davidheintz

After years of buying and selling Nikon glass, here is where I wind up with my D800:
 
24mm 1.4G (a very unique lens combines wide angle with fast aperture. I use it where most would go for a 35)
58mm 1.4G (very controversial lens with beautiful transition from out of focus)
100mm 2 Makroplanar (extremely versatile Zeiss lens but manual focus)
 
If I had a Fuji system (actually I did, an X Pro1) it would be 16/35/56. Hence the reason for boring you with the Nikon stuff.
 
In either case, my 35mm would not be a lens at all, but a camera, the X100T.

After working with PN, C1, and Iridient (all of which I own) I have returned to LR 6.1 for the following reasons:
 
1. still the best cataloger for the Mac
2. best gateway to Photoshop, where I do most of my editing, and from where each photo departs
3. I have developed user presets for my D800 and X100T
4. The Haze feature really works
5. best lens corrections built in (for the lenses I own, and the X100T. Don't know about the Fuji lens family.)
6. best straightening corrections 
7. Try Camera/Provia/Standard as your default
 
I had developed a liking for C1Pro, especially the way it handle color. But the LR 6 upgrade seems better to my eye...

Here is my workflow, for a D800 and the X100T:
 
1. use a card reader to import raw files into Lightroom* I have a user preset for either camera, with import sharpening, lens corrections, camera profile.
2. in the Library mode, hit F key and look at each photo, grading keepers and rejects.
3. use the Develop mode to process keepers — Basic only plus cropping and straightening.
4. Command E gets me into Photoshop where I adjust color, tone, anything else needed (burning and dodging for example) Been with Photoshop since Day One.
5. I have an action for frequency separation output sharpening, which I developed.
6. I have output actions for each intended use — email, web, print, etc.
* I use GoodSync to backup my raw files to various external drive locations. Unless it is something special, I really don't back up processed files, just move a year's worth to another location at the end of the year. I am no pro.

No offense, but I fear your problem is with your computer, not Lightroom. And I am no Lightroom fanboy, believe me.
 
As I type this, on an iMac, I also have a Dell running Windows 8.1 next to me. 16GB of ram on the PC, 32 on the Mac. I have about 57k raw files on the Mac, 40k on the PC. (Lately I have used two catalogs with each: one for "current year" photos, one for everything else. This just made sense to me, but there were no problems before.)
 
I have had absolutely no speed issues with Lightroom (or any other of my processing software, including Capture One, Iridium, PhotoNinja, DxO, and, of course, Photoshop.) I do admit to waiting for LR to render previews sometimes, but that is highest quality, 100%, and not really much of a wait. Seconds, not minutes. Nor are there issues with icons, screens etc.
 
I suggest you do a reinstall. Remember to remove all of the preferences, and anything related to LR in your system. Before reinstalling, use diagnostic software to check out your computer and see what the problem is. On a Mac OnyX is quite good, and free.
 
Good luck...