Question about Mac running slow

[KacyBailey]

I had been away from shooting and editing for a little bit. Now that I'm back to editing again my computer (a new refurbished Mac Pro purchased 2 years ago) is really struggling with running Photoshop. I'm getting the spinning wheel all the time. This doesn't seem right and I don't remember it being this bad before. It doesn't seem like it could get this bad so quickly (just due to a storage issue). Something seems off.

 

I spent the last day or so clearing storage (by moving files to my external hard drive) but it hasn't helped at all. I'm not sure what the problem is. Any advice? I included my system info, versions I'm running, snapshots of my CPU and memory usage and a quick view of my overall storage.  Thanks so much!

[Brian]

You need a lot more RAM. These days I recommend a MINIMUM of 16GB and really want people to have 32GB. You only have 4GB to play with and 8GB is being taken up by the OS and other programs. At this point, I'd max out your computer to 64GB and be done with it. Mac Pros are really funny when it comes to RAM, and it doesn't like you mixing different types of RAM modules. So in reality, it's just easier and better in the long run to replace the existing RAM set and install a fresh matching set.

You will remove the 3 currently installed sticks and replace them with these: OWC 64GB DDR3 1866 MHz RDIMM Memory Kit (4 x 16GB, 2013 Mac Pro). The current price is $199, which isn't that bad for 64GB total. That's only $50 a stick.

Yes, you can upgrade the RAM yourself, here is a YouTube Video demonstrating the process.

Now the other thing that I'm curious about is your hard drive capacity. How much is being taken up on the internal and externals? You do not want to go more than 75% - 80% full on ANY hard drive, Internal or External, when it comes to a Mac. In reality, I like keeping my Macintosh HD as clean as possible, currently I have about 737GB Free on my Macintosh HD. Also, as I just mentioned, a Full External HD will also kill performance because the MacOS really doesn't differentiate between an Internal HD or External one.

Finally, your video card is getting a bit long in the tooth. In 2013, it was probably decent, but all of Adobe's current products utilitze the Video RAM and Video CPU for a performance boost. These days I usually recommend a 8GB Video Card, with a beefy Video CPU chip for PS CC 2020.

[Brian]

The other thing that comes to mind, is if you recently upgraded your Camera Body which has a lot more Megapixels than the older one. I found this out the hard way when I bought my D850 with my 2017 fancy iMac. Basically the 100MB Raw files that my D850 generated made my "Superfast 27" iMac - complete with 'Go Faster' Racing Stripes" come to a complete crawl until I upgraded the RAM to 64GB. So if you are shooting with a 45MP - 60MP camera body, on a 2013 computer with only 12GB of RAM, that's why. It's amazing on just how far camera bodies have come, even basic models are 24MP, which requires more RAM to process.

[KacyBailey]

Yes, I had been looking at upgrading my RAM.  I just wanted to make sure that THAT was part of the problem before doing so.  Thank you.

Here is a snapshot of my storage space on my Hard Drives (internal and external).  I actually meant to attach this when I first posted but I missed it.  Do you see a problem?  My Passport drive (1T) is pretty full but my Lacie drive (5T) has tons of space.  Maybe I should disconnect my Passport drive unless I need it.  It's mostly older stuff.  But I use Backblaze to back-up my computer so I like that it's always being backed up to an online source.  I could move some of the stuff on that drive over to the Lacie drive to give it more space if you think that's a problem. 

I'm still working at getting more space on my internal hard drive but my RAW files definitely take a lot of space.  I only keep one month of RAW and .psd files at a time on my internal hard drive.  When the month is up, I make a new folder for the new month and move the previous month to my external drive.  But maybe I should just put them all on the external drive from the get go.  Do you think working from a file that is on my external hard drive would make it slower (not that it could really be any slower at this point...lol!). 

I haven't upgraded my camera in 5 years (Canon 5d mk iii) so I don't think that is what is causing the problem.  My file sizes haven't grown since I was last editing and had no issues like this.  But maybe it's just the newer versions of photoshop that are causing me so much grief. I really feel like that's the only thing that has changed significantly in my workflow.

Do you have a specific recommendation for a new video card?

Thanks so much for your help!

[Brian]

You have all sorts of problems. Especially this one:
 

You have a Powerful Mac Pro from 2013...but it's completely crippled!!

It would have been better AND cheaper to buy a tricked out 27" iMac than to get a Mac Pro with only a 256GB HD with 12GB of RAM. It's like you have a 1200HP Engine, but a Transmission that was meant for a 4 cyl Honda Civic.

Your HD is NOT LARGE ENOUGH. That needs to be replaced / upgraded as well. Fortunately, in addition to RAM, OWC makes a HD replacement for your Mac:

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc/mac-pro/2013

I would get at least a 1TB m.2 SSD Drive. It seems they have a kit that allows you to transfer your main HD into the replacement drive. ($340).

So larger HD and 64GB of RAM is what I'd recommend for you at the moment. Otherwise, you are looking at a new iMac computer.

[Brian]

Oh, your Passport is too full as well. Remember how I said you don't want to go over 75% - 80% full on ANY HD, internal or external? I'd budget for a another HD, maybe something around 8TB - 12TB.

[KacyBailey]

Thank you so much! I just upgraded to 64GB of RAM today, woo hoo!  Will look into the hard drive upgrade too. When I bought the Mac Pro, It was suggested to me that a SSD with only 250GB would be ok as long as I was good about transferring files regularly to my external.  But that may not be the case.  I will also try and transfer some of what is on my Passport drive to my Lacie drive.  There's more space there until I can get a larger one.  Your help has been greatly appreciated!  Many thanks!

[Brian]

22 hours ago, KacyBailey said:

It was suggested to me that a SSD with only 250GB would be ok as long as I was good about transferring files regularly to my external.

Heh. You were given bad advice. Really bad advice.

A 250GB HD is meant for the Operating System ONLY. No programs, no files, none of that stuff...well, maybe Firefox and a few minor programs. Those main software packages and files get installed on other hard drives. Keep in mind, you don't get to use the full 250GB...a chunk of that is taken up by the MacOS and hidden diagnostic partitions. Now don't get me wrong, if all you are doing is wasting time on Facebook, paying bills, watching Netflix, etc....you can get away with a 250GB HD. For any serious work, or at the very least Photoshop, you are severely crippled.

Save up and get the 1TB m.2 SSD drive that I linked to. You can create a Time Machine Backup and then install the new HD and restore from that latest backup. There might be a few minor things that need to be tweaked, like registering software amongst other things, but Time Machine is pretty good, it will get you to about 99.999% there.

[Brian]

Also, with a 250GB Main HD...

You need to be HYPER-ANAL AT ALL TIMES ON WHAT IS INSTALLED ON THAT HD. Gone are the days of just dumping things to the main HD. The "Next Next Next...OK..Install" way of thinking. That works with a larger main HD, like 1TB or more. As soon as you hit the 250GB mark or even smaller, you must be in a paranoid state on what is occupying space on that main HD at all times. Believe me, you'd be surprised on just how much crap is in your Downloads Folder. I'm sure you have Gigs of "Stuff" that you non longer need or knew that you had.

64GB...at least that's gone from the equation. As soon as you get a larger HD, it will be more like a new computer. Not bad for a 2013 model in 2020.

[KacyBailey]

Yes, I see what you mean completely! That makes total sense. I had no idea that the OS used so much.  The dramatically larger SSD hard drive will be next on the list.  In the meantime, I cleared as much as humanly possible off the current hard drive. I now have about 150GB free on it.  And yes, I will be completely paranoid about anything going on the HD. I have spent the last several days getting rid of just about everything I could. It should suffice while I save up (and I may look into a new video card too).  I also spread out the usage on my externals just to make sure that wasn't a factor.  

But the good news for now at least, is that photoshop is running perfectly and I'm no longer pulling my hair out.  Thank you so much! I feel good about the state my computer will be in once I get it updated!

[Brian]

It's really difficult keeping things in check on such a small main HD. You have no idea on just how small 250GB is until you try to do real work on it. Things look a lot better now, and as you can tell, PS runs much better. Have you checked out this thread? Make sure you create Aliases and not store any files or folders (permanently) on the Mac Desktop. The more crap you have on the desktop, the slower your Mac runs. I've included instructions on how to create Aliases in that thread. Since you are working from External HDs, they will be a HUGE HELP in keep you straightened out.

[Brian]

One more thing! Things like the Photoshop Scratch Disk also occupy space, which is why things run so slow when it comes to PS and you are working with a full HD. Unfortunately, the PS Scratch Disk fluctuates, as it should, as Photoshop's Memory requirements change. Combine that with today's modern cameras...the low-end models start at 24MP, which is pretty large if you think about it. The more MP your camera has and the larger Raw files it creates, the more horsepower  you'll need to edit those photos. Something to keep in mind, it's not always your "stuff" that needs to be addressed. Sometimes it's just the actual files themselves and there is no "fix" you can do except in your case upgrade the Main HD ASAP.