If you run Lightroom in 64-bit mode, it has access to more than 2 GB of RAM, which is the ceiling for 32-bit operating systems. Giving Lightroom access to more than 4 GB of RAM can significantly improve performance. Lightroom operates in 64-bit mode automatically if it is installed on a computer that is 64 bit capable and running a 64-bit OS.
At the bare minimum, Lightroom requires 4 GB of RAM to run, but of course, this may not be enough in practical terms when it comes to day-to-day needs.
You should be asking “How much memory does Lightroom use?”
Scroll through 20 or so raw photos in the Develop module for a minute and Lightroom memory usage jumps up to 3.5GB of memory. Change a few sliders on several raw images and it goes up to 4GB of memory.
There are even some use cases where photographers may need more than 16GB of memory, like 32GB or even in extreme cases 64GB. Again, read the article for more information but having high megapixel (36+) and doing a lot of round tripping between Lightroom and Photoshop likely means you will need more than 16GB of memory.
How do I change the memory settings in Lightroom?
Drawing to the screen can be slow when Lightroom is using the entire screen of a high-resolution display.
How do I switch between photos in Lightroom without losing quality?
Lightroom finds a way. If you don’t have a lot of table space you have to stack photos on top of each other. To switch between photos you have to take the top photo and put it on the bottom of the pile and put the new. Photo you want to work on at the top. With more ram, all of your photos can sit next to each other on the table.
How can I improve the performance of Lightroom?
Giving Lightroom access to more than 4 GB of RAM can significantly improve performance. Lightroom operates in 64-bit mode automatically if it is installed on a computer that is 64 bit capable and running a 64-bit OS. You can verify that it’s running in 64-bit mode by doing the following: Start Lightroom and look at the title bar of the application.
Why does Lightroom take so long to load on a larger monitor?
The larger the monitor you use (and the higher resolution), the more work Lightroom does to calculate previews and update pixels when you make adjustments. If you experience performance slowdowns with large monitors, try reducing resolution of the display using the Display Control Panel (Windows) or Displays System Preferences (Mac OS).
Can I test the develop module features of Lightroom manually?
After working on the problem for a little bit I came up with a way to test the Develop module features of Lightroom manually. It means using those Develop module features in a way no photographer ever would but makes it possible for me to gather information about how computer hardware is being used.