ADOBE PERFORMANCE GUIDE
Eliminate Lag & Crash issues Step-by-Step
The Problem: By default, Windows and Mac reserve 25% of your RAM for "Background Apps" (like Chrome or Spotify), leaving Adobe starving for memory.
THE FIX STEPS:
- Go to Preferences > Memory.
- Find "RAM reserved for other applications".
- Change this to the lowest possible number.
Note: This allows Adobe to store more "Green Bar" frames in AE and play 4K video smoother in Premiere.
Interactive RAM Simulator
If your graphics card isn't active, your CPU has to do all the math. This causes the "100% CPU Usage" freeze.
Premiere Pro
File > Project Settings > General > Renderer: Mercury GPU Acceleration
After Effects
File > Project Settings > Video Rendering > Mercury GPU Acceleration
Why Purge? After Effects saves every frame you preview to your hard drive. If this drive gets full or slow, AE will hang and stutter.
THE MAINTENANCE STEP:
Once a week, or when playback feels sluggish, go to:
Edit > Purge > All Memory & Disk Cache
Cache 85% Full
High resolution video (4K) is hard to play. Proxies are small, temporary 720p files that Premiere uses for editing while keeping your original 4K for the final export.
1. Create
Right Click Clips > Proxy > Create Proxies. Use ProRes Low Res.
2. Button
Click + in Program Monitor. Drag the "Toggle Proxy" icon to toolbar.
3. Toggle
Turn it BLUE. Editing will now be instant and lag-free.