Photoshop uses iGPU on internal display instead of dGPU (RTX 4060) – performance issue

[iMoh3n]

Hello,

I’ve noticed a performance issue with Photoshop on my Lenovo Legion Slim 7 Gen 8 (Core i7-13700H, NVIDIA RTX 4060). Although the GPU is detected correctly in Preferences > Performance and GPU usage is enabled, Photoshop performance (brushes, zoom, pan, etc.) is sluggish compared to expected dGPU performance.

I’ve already done the following:

• Enabled "Use Graphics Processor" and "GPU compositing" in Photoshop preferences

• Set High Performance NVIDIA GPU in Windows Graphics Settings

• Set dGPU mode in Lenovo Vantage

• Disabled "Optimizations for windowed games"

• Enabled Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling

However, the issue persists only on the internal laptop display. When I connect an external monitor, Photoshop performs significantly better – indicating that the dGPU is actually utilized properly only in that case.

I’ve read similar posts dating back to 2013 suggesting that Photoshop still renders through the iGPU when using the internal display due to system architecture (Optimus / MUX). But this seems inefficient and problematic on modern hardware where dGPU is selected explicitly.

Is there any known fix for forcing Photoshop to fully utilize the RTX 4060 on internal display? Any registry tweaks, config changes, or driver-level solutions?

Any help is appreciated!

[D Fosse · Accepted solution]

You probably need to completely disable the integrated GPU. See section 6 & 7 here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/troubleshoot-gpu-graphics-card.html