Media encoder not using GPU (GTX 1050) for rendering

[0kajuna0]

Hi, I am trying to render a project in my MSI PS42 laptop with a GTX 1050 Max-Q graphics card on the latest driver, 16GB or ram, i7 U Processor, SSD drive... and it takes forever. It is not using the GPU at all, even the CPU usage is pretty low, and the expected render time is about 10 hours.

When I take the same project to my desktop pc (older i7, 24GB of ram, GTC 970 graphics, external physical drive), the processor runs close to 100% and the graphics around 15%, the project is rendered in about 15 minutes.

I did receive a warning some days ago about the drawbacks of using outdated GPU drivers, but I have since updated them and rebooted my system several times. Both Premiere and the Media Encoder are set up to render by hardware, use cuda cores and use all the available RAM.

Any clue on why this could be happening? I did see other similar posts but none of them provided a specific solution for my case.

Thanks.

[Ann Bens]

What the GPU/cuda does and does not do.

CUDA, OpenCL, Mercury Playback Engine, and Adobe Premiere Pro | Adobe Blog

[Kevin-Monahan]

What the GPU/cuda does and does not do.

CUDA, OpenCL, Mercury Playback Engine, and Adobe Premiere Pro | Adobe Blog

Oldie, but a goodie.

Kevin

[Kevin-Monahan]

0kajuna0,

Some of these newer laptops have integrated CPU/GPUs in addition to a discrete GPU. The fact that these machines are newer holds some promise that they would also be great machines for Premiere Pro. They aren't.

As I understand it, the problem is that the discrete GPU may not be detected by Premiere Pro due to the configuration of the integrated CPU/GPU, in which the GPU that is integrated also needs to run.

Therefore, you cannot really harness this newer configuration to be as efficient as your older computer which could detect and fully utilize the discrete GPU.

I hope that at some point, manufacturers of these laptops will configure them as such to function better with applications like Premiere Pro.

Please leave your feedback about this situation to our dev team, which may be able to address this difficult and frustrating situation: Premiere Pro: Hot (5021 ideas) – Adobe video & audio apps

Thanks,
Kevin

[0kajuna0]

Thanks for your reply, Kevin,

After more tests, I doubt that's the specific problem I'm facing. If I export directly from Premiere, the GPU gets used and the render takes 20-some minutes. If I use Media Encoder, both the CPU and GPU stay low  and inactive respectively, the render takes several hours.

[Sumeet Kumar Choubey]

Hi 0kajuna0,

In Media Encoder please go to Edit > Preferences > General > under Video Rendering check if the Renderer is set to Mercury Playback Engine GPU Acceleration (CUDA). This will enable the use of GPU accelerated renderer to process the GPU accelerated effects and features (if used in the project). Also, in order to compare the processing performance between the two systems, we would need more info, like the exact i7 variant that is being used. An older generation high-end i7 desktop processor might perform better than the newer generation mid-range i7 mobile processors. Also, the GTX 970 is a much powerful GPU than the GTX 1050 which may result in better rendering performance and lower rendering time on the GTX 970 system.

However, if you are noticing a huge difference in the rendering time between Premiere Pro and Media Encoder on the same system. Then that surely needs to be checked. Please let us know if Mercury Playback Engine GPU Acceleration (CUDA) is enabled and also please provide info regarding the type of media (codec, resolution), effects used and the export settings to troubleshoot the issue properly.

Thanks,

Sumeet

[0kajuna0 · Accepted solution]

Thanks Sumeet,

Edit > Preferences > General > Video Rendering > Renderer was already set to Mercury Playback Engine GPU Acceleration (CUDA)

The processor is an i7-8550U.

I don't expect my laptop to perform like my desktop, but 10hours vs 15 minutes seems too much of a difference. That, plus the fact that the laptop renders in less than 25 minutes when exporting directly from Premiere.

I am editing a combination of sources, some of them are:

480P, 1080P and UHD, between 25 and 30 fps, codec: MP4/MOV H.264 4:2:0, and some of them nested in an after effects sequence with titles, lumetri color, motion blur...

I also have a layer of "open subtitles" enabled, which by the way do not export in Media Encoder (that's a whole different problem that has been reported many times). That's why I found out that exporting directly form Premiere does use the processing power.

But... I just tried forcing maximum performance from the MSI Dragon Center settings. I already had the "Sport" setting on, but now after forcing the fan to spin at the highest speed I got the GPU and CPU working and the video processed quickly. So that might be the main cause of my problem. Still weird that I didn't face it from Premiere, but it could be a combination of circumstances.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Wow, looks like you found something I didn't know about. Thanks for letting us know! If there are any screenshots you can share with us, it could help others.

Kevin

[0kajuna0]

Sure. The Cooler Boost option is what did the trick for me

[xicomen]

Hey, I have a similar issue, I have a premiere project with an after effects project inside of it. When I export the premiere sequence from premiere it takes ages, 1h in this example. I then exported with media encoder, the same thing. Now all of this with all the apps open, Premiere, after effects and media encoder.

It was a bit frustrating because its a project with quite some animations and the renderer only uses the processor.

Then I closed after effects and premiere and just had media encoder and the export improved by 75%! and the renderer was now using the GPU.

Does this mean that if after effects and premiere are open the GPU was working in exclusive mode?
Maybe it was a ram issue as if all three apps are open the ram is shared between them.

Also might be helpful to know when I have task manager on the GPU Cuda tab there is Cuda activity.

Cheers

[R Neil Haugen]

AfterEffects and Premiere Pro both load a ton of things into RAM and into their own and the computer cache systems. So when you are running an export with both of those apps up, naturally there is less for MediaEncoder to use for the encoding work.

And yes, Me is set to run in the background behind anything going on in Pr or Ae, so it doesn't disturb working in them.

Neil