Performance preferences

Photoshop provides a set of preferences (Preferences > Performance) to help you make optimum use of your computer's resources, such as memory, cache, graphics processor, displays, etc. Depending on your primary use case for using Photoshop and the types of documents you generally work with, different combinations of these settings may suit you.

Additional settings such as Scratch Disks, available on other tabs of the Preferences dialog, may also directly impact your computer's running speed and stability.

You can improve performance by increasing the amount of memory/RAM allocated to Photoshop. The Memory Usage area of the Performance preferences dialog (Preferences > Performance) tells you how much RAM is available to Photoshop. It also shows the ideal Photoshop memory allocation range for your system.

By default, Photoshop uses 70% of available RAM.

1. Increase the RAM allocated to Photoshop by changing the value in the Let Photoshop Use box. Alternatively, adjust the Memory Usage slider.
2. Restart Photoshop to enable your changes.

To find the ideal RAM allocation for your system, change it in 5% increments and monitor performance in the Efficiency indicator. 

We don't recommend allocating more than 85% of your computer's memory to Photoshop. Doing so may affect performance by leaving no memory for other essential system applications.

Photoshop uses image caching to speed up the redrawing of high-resolution documents while you're working on them. You can specify up to eight levels of cached image data and choose one of the four available cache tile sizes.

Increasing cache levels improves Photoshop’s responsiveness while you work, although images may take longer to load. The cache tile size determines the amount of data on which Photoshop operates at a time. Bigger tile sizes speed up complex operations, such as sharpening filters. Smaller changes, such as brush strokes, are more responsive with smaller tile sizes.

Three cache presets are available in the Performance preferences. Choose the one that matches your primary use case/purpose of using Photoshop:

• Web/UI Design: Choose this option if you use Photoshop primarily for web, app, or screen design. This option is appropriate for documents having numerous layers of low-to-medium pixel dimension assets.
• Default/Photos: Choose this option if you use Photoshop primarily to retouch or edit moderate-sized images. For example, use this option if you normally edit photos originating from your mobile or digital camera in Photoshop.
• Huge Pixel Dimensions: Choose this option if you work extensively with heavy documents in Photoshop; for example, panoramas, matte paintings, etc.

For finer control, specify cache levels manually; the default value is 4.

• If you use relatively small files—roughly 1 megapixel or 1280 by 1024 pixels—and many layers (50 or more), set Cache Levels to 1 or 2. Setting Cache Levels to 1 disables image caching; only the current screen image is cached.
• If you use files with larger pixel dimensions—say, 50 megapixels or larger—set Cache Levels higher than 4. Higher cache levels speed up redrawing.

You can save scratch disk space and improve performance by limiting or reducing the number of history states Photoshop saves in the History panel. The amount of space you save varies depending on how many pixels an operation changes. For example, a history state based on a small paint stroke or a non-destructive operation, such as creating or modifying an adjustment layer, consumes little space. Applying a filter to an entire image, on the other hand, consumes much more space.

Photoshop can save up to 1,000 history states; the default number is 50.

To reduce that number, go to the Performance preference dialog. In the History & Cache
section, set the the number of History States to a lower value.

Photoshop provides you with dedicated GPU settings in both the Performance and 3D sections in the Preferences dialog.