Optimize Photoshop performance: 01 Windows

Slow performance in Photoshop can drive me nuts. Lately, since I’ve been working with very large files, it has gotten so bad, that I cannot even work properly. Trying to resize an element, or rotate it correctly, when the display lags really badly is impossible. Making precise tweaks depends on seeing exactly what you are doing.

And so, I’ve been searching for solutions. Some I knew about, others I didn’t. In these two articles I will share everything I did to optimize performance. This of course could be different for you, depending on your needs and the way you work in Photoshop, but I hope you will find at least some of the information useful.

Part 02: Settings and changes within Photoshop

One change I made that had an enormous effect was in Windows(!!) not in Photoshop

Windows 10: Graphics performance preferences

I would suggest trying this one first. I stumbled upon it by accident, as I was changing my display settings, and it had a major impact. Did you know you can prioritize certain apps/programs in Windows?

In the taskbar search, type in Graphics Settings

win taskbar search

Another way to get there is:
Start > Settings > System > Display > Graphics Settings

Choose Desktop App, and click Browse, then navigate to the Photoshop.exe file.

win graphics settings 1
win browse

After selecting it, back in the Graphics Settings panel, Click Options, and in the window which opens, choose High performance, and Save.

win graphics app
win graphics preferences
win graphics settings

That’s it! Now Windows should allocate more resources to Photoshop.

Continue to part 02 where I focus on changes I made within Photoshop.

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