Mercury Playback Engine (GPU Accelerated) in Premiere Pro

Understand how Premiere Pro uses GPU acceleration through the Mercury Playback Engine to improve playback, rendering, and performance.

Adobe Premiere Pro and Media Encoder use your system's GPU to share the processing load with the CPU, boosting performance. While the CPU handles most tasks, the GPU steps in for specific effects and features.  

The Mercury Playback Engine (GPU Accelerated) powers a range of GPU-accelerated effects and handles image processing, color conversion, scaling, and more. You can identify these effects in the Effects panel by looking for the Accelerated Effects icon. Combined with Mercury Transmit, this engine allows smoother timeline playback, quicker scrubbing, and better full-screen output.

System Requirements for effective GPU Acceleration

Use a GPU with a minimum of 4 GB VRAM for reliable performance.

Multi-GPU usage in Premiere Pro

Premiere Pro uses one GPU during playback but can use multiple GPUs for rendering and exporting. In setups using technologies like CrossFire, GPUs appear as a single unit to Premiere Pro. For non-SLI or non-CrossFire multi-GPU configurations, turn off any system or driver-level automatic GPU switching for optimal results.

Activity on Integrated GPU

Not all GPU tasks are handled by the dedicated GPU. The integrated Intel GPU may be used for specific operations like decoding particular video codecs or managing interface-related tasks. This explains why it may appear active in GPU usage monitors.

Low GPU utilization

Low GPU usage doesn’t always mean underperformance. A more powerful GPU might complete rendering tasks efficiently, showing less usage. GPU utilization depends on the type and number of accelerated effects in your timeline and the GPU's capability. Adding more effects can increase usage.

VR Effect warnings and VRAM limits

The message This effect requires GPU Acceleration to work appears when applying VR effects on systems with insufficient VRAM. Upgrading to a more capable GPU or reducing project resolution can help resolve this issue.