How can I get Photoshop to run faster?

[CheeseBoard]

My Photoshop CC has, of late, started to run very slowly. It makes post-processing a real pain.

The app sits on an SSD on my Windows 10 PC and there is 450Gb of free space on it. Windows automatic update and Adobe CC automatic update are on. I have 16Gb of RAM. My data sits on an HDD with 340Gb of free space.

Two potential culprits could be my CPU and graphics card. It's an old PC with a 2.9GHz Intel i5-2310 processor. The graphics card is a NVIDIA GeForce GT520 so no youngster either and the "latest" drivers are installed. It has 1Gb of RAM and is 64bit enabled.

I am thinking of attempting to upgrade both the CPU and the GPU. As we all would, I'd like to keep costs down but I need to speed things up!

The minimum requirement set by Adobe for the CPU is 2.0GHz with SSE 4.2 or above, plus 64bit support. The minimum for the GPU is 4Gb RAM, DirectX support, feature level 12_0.

Can anyone offer some advice here, either for any general advice on speeding Photoshop up or some advice on cost-effective hardware upgrades?

 

[The Point and Shoot Pro]

My Photoshop CC has, of late, started to run very slowly. It makes post-processing a real pain.

The app sits on an SSD on my Windows 10 PC and there is 450Gb of free space on it. Windows automatic update and Adobe CC automatic update are on. I have 16Gb of RAM. My data sits on an HDD with 340Gb of free space.

Two potential culprits could be my CPU and graphics card. It's an old PC with a 2.9GHz Intel i5-2310 processor. The graphics card is a NVIDIA GeForce GT520 so no youngster either and the "latest" drivers are installed. It has 1Gb of RAM and is 64bit enabled.

I am thinking of attempting to upgrade both the CPU and the GPU. As we all would, I'd like to keep costs down but I need to speed things up!

The minimum requirement set by Adobe for the CPU is 2.0GHz with SSE 4.2 or above, plus 64bit support. The minimum for the GPU is 4Gb RAM, DirectX support, feature level 12_0.

Can anyone offer some advice here, either for any general advice on speeding Photoshop up or some advice on cost-effective hardware upgrades?

There are two ways you can go about it. Upgrade what you have or purchase a new system. New meaning new to you. The issue comes with ROI with upgrading what you have. What is the power supply you have now? Upgrading the GPU to a 4gb model will increase power load alot imo. I think you would be better off buying a new/used system with extra headroom. That way, when new software updates arise, you are covered.

The other thing you can do is to move to a better software package as there are much better lighter packages available out there with better features.

 

[Awkward_Swine]

My Photoshop CC has, of late, started to run very slowly. It makes post-processing a real pain.

The app sits on an SSD on my Windows 10 PC and there is 450Gb of free space on it. Windows automatic update and Adobe CC automatic update are on. I have 16Gb of RAM. My data sits on an HDD with 340Gb of free space.

Two potential culprits could be my CPU and graphics card. It's an old PC with a 2.9GHz Intel i5-2310 processor. The graphics card is a NVIDIA GeForce GT520 so no youngster either and the "latest" drivers are installed. It has 1Gb of RAM and is 64bit enabled.

I am thinking of attempting to upgrade both the CPU and the GPU. As we all would, I'd like to keep costs down but I need to speed things up!

The minimum requirement set by Adobe for the CPU is 2.0GHz with SSE 4.2 or above, plus 64bit support. The minimum for the GPU is 4Gb RAM, DirectX support, feature level 12_0.

Can anyone offer some advice here, either for any general advice on speeding Photoshop up or some advice on cost-effective hardware upgrades?

That CPU is from 2011.

Is your camera or images you are processing in Photoshop also from 2011?

Images produced by current cell phones, cameras, or online sources are much larger than 10 or 15 years ago and are going to tax the resources of your geriatric computer. You need to invest a new PC or Laptop with more contemporary hardware.

Don't waste time and money upgrading anything, you need a fresh start. Even a $500-800 laptop will be a vast improvement.

 

[BobKnDP]

A question: has the performance of Photoshop degraded, or are you simply trying to handle images with higher pixel counts?

If it's the latter, I doubt that it'd be practical to upgrade just the CPU and GPU. I'm not sure what the best compatible CPU upgrade would be, but if it's an I7 2700K, the performance boost may not be great. The GT 520 is rated at a power draw of 29W, which is very low.

It may be time to retire a 12 year old PC, if you want good Photoshop performance. If you buy (or build) a new PC, I recommend one with a discrete GPU. You may be shocked at the price of graphics cards these days, though. The least expensive I'd suggest start at around $300.

 

[QuietOC]

My Photoshop CC has, of late, started to run very slowly. It makes post-processing a real pain.

The app sits on an SSD on my Windows 10 PC and there is 450Gb of free space on it. Windows automatic update and Adobe CC automatic update are on. I have 16Gb of RAM. My data sits on an HDD with 340Gb of free space.

Two potential culprits could be my CPU and graphics card. It's an old PC with a 2.9GHz Intel i5-2310 processor. The graphics card is a NVIDIA GeForce GT520 so no youngster either and the "latest" drivers are installed. It has 1Gb of RAM and is 64bit enabled.

I am thinking of attempting to upgrade both the CPU and the GPU. As we all would, I'd like to keep costs down but I need to speed things up!

The minimum requirement set by Adobe for the CPU is 2.0GHz with SSE 4.2 or above, plus 64bit support. The minimum for the GPU is 4Gb RAM, DirectX support, feature level 12_0.

Can anyone offer some advice here, either for any general advice on speeding Photoshop up or some advice on cost-effective hardware upgrades?

Do you know what system you have? CPU-Z can tell you the motherboard model and you can look up what CPUs it supports.

The fastest 1155 CPU is the Core i7 3770K. I built a system with one for a work PC. It looks like they are about $50 used online. A used Core i5 3570 non-K will be much cheaper and pretty similar in performance.

16 GB of DDR3L 1600 is less than $20 shipped if your motherboard has 4 memory slots.

Power supply can be an issue for GPU upgrades. There are 75W to 150W GPUs. Some don't work that well in older systems due to reduced PCI-e lanes. One of my 1155 motherboard doesn't like recent GPUs because it has a buggy EFI implementation.

 

[Ephemeris]

My Photoshop CC has, of late, started to run very slowly. It makes post-processing a real pain.

Is this what you wish to find the cause of? Or is it as Bob suggested your files have got bigger?

The app sits on an SSD on my Windows 10 PC and there is 450Gb of free space on it. Windows automatic update and Adobe CC automatic update are on. I have 16Gb of RAM. My data sits on an HDD with 340Gb of free space.

Two potential culprits could be my CPU and graphics card. It's an old PC with a 2.9GHz Intel i5-2310 processor. The graphics card is a NVIDIA GeForce GT520 so no youngster either and the "latest" drivers are installed. It has 1Gb of RAM and is 64bit enabled.

I am thinking of attempting to upgrade both the CPU and the GPU. As we all would, I'd like to keep costs down but I need to speed things up!

The minimum requirement set by Adobe for the CPU is 2.0GHz with SSE 4.2 or above, plus 64bit support. The minimum for the GPU is 4Gb RAM, DirectX support, feature level 12_0.

Can anyone offer some advice here, either for any general advice on speeding Photoshop up or some advice on cost-effective hardware upgrades?

 

[Keekerseeker]

Another way to upgrade to a new to you system is to buy a used gamers computer. They seem to have a serious need to have the fastest machine and out grow them quickly. they almost always have good GPU's in them and good power supplies. Where I live these machines are often available and they usually seem to be willing to lower their price. Something to consider. I would personally never put money into a computer that's 10 yrs old.

 

[Slaty]

Another way to upgrade to a new to you system is to buy a used gamers computer. They seem to have a serious need to have the fastest machine and out grow them quickly. they almost always have good GPU's in them and good power supplies. Where I live these machines are often available and they usually seem to be willing to lower their price. Something to consider. I would personally never put money into a computer that's 10 yrs old.

New or used gaming computers are a great value. I bought a new Lenovo Legion on sale for $799 in late November. A week later it was $1299. It replaced a 13-year-old HP Zeon workstation which I bought for $2300.

 

[Hugo600si]

This is such a good comment, just looking at my own mindset, my 5.5 year old computer (8700k, 32GB ram 1070ti) is near worthless in my (gaming)mind and I am looking at upgrading. I’ll put the components on a classifieds site instead of storing them away (my 2700k has been sitting in my attic since 2018, silly waste really).

I hate wasting things but sometimes it doesn’t even register as valuable anymore.

 

[Morris0]

You can't just upgrade that processor as the best processor that will fit your motherboard is still slow by today's standards. Possibly you can reuse your case and power supply if your system is made from standard components and not a name brand that uses proprietary parts.

If you are capable of doing the upgrade work yourself, get at least a 12 gen i7 with built in graphics (the processors with the k at the end have the GPU). Add RAM, 32-GB will be more than enough. If you are running Windows 10 and yoru SSD and HDD are SATA, then just plug them in and boot up. Windows will find all the drivers it needs.

Shop around, there are some good deals out there.

Happy Holidays,

Morris

 

[BobKnDP]

You can't just upgrade that processor as the best processor that will fit your motherboard is still slow by today's standards. Possibly you can reuse your case and power supply if your system is made from standard components and not a name brand that uses proprietary parts.

(snip)

Happy Holidays,

Morris

With the OP's 29W graphics card, I'd be pleasantly surprised if the PSU has enough capacity for a respectable newish graphics card.

My apologies for being a wet blanket.

 

[Morris0]

You can't just upgrade that processor as the best processor that will fit your motherboard is still slow by today's standards. Possibly you can reuse your case and power supply if your system is made from standard components and not a name brand that uses proprietary parts.

(snip)

Happy Holidays,

Morris

With the OP's 29W graphics card, I'd be pleasantly surprised if the PSU has enough capacity for a respectable newish graphics card.

My apologies for being a wet blanket.

I agree and that's why I suggested a K series processor and using the iGPU.

Morris

 

[CheeseBoard]

Thanks for all of the replies. Reading through them all I think that I get the message! It's time to replace my current system, familiar though we are after over 10 year's working together.

I can't remember what I paid for it but at a guess it was about £1,000 or $1,300 so worked out on an annual basis, it's not been a bad investment. My initial investigations and your comments lead me to think that an investment of less than this would get me a very usable set up. I have found that buying more disk space over and above the starting specification from a supplier soon bumps up the cost.

My options are probably best to buy a new, used or refurbished machine. I'm not sure that the CPU between my ears is fast enough to build my own and it would probably overheat.

Thanks also for the technical details suggested. This will help as I sort through the specifications.

An interesting comment about editing software. I am relatively proficient at Photoshop now and may well stick with it as it seems to have a goldmine of features. However, knowing of the learning curve required, it's probably not where I would start, second time round.

 

[AY Gross]

My Photoshop CC has, of late, started to run very slowly. It makes post-processing a real pain.

The app sits on an SSD on my Windows 10 PC and there is 450Gb of free space on it. Windows automatic update and Adobe CC automatic update are on. I have 16Gb of RAM. My data sits on an HDD with 340Gb of free space.

Two potential culprits could be my CPU and graphics card. It's an old PC with a 2.9GHz Intel i5-2310 processor. The graphics card is a NVIDIA GeForce GT520 so no youngster either and the "latest" drivers are installed. It has 1Gb of RAM and is 64bit enabled.

I am thinking of attempting to upgrade both the CPU and the GPU. As we all would, I'd like to keep costs down but I need to speed things up!

The minimum requirement set by Adobe for the CPU is 2.0GHz with SSE 4.2 or above, plus 64bit support. The minimum for the GPU is 4Gb RAM, DirectX support, feature level 12_0.

Can anyone offer some advice here, either for any general advice on speeding Photoshop up or some advice on cost-effective hardware upgrades?

Your computer is ancient .
Pudget systems is a good start.

Any modern ryzen or i3+ proccesor will be infinitely faster than what you have.


Heck buy a 8th gen laptop for 200 bucks on ebay it should run laps around your pc.

 

[BobKnDP]

Puget Systems .

Their price premium is substantial, though. A system from them usually costs a lot more than the sum of the retail prices of the components.

They are kind enough to list what components they use in their builds. They are mostly parts you could buy online. (Not of interest if you're not a DIY builder.)

 

[New Wrycuda]

Thanks for all of the replies. Reading through them all I think that I get the message! It's time to replace my current system, familiar though we are after over 10 year's working together.

I can't remember what I paid for it but at a guess it was about £1,000 or $1,300 so worked out on an annual basis, it's not been a bad investment. My initial investigations and your comments lead me to think that an investment of less than this would get me a very usable set up. I have found that buying more disk space over and above the starting specification from a supplier soon bumps up the cost.

Many new computers come with a very fast NVMe (M.2 Slot) system SSD for Boot drive and installed applications. Upgrading this specification can be expensive. I find that installing a SATA SSD is easy and relatively inexpensive if you need more disk space.

My options are probably best to buy a new, used or refurbished machine. I'm not sure that the CPU between my ears is fast enough to build my own and it would probably overheat.

One of my better computers is an entry-level Dell games machine (10th gen. i7, 32Gb RAM, 256Gb NVMe SSD, 512Gb SATA SSD, 1650s GPU, 500W PSU). USD$1500.

Probably the best buy these days is the 13th gen. i5 CPU.

 

[The Point and Shoot Pro]

Thanks for all of the replies. Reading through them all I think that I get the message! It's time to replace my current system, familiar though we are after over 10 year's working together.

I can't remember what I paid for it but at a guess it was about £1,000 or $1,300 so worked out on an annual basis, it's not been a bad investment. My initial investigations and your comments lead me to think that an investment of less than this would get me a very usable set up. I have found that buying more disk space over and above the starting specification from a supplier soon bumps up the cost.

Many new computers come with a very fast NVMe (M.2 Slot) system SSD for Boot drive and installed applications. Upgrading this specification can be expensive. I find that installing a SATA SSD is easy and relatively inexpensive if you need more disk space.

My options are probably best to buy a new, used or refurbished machine. I'm not sure that the CPU between my ears is fast enough to build my own and it would probably overheat.

One of my better computers is an entry-level Dell games machine (10th gen. i7, 32Gb RAM, 256Gb NVMe SSD, 512Gb SATA SSD, 1650s GPU, 500W PSU). USD$1500.

Probably the best buy these days is the 13th gen. i5 CPU.

I agree, get a 13th gen chipset and motherboard that takes ddr5 ram. The rest you can build up over time. Even a basic system using these components will run circles around the current system. Oh, and buy a BIG power supply. Better to have it done at the beginning and then you can add to your system without worry.

I am running a built 10th Gen XPS and an 11th Gen inspiron 2 in 1. Both work for me perfectly, but if I were buying today, I would make sure 13th is the lowest I would purchase. That being said, with the correct settings made, I was editing video on resolve with little to no hiccups on my notebook with only Xe graphics.

--
Fronterra Photography Tours
The Point and Shoot Pro
One Lens, No Problem

 

[AY Gross]

Puget Systems .

Their price premium is substantial, though. A system from them usually costs a lot more than the sum of the retail prices of the components.

They are kind enough to list what components they use in their builds. They are mostly parts you could buy online. (Not of interest if you're not a DIY builder.)

I meant start with there blog about performance in the Adobe suite. Not there systems per se.

 

[AY Gross]

Puget Systems .

Their price premium is substantial, though. A system from them usually costs a lot more than the sum of the retail prices of the components.

They are kind enough to list what components they use in their builds. They are mostly parts you could buy online. (Not of interest if you're not a DIY builder.)

 

[nail33]

Probably the best buy these days is the 13th gen. i5 CPU.

I agree, get a 13th gen chipset and motherboard that takes ddr5 ram. The rest you can build up over time.

+1 to these suggestions. I just bought both and should be good for many years, as I can upgrade the cpu, gpu, and ram, as prices continue to drop. I don't need the latest and greatest at high prices, as these "were" the latest and greatest not too long ago