GIMP Version: 2.8.4
Operating System: Linux
OS Version: Ubuntu 13.10
GIMP Experience: Beginner Level

List any relevant plug-ins or scripts:
N/A

List any ERROR messages you received:
N/A

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Symptoms/Problem: I am using the latest version of GIMP (installed via Ubuntu Software Center) and when I start it, GIMP works fine. Great, actually. But over a period of a few minutes (10-20) the performance slows down considerably and GIMP becomes very sluggish. No other applications exhibit this behavior. I have posted this inquiry on the GIMP Forum and it was suggested that the cause could be "memory fragmentation."

Operating System: Ubuntu 13.10

Hardware: Lenovo Z580, 8GB DDR3 RAM, Intel i5 2.6GHz processor, 750GB HDD

Question: Is anyone else familiar with this happening with GIMP and Ubuntu 13.10? Does this sound like "memory fragmentation?" If so, do you have any suggestions, ideas, and/or solutions?

Thank you in advance.

You seem to have enough hardware resources. What are your Environment settings in Preferences? You could also try a resest in Preferences.

Thanks for your reply!

I tried adjusting the Environment settings and also resetting them to default to no avail.

A few google searches dredged up what sounds like a memory leak in Unity with GIMP 2.8.6. People have suggested upgrading to 2.8.8.

So I upgraded to GIMP 2.8.8. Let's see if that makes a difference. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I was running Gimp 2.8.6 on Ubuntu 13.10 with less hardware resources than you have without issue. Upgrading may or may not be your answer, hopefully it is.

@Odinbc
Well, I've been using 2.8.8 for a little bit now and the problem is still there but not quite as severe.

Do you have any suggested settings for the Environment, et al?

Thanks in advance.

Have a look at this thread for some possible tips.
Subject: GIMP environment setup - Photoretouching - GMIC usage