Photoshop: Unacceptable performance

Thank you, Carlos. I agree in general, but I don't think a top-of-the-line computer less than 2 years old should be obsolete. I sincerely hope that using Adobe software doesn't come with the additional cost of replacing a computer every year or two.

Agree completely.  I would kill for a release which focused solely on performance improvements.  I'm running a MacPro with a six-core 3.5GHz CPU, two 8GB GPU, a 4TB SSD, and 128GB RAM.  LR 7.5 was far slower than LR6, although Mojave improved performance somewhat, and LR8 is just a pig.

LR fails to use the multiple cores effectively, and never touches the second GPU ever.

A release which improved performance to at least match AutoCAD would be a blessing.  I couldn't care less about GPS mapping, facial recognition (which doesn't work worth a damn), and other 'content-aware' BS; there's real money-making work to be done!

My catalog currently has 3.7M images.  (Just a wee bit larger.)  Unfortunately, the 2013 MacPro does not have TB3, so an eGPU is not in the cards, and I've read there's no new version of the MacPro in 2019.

However, I'm driving three (3) LG 34" HD displays...not at 4k; they're 3440 x 1440 (WQHD).  Why Adobe cannot write a program which uses multiple GPUs is beyond understanding.  Autodesk has no problems doing this with its AutoCAD family of programs.

Thank you, Hannah! Yes, I am running Mojave.

Before I change any configuration on my computer, can you please explain in detail what this setting does, what the difference is between legacy paint mode and the current implementation, and whether this setting will be supported in future versions (no point if it ends up being de-supported in a future version)?

Hi Hannah,

We're talking about Lightroom Classic here... Does the 'photoshop' setting have impact in Lightroom too? And what exactly does this do?

Karel.

I'm sorry, Karelu, but my original post is about Photoshop, and that's the application I want an answer for. Perhaps it's worth starting a separate case for Lightroom?

Oh.. sorry... ibecause t mentioned also "Products : Lightroom Classic CC" on top of this page.
Karel.

Guy, did the fix work for Photoshop?

Hannah never answered my questions. I found a couple of other threads proposing this configuration. No one from Adobe would explain what it does, why it is not a documented/configurable feature, whether it will continue to be supported in future versions, or why a fairly new computer would need to use anything "legacy."  I don't know if it helps with performance, but it doesn't sound like a fix. I'm hoping that a real fix will be incorporated into a future version.

Talking about not answering questions... Did the proposed fix (work around) work or not?

No need for snark. I did not try it. In my experience, Adobe has not earned the right to ask users to "just trust us."  It is a hack, not a fix. A fix would be explained and documented in release notes. In another thread it was also mentioned that this configuration change requires granting Photoshop additional accessibility permissions. I can't say whether this is true, either.
I'm not interested in changing undocumented configuration parameters on my work computer without knowing what they do, if/when to re-configure them to their original settings, why they need additional permissions, etc.For what it's worth, the latest release did not resolve the issue, either, but it did change the behavior. I no longer get the rainbow wheel; now the brush outline just disappears as I paint and the effect of the brush lags a couple of seconds behind the actual brushing. After brushing for a couple of seconds, the brush continues to work, but I can't see where I'm painting.

The configuration is temporary until the next update, which should make this change unnecessary - and should correct the problem whether the command line was used or not:

Pen pressure does not work and busy cursor displays while painting

Thank you very much, Jeffrey! Good to know this is being addressed. I look forward to the next update.

I've got a top notch MacBook Pro 2018 and even on my iMac Pro the performance of Photoshop is absolutely disgraceful especially when compared to alternatives such as Affinity. You can literally throw endless amounts of hardware performance at the core CC apps (Ps,Ai,Lr,Id) and still, sluggish.... When I compare daily tasks in both Ps and Affinity, Affinity is significantly faster, harnessing the performance and system tools provided efficiently. Adobe, please!!! We all beg you! Can you please stop playing around with AI stuff no one needs and start to focus on performance again?

You hike up the CC prices lit. every year and performance goes down the hill....
Compare Premier and Final Cut. Final Cut Pro X edits, cuts and exports 4 or even 8 k videos on my 2018 MBP like a hot knife through butter. Try the same with premier and you wanna shoot yourself. The day you release Photoshop as the fastest, most stable 
Software of its kind, the creative industry will be forever grateful. 

As professional designers, we have to handle huge files, with insane pixel amounts.
Time is money. So please, just help us get our work done. Without spinning wheels. Without crashes. Just give us a piece of software that "just works". If affinity can develop that, you can do too. The mere fact that they even have full fledged counter parts to their desktop apps available on the iPad and PS on iPad doesn't even have half the features a professional needs to use it, it's sad and shameful. 

Focus on where you guys started and make those things great again! 

Agree with everything Denis said. We don't need any more half-baked janky junk AI features or useless 3D. We need the basic core tools to function properly again like they used to. Please, for the love of God, fix the damn brush tools, I am beyond tired of reporting this and complaining about it. I am working on 4k images in Photoshop and it is like swimming through bricks. Affinity is fast, responsive and lightning fast. Why does Photoshop feel like £30 alpha shareware in comparison?

I hate working with Adobe apps now and used to love them. Photoshop is a nightmare now.

Agree with everything Denis said. We don't need any more half-baked janky junk AI features or useless 3D. We need the basic core tools to function properly again like they used to. Please, for the love of God, fix the damn brush tools, I am beyond tired of reporting this and complaining about it. I am working on 4k images in Photoshop and it is like swimming through bricks. Affinity is fast, responsive and lightning fast. Why does Photoshop feel like £30 alpha shareware in comparison?

I hate working with Adobe apps now and used to love them. Photoshop is a nightmare now.

Unfortunately I have to fully agree with Led Stereo. Photoshop & Co. once felt like a “Pro Tool”. Efficient, powerful, smooth. Now it doesn’t even feel like Beta.
It’s been months since Mojave was released snd you still haven’t addressed the bugs and issues Photoshop has with it. Apple has their beta testing period oped for almost one quarter and a multi billion dollar corporation such as adobe isn’t capable of fixing and tailoring their software to the newest OS releases once a year. Pity. Tons of other companies manage, why don’t you. Sometimes I’m so frustrated with the bugs and performance, I just hate the your apps, as much as I loved them once. It’s 2020 and there’s still no multi-GPU support or eGPU support, neither any proper information on either. This could and would seriously benefit the lot of us. Give us no more features, but the best, fastest, most stable and smoothest software experience on the market with “serious” mobile counterparts. Because seriously, Photoshop on iPad is a joke. Same goes for Fresco. Have you guys tried ProCreate? These guys don’t even have s fraction of your monetary resources, but they make beautiful, kuck ass software. Guess why?! Because they are passionate about it. I reckon that’s something you guys should refocus on. Passion for a truly great product instead of constantly increasing your revenue by hiking up CC prices again!!!

Think different! Be the bold change for us creatives you once were!