Photoshop CC 2019 unusably slow with large files

[ahrumh58723069]

Hi. I frequently work with large .psbs 2 to 6 gb in size. The files are either ~10k pixels square with many layers, adjustment layers, smart objects, and blending modes, or ~20k pixels square with fewer, simpler layers. Since upgrading to CC 2019, the application is laggy/slow to the point of being unusable when working on these files. These same files are fine to work on in CC 2018, which is the only way I can continue to edit them now. I've tried fiddling with the performance settings but to no avail. Deleting preference files hasn't helped either. Is there any hope for me or am I stuck using CC 2018 in perpetuity?

Computer specs:

2017 Retina 5K iMac with 3.4 GHz Core i5 processor

16 GB 2400 MHz DDR4 RAM

Radeon Pro 570 Graphics Card with 4GB RAM

Mac OS 10.13.6

[Noel Carboni]

Check all your Photoshop performance settings, especially your RAM limit and scratch disk choices.  They likely were set at defaults when 2019 went in.

Also, 16 GB total RAM isn't much in the grand scheme when working with documents of that size.

-Noel

[ahrumh58723069]

Well, I upgraded my RAM from 16GB to 48GB and it doesn't seem have affected my issues at all. The program still stalls between every action, especially if I am zoomed in. I have allocated 40 of the 48 GB in the system to Photoshop and my performance settings are otherwise identical to how they were in CC 2018 (which I kept at the defaults). Is there anything left for me to try?

[Noel Carboni]

For those of you still experiencing slow operation, can you please post a screen grab of your Performance preferences?  Perhaps upon review more suggestions can become apparent...

-Noel

[rlndsznt]

I have the same problem, but with even smaller files (300-400MB). In the 19.1.6. version everything works flawlessly and fast, in the 20.0 version I can't move a text object without some serious lag. Photoshop performance settings, RAM limit, scratch disk, every setting are identical in both versions.

[hiddenmelbourne.com.au]

Photoshop CC has become progerssively worse and can no longer handle large images, like the CC2015 version could.

I am using Windows 10 Pro x64, AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 core processor, 64GBRAM. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super, fast 1TB SSD with 692GB free space and 30TB of hard drives.

Creating and editing a 16GB image file 532kpx wide used to be no problem, even on a weaker PC.

The newer versions of CC have become dumbed down and are unable to handle large images.

Formats like psd or psb make no difference, Photoshop chokes.

4Gigapixel Aerial Panorama 

[boroughphoto]

I am experiencing the same. I have reverted to using 2018 until hopefully this is fixed with the next update.

[thepresi · Accepted solution]

I've been working with PS for more than 20 years.

The projects I work on, at times, require PS files as big as 16GB or more.

After the PS 2015.5 release I noticed a progressive and substantial slow down in performance on big files.

Also, when on idle, the latest PS versions indefinitely crank my CPU to almost 100%, for a reason I still need to understand.

PS 2019 is practically unusable for me on big files. 

I solved the problem reinstalling PS 2015.5 (you can do it by selecting "other versions" inside the Adobe CC app list menu)

All the features and tools I need are present in the version 2015.5. All my plug-ins work just fine with 2015.5.

If you don't think you need the latest features, in a professional setting, I would definitely stick with 2015.5. For me it's faster, more responsive, more efficient.

I hope that helps!

[ahrumh58723069]

After installing 2015.5, I can confirm it fixed all my issues. The program doesn't hang on every operation, and it is indeed faster than CC 2018. I have incessant hangs (sometimes minutes long) in 2018 and 2019 just zooming in close and panning around on documents with large pixel dimensions; in 2019, I have similar problems even on relatively small documents if it includes just one layer that is relatively large (>8000px x 8000px).

Noel Carboni​

I have identical performance settings in all three versions of PS, which are the default settings; having found that tweaking my performance settings didn't affect the incessant slow downs, I reverted back to the defaults and didn't bother to try to tweak them further.

[thepresi]

Thanks for confirming my solution!

[Max Chroma]

Sounds great, but what are you going to do, what should other people do, now that Adobe removed access to those versions? I hope you still have it installed, I have experienced telling people similar "solutions" such as making old plugins work in CC v14 by "going to previous versions"... but since March of 2019, Adobe decided they would just remove our access to all those older versions because they weren't paying Dolby the royalties on subscriptions, and Dolby decided to sue them, so they punish the users who have been paying for this multi-version subscription for years. What is the solution now? I just experienced a strange issue with Smart-Objects in the latest CC 2019 adding extra canvas space around the image size on the right and bottom for no reason... but now it is basically turning into a nightmare program. Keep going forward with more bugs and performance issues, and no chance of going backward past 2017 version. Maybe the users need to bring a class action suit against Adobe for lying to us all these years about what we were actually paying for in our subscriptions.

[hdd113]

I've been having the same issue. I'm so lucky that I don't rely on PS specifically for my job-I mostly work on AI.

Not that I used PS extensively to begin with, but because of this, now I am actively trying to avoid using PS altogether. I've been using Clip Studio exclusively for drawing for years already, and any design job I ask my coworkers to use AI or XD. PS in its current status is just a painful experience you don't want to go through as much as possible.

[defaultagvwioh2j5it]

Yes the new versions are horrible with big files. Im making files: 24803x11811pixel 300dpi artworks for print. And it is hell..  Used to be able to make af few changes, and colorcorret a artwork, in a matter of minutes, now the same few changes can take a evening. (Im expert photoshop user, tried all performance settings). Running ps for on a 32gb ram, microsoft win 10 latest update, and Intel i7 6 kernel, processor. It pains me.. i use 6 hours a day in photoshop! want the old version back! 

[zoëv1925741]

I have the exact same problem! I was working on a multi-layered file of 1,6 G without any problems in version 2018 I believe, but halfway through decided to update Photoshop (Why oh why!!??). Now in Photoshop 2020, just turning a layer on and off causes delay. It's completely unworkable. I will downgrade to 2018 or, as suggested, to 2015.5. Thanks for the help. Still, it's unbelievable that this is necessary. 

[zoëv1925741]

UPDATE (apparently this Adobe support community doesn't allow new users to edit their own posts. You first need to rise to a higher rank. What is this? The army?)

Anyway, I found out you can't easily downgrade to an older version of Photoshop. Luckily, helpful community users have provided a link to a page where you can download older versions. See this post by Manan Joshi: 

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop/why-can-t-i-download-old-versions-of-photoshop/m-p/11398164...

IMPORTANT: you need to use Safari to be able to download the files. It doesn't work in Chrome!

One more thing: Apparently Adobe has made it illegal to use older versions of the software. So it's at your own risk to do so. Though what else are we suppose to do if Adobe brings out unworkable versions?