Premiere Pro 2022 consuming 100% CPU even with GPU options enabled

[bernardopina]

I have a very heavy 4k video to export, 10 hours duration. I have a decent computer. And I have 100% CPU usage while exporting it. Please help me understand what's going on and how to use GPU instead of CPU...

Let's provide some info:

WHAT'S HAPPENING:

A) When I hit play on the timeline, Premiere works as it should using hardware. My GPU processing spikes and CPU stays almost the same.

B) When I start the export, the CPU tops 100% usage while GPU stays at 0-10% usage.

More info.

1) System Configs

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-9700K CPU @ 3.60GHz 3.60 GHz

RAM: 32,0 GB 3000+mhz

GPU: Nvidia 2080 8gb

SO: Windows 10 x64

Boot drive: NVME m-2 (premiere is installed on this drive, exporting to this drive)

2) Premiere configs

- CUDA enabled on the Project settings

- H264/HEVC hardware accelerated decoding enabled with nvidia

- Export on CBR bitrate with Hardware encoding enabled, 40 target bitrate

[bernardopina]

Also... Premiere Pro 2022 version 22.6.2.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi Bernard,

CBR is not supported for hardware encoding. Try 1-pass VBR and report back.

Thanks,
Kevin

[bernardopina]

Same with VBR, 1 pass. It seems that Premiere tries to use GPU (see GPU usage spike to 50%) and then something happens and CPU usage tops and GPU lowers

[R Neil Haugen]

Never been a huge fan of CBR ... it seems to waste bits here & there needlessly by forcing it to ALWAYS make X number of bits even if not needed. But I know some things supposedly require it.

You don't mention what's going on in that sequence. If there's no resizing, no color work, no Warp Stabilizer or such things, then there's not a lot that Premiere would use the GPU for.

The GPU is not simply "another CPU" ... the math involved is totally different.

So unless you tell us more about the sequence ... effects used, sizing/time changes, that sort of thing, "we" can't say much more about it.

Neil

[bernardopina]

Really newbie here. So I'll try to give more info but I don't fully understand all what you asked for.

About effects... My video os composed of a 10 hour loop. I have 1 video source that are trimmed and looped (CTRL+C/CTRL+V) till this 10-hour completes. There is a "Cross Dissolve" effect transition on at the beginning and end of each video iteration. Also the same thing is done on the audio usimg "Constant Power"crossfade.

The video isn't resized. Same size (4k) of the original source. No color work. Dunno what is warp stabilizer or "such things".

[Peru Bob]

There isn't much for the GPU to do in that sequence.

[bernardopina]

Can you explain to me what GPU is used for in the exporting process?

[Peru Bob]

Have a look here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/multi/gpu-acceleration-and-hardware-encoding.html

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi Bernard,

Good question. As I understand it, processing finished H.264 files involves several operations, including effects processing and decoding and encoding for that specific format. Certain constraints are met to enable Hardware Encoding.

Effects processing involves the CPU and GPU. The Mercury Playback Engine enhances effects processing (The more VRAM, the better). Enable it via Project Settings > General. In the export, this feature supports processing GPU-accelerated effects and duties like scaling, frame rate conversion, colorspace conversion, and other things.

Encoding is primarily a CPU-based function. Using Hardware Encoding for H.264 files, the processing is shared by iGPU or the GPU. I believe I heard that H.264 decoding tends to favor an Intel iGPU as Quick Sync might be more performant over a discrete GPU's processing. The GPU can handle the Mercury Playback duties, so it should be used if required.

In your case, the Mercury Playback engine is not being used for the reasons you mentioned. No color correction or any GPU-accelerated effects, no scaling, and no frame rate conversions are evident. Since you have a Quick Sync-enabled CPU/iGPU, it is being used to the utmost because Premiere Pro is using hardware resources as it should be.

Does that explain what you are experiencing?

Thanks,
Kevin

[bernardopina]

That made it more clear, I guess. Thanks.

One more question... My CPU is a i7 9700k. It is 9th gen, i know, but is it so old that it wouldn't be adequate to export a 10 hour 4k video? The first video I exported took almost 24h. The other one i'm trying to export is expected to take 48h+ to finish exporting.

Any advice?

[R Neil Haugen]

@RjL190365 typically has the data down solid on this sort of thing ...

Neil

[RjL190365]

The problem with your system is not just the age of your system's CPU; it's also the core/thread setup of your particular CPU. Your CPU has 8 cores but no Hyperthreading at all, so only 8 threads. The 9700K's immediate predecessor had 6 cores but 12 threads. So, in video editing apps the renders end up being no faster with that i7-9700K than with its immediate i7-8700K predecessor - and significantly slower than a comparably-priced CPU of today.

In other words, your CPU does not have quite enough grunt to handle high-fps 4k material.

And that's not to mention that Intel had recently placed all IGPU driver support for all 6th- through 10th-generation CPUs into "legacy" status: No more feature updates, only critical bug fixes and security fixes.