GPU Acceleration is an essential feature in Adobe Premiere Pro that allows for smoother playback and faster rendering times. It not only boosts up the speed at which Premiere Pro runs but also allows the user to work with 4K and 8K footage without experiencing any lag. Let’s move like a pro by enabling GPU Acceleration on Adobe Premiere Pro.
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What is GPU Acceleration in Adobe Premiere Pro?
It is important to understand what GPU acceleration premiere pro is and how it works before moving to the main guide. In Adobe Premiere Pro, GPU acceleration refers to using a computer’s graphics processing unit (GPU) to speed up Premiere Pro’s rendering and playback performance.
Moreover, the Mercury Playback Engine (GPU Accelerated) is worth mentioning here because it is linked with GPU acceleration. The relation between them is that the Mercury Playback Engine is what allows Premiere Pro to take advantage of modern 64-bit GPU hardware.
Plus, this engine is what makes Premiere Pro so smooth and fast. It is used to render effects and features on the footage, recoloring, color space conversions, image processing resizes, and so on. Further, this enables real-time playback of complex timelines with multiple streams of video, audio, effects, and transitions.
Should I Turn on GPU Acceleration in Premiere Pro?
Well, the answer to this question depends on a few factors, such as the type of graphics card you have, the amount of VRAM (Video Random-Access Memory) on your graphics card, the power of your CPU, and so on.
If you have a powerful graphics card with a lot of VRAM, then enabling GPU acceleration in Premiere Pro will improve your overall performance. However, if you have an older or weaker graphics card, it is best to turn this feature off. So, now it depends on you to make the decision by considering your system’s power.
Pros of Premiere GPU Acceleration:
- Smoother playback
- Faster rendering times
- Improved stability
- Better performance with 4K and 8K footage
Cons of Premiere GPU Acceleration:
- It may cause crashes or instability on weaker systems
- Requires a powerful graphics card
- Premiere may run slower when launched for the first time after enabling GPU acceleration
To sum it up, GPU acceleration is a great feature that can significantly improve your Premiere Pro experience. However, keeping your system and requirements in view is important before turning them on or off. Therefore, it is best to turn it ON when you have a powerful graphics card with lots of VRAM and need to work with 4K or 8K footage.
How Do I Enable GPU Acceleration in Premiere Pro?
Here are the steps you need to follow to enable GPU acceleration in Premiere Pro:
1. Go to the “File” menu and tap on the “Project Setting” option.


2. A “Project Setting” dialogue box will appear on your screen. Select the “General” tab and check the “Video Rendering and Playback” option.
3. From the “Video Rendering and Playback” drop-down menu, select the “Mercury Playback Engine GPU Acceleration” option.


4. Finally, click the “OK” button to save your changes and close the “Project Setting” dialogue box.
Note: If you don’t see the “Mercury Playback Engine GPU Acceleration” option, it means that your system doesn’t meet the minimum requirements for this feature.
So, by following the steps mentioned above, you can easily enable GPU acceleration in Adobe Premiere Pro. Now, let’s jump to the next section.
How Do I Fix GPU Acceleration in Premiere Pro?
If you’re facing this effect requires GPU acceleration error, don’t worry, as there are a few methods that can help you fix this problem. Let’s take a look at these methods one by one:
Method 1: Turn on GPU acceleration
You can fix this problem simply by turning on GPU acceleration in Premiere Pro. For that, you can follow the guide as mentioned in the previous section. Hope so this will fix your problem. If not, then jump to the next method.
Method 2: Update Graphics Driver
Another way to fix this problem is by updating your graphics driver. For that, you need to go to the official website of your graphics card manufacturer and download the latest driver for your card. After doing the whole process, check if the problem has been fixed or not.
Method 3: Uninstall Outdated Third-Party Extensions
Another best solution is to uninstall outdated third-party extensions that you might have installed on your system. Often, these outdated extensions can cause problems with Adobe applications, including Premiere Pro. So, keeping your third-party extensions up-to-date is always a good idea.
Final Thoughts
To wrap things up, here we tried to explain everything you need to know about GPU acceleration in Adobe Premiere Pro. Following the instructions mentioned in this guide can help you enable GPU acceleration Premiere Pro per your system requirement. Also, if you’re facing problems with premiere pro GPU acceleration, you could try the above methods to fix the problem.
We hope this guide will be helpful for you. Plus, feel free to share your thoughts or queries in the comment section below.