Does the kind of GPU installed make any difference in LR screen rendering performance in a Win system?

Thanks,
Nikos

As far as I know, NO.

I can't say on a Windows PC but the GPU doesn't help on a Mac. My limited use of LR on a PC makes me think that the situation is identical on both platforms.

No, it does not use any 3D functions, therefore no GPU processing.

On Windows Vista, I found Lightroom's user interface to be sluggish on my Athlon X2 system with 4GB of RAM. This can probably be attributed to the lower end video card that's in this system - LR doesn't use the GPU, but the OS's use of the GPU affects LR's performance anyway. When using Mac OS X on a Macbook Pro of lesser RAM and video, Lightroom's performance is better, and thus adequate.

I don't think one can make this sweeping statement as other similar programs are known to use the GPU for 2D rendering. Aperture comes to mind (on the Mac), the latest version of DxO purports to take some advantage of the GPU, and I believe Photoshop too?

Anyway, thanks everybody for your responses.

As far as I recall, LR 1.1 uses DirectX (thus the GPU) to accelerate slideshows...

Since we are talking specifically about a 'Win system' as you stated, who cares about Apple's Core Image letting apps use the GPU, such as Aperture? You didn't ask about that.

As you asked on a 'Win system', 2D apps are not boosted by the GPU.

And no, it does not use directx and neither does Photoshop.

DxO is turning on basic 3D rendering functions (optionally) to speed up quick demosaicing algorithms only. The program itself is not GPU aware at all.