Add Graphics Acceleration for Older GPUs in Photoshop

[ALl25833429rweb]

Dear Photoshop Team,

I hope this message finds you well. As a dedicated user of Photoshop, I would like to propose an enhancement that could significantly improve the user experience: the addition of graphics acceleration support for older GPUs.

Many users rely on older hardware due to budget constraints or specific needs, and the current lack of graphics acceleration for these devices limits their ability to utilize Photoshop's powerful features effectively. By enabling support for older GPUs, users would be able to have a better experience with the software.

Specifically, if this graphics acceleration is added for zooming and panning the canvas, it could greatly enhance speed and ease of use. It seems that Photoshop does not fully utilize the available hardware capabilities, and this feature could help improve user productivity.

Thank you for considering this suggestion, and I hope it can help enhance accessibility and performance for all users.

Best regards,
AA

[D Fosse]

There already is:

What this does, just to explain, is to revert to the older OpenGL APIs that Photoshop used previously. Currently, Photoshop uses DirectX on Windows and Metal on Mac. These are operating system-native APIs.

OpenGL is no longer supported or maintained by Microsoft or Apple, so that transition was beyond Adobe's control, it was forced on them. It took many years and many versions to migrate, and there are probably still bits of OpenGL left in Photoshop's graphics code.

[ALl25833429rweb]

Thank you for your response. I understand that there’s a specific mode for older GPUs (pre-2016). However, I hope there will be a way to push the GPU and utilize its full capacity.

My GPU has 4GB of memory, but it only uses about 1.5GB. It seems that fully leveraging the hardware capabilities could significantly improve Photoshop’s performance.

I hope you consider this point and help enhance the user experience for us.

[ALl25833429rweb]

I am using a GeForce 840M GPU, and it generally handles all tasks well. However, I experience significant slowdowns and glitches when zooming in and panning the canvas. This issue severely impacts the user experience and hinders my workflow.

I would like to know if there are any solutions to improve performance in these areas, as other tools work fine, and this problem only occurs during zooming and panning.

[D Fosse]

In a much broader context, I sympathize with your argument. I do think it's horrible that we just throw away so much equipment that actually still works. It's a monumental waste, and what are we going to do with all this stuff that keeps piling up? It's awful.

But this is a systemic problem. This technology race is how the whole business works. Adobe is just a small player in this. They have to keep running if they still want to play. So singling out Adobe is missing the big picture.

[davescm]

The 840M is a 2014 GPU which is past 'end of life' by its producers (NVidia) and does not support the required Direct X feature level for Photoshop (it supports feature level 11 but not the required 12). The pre 2016 checkbox is there as a lifeline for those with older GPUs but I very much doubt you will see feature development for that legacy hardware.

Dave

[jane-e]

Many users rely on older hardware due to budget constraints or specific needs

By @ALl25833429rweb

You posted to Ideas, so this will be seen by the Photoshop team whether or not they reply.

Although Adobe is unlikely to offer support for old hardware in new versions of their software, your subscription includes that you can continue using your older version of Photoshop on your current hardware and OS, which will work as long as your hardware does not fail and your OS continues to support your version of PS.

When you eventually update your hardware and OS, your subscription includes the version of Photoshop that is current.

Jane