Photoshop briefly pauses before showing edits when switching between large layers

Hi everyone,

I’m running into something that I’m not sure is expected behavior or a sign that I should adjust my setup.

When working on larger files with multiple high-resolution layers, I sometimes notice a short pause when I switch from one layer to another before edits become visible. Tools respond, but the canvas takes a moment to catch up. It’s subtle, yet during detailed work it breaks the rhythm.

The document isn’t extremely complex in terms of effects, but it does contain a mix of smart objects, masks, and adjustment layers. GPU acceleration is enabled, and overall performance is fine once I’m actively editing.

Because of that, I’m trying to understand whether this is mainly related to preview rendering, cache behavior, or memory balancing between history states and the live canvas.

For those who regularly handle heavier compositions, how do you usually optimize for smoother layer switching? Are there preferences that make a noticeable difference without sacrificing flexibility?

While reading about how graphics applications manage redraw and caching strategies, I found this overview helpful for understanding what might be happening behind the scenes:
 

I’d really appreciate any insight from people who’ve tuned their systems for similar workloads. Thanks in advance!