P: Cursor stuttering & screen flickering in Photoshop on high refresh rate G-sync monitors

[Earth Oliver]

If you're a nvidia gsync user and experiencing mouse stuttering in Ps (and all Adobe apps), try turning off gsync to see if that resolves the issue. 
Basically what happens is that any activity in an Adobe app will result in 2-3 seconds of micro-cursor stuttering (looks like frame rate dropping) and the occasional 3-4 seconds of cursor freeze. Disabling gsync fixes the issue. This behavior appears only in Adobe apps and none other.

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[J453]

Do you have G-Sync enabled? https://community.adobe.com/t5/camera-raw-bugs/p-cursor-stuttering-amp-screen-flickering-in-photosho...

[SilentRage47]

I have the same problem with the latest nvidia driver and photoshop version.

Rtx 2080 + DELL S2716DG

Disabling gsync just for photoshop doesn't solve the issue, the only way I can have a smooth experience is by disabling gsync completly from nvidiacp. Same problem for Lightroom and Classic.

[Martin HP]

https://www.reddit.com/r/photoshop/comments/ilitsc/psa_if_youre_experiencing_ludicrous_slowdowns_and...

Try this, this one worked for me.

[SilentRage47]

This method seems to work for some people, in my case it just makes things worse. With this settings I get black screen flashes every time I perform some action in Photoshop.

[Seth A]

Same here, with this method i have worst symptoms ( Black screen flickering/flashing).

The only option that works for now is to disable G-sync permanently 

[PMPP]

Hi Jeffrey, how is it possible that after so many reports, for several years now, Adobe and Nvidia have not gotten together to solve this? The collective hours of your clients waster around this issue certenaily should mean something to prioritize this bug. Disabling g-sync specifically for Photoshop, just ended up with my screen flashing black everytime I move my mouse on photoshop and it triggers any render on it (mouse over, tooltip, etc).

Adobe has been the first and only software I have encountered with this kind of problem with g-sync, that highly suggested that something has been done that does not follow the guidelines of the drivers. How much longer will we, paying customers, have to wait for this issue to be addressed?

[Guest]

So true.... totally agree with you...

I'm running my monitor with G-Sync turned off permanently because apparently that's the only fix at the moment...

ADOBE AND NVIDIA PLEASE FIX THIS!!!

[bayred]

Same problem with Ae. In ae even disable the gsync not work it.  

My refresh rate is 165hz. When i make it 60 hz, problem is gone with all adobe app. Plesae fix it. 

[sebastianb28672093]

Same here with an 2080 on GSYNC enabled. All tricks within the NVIDIA Control Panel didn't work for me at all. Only solution is to completely turn off GSYNC, this is becoming ridiculus. This thread nearly celebrates his second birthday without a real solution!

[Daniel2437625499te]

I have a 165hz monitor and gsync, this solution is the only one that has worked for me. they should fix it.

[ChamucoKid0]

Just to keep the post alive. Same here, just switched to a 3060ti from an old RX 570 here me thinking everything would run as smooth as butter, but oh boy oh boy PS my main tool at work runs like absolute garbage.

Clean windows install, cero software other than Nvidia Studio Drivers and Photoshop, SAME issue, not even disabling Gsync works, the flicker goes away but the program still runs so slow even just panning and zooming in/out is extremely diatracting and impossible to worl with.

This didn't use to happen with my old GPU. I don't see this being fixed any time soon so I might have to switch back to the old GPU. Hige bummer. 

Sad thing is, not everyone has a spare Radeon GPU laying around especially with the current hardware shortages and inflation.

Can't believe Adobe having their income and man power can't figure out how to make this arcaic 25 y/o piece of software work.

[TheDigitalDog]

If turning OFF GPU works, it's a GPU bug and you need to contact the manufacturer or find out if there's an updated driver for it. 

Also see: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/acr-gpu-faq.html

[ChamucoKid]

I think you misunderstood my issue, i SWAPED gpus, I also tried turning off gpu acceleration on photoshop, and as I mentioned my drivers are all the msot recent in a clean install of windows. The link you shared already read all through it, all of the faws, optimization tips and every official help guide from adobe I have read, nothing works.

That's why i took out the Nvidia gpu and put in my old AMD gpu, that's the only thing that works. Please read carefully before repliying.

[TheDigitalDog]

What I didn't misunderstand is, that issues with GPUs are based upon issues with their drivers, mostly under Windows. You can blame Photoshop if that makes you feel better. But the facts are if you disable GPU and an issue goes away, the bug is with the GPU. This is why this option exists and yes, you lose that issue and everything that relies on the GPU slows down. 

More and more functionality is moving to GPU, so expect this to continue. 

Fact: just because an older GPU works, doesn't mean the newer one isn't affected by a driver bug. But again, it is easy to test this with the options Adobe provides for GPU. 

[ChamucoKid]

Again: I did try disabling the GPU in Photoshop and that did not solve the issue.

[TheDigitalDog]

And that indicates it's not a GPU bug, nothing more.

Did you follow the correct answer recommendations fully?

[ChamucoKid]

With all respect sir, I think you are wrong and or contradicting yourself. If it's not an issue with the GPU or the driver why is swaping it to a Radeon GPU fixing such issue?  Also you said "What I didn't misunderstand is, that issues with GPUs are based upon issues with their drivers" you let me understand that you agree that drivers for this components can be the source of the issue and to that I completelety agree.

Also like I mentioned. I read everything, all guides, official FAQs, all answers to this and other posts, nothing same issue and the only thing that solves it is swaping to a different GPU.

Also small theory here: My CPU has no integrated graphics so even if I disable all GPU features in photoshop my PC still depends on the GPU to a certain degree to proyecto the image onto my display so maybe that's why it still bugs out.

[TheDigitalDog]

Why don't you start a new post explaining your exact problem with system and hardware details. There is an issue reported here from way back in 2019 and a solution. Others found that it works. You have kind of hyjacked an old thread with three posts (your first here). You have an issue? Report it and maybe someone will be able to assist you.

You can post your new issues and theories then and there. 

[Agustin Saldias]

Turning off gsync 'as a solution' is the same as telling someone to lower their resolution to 1080p because photoshop doesn't render correctly at 4k. That's not a solution.

This is a matter of how certain adobe products are implemented and how the take advantage (or don't) of certain features that drivers expose from their graphics cards. GSync being one of those features.

This is an old thread, yes, but it's still without official response on when they plan to implement/fix gsync compatibility, a feature that has been available for NINE YEARS in windows/nvidia.

Do they require collaboration between nvidia, microsoft and adobe to fix this? Sure, they should make that happen, they're the software owner.

Radio silence is not a good look and turning off a monitor feature that works (almost) flawlessly with all other software is not a solution.

[TheDigitalDog]

You're spinning your wheels here with such an old post. Here's how to get results above and beyond resurrecting 3-year-old post that fixed other's issues! 

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-bugs/how-do-i-write-a-bug-report/idi-p/12373403

Problem Description:

Steps to Reproduce:
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Actual Result:

Expected Result:

Any Workarounds:

More here: 

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/send-bug-report-feature-request-adobe/

[Valeriu]

Hi, I just upgraded to PS 2022 and I started having some visual bugs and also, my program is lagging sometimes, for example when I zoom in. One of the visual bugs I have is when I undo a brush stroke, the place fades where the brush mark was. Other bugs are that some places of my workspace are changing colors as I move the canvas. My GPU is updated and working properly and I also tried deleting my PS settings and preferences, but didn' help.

[lambiloon]

Hi, you should check system requirements for the latest version this may be one of reasons or if you have a good computer then wait for the next update of all bugs in the notice of the Adobe team...regards

[CoryShubert]

Hi @Valeriu, here are a couple things to try:

Go to Preferences > Performance... and uncheck Multithreaded Compositing - and restart Photoshop. Does the problem persist? 

Go to Preferences > Performance... click Advanced Settings... and uncheck "GPU Compositing" - then restart Photoshop. Does the problem still occur? 

Thank you,

[Valeriu]

I tried, the problem still occurs.

[TheDigitalDog]

First, try disabling GPU in the Lightroom Preferences (Performance tab). Any better?

If not, recalibrate and build a new ICC display profile, the old one might be corrupted.

If you are using software/hardware for this task, be sure the software is set to build a matrix not LUT profile, Version 2 not Version 4 profile.

If turning OFF GPU works, it's a GPU bug and you need to contact the manufacturer or find out if there's an updated driver for it. On the Mac, that's part of the OS update(s) so if this is the latest OS version, you may need to roll back a release. 

Also see: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/acr-gpu-faq.html