CS4- Ugly patch Tool Artifacts: Adobe Sabotage?

Well I used to use the patch tool on my CS4 all day every day for touchups and it worked seamlessly and beautifully. However a couple of versions came and went (CS5/6) and I haven't updated.
I don't remember when I started to notice the patch tool not working as effectively as it used to. It now has some ugly artifacts and jaggys all around the patched section. Even in small patches.
I started to think that it was my computer, but a fellow photog friend of mine said she was experiencing the same thing- her patch tool used to work great but now it's too ugly to use.

Anyone know what's going on? Did Adobe sabotage older versions of PS so that you'll "Need" to upgrade to CS6?
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but they could totally have an Adobe "update" that you install which would break certain features.

Look at this janky image of what should be a simple patch job. This is after the patch has been made:

Show us the Before???

This is interesting...Subscrib​ed.

Nothing new: PSCS4 has done this in some cases for years.

Patch again, but use a smaller patch.

This is not a phenomenon in just cs4. This is a outcome of using patch tool on certain surfaces, such as the one you have posted.

In cases where the surface you are using as your source, is very detailed, this will likely occur... everytime. This is a case where using the clone stamp could give better results. It is tricky to find source areas that match in the same quality in terms of its exposure, color, etc, but the surface should blend much nicer. Use some quick adjustments on the new adjustment layer that you have sampled to make it blend and voila.

just my .02c

Interesting. I have noticed the patch tool works better on smaller corrections. This was not a HUGE selection, but somewhat large. It was a red plaster wall and the texture along with the noise made it very detailed, as you guys mentioned. I'm wondering if the newer Content Aware Fill would correct this?
I could have sworn the patch tool worked better in the past though. I wonder if I do a fresh install from the disc and try it without updating would it answer my question/suspicion.
I was trying to clone out a larger section of a door on a wall.
Thanks for the replies.

Maybe post a Before shot, you'd get more "informed" help?

Is there a hardness parameter w/ the patch tool? I don't recall from memory. If so, check and make sure it's set to 100%.

Adobe secretly sending patches that breaks anything but the last couple of releases. Wow, the conspiracy theorists are alive and well.

S-Man wrote in post #15041916
I could have sworn the patch tool worked better in the past though. I wonder if I do a fresh install from the disc and try it without updating would it answer my question/suspicion.

Nope. Always has and always will do this on some backgrounds.

I have no issues in CS5. Try fading the patch or use content aware fill, its probably more suited to what you need to achieve.