Specific CS4 problem: lag in multiple undos and general sluggishness

DC
Posted By
dennis_calero
Nov 14, 2008
Views
949
Replies
8
Status
Closed
My machine is a Mac Pro with an ATI Radeon HD 2600 xt

This problem occurs exactly the same whether hardware acceleration is used or not, different cache levels, whatever.

All drivers are up to date, and directx 10 is installed.

The problem:

In sizable files, around 900 dpi grayscale with say 10 or more layers (I do comics), undos start to take a LOOONG time.

For example, I can draw 5 or 6 anchor points with the path tool. No problem. Multiple undo, I can wait 10 or 12 seconds to go back 5 or six steps.

A pain.

Same file, CS3, instantaneous.

Thoughts?

When hardware acceleration is off, should one assume the cpu is taking the load on as it does in CS3?

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DC
dennis_calero
Nov 14, 2008
I should add that things like rotating the canvas and screen redraws are zippy. No problem there.
CF
chris_farrell
Nov 14, 2008
try upping the cache….that worked for me.
DC
dennis_calero
Nov 14, 2008
as I said in my original post, playing with the cache levels makes no difference. Can you create a 900 dpi grayscale file 7×10 inches, just create say 10 extra layers and see if you can replicate this problem? Do the same thing with cs3 and see if it’s the same delay. If any.
CF
chris_farrell
Nov 14, 2008
ooops…Sorry about that Dennis.

Just created a similar image to yours and it’s pretty snappy – no delays here.

How much RAM have you installed? How much is allocated to CS4.

My System has 16gb ( cs4 set at 80% – Cache at 8 )so it may not be a realistic comparison. But, I did have a laggy undo / layer creation / menu when I first installed CS4, which was really annoying – a few tweaks in the prefs fixed it.

Maybe, just keep on tweaking………upping the cache totally fixed the issues…..but, again, not very helpful as you’ve already tried the cache.
DC
dennis_calero
Nov 14, 2008
Not at all. First off, thanks for your help.

Okay, maybe you can help me make sense of this:

I ramped up the cache levels to 8. MUCH faster. Still not quite as fast as CS3 but a big improvement.

Even a little faster with hardware acceleration turned off.

I have 12 gbs of ram, with 8 dedicated to photoshop.

Do you think this means Id benefit from a faster video card?
KP
Kwan_Parker
Nov 14, 2008
Anyone reporting problems with Nvidia / Dell DUAL CARDS: Dual nVidia GeForce GTX 280 – 1024MB

On Vista . . .

Did not see the card on the list of Adobe tested video cards.
CF
chris_farrell
Nov 14, 2008
Not sure Dennis. I have an nVidia 8800GTS 640mb which is nearly two years old and that runs CS4 very well. 8gb should be good in photoshop. Unfortunately there are so many variables that will impact on performance – Each system has, on the whole, it’s own unique combination of hardware and driver version which makes troubleshooting a royal pain in the *you know what!*……however if your rotate and redraw is running fine the issue is probably little to do with the graphics card.

When I started using CS3 and large images I noticed massive lag issues, particularly with the brush rendering, over the past two years I have streamlined and optimised my system ( 5 main hard drives – 1: system 2: programs and general stuff 3: Large Format Files 4: PS scratch disk 5: Back up + System page file – the rest are secondary back ups and back ups of the back ups ( you can never have too many ) ) also it’s fairly clean with very little internet access – I just go online to download updates and activate software – this means there’s little risk of those nasties getting in and slowing things down….Oh and masses of RAM really helped ( but you have that!! )…..However, if you are using reasonable sized files you shouldn’t really have performance issues….

I take it you’re running Vista within the Mac O/S – that might take a performance hit. But I know nothing about Macs, except the apple mouse doesn’t have a right click :)…
KP
Kwan_Parker
Nov 14, 2008
Anyone have good / bad opengl experience working with dual card nVidia GeForce GTX 280 – 1024MB on any system . . . particularly Dell?

Best,
K.

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