4GB GPU vs 2GB GPU

I recently purchased a new Toshiba laptop - Intel 4700MQ CPU, 16GB DDR3 RAM, and a NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M with Optimus 2GB video card. I am on the road for the next 12months so this will be the computer I use to process my images in Lightroom or Elements.

Lightroom runs really smoothly until I use the spot healing brush, then it lags a bit. I have a few days remaining where I can return the laptop for a larger 17.3" screen and a the same video card with 4GB. My question is - will I notice the difference between the 2GB and 4GB video card in Lightroom?

Lightroom doesn't utilize the GPU, your CPU is what is getting taxed.

...and or system RAM.. (as opposed to video ram)
But with 16GB of system RAM that is not likely the issue either,.


But yes, 2GB RAM for Video is HUGE.

Could it be scratch disk bottleneck? Even with 16GB of RAM?

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #16221580
...and or system RAM.. (as opposed to video ram)
But with 16GB of system RAM that is not likely the issue either,.


But yes, 2GB RAM for Video is HUGE.

Could it be scratch disk bottleneck? Even with 16GB of RAM?

It seems to be CPU intensive, ie when I watch the performance graph I have about 10GB of RAM unused, but the CPU is overclocking. I assumed that might be the Intel 4600 graphics trying to help the NVidia graphics card, but if Lightroom does not use the GPU then that cannot be the case.

By scratch disk, do you mean where Lightroom is caching files? The HD in the laptop is 1TB, and I have only 50GB used, so there is lots of room left. I am using Lightroom 5 and it is setup for a 1GB Cache on the main HDD.

The HD is running at 5400 rpm so perhaps that could be the bottleneck?

Chiefy wrote in post #16222028
I am using Lightroom 5 and it is setup for a 1GB Cache on the main HDD.

Try giving it more cache, I have mine for something like 10GB and never have issues with the brushes. You may have run out of Cache.

silvrr wrote in post #16222078
Try giving it more cache, I have mine for something like 10GB and never have issues with the brushes. You may have run out of Cache.

The rest of Lightroom runs fantastic, it is only spot healing that slows things down, and when done that task, it goes back to its normal speedy performance. I did not want to spend the additional dollars for the 4GB video card unless warranted, and it appears that it would be a waste of money. I will setup the cache as you suggest and see how that works.

Thanks to everyone who offered assistance.

As silvrr suggested, definitely increase your cache.

Even better if you put your cache & scratch disk on your SSD.
1GB cache, especially on a HDD, is not enough & slow.

I currently set my LR5 cache at 8GB on my main SSD & I never had any slowdown when using adjustment brushes.