CS4 32 Bit Not Releasing Memory

JE
Posted By
Jason_Evans2
Mar 26, 2009
Views
516
Replies
9
Status
Closed
Photoshop CS4 does not seem to release memory until I close the software. As an example I will open a D3x image file and maybe work on 3 layers of the image and at this point Photoshop is using up to 3GB of system memory.

I then take this file flatten it and reduce it down to around 1333px and in Task Manager Photoshop is still using up 3GB of system memory. Only after about 5-10 minutes does it then drop down to 1.5 GB but keep in mind I only have a file that’s about 2.4 MB in size open.

Could this be due to the fact that I am running the 32-bit version of CS4 under a 64 bit OS? Any other ideas why Photoshop could be doing this?
Related Tags
32-bit bit memory

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ZB
Zeno_Bokor
Mar 26, 2009
Because you still have history states, snapshots, the Revert command and a ton of other things that don’t come to my mind right now 😛

I for one don’t care how much Photoshop uses the memory as long as it stays away from the HDD when doing real work.
CC
Chris_Cox
Mar 26, 2009
That is correct, and expected behavior — Photoshop allocates memory and then reuses the memory. That is not a leak, nor a bug.

Also, file size has nothing to do with the size of the document in memory (in memory can be quite a bit larger). And history states add to memory usage, plus all your presets.

So, yeah – that sounds normal.
RB
Robert_Barnett
Mar 27, 2009
That is how it is supposed to work and that is how it has always worked.

Robert
JE
Jason_Evans2
Mar 28, 2009
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Something else I have noticed is that when CS4 has a big chunk of memory assigned to it the Save for Web module sometimes takes well over 1 minutes to display itself. It’s appears as if CS4 freezes but if I check in task manager at the point where I am waiting for Save for Web to open there is only 1-2% cpu usage by CS4 and it’s only been doing this since the 11.1 update as far as I can ascertain. If I start CS4 with a smaller image file and then go Save for Web it’s instant.
JJ
John Joslin
Mar 28, 2009
when CS4 has a big chunk of memory assigned to it …

Don’t assign more than the recommended amount in preferences: it starves plug-ins and other apps outside PS.

Sometimes less is more.
CC
Chris_Cox
Mar 28, 2009
Yeah, SFW has some bad habits with the way it allocates memory and tries to copy image data. And SFW really doesn’t like big images.

That low CPU usage probably means it’s waiting on disk access.
LH
Lawrence_Hudetz
Mar 28, 2009
And SFW really doesn’t like big images.

!!!
JJ
John Joslin
Mar 28, 2009
I think the clue is in the word "web".
JE
Jason_Evans2
Mar 30, 2009
Thanks for the feedback again, much appreciated, I will play with different settings in preferences to try and speed things up and see if I can get it any faster.

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