Photoshop not running smoothly on i5 8 gen, 8gb RAM + 1TB HDD. Why?

[Saidrafly]

Ok, so i have 2 laptop. The first laptop is macbook pro mid 2012. I swap the HDD with 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM. I do photoshopping almost with no lag.

My latest laptop is ASUS A409FJ. I bought it yesterday with spec core i5, 8GB Ram and 1TB HDD. But i experience some lag when doing some basic photoshop task (e.g selecting layer, resizing etc). The file itself is only arround 100MB. When i check task manager, the memory is filled almost 80%.

My question is, .. what cause this lag? The RAM or the HDD? if i swap the HDD with an SSD, will it eliminate the problem?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yes, the lag is likely due to very slow caching on the hard drive. Photoshop and other graphics programs tend to be much smoother when the cache file location is on an SSD.

Depending on what else you have running, 8GB might be a bit low as well. 16GB is usually the minimum I like to see on any even semi-serious usage of Photoshop or similar programs.

 

[USAFRet]

i5, 8MB and a HDD? Yes, lag in PS may result from that.

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

Since its a laptop, unless it's a gaming or pro book, it's most likely a dual core i5. Also, if it's on the cheaper side, that 8gb could be a single stick resulting in single channel. And lastly, when it comes to more budget laptops with 1tb HDD, the HDD usually ends up being a 5400rpm drive so honestly all of these things are kind of holding you back.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Exactly. Dual core i5 plus slow HDD plus 8GB of single channel, will definitely result in a lack of the desired result.

 

[Saidrafly]

Since its a laptop, unless it's a gaming or pro book, it's most likely a dual core i5. Also, if it's on the cheaper side, that 8gb could be a single stick resulting in single channel. And lastly, when it comes to more budget laptops with 1tb HDD, the HDD usually ends up being a 5400rpm drive so honestly all of these things are kind of holding you back.

OK but my mac is also using dual core i5 but i have no issue with it... so.......

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

Are you sure about that? Last I checked, most Mac book pros have full 4 core CPU's, but they are just dialed back on clock speeds and voltage for temp and power consumption reasons.

Also, you said you upgraded to 8gb on the Mac book pro.... I've never heard of a Mac book pro coming with less than 8gbs.

Also, did you upgrade with single single stick or two sticks of 4GB?

 

[Saidrafly]

Are you sure about that? Last I checked, most Mac book pros have full 4 core CPU's, but they are just dialed back on clock speeds and voltage for temp and power consumption reasons.

Also, you said you upgraded to 8gb on the Mac book pro.... I've never heard of a Mac book pro coming with less than 8gbs.

Also, did you upgrade with single single stick or two sticks of 4GB?

My macbook pro mid 2012 comes with 2,9 gHZ core i5 5th generation.
My New Asus comes with the latest generation i5, but only 1,8 ghZ.

My 4gb ram is soldered on the motherboard, but i stick another 4gb ram on the available slot. So its dual channel basically..

 

[Saidrafly]

Oh i need to make it clear. my asus comes with "quadcore" core i5 1,6 ghz turboboost to 3,9 ghz. I think its good enough

 

[Darkbreeze]

You are right, that comes with a 4 core/ 8 thread Intel Core I5-8265U but the all core boost is only 3.7Ghz (3.9Ghz is only the single core boost speed) and the problem then becomes heat and throttling. I would definitely consider these other options that we've discussed such as ridding yourself of the HDD for an SSD, adding more memory (Perhaps you can return the 4GB and replace it with an additional 8GB for a total of 12GB, which would likely give you FLEX mode dual channel with 8GB in dual channel and the remaining 4GB in single channel) however I would also highly recommend that you download and install HWinfo (Not HWmonitor, Speccy, Openhardware monitor, Speedfan, or ANY other utility, JUST HWinfo).

Run it and choose the "Sensors only" option. With HWinfo running, run Photoshop with an image where you normally see lag during typical operations and check HWinfo at the same time to see what the core temperatures are doing and whether or not any thermal throttling is indicated.

The reason I suggest that is that I've seen a number of these actual four core laptops with hyperthreading tend towards heat problems which results in temporary throttling of clock speed, and thus, most likely some drop in performance that may come across as "lag". Perhaps not, but I'm guessing you live in a region with a fairly high ambient temperature, so this is a very real possibility for your system with a high TDP processor in very cramped quarters along with a high ambient temperature.

Be absolutely sure to never use that laptop anywhere except on a flat hard surface. Not on your legs, not on your bed, not on a couch, not on carpet, not anywhere where it might be possible for anything to restrict or block airflow through the intake vents in the bottom of the unit.

 

[Saidrafly]

You are right, that comes with a 4 core/ 8 thread Intel Core I5-8265U but the all core boost is only 3.7Ghz (3.9Ghz is only the single core boost speed) and the problem then becomes heat and throttling. I would definitely consider these other options that we've discussed such as ridding yourself of the HDD for an SSD, adding more memory (Perhaps you can return the 4GB and replace it with an additional 8GB for a total of 12GB, which would likely give you FLEX mode dual channel with 8GB in dual channel and the remaining 4GB in single channel) however I would also highly recommend that you download and install HWinfo (Not HWmonitor, Speccy, Openhardware monitor, Speedfan, or ANY other utility, JUST HWinfo).

Run it and choose the "Sensors only" option. With HWinfo running, run Photoshop with an image where you normally see lag during typical operations and check HWinfo at the same time to see what the core temperatures are doing and whether or not any thermal throttling is indicated.

The reason I suggest that is that I've seen a number of these actual four core laptops with hyperthreading tend towards heat problems which results in temporary throttling of clock speed, and thus, most likely some drop in performance that may come across as "lag". Perhaps not, but I'm guessing you live in a region with a fairly high ambient temperature, so this is a very real possibility for your system with a high TDP processor in very cramped quarters along with a high ambient temperature.

Be absolutely sure to never use that laptop anywhere except on a flat hard surface. Not on your legs, not on your bed, not on a couch, not on carpet, not anywhere where it might be possible for anything to restrict or block airflow through the intake vents in the bottom of the unit.

I think the problem is not come from the proc because im not experience any heat when the freeze happening. I also using my laptop on a desk so it will not block anything. I'm trying to get your point, so if not processor, you think i better to upgrade the RAM instead of adding SSD?

 

[drivinfast247]

SSD.

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

Hard drive will always slow things down because more RAM, dual channel RAM, or higher speed RAM means nothing if the speed at which the data is given to the RAM first is bottlenecked by the read speed of the storage device. So SSD is a little more important I'd say.

 

[Darkbreeze]

NO, I think SSD first, all other options second, IF there is not a thermal problem.

Let's be clear though. Just because you don't "FEEL" any heat, does not mean ANYTHING, at all. INSIDE the CPU, the cores can go to to over 100°C and back down to 50 or 60°C in MILLISECONDS. OR, they can stay above throttle temp for seconds or minutes at a time, while under a working load, and you would have no idea, especially if the fan is not responding properly. Have you noticed ANY change in fan behavior, as in, running fast more often or all the time, or not hearing high speed fan operation AT ALL?

Without actually running a monitoring utility, you can't have ANY idea what kind of temperatures your processor is actually running at AND what you "think" makes very little difference when it comes to what's actually going on. It might not be getting hot, but knowing for sure would make a hell of a lot more sense than just "thinking" it's not. Then you could move on to these other solutions knowing that you aren't ignoring a very basic problem because you were sure it was not getting hot when it fact it was.

This is not just some guess I pulled out of my #$%. This is a very common problem on laptops, especially on models that have high core counts because they tend to run a lot hotter which is exactly why MOST previous generation i5's and i7's did not have the same amount of cores on the mobile versions as they did on the desktop versions. They simply could not control the heat under a load, so using fewer cores was always the answer. There is only so much room for cooling inside a laptop, unlike a desktop, so options are limited when it comes to finding a balance between performance and managing the thermal ceiling.

You lose nothing by just verifying that temperatures are good/ok. You might lose everything by ignoring the idea that there could be a thermal issue, especially if you are in the middle east somewhere where ambient temperatures run MUCH higher than in other regions. If that is the case, you are already starting out far closer to the maximum temperature that the device can withstand than another user from say, Canada, or Russia, or even more northern areas of the US where the average ambient temperature is much cooler.

So my advice would be to replace that HDD with an SSD, but also take the time to check and see that there are not any thermal issues. Don't guess. KNOW.

 

[Saidrafly]

NO, I think SSD first, all other options second, IF there is not a thermal problem.

Let's be clear though. Just because you don't "FEEL" any heat, does not mean ANYTHING, at all. INSIDE the CPU, the cores can go to to over 100°C and back down to 50 or 60°C in MILLISECONDS. OR, they can stay above throttle temp for seconds or minutes at a time, while under a working load, and you would have no idea, especially if the fan is not responding properly. Have you noticed ANY change in fan behavior, as in, running fast more often or all the time, or not hearing high speed fan operation AT ALL?

Without actually running a monitoring utility, you can't have ANY idea what kind of temperatures your processor is actually running at AND what you "think" makes very little difference when it comes to what's actually going on. It might not be getting hot, but knowing for sure would make a hell of a lot more sense than just "thinking" it's not. Then you could move on to these other solutions knowing that you aren't ignoring a very basic problem because you were sure it was not getting hot when it fact it was.

This is not just some guess I pulled out of my #$%. This is a very common problem on laptops, especially on models that have high core counts because they tend to run a lot hotter which is exactly why MOST previous generation i5's and i7's did not have the same amount of cores on the mobile versions as they did on the desktop versions. They simply could not control the heat under a load, so using fewer cores was always the answer. There is only so much room for cooling inside a laptop, unlike a desktop, so options are limited when it comes to finding a balance between performance and managing the thermal ceiling.

You lose nothing by just verifying that temperatures are good/ok. You might lose everything by ignoring the idea that there could be a thermal issue, especially if you are in the middle east somewhere where ambient temperatures run MUCH higher than in other regions. If that is the case, you are already starting out far closer to the maximum temperature that the device can withstand than another user from say, Canada, or Russia, or even more northern areas of the US where the average ambient temperature is much cooler.

So my advice would be to replace that HDD with an SSD, but also take the time to check and see that there are not any thermal issues. Don't guess. KNOW.

I replaced the HDD with SSD & now my laptop is heavenly faster than before. Thanks for ur advice

 

[Darkbreeze]

Cool Saidrafly, glad it worked out the way it was supposed to for you. If you have more questions always remember we are here to help if we can.