'This effect requires GPU acceleration'

[edwards12066135]

HELP!

I have Premiere Pro in Creative Cloud on my iMac running High Sierra 10.13.6 and it's all legit software for everything. However I have a beast of a problem which is driving me mental which is when I see a prompt saying 'This effect requires GPU acceleration'. I cannot do this at all and spent over a whole day trying to fix this to no avail - is there a solution to this? If so, can it please be explained to me in workmanlike terms, because I feel like Premiere Pro is not worth using with me being unable to fix this.

A million thanks in advance if any one of you kind people could assist in a solution!

Ed

[R Neil Haugen]

What GPU do you have, and what settings do you have in the Project settings for Mercury Acceleration  ... Software Only, CUDA, OpenCl, or Metal?

Neil

[edwards12066135]

Hi Neil,

Thanks for your reply.

This is what I have:

  Model Name: iMac

  Model Identifier: iMac13,1

  Processor Name: Intel Core i7

  Processor Speed: 3.1 GHz

  Number of Processors: 1

  Total Number of Cores: 4

  L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

  L3 Cache: 8 MB

  Memory: 16 GB

  Boot ROM Version: IM131.0115.B00

  SMC Version (system): 2.9f5

  Serial Number (system): DGKJX08JDNMM

  Hardware UUID: 7F1FB0F4-F8FB-51AD-A4D6-1F8EA79550B3

In Project Settings I have Renderer as 'Mercury Playback Engine Software Only' and unable to change this cos it is greyed out. Sorry, I am new to PP so hope this is the correct answer.

I really appreciate your help.

Ed

[R Neil Haugen]

You don't list a GPU there. Some effects can be ported through the CPU or an onboard graphics chip, and some effects ONLY go through the CPU. But there are things that do require a full GPU card be installed and functional in the computer.

And are not available unless an appropriate GPU is installed.

Neil

[edwards12066135]

Sorry, I have: NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 512 MB graphics

[R Neil Haugen]

Ahh ... there's the rub.

It has less than a gig of vRAM and is old enough that I'm not sure the "architecture" is still supported, might need to be at least a 700 card with a minimum of a gig of vRAM to be used.

Neil

[edwards12066135]

Ouch! So do I need a new iMac or is this something which can be fixed? Parden my ignorance here,

[edwards12066135]

Or will I be ok but just avoid anything which has the GPU warning?

[R Neil Haugen]

I don't know what might be added to the iMac, you'd have to check with some Mac experts or a Mac store/online or something.

Other than that, yea ... you'd need to avoid effects that require a GPU. And could still do most things in PrPro, albeit a bit slower than with a GPU for some things. Most people think a GPU is just involved always, but ... it is only used for those things on the GPU Accelerated Effects list. And most of those items can work on a CPU - only machine.

Neil

GPU Accelerated Effects: https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/using/effects.html

[edwards12066135]

Ah ok! Thanks so much for this answer - it seems like it is something that can't be fixed - or easily at least. I'll try and avoid anything like these effects then. You've saved me a lot of time!

[R Neil Haugen]

If you can get a mid-level GPU into that Mac, it could help. Considering the hardware inside, it wouldn't be worth a higher-end one even if it could work. A 900-level Nvidia or the equivalent in AMD GPU's might help, but you'd need to check with the Mac folks if it's even possible.

For all one pays for Macs, it's always been a shock to me how few options that system allows the user.

Neil

[Kevin-Monahan]

Neil,

You cannot update a GPU in an iMac, sorry to say.

Thanks,

Kevin

[amyj327]

Yes, thank you for this question-  I wasted no lie, 4 hours of my day on this.  Please help!!  Says GPU acceleration needed, I downloaded CODA card like a million times.

[R Neil Haugen]

CUDA can only work with an Nvidia GPU installed in the computer ... do you have one?

Neil

[edwards12066135]

I think so. It says I have a NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 512 MB graphics card.

[ahmed124]

so what if my GPU was AMD ??

[R Neil Haugen]

Premiere works with most any of the newer cards there ... typically in Metal on the newer Macs, OpenCL on older ones, and whatever works on PCs.

So ... which card? What driver for it?

Neil

[Kevin-Monahan · Accepted solution]

TLDR:

Try the following: Drag the VR effect to the bottom of the effects "stack" in the Effect Controls panel. Another option is nesting it and adding the VR effect to the clip.

Why does this occur? If you are receiving this "red banner" error, you have a CPU-based effect later in the order of the effects than a GPU-accelerated "VR" effect (in the stack of effects in the Effect Controls panel); the accelerated effect will be rendered on the CPU instead (and an error will be triggered in the form of a red banner appearing in the Program Monitor).

This is because all the VR effects are GPU only and can't be rendered on the CPU, so you'll get the error. 

For Ed, the OP, sorry, your GPU is probably not powerful enough to support GPU-accelerated effects. Try switching to the software-only mode for the Mercury Playback Engine. You may need a computer with a more powerful GPU to take advantage of GPU acceleration. You may also have to reorder the effects in the Effect Controls panel or solve the issue with nesting.

The other issue that needs checking is that this warning is only triggered with any of the VR effects, which are designed specifically for VR, AKA 360 video footage. These are originally from Mettle SkyBox. They are plug-ins that were purchased by Adobe and integrated into the toolset.

It is possible to use VR effects on standard footage; however, these are designed for 360 videos. The effects also require a lot of VRAM, so you might need a more powerful computer if you want to edit VR footage or use these effects on standard footage. If you are receiving this "red banner" error, reordering the effects in the Effect Controls panel or nesting is the solution.

Full details in this FAQ: https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-discussions/faq-avoiding-warnings-using-vr-effects/m-p/1...

Thanks,
Kevin

[Egil Arntzen]

Hi, does this go for NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 1024 MB as well?

[R Neil Haugen]

I believe the earliest generation Nvidia cards that are still supported currently are the 700 series ... pretty sure but not totally positive from memory here. (My "on-board memory" is a ton older than DDR2 ... ha.)

Neil

[Egil Arntzen]

Its funny, I use the same plugins in After Effects and then it works. But not in Premiere...

[R Neil Haugen]

Yea, there are differences between the apps. Which can be a pain at times.

But that generation of GPU is what, 2-3 generations back. Near dinosaur in computer lifespans. And on the way out.

So pretty soon it won't be of use in any of these apps. Not saying it's good or bad, just the reality of computers.

Neil

[Caterpillar Media]

Hi Ed,

I'm still getting this message with an Nvidia Titan RTX GPU.  This is a top-shelf graphics card on an ultra-spec'ed out 18-core Intel i9 PC with 128GB RAM.  So I'm pretty sure we can rule out the notion that my computer isn't powerful enough.  Mercury Playback Engine is enabled, so why am I getting this message?

[Caterpillar Media]

Kevin,

I'm still getting this message with an Nvidia Titan RTX GPU.  This is a top-shelf graphics card on an ultra-spec'ed out 18-core Intel i9 PC with 128GB RAM.  So I'm pretty sure we can rule out the notion that my computer isn't powerful enough.  Mercury Playback Engine is enabled, so why am I getting this message?

[R Neil Haugen]

What media are your working with, what effect are you using, are there any plugins in use ... give us the details of when this message pops up.

Other than that, there's no way to assist.

Neil