Adobe Premiere Pro new MacBook Pro 16 inch not using a radeon card for render

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
December 23, 2019
4 replies
3559 views

I have a brand new macbook pro 8 core with radeon pro second video card or the powerlifting, or so I thought. However when I export anything to render in Media encoder or direct from premiere it uses the Intel UHD card rather than the more powerful Radeon, which is what I paid to use!

I attach screenshots and you can see that either way its the Intel card not the AMD one thats using even though I have set it as hardware encoding and metal mercury GPU.

What is going on or what do I need to do as it seems pointless buying a heavy duty card for rendering if the mac wont' use it!!

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R Neil Haugen

Legend

The GPU is not a second CPU. The CPU/RAM subsytem is the heart of Premiere, and it calls on the other gear of the computer ... drives, GPU, et al ... if and when needed for specific tasks.

The GPU is used for 1) color/tonal correction (think Lumetri) and for major frame resizing (scaling or Warp) ... and a few other things. Check out this list ... GPU Accelerated Effects

So ... when the CPU gets to something that uses the GPU, it sends work to it to do and send back to the CPU for application to the process at hand. The GPU doesn't just work on it's own.

If you have much in the way of color/tonal or frame-resize going, you can probably peg the GPU pretty fast. If not ... not so much.

Neil

Everyone's mileage always varies ...

Kevin J. Monahan Jr.

Legend

Hi Hannah,

This is expected behavior when exporting H.264 with hardware encoding enabled (which is the default). Why? Your Intel CPU supports Quick Sync technology which provides for a faster way to export H.264 files. If you were exporting ProRes, then your discrete GPU will be tasked with any exports that require GPU assistance with that format instead, as only H.264 and HEVC files are supported by Quick Sync technology.

It is possible to export H.264 with your discrete GPU, just switch off hardware encoding in Export Settings > Video.

You can try a test with hardware encoding disabled for your H.264 files to see if your exports might be faster. Switch it off in the Export Settings dialog box.
You may notice that these exported files will have slightly higher quality since you do take a quality hit with Quick Sync exported H.264.
Many people either don't notice or don't care about the lower quality and prefer a speedier export over higher quality via Quick Sync.

So, that's the explanation. Exporting is not all that straightforward if you aren't 100% sure in the way each format is treated on export. This is s fairly recent bit of knowledge to take in, and somewhat esoteric, so I understand if not everyone is on board yet. Please help spread the knowledge. Please return with any questions you may have.

Thanks,
Kevin

Kevin Monahan - Sr. Community and Engagement Strategist – Adobe Pro Video and Audio

J

jq48870773

Participant

Thanks Kevin for your answer. Clears things up somewhat, but no matter what I try (proress, no hardware encoding), it still only uses the intel UHD Graphics 630...

I also own an mac pro trashcan. I noticed that while exporting a H264 on that machine it only uses the CPU in stead of the GPU. Do you have an explanation for that too?

Thanks,
Jasper

Warren Heaton

Community Expert

Hi Jasper.

If the Metal is enabled in the Project Settings for Video Rendering and Playback, you are getting GPU acceleration for rendering; however, you're getting "Hardware" acceleration (or CPU accleration) for encoding. (Rendering is one thing. Encoding is another.)

This lack of CPU accleration for encoding on the Mac Pro (Late 2013) is a limitation from Intel, not Adobe.

Intel Quick Sync Video (which is what Premiere Pro is using for the h264 CPU hardware acceleration) is not available with all Intel procssors. As such, workstations like the Mac Pro (Late 2013) that use Intel Xeon E5 processors do not have this option available. Your i5 or i7 iMac? Yes. Your i7 MacBook Air? Yes. Your 12-Core Mac Pro? No.

-Warren