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64GB M4 mini Runs out of System Memory Using Photoshop

dsaponaro

dsaponaro

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 18, 2002
111
129
I just got a new M4 Pro Mac mini with 14‑core CPU, 20‑core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, 64GB memory, & 2TB SSD storage.

Its been really great so far with one exception...

I’ve been getting a message saying I’ve run out of system memory quite frequently when using Photoshop. I don't have this issue with my laptop using 16GB of Ram while working on the same files so I’m not really sure what the issue could be.

Anyone have any insight or similar experience? Thanks!
 
dsaponaro said:
I just got a new M4 Pro Mac mini with 14‑core CPU, 20‑core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, 64GB memory, & 2TB SSD storage.

Its been really great so far with one exception...

I’ve been getting a message saying I’ve run out of system memory quite frequently when using Photoshop. I don't have this issue with my laptop using 16GB of Ram while working on the same files so I’m not really sure what the issue could be.

Anyone have any insight or similar experience? Thanks!
Click to expand...
What other apps do you have open? I do appreciate your frustration having gone through similar. I had a Mac Mini M1 and it ran out with my photo edit apps as well. I opted for the Studio Max with 64 gigs RAM and it has moments when memory is nearly exhausted. In my case, it is mostly because I have other apps open with the most notorious being web browsers (usually Safari). I hit certain web pages and they gobble up memory like there is no tomorrow. For me, this is an issue that Apple could and should have addressed - memory management. I know that, at least in the past, Opera browser did have a setting for how much memory it could use when opened.

It has been a long while since I used PS. Have you check your app settings within PS?
 
Do you use BackBlaze by any chance? It will devour huge amounts of memory. I'm still using a 2018 Intel Mini but also have 64gb. More than once, BackBlaze has eaten up all my free RAM (20gb or more) and I've gotten out of memory errors when trying to open another app. Just a wild guess...
 
Thank you for your replies. No backblaze installed. I dont have anything too exotic running while using Photoshop either. Mail, safari, calendar, home etc…. Using Activity Monitor I’ve noticed its Photoshop itself that is sucking up all the memory. I also have the default performance preferences set for Photoshop as well.

What is strange to me is that my prior desktop was a 2019 intel iMac with 64GB of ram and never had the issue editing literally the same files. And as I already mentioned, my work laptop, which is an M1 MacBook Pro with just 16 GB of Ram never has an issue with the exact same files either.

Very strange.
 
could you send a screenshot of the bottom part of your activity monitor when that is happening... something like this?
Screenshot 2025-01-29 at 17.11.57.png
 
I'd do two things:

  • Call Apple Support and try to get your call escalated. The people who answer the initial calls are earnest but not necessarily experienced enough to understand the problem. The next tier of support I've found to be excellent, and that's not something I say often. Note, carve out some time when you do this, it may take some time on hold to get to the second level and then second level can be very thorough in collecting logs and so on. I've been on a call for 90 minutes but in the end a bug was identified and (eventually) fixed.
  • File a bug against Adobe. You're paying for that software (like me) and it should not be doing this.
This could be a bit of a problem in that Apple may foist you on Adobe and vice-versa. No, the app shouldn't be asking for that much memory, so that's on Adobe, but at the same time there's a high likelihood that there's a MacOS issue here. MacOS memory management issue are legion...
 
 
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