

Opening a file takes anything from 2-5 mins, even for a small 1mb file. Dragging a file from a folder or the desktop, takes again, anything from 2-5 mins. Clicking the visibility of Layers takes ages too, click the eyeball and nothing happens for quite a while, same re-enabling the layer or resizing something with a smart filter or that's a smart object.  I cannot work this way.

 

The Creative Cloud App itself, is also a bloated, slow resource hog. Rebooting, the app almost always doesn't load properly, stating that it's being slow and I have to click restart. Just recently, my Libraries failed to load and I had to update the library plugin, surely, this could have been done via the million updates the CC App does, yet always has the same issues.


System Specs:

 

  • Windows 10 Pro, 64bit
  • Intel® Coreâ„¢ i9-9900K Processor 5.3ghz
  • 64 Gig DDR5 Ram
  • 2 x nVidia 2080 Ti's (Bridged together) giving me 22Gig DDR 6 Video Ram
  • 2TB Samsung 850 EVO 2 SSD
  • 3 x Asus 4K Monitors at 3840 x 2160px


So, with these specs, why is photoshop so slow? No other CC Apps does this, only Photoshop and the CC App itself. I know it's not my PC or the build, it' has to be Photoshop because there a many, and I mean MANY posts like this one with Photoshop 2020. I hope it's fixed in the 2021 release or I'm cancelling my subscription.

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Adobe
Community Expert ,
Oct 08, 2020 Oct 08, 2020

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Did you try to start PS without any Plug-ins etc.? As most of the PS Users dont have this kind of problems…
it has to be your config or Internet connection. Feel free to give Affinity Photo or GIMP a try 😉

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Explorer ,
Oct 08, 2020 Oct 08, 2020

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Yes, tried that, also uninstalled and reinstalled, as well as on different machines in our different offices. We have a 1 gbps internet connection, so I assure you, that's not the problem, nor is it our machines (and the one I use here is brand new with a fresh install of Creative Cloud) and as I mentioned, it's only Photoshop that has this issue.

 

But do a search here or via Google, and you might be surprised how many people have this exact same issue with v2020, like the links below which are recent and also have decent computer specs. Just because you may not have an issue, doesn't mean there isn't a problem. But when multiple people state the same issues, there is generally something causing it and there are also many posts stating that blame is always put on the user. I guess they are correct 🙂

 

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop/photoshop-2020-running-slow/td-p/10719152?page=1 

 

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop/photoshop-is-very-slow/m-p/11455366?page=1#M467237

 

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop/photoshop-2020-slow-performance-on-macos-mojave/m-p/1076650... 

 

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop/photoshop-21-1-running-very-slowly/m-p/10965366?page=1#M312... 

 

Done all these too to try to resolve it Photoshop lags, freezes, or runs slowly (adobe.com)

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New Here ,
Sep 29, 2023 Sep 29, 2023

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LATEST

I had the same problem then I uninstalled it but when I reinstalled it it didn't help so I uninstalled it again and in regedit I deleted all files from photoshop and reinstalled it and since then it's been working like lightning

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Explorer ,
Apr 13, 2021 Apr 13, 2021

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It's not true that no other PS users are having this issue.  I've noticed it myself.  I've tried a lot of different configurations.  PS claims it's running at 100% efficiency at the bottom of my file.  It's only using 30% of RAM even though I have it allowed to use 75%.  I have a brand new very powerful laptop with below M1cr0ft's but still very high.  Much higher than my old PC which ran similar complexity files much more smoothly on my 6 year old former work PC.

 

There is definitely something wrong with the latest versions of Photoshop in terms of performance.  Perhaps if you're not noticing it you just don't have very complex scenes you're working on.  But I have files running at 1920x1080 with over 100 layers and quite a few Smart Objects.  Something that once again older versions of Photoshop could handle much better than the latest versions.  And I'm not having any issues with other Adobe applications of 3DS Max and Unity.  Everything runs great on this machine EXCEPT Photoshop.  

 

And I am not going to switch to Affinity or GIMP.  That's an absurt suggestion.  Adobe should listen to its users and figure out why it subscription application is doing worse year after year in terms of performance.

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Community Beginner ,
Apr 14, 2021 Apr 14, 2021

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The problem is, indeed, fairly prevalent. 

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Explorer ,
Oct 08, 2020 Oct 08, 2020

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Today after rebooting. And the second image, after shutting down the PC, going for coffee, coming back, and starting the computer. This happens 90% of the time, not just on thins new PC, but others (and for other users) in the office.

 

MMK1123_09-10-2020.pngMMK1124_09-10-2020.png

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Explorer ,
Oct 21, 2020 Oct 21, 2020

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Just to inform you, Photoshop 2021 is working fine. So the issue was with 2020. I can finally work without any issues. 

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New Here ,
Nov 27, 2020 Nov 27, 2020

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It definetly didn't improved in 2021.. works really fine if just paintint, but as soon as you do a selection and move the content , photoshop runs at 5 fps... just saving, closing and reopening the file solves it.. until you select something again...

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Explorer ,
Mar 03, 2021 Mar 03, 2021

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Hi 

 

Just curious are you working off a server or your desktop?

We've been having similar issues you mention amongst others with Photoshop since around 2019. Also, on a variety of MacOS and build configurations and Windows PC. In particular, we've experienced these performance issues in both scenarios, server and desktop when working with Photoshop for the past major releases since 2019.

 

Cheers

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Explorer ,
Dec 16, 2020 Dec 16, 2020

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For me 2021 is very slow to open, slow to close and seems to suck resources from the other apps I have running concurrently like ThumbsPlus and Microsoft Ice and they still seem slow after PS has closed. I use PS2020 now except fr the new featres in 2021 like neural filters...

Also the ne camera RAW seems really slow to export batches of images out of RAW.

I think Adobe should slow down on

 

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Explorer ,
Dec 16, 2020 Dec 16, 2020

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pushed go too early...

I think Adobe should spend less effort on fancy features until they have sorted out the performance issues plaguing PS.

I'm paying enough for PS, I can't spend more on a higher spec laptop or expensive graphics card. Under PS 2019 my laptop scoots along at a great pace.

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Community Beginner ,
Apr 03, 2021 Apr 03, 2021

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Me too, I just installed Photoshop CC 20.3.0 and it is CRAP!! I takes alsmnots 40 seeocnds to start and when it does, most things work fine but even opening SMALL files take far too long. I have been using PSD since the CS1 version and I have to say, I am NOT impressed with the performance at all. Working on most files is sluggish.

 

I too wish they stop making all these tiny updates that seem to break things instaed of fixing them and all those fancy filters and oher crap, just add to the performance problme.

 

Adobe really needs to FIX their crap since this is NOT a cheap SUBSCRIPTION!!!

 

OS Version: 20H2
BIOS Version/Date: American Megatrends Inc. F10, 6/5/2019
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home
System Type: x64-based PC
OS Build: 19042.867

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-9700K CPU @ 3.60GHz, 3600 Mhz, 8 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
Installed (RAM): 16.0 GB
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 - 8GB RAM
Audio: Realtek High Definition Audio

Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: Z390 AORUS PRO WIFI

SSD Drive 1: M.2 Samsung 970 EVO, 250GB
SSD Drive 2: M.2 Samsung 970 EVO Plus, 500GB
HDD Drive 3: Western Digital Black 1TB

 

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Explorer ,
Dec 27, 2020 Dec 27, 2020

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PSCC2020 wasn't slow for me, but PSCC2021 takes a few mins to load even a small JPG.  I can't believe how slow it is at opening images.  I'd hate to see what it's like when I get back to work on my UltraHD Texture Pack for Doom that I have been working on for the last 5 years.  I had to take an extended break due to health issues so the last texture I made was in PSCC2020.

Main specs:
AMD Ryzen 9 3900x @4.6Ghz, cooled by Corsair iCUE H115i RGB Pro XT AIO.

32Gb Crucial Ballistix Sport 3200 DDR4 RAM.
Gigabyte Xtreme Gaming GTX1080 Waterforce Rev. 2.
500Gb Samsung 970 Evo plus NVMe SSD..

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Explorer ,
Feb 03, 2021 Feb 03, 2021

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For what is worths, I had problems with the versions 2020 and 2021.

After days of lost work, Our IT person found some issues of compatibility with windows.

we updated to the latest windows version 20H and now the latest version of photoshop is working better, still slow compared to any version before 2020 but now is acceptable.

Adobe should check this issue because as mentioned in the first post, there are many users having this exact problem, which is not Hardware related but software.

 

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Explorer ,
Apr 08, 2021 Apr 08, 2021

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I can't update my Windows 10.  It is still on build 1909 and Windows Update claims my hardware isn't ready for the 2004 build.  PS2021 takes up to 5 mins to open a small .JPEG file.

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Enthusiast ,
Apr 13, 2021 Apr 13, 2021

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Check the min requirements for PS, this is the danger with cloud programs - you could be forced out of the loop when the program updates.. Check your computer specs, if compatible, you could download the latest Win10 .iso and try an 'in-place Win10 update'  ( it just updates Windows and keeps your personal files ) within win10, I have recently tried this with an aging (10 years) system and all works fine. BUT, it does depend on your computer, I self-built my computer with high-end specs back then to be sure it has a longer life.

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Community Beginner ,
Apr 13, 2021 Apr 13, 2021

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From his earlier post.

Main specs:
AMD Ryzen 9 3900x @4.6Ghz, cooled by Corsair iCUE H115i RGB Pro XT AIO.

32Gb Crucial Ballistix Sport 3200 DDR4 RAM.
Gigabyte Xtreme Gaming GTX1080 Waterforce Rev. 2.
500Gb Samsung 970 Evo plus NVMe SSD..

There's no possibility that this is a matter of obsolete hardware. The GTX 1080 is more than adequate for anything photo shop needs, especially when paired with a thread ripper.

 

I'm curious, have you encountered the specific issue and been able to resolve it with an install in place? I ask because there is a much more nuanced discussion in multiple threads about specific versions of drivers, specific chipset issues, specific updates that can cause the problem or alleviate it, and specific fixes that are fairly quirky. I haven't read anything that suggests a simple install in place fixes it.

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Community Beginner ,
Mar 24, 2021 Mar 24, 2021

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Photoshop "upgraded" to version 22.3.0 today... what fresh hell is this? Selecton tools like Lasso and Marquee are horribly slow and do not keep up with the cursor and/or cause photoshop to spin for minutes, Absolute junk of an upgrade. 

MacOS 11.2.3 32GB ram 8GB vram

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Explorer ,
Mar 25, 2021 Mar 25, 2021

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Since I started this post, Photoshop has become very slow again. It just seems to lag with everything I do, even with 64gb of ram, and remember I have 2 GTX 2080 Ti's. Simple tasks can take a minute to 5 minutes. Opening Photoshop from a reboot of the PC is a nightmate. Dragging an image into it takes at least 2 mins before it's opened or placed in the document. Editing complex Spart Objects tages an age.

I really think Adobe needs to stop with the latest features and fix the performance and memory issues. I know it's not the PC thats causing the issues, as Ive formatted this one and started freash as well as testing it on other fast machines. I also installed it on an i7 with 16gb ram and you can just forget getting any work done with that as it was just too slow.

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Community Beginner ,
Mar 25, 2021 Mar 25, 2021

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I'm a CTE teacher wiht a lab full of machines that are no longer performing with Adobe Photoshop. There are no issues with the other apps in the suite, though. 

 

I'm discouraged at how little these questions are answered by the support community. 

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Explorer ,
Mar 25, 2021 Mar 25, 2021

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Adobe are and always have been,  never good at admitting problems. It took them a long time to acknowledge that 7 million Adobe Creative Cloud accounts were exposed to the public, back in 2019 and didn't inform anyone via email, just in a blog post buried deep that is hard to find.

There's many issues plauging Photoshop and many requests for features for all of their products that go ignored. People here will say this is just run by the community, but Adobe Staff do read these posts and sometimes comment. My advice, raise a support ticket and complain. I have twice now.

 

Our company is now looking into alternatives as Photoshop is now just too slow, even on fast machines.

 

 

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Explorer ,
Mar 25, 2021 Mar 25, 2021

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I agreed with all of you guys, But I think this problem maybe a little more than just Adobe being lazy.

I am a 3D Artist, so I also have to deal with similar problems with other companies such as Autodesk, which also focuses on 'New features' rather than keep their software top performance and bug-free.

 

I have two high-performance machines at home. but one has Windows 10 version 2014 (for custom software compatibility issues), in that machine Photoshop 2017-18-19 works flawlessly; as snappy ad we all remember, in the other machine, I have the latest Windows 10 20H2 and the same Photoshop 2017 is laggy.  The latest version of Photoshop 22.3.0, Premiere, and After Effects are even laggier, making it impossible for me to use it on any task.

I installed Photoshop 22.3.0 on my windows 10 Version 2014 version and it works surprisingly fast. just as fast as the 2017 version.  Same for Premiere and After Effects. I built that machine, and I have tested everything, hardware switching different driver versions and some registry cleaning, but still, the newest version of Windows, plus the latest Adobe  Suite are a recipe for disaster.

 

Needless to say, I also work with Black Magic Fusion, Affinity Photo, CorelDraw and none of those software have any performance impact with the Windows version. if any they perform better each version as we hope Adobe will do.

Take this info as my two cents for developers, maybe their testing machines are also running older versions of Windows or DotNet, or something, as many corporate businesses do.

But the truth is there is some software compatibility with all the new GPU features, something Windows Direct X and Open GL and the way Adobe writes their code.

I really hope they fix this sooner than later, I don't pay for Adobe software, my company does, but I constantly recommend alternatives because they just work as we artist need, We can't wait for 3 seconds for each brush to follow my cursor, cropping, refreshing, zooming, everything is a wait, I can't get any realtime preview in Premiere, not even with 720 proxy videos. it is just frustrating.

on my older machine, I have Blackmagic Davinci and I can preview 4K video. That's a shame Adobe, really.

 

Best luck everyone.

 

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Community Beginner ,
Mar 25, 2021 Mar 25, 2021

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Lots to think about with what you've said, but I appreciate the perspective you're adding with your level of experience in a corporate/office environment. It stands to reason that the GPUs are causing the problem. For my school computers, by increasing ram to 75%, changing cache level to 2, disabling the GPU, and using legacy composting, we were able to get the speed back (this morning). 

 

That's a lot of workaround that requires you to put up with messages about optimizing your GPU each time. It's crazy to me, though, that we don't experience this in Illustrator, InDesign, or Premiere Pro. (2019 an 2020 versions)

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Explorer ,
Mar 25, 2021 Mar 25, 2021

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Thank you Joel,

yes, one workaround would be disabling all GPU acceleration for Photoshop, nowadays most CPUs are fast enough to get good use of them, but the caveat is some effects in Photoshop only works with GPU cores so you lose features and the overall experience is a little laggy, but it can help you to do your job.

Still not acceptable.

For you, if you are in an educational environment it will be hard to test other software. Maybe your IT team could set you up with an old version of Windows to test it out, but then they would have to restrict Internet access to it, to deal with the insecurities... man software is a pain really 😛

 

 

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