UE 5.4.4 - slow material updates?

I’m just getting started with UE right now, but running into some issues with materials in UE 5.4.4. If I make the most basic material, apply it to an object, and make a change like updating the color, I see very slow times in:

  • The material preview viewport updating. Sometimes it goes to a default texture for 4-5 seconds before finally reflecting the change.
  • Saving/applying the material. A popup appears that says “Apply changes to original material and its use in the world” with a progress bar stuck at 100% for about 10 seconds before finally resolving and making the update.

Both of these issues are fairly consistent, but there are times where it randomly does instantly update/apply the changes.

I’ve tested this in UE 5.3.2. There is no slowdown. I’ve seen a post or two on Reddit of others experiencing this, but no thoughts as to why it’s so much different.

Is this a universal problem that people are just tolerating, or is there something I can change in 5.4.4 to improve the speed?

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I see this also. I can’t really quantify it, but there are other times when the engine / editor hangs for too long on simple operations.

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