Yeah, it would seem so but I'm using the old editor so long now that the depth of the material tree is burned into my brain! Here's an example of a shader tree I've worked with in the past in compact..... :)
Hey, I can confirm on my end that I experience something similar, but not as intensive. (I have similar specs and the same version of Max as you do). I haven't really checked on a heavy scene yet. But I have a small lag whenever I open the Slate Material Editor. The 1 - 1,5 second lag is not enough to bother me, but if it…