Moving cursor over canvas in CS2 eats up entire CPU usage

WR
Posted By
Wesley_Rast
Jun 10, 2005
Views
818
Replies
28
Status
Closed
After installing Photoshop CS2, I’ve discovered that I can open a simple new blank file, and mouse over the canvas with any of the tools, and watch the CPU usage spike to 100%. If I pause the cursor over the canvas, the CPU usage drops back down to normal, but whenever the cursor is moving, the usage graph plateaus at 100% and will stay there until I either move the cursor off the canvas or stop the cursor.

My system is a 2.4Ghz P4 with 768mb RAM on a two-month-old install of windows xp professional. I’m using an ATI Radeon 9600 AGP video card with 128mb RAM. I have no problems whatsoever in Photoshop CS–only CS2.

Has anyone else run into this issue? I really need to get this taken care of. CS2 is completely unusable for me until I do.

MacBook Pro 16” Mockups 🔥

– in 4 materials (clay versions included)

– 12 scenes

– 48 MacBook Pro 16″ mockups

– 6000 x 4500 px

LH
Lawrence_Hudetz
Jun 10, 2005
That is strange, but how does it present itself as a problem? If the program is executing an instruction, are you also moving the cursor?

I went into PSCS and tried it. Simply moving the cursor produced no spike. But say, with the crop tool, Left clicking and moving the tool, or even holding still while left click is depressed, produced 100% CPU usage.
G
Gener
Jun 10, 2005
No CPU usage spikes in CS2 by simply moving the cursor over a blank document.

Clicking and dragging using many of the tools will spike usage up to 58%.

My config is Windows XP Pro/P4 3.2GHz/1GB ram. Ati Mobility Radeon 9000.

I hope this will give the tech gurus here something to work with, but I have no idea what is causing the problems.

Have you tried disabling hardware accelerations in your ATI Display Troubleshooting settings to see if this improves things?

Gene–
D
deebs
Jun 11, 2005
I’ve had some very serious issues with ati X700 video card before and after updating to the most recent Catalyst drivers and software.

Have you used a graphics tablet with your computer?

If so, how does it behave? Smooth and easy or a bit of pause then sprint?
F
fat0n3s
Jun 11, 2005
Wesley Rast,

I have the same exact problem. So do some others I have read.

I don’t think there is a fix for this yet.

If you close the info pallet, does the cpu drop back to normal, while moving the mouse?
C
chrisjbirchall
Jun 11, 2005
I have a friend who hates his job. He sits watching the clock all day. It never makes a blind bit of difference to the work he has to do of course. All it does is make the day go longer!

You know what I’m saying?

As an experiment I’ve just tried the Mad Cursor Test on two boxes. On the Athlon 64 3200+ machine I could get it to peak at 65%. On the Athlon (32) 2200+ it peaked at 95%.

Am I sitting in the corner of the room, rocking backwards and forwards, sucking my thumb in dispair? No. Because I’m too busy working on images on CS2 – which works just fine!

In my opinion it is the Task Manager which should be taken to task. It doesn’t always report CPU useage correctly.

A prime example of that is my Althlon 2200+ machine. This runs a four camera CCTV system via a DVR card, and it’s on 24/7. As soon as the program is started Task Manager reports 100% useage, even when the system is not recording (which it only does when the motion detectors kick in).

I can fire up Photoshop at the same time and work on large images with no slowdown whatsoever. So is the DVR program really using 100% of the CPU. I think not. If it was I guess my CPU would have fried long ago.

The moral of this (rambling) post? Stop watching the numbers and enjoy the wonders of Photoshop!

Chris.
P
Pipkin
Jun 11, 2005
To check if Task Manager shows correct CPU usage, it is good idea to use any CPU temperature indicating software (freeware SpeedFan, for example) . If temperature rises, then you may be sure that CPU is highly busy and Task Manager reports almost true figures…
So I think.
F
fat0n3s
Jun 11, 2005
chrisjbirchall,

The CPU usage would not be concern to us (me), if my cursor didn’t jump around the screen like MC Hammer in his "Can’t touch this" video.

It is a problem to the point that I can’t even paint a border, or mask around an edge.

CPU usage is not my concern. Painting straght lines is, and when a CPU is maxed out, mouse lag is one of the results.
PB
Paul_Budzik
Jun 11, 2005
I have never looked at CPU usage before, and I could care less except as fatOn3s has said, the brush movement wtih the info palette open is not smooth. This condition disappears if you close the info palette. This problem did not exist in PS7. I have also noticed the the info patlette will be missing from time to time when the application is shut down and then reopened. However, this does not happen on a regular basis.

I have done a handful of installations on various machines with different hardware and this condition is always the same. The latest installation was on a brand new box with 4 gig of ram, Windows 64, and AMD 4000.

I have been using Photoshop since version 3 and have never seen this kind of behavior before. Everytime I open CS2, I’m kind of wondering what will happen now. It doesn’t inspire much confidence.
LH
Lawrence_Hudetz
Jun 12, 2005
Yeah, my money isn’t going soon to an upgrade.

I did a check on CS1 and having the Info pallet open or closed made no difference. I did a quick check with the paint brush, and as long as I was painting, the CPU usage says 100% but the brush movement remained smooth. If I stopped, the % use gradually dropped.

Not all tasks depend on the cpu to run the calculations, and even if the T.M. says 100%, we don’t have any idea how the cpu is prioritizing the commands. So merely having the % indication is just not enough FAPP.
DG
Dana_Gartenlaub
Jun 12, 2005
Never mind the CPU usage. Is Photoshop slowing down, or is the only problem the jumpy cursor? Have you tried lowering graphics accceleration? Different resolutions? If you can get Photoshop to do what you need it to, then so what about CPU usage?
MD
Michael_D_Sullivan
Jun 12, 2005
When you are painting the system damn well ought to be showing 100% CPU usage. Are you suggesting that the system should leave resources unused when you are continuously stroking a brush over the image? Why?
PB
Paul_Budzik
Jun 12, 2005
You don’t need to be painting. Just move the brush cursor over the bitmap. It doesn’t move smoothly and precisely. Close the Info palette and the brush moves like it should. Just the movement, without painting, and sluggish movement is exaggerated the faster you move the brush in different directions.

Close the info palette and the cursor movement is fine and the cpu use drops to 3%. This did not behave this way in PS7.

Is the jumpy cursor the only problem? Well if your trying to use the program with any precision I guess it would be.
PC
Pierre_Courtejoie
Jun 12, 2005
Jumpy cursor with the mouse, a wacom stylus?
Have you tried looking for updated mouse drivers?
What about the graphics acceleration?
What kind of chip on the graphic card?
P
Pipkin
Jun 12, 2005
Pierre, I have ATI Radeon 9600 with 256 video-memory (not the slowest card), but I watch the same mouse tremolo when Info’s opened…….
F
fat0n3s
Jun 12, 2005
I have tried different mouse drivers for my logitech, and none of them fixed the problem.

Reducing hardware acceleration helps with the screen redraw problems a little, but does nothing to the laggy mouse.

This is on a fresh install of windows XP. Service pack 2.

I have tried 3, yes 3, video cards with all the newest drivers, and the problem remains with each one.

VIDEO CARDS:

Nvidia 5500 256 MB Ram PCI
Nvidia Geforce4 MX420
Radeon 9250 256 MB Ram PCI

If I open task manager, set Photoshop’s priority to idle, and set my mouse driver priority to high, it helps a little with the lag. The CPU is still maxed out, but at least it gives more of the cpu clock to the mouse, which removes some lag.

KEEP IN MIND, this is ONLY when I am moving the cursor over the bitmap with info pallett open. I am not painting or using any tools. I am only moving the mouse. If try to paint, the lag is even worse.

Those of you who are saying not to worry about this, and to "enjoy" photoshop, doesn’t understand what our problem is. You can’t enjoy any program that dosen’t do what you need it to do.

I have put CS2 on the back burner for now, using CS1 for all of my projects.
AJ
Adam_Jerugim
Jun 12, 2005
I know we’ve asked for this before, but can you guys tell me what type of files you’re working on when you see the cursor problems? Does it happen with a new, empty doc? If so, what is the bit depth and color mode you’re using?

Any more information would be greatly appreciated. We’re still actively working on it…

Thx.
P
Pipkin
Jun 12, 2005
On Pentium 4 (HT) 3.06 GHz with 512 Mb of RAM (ATI Radeon 9200 video card with 256 Mb video RAM, AGP 8x bus, latest drivers) that mouse lag is not noticable with Info and layers palettes being opened.
Moving mouse made 90-100% CPU usage on Task Manager and only 5-12% on TuneUp Process Manager. Thus, ‘Windows Task Manager Performance’ is not correct. (???)
(I use a file of 75 Mb with several layers, 300 dpi, RGB or CMYK, 8 bits/channel). On AMD64 3400+ with same video card and 1 Gb of system RAM mouse lag is watched. So, I think, PS CS2 is oriented for Intel CPUs (HT as well), whatever Adobe Photoshop squad says! ……..

Though, simple drawing straight line with brush (using Shift) was too laggy and slow on both machines.

* ** Another question: when will 64-bit Photoshop occur?
PB
Paul_Budzik
Jun 12, 2005
24 bit RGB scans directly into Photoshop saved as PSD’s. Original docs are about 3 x 5 and scanned at 200 dpi. We’re not talking about large complex files here. Can’t tell you about blank docs until I put my work room back together.
WR
Wesley_Rast
Jun 13, 2005
I’ve worked with the problem on multiple computers now and I’ve found that the problem is much more apparent on systems which have slower processors. The one i’m using here at work (where the problem is very noticable) is a 2.6ghz machine. The one I have at home is a 3.0ghz processor with dual cpu emulation turned on. My home machine will spike the first processor to about 50% at most.

If I turn the info palette off on either machine, the problem completely evaporates. This sounds like a major issue that Adobe needs to put in their first patch.
WR
Wesley_Rast
Jun 13, 2005
I’ve tried this on about 5 different machines. All of them produce the problem to a degree inversely proportional to their CPU power.

The type of document I’m using is simply File–>New. Size, bit depth, or any other modification seems not to matter. Mouse drivers don’t matter. Video drivers nor video car manufacturer matter.

The reason some people can’t see this problem in their task manager performace graph is because they likely have systems powerful enough to avoid locking the system out for a cycle at 100%.

For anyone to be able to reproduce this:

1. Open Task Manager (Ctrl-Shift-Esc)
2. Click "Performace" tab.
3. Move the window out of the way of PShop, but so you can still see the "CPU Usage" scale(s).
4. Make sure the Info Palette is open.
5. In Pshop, go to File–New. Make it large enough so you can move your cursor around rapidly over the canvas area. I’m using 400×400.
6. Move the cursor around rapidly over the canvas.
7. Look at the CPU Usage meter in Task Manager and you’ll find it spikes rediculously. Remember the percentage it spikes to.
8. Close the Info palette.
9. Move the cursor over the canvas again. You’ll notice the spike is gone. I’ll be surprised if anyone can even get the CPU Usage into double-digit percentages without the info palette open.
P
Pipkin
Jun 13, 2005
So, we’re waiting for PS CS2 upgrading & updating… 🙂 Or, they have to write in PS CS2 specification that it demands CPUs as fast as 5 GHz…

* * What about Photoshop CS2 speed on dual-core CPUs??? Who knows? I’m planning to upgrade my processor in future……….
MA
Mark_Allen
Jun 13, 2005
Wesley, Amazing! Done what you said and the Meter went from 2% usage to 58% usage. I tried all the tools and the worst was the hand tool. I also noticed ‘cos I don’t normally use the info pallette that ALL the info’s on it now including descriptions. I understand the thinking behind this (‘cos it’s info LOL!) but I like it on the status bar. Also, I didn’t notice ANY lag at all? 😀

System Info:
Operating System: Windows XP
Version: 5.1 Service Pack 2
System architecture: Intel CPU Family:15, Model:2, Stepping:9 with MMX, SSE Integer, SSE FP, SSE2, HyperThreading
Physical processor count: 1
Logical processor count: 2
Processor speed: 2612 MHz
Built-in memory: 1023 MB
Free memory: 481 MB
Memory available to Photoshop: 908 MB
Memory used by Photoshop: 55 %
Image cache levels: 6
Photoshop scratch has async I/O enabled
Scratch volume(s):
Startup, 38.3G, 23.1G free
D
deebs
Jun 13, 2005
I’ve tried on my computer and all I could muster was between 4% and 8% of activity.

On other programs I have noticed that using brushed bumps CPU usage to 100%
S
swyand
Jun 13, 2005
I still have the 100% cpu issue but was able to fix the jumpy cursor on w2k3 server by:

1) go into your "System Properties"
2) select "Advanced"
3) select "Settings" in the performance
4) set "Visual Effects" to "Adjust for best performance"
5) select "Advanced" in performance options
a) set "Processor Scheduling" to "Programs" was set to "Background services"
b) set "Memory usage" to "Programs" was set to "Background services"
6) cursor is smooth again.

Now, how about the cpu issue <g>
C
chrisjbirchall
Jun 13, 2005
Now, how about the cpu issue

chrisjbirchall, "Moving cursor over canvas in CS2 eats up entire CPU usage" #5, 10 Jun 2005 11:31 pm </cgi-bin/webx?14/4>

<g>
S
swyand
Jun 13, 2005
unfortunately, photoshop is the only program running on my computer when the problem presents it’s self and I’m able to re-pro the issue ondemand. With the multiple reports of issues, I think this is a real problem.

my .02

…/Steve

ps – my feet are nice and toasty thx to my external facing cpu fan!
PB
Paul_Budzik
Jun 13, 2005
Adam:

To answer your question, it happens even when you move the brush cursor over a blank new document (8 bit RGB default). And you don’t have to be drawing anything, just moving the brush over the blank canvas. Memory usage is set at 55 % (499m) Image Cache at 4, pretty much plain-jane settings.

Again, it only happens with the brush tools (not selection tools, magnify tools, or eye dropper). And only with the info palette open.
C
chrisjbirchall
Jun 13, 2005
And only with the info palette open.

CPU usage aside, slow-downs with the Info Palette open is a known issue which, if I remember correctly from previous threads, the Adobe engineers are looking into.

A forum search on "Info Palette" should turn up more on the subject.

Master Retouching Hair

Learn how to rescue details, remove flyaways, add volume, and enhance the definition of hair in any photo. We break down every tool and technique in Photoshop to get picture-perfect hair, every time.

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections