# Q: Are there significant speed improvements in LR with high-end graphics cards?



## Bob_B (Jan 26, 2015)

I've been using LR for four years, running it from the onboard intel graphics chip on my ASUS MB. I am quite happy with this setup, as it allows me to do everything I want quickly without fuss. However, in reading other websites, it appears that Photoshop gains a significant increase in processing with some of the Nvidia cards. This has got me thinking that maybe I could improve something if I were to invest in a new graphics card. So my question boils down to: Does LR benefit significantly from adding a 'better' graphics card? (The card I am considering is the Nvidia GTX970, if that makes any difference.)

I appreciate your response. Thank you.

Bob


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## tspear (Jan 26, 2015)

I have two almost identical MacBooks. One with the higher end graphics that was an option at the time, otherwise identical.
Lr is much faster on that laptop when rendering an image on the Develop module or displaying the grid in the library.
Otherwise, I do not notice any difference between them. (I was testing to see which one I keep and which one my son gets, he got the slower one! )

You will note, that in general, the software must be tuned for the graphics engine. I have not looked into this at all in terms of the Windows platform and Adobe.

Tim


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## clee01l (Jan 26, 2015)

High end Graphics cards are designed for Full Motion Video (movies & video games primarily), not static photo images.  In this regard LR performance will not benefit from a "better" graphics card.   These "better" cards have an onboard GPU.  Some applications take advantage of the GPU for computational work (Photoshop is one of them while LR is not).  This can speed up computations much like a multicore CPU will if the program is coded to take advantage of the GPU.  You already have a quad core CPU.  LR will use all of those.


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## Bob_B (Jan 26, 2015)

Thanks to both of you for your responses. I appreciate your replies. - Bob


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