How to speed up Library view? Should I render smaller previews?

[erikh93664650]

I routinely use Library view to choose files out of large photo dumps.  This involves using the arrow keys and Quick Collection keystroke, so I can then look in detail later. 

I do NOT generally do this process using fullscreen, as I'm only using a single 1920x1080 monitor.  Rather, I use the smaller screen--I think it might be Loupe view?--which shows up with all my bars visible; maybe it's a ~800x600 image or thereabouts--and zoom in to the photo when needed.

On my PC, this process is incredibly laggy and annoying.  I would love want to know how to speed it up.  My suspicion is that this "fairly small but still large enough to be useful" preview is not pre-rendered, which is causing the problem.  Am I right, or is there another trick? 

Would adding a low-end video card solve the problem?

Note that I have a fairly fast base but no video card; I rely only on the P630 built-in.  I'm not a pro and I don't game, so an expensive card is not on the table.  I could probably get up to a Radeon RX570 or 580 but only if it would make a substantial difference in performance, and I would prefer not to get a card if there's some other trick. Also, I dont want to constantly have to turn acceleration on and off.

SYSTEM INFO: Xeon 2246, 6cores/12threads; 3.6GHz with turbo up to 4.8GHz (this is basically the Xeon equivalent of the i7-8700K); 32G RAM, SSD file storage with a system NVME.  I have camera raw cache set to 32G (I could double that if need be, though I don't see how that would affect this kind of Library work) and that cache is on the NVME drive. 

--NO VIDEO CARD (I could get a cheap one if need be, but not a fast one, too $$$ and I"m not a pro.)

--1920x1080 monitor.

Tips?  Tricks?  Help!

[dj_paige]

You want to generate 1:1 previews, let that process finish, and then you should be able to scroll through your images using the Library Module as fast as your hardware will allow.

[erikh93664650 · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the suggestion, but that wasn't it.  When I'm in Library looking at preview images, those previews are displayed at 1050 pixels (I had to make a box in Microsoft Paint to measure, heh.)

Turns out that 1:1 or Smart previews have nothing to do with it, because they ar, well, 1:1.  And that makes them larger than my screen and much larger than the preview image. 

SOLUTION: Set standard preview size to 1024 pixels and regenerate standard previews.  I just tried that and now it's super fast.

[DdeGannes]

If you are just browsing in the Library Module you are spot on, Smart Previews is only used by the Develop Module when the original files are not available. The 1:1 are needed for viewing the best screen display in the Develop Module, when working with sharpening and noise reduction and will have to be rendered as you make changes.

Regular Previews are not utilized when working in the Develop Module.