Premiere Pro 2017 GPU support for 960m

[Indie767]

I recently downloaded the latest version of PP 2017 and immediately discovered it does not support my Windows 10 CUDA GPU. I've had extreme problems in the past every time I upgraded PP and was told to buy a new Computer. I did. I bought a new Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Series (Alienware) Laptop. PP 2015 works just fine on it but 2017 apparently does not support my CUDA GPU. When I open a previous project or try to create a new one, I get a warning message that PP does not recognize my CUDA card. The Video rendering and Playback option allows only 'Mercury Playback Engine Software Only.'  (And yes, I updated my GPU driver).        

This machine is about 7 months old so I have three questions.

1) Do I need to buy a new computer (new GPU card) every time I update Premiere Pro? If not

2) Is there a bug in this version that does not offer CUDA support? If so,

3) Will the next update of PP offer CUDA support?

My machine specs:

Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Series Laptop

Windows 10 Pro

Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700HQ CPU @ 2.60GHz, 2601 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)

RAM 8.00 GB

Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M

If I am able to resolve this issue, will PP 2017 open projects created on previous versions?  I know this feature hasn't been possible so far but I would like to get rid of all my previous versions of PP and just open older projects using one version of PP.

[R Neil Haugen]

You've got another issue here, as I'm pretty certain that a 960m should be usable with 2017. By "not support", what do you mean? Is the CUDA option for Mercury Acceleration grayed out?

Neil

[Indie767]

I checked the tech specs for PP 2017 and it does not support my GPU. What I mean by the CUDA option being grayed out, when I go to Project Settings > General, there is not a drop down option to choose my playback engine. Below is an image I took on PP 2015 where I am able to select my GPU to render. PP 2017 (which I deleted) does not allow me to select my GPU and it defaults to Software Only.

With previous problems, I was told I have other issues and it is not the software. So I bought a new computer and, again, it appears I have other issues. But logic tells me I have only one issue, which is PP 2017. It apparently does not support my GPU CUDA card but PP 2015 does. So it is apparent I have a software issue, PP 2017, and not a computer/hardware/windows issue. Case in point, I can run the latest version of Lightworks on my laptop and it works just fine.

I agree with you, PP 2017 should support for my 960 M GPU but it clearly doesn't. And based on previous experiences, upgrading to the latest version of PP will render your computer/GPU obsolete.

Knowing that I will have to buy a new GPU at least once a year to keep up with updates, I do plan on purchasing a new desktop so I can upgrade by GPU in the future. My concern, however, is when the next version of PCI comes out, I will have to buy a new computer as well with every update. Adobe should build software that is backwards compatible with hardware that is at two three years old. 

Obviously, PP 2017 is too resource hungry to run on my laptop. I wish I knew this 7 months ago when I bought it because I would have bought a new desktop tower instead. So, it appears I won't be able to update in the foreseeable future.

Thanks for your response.

[R Neil Haugen]

I've moved this over to the Hardware forum and added to the title, as this is the best place for tech/gear issues with PrPro, AfterEffects, the Usual Suspects. Let's see if some of the folks here can advise ...

Neil

[Indie767]

Thanks.

[R Neil Haugen]

Most welcome. I just want people able to work ...

Neil

[RoninEdits]

there are a few posts with folks having problems with the gtx 960m, so perhaps adobe removed it as having too few cuda cores. adobe doesn't like to be forthcoming with info to its customers, so its not surprising to have a major change happen with no heads-up. nvidia has dropped software support for old cards several times, but often those are really old cards. the newest cards dropped were about 5 years old. the quadro M4000 is being replaced by the P4000, but it might not be available with HP yet. if you don't mind swapping video cards, you can buy a gtx separately and save some money on the HP with a cheap quadro in the order.

[David_V_Clarke]

I posted this on another thread about this and it solved it for someone:

"I have a laptop with a 960M and CUDA acceleration is working for me.  I am using the 375.70 NVidia drivers and Windows 10.

It is probable the laptop has two graphics cards (nVidia and Intel) and Premiere is using the Intel not the nVidia.  You can check this by opening the NVidia control panel and going to "manage 3D settings.  On the global settings tab it should give you the option of "auto-select", "high performance nVidia" and "integrated graphics".  I have mine set to "high performance nVidia".  With this setting all programs will use the NVidia card and not the Intel.  If you just want to get Premiere to use the NVidia you can got to the second tab, "program settings" and choose the graphics card used for just Premiere Pro."

[Indie767]

Hi David,

Thanks for your advice but I decided to stick with PP 2015 until Adobe works out the GPU support bugs in the latest version.

[rodrigo_ronconi]

I´ve set my adobe forums account just to say that your tip solved the problem with my 960M. Sometimes my PP2017 recognized CUDA, sometimes didn´t. Now I know that´s because NVidia was set to "auto-select". I changed to "high performance nVidia" and now PP2017 always recognizes CUDA. Thank you very much!

[MyerPj]

It may have to do with the built in graphics card in your cpu, and when PP says no cuda it is referring to that card. See if you can disable it in the bios, and pp will then see the 960.

[Indie767]

Good idea. I will test this after my project is done.

That said, since PP 2015 runs well on my system, does it really make sense for me to upgrade to PP 2017 on my laptop now or in the the future?  Also, another user suggest I wipe my Windows system, do a clean system install, reload all my drivers before I update PP. This sounds like an incredible hassle and a major disincentive to upgrade.

Moving forward, I'm also looking at a $4700 HP Workstation with the hope of future proofing it so I am able to use it for at least three years before it becomes obsolete. For how long do you think PP will support the NVIDIA Quadro M4000 GPU built into that system?

Thanks. 

[R Neil Haugen]

I take it you've got a 10-bit monitor? One of the real spendy ones? If not, I'm not sure where you'd benefit by a Quadro card.

Maybe Bill Gehrke​ or SAFEHARBOR11​ will pop in ...

Neil

[SAFEHARBOR11]

What Neil says, skip the Quadro and get a GTX-series card, like GTX 1060, 1070 or 1080. Premiere lives on CUDA cores and GTX has more of them, for less money.

Would be interested in seeing the specs of the $4700 HP unit, seems pretty pricey. Our company and other vendors like Puget Systems that specialize in Adobe system builds can do it for a lot less.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera

Safe Harbor Computers

www.sharbor.com

[Indie767]

Hi Jeff,

I will reach out to you as soon as I get a budget together so I can upgrade to PP 2017 or whatever the next version will be. In the meantime, I will stick with PP 2015 since it still supports my the GPU in my laptop.

[RoninEdits]

custom shops like safe harbor are going to use desktop grade hardware to get the costs down vs workstation grade in the hp workstation. most of the savings will actually just be for the video card, quadro vs gtx. if you were to buy a HP workstation and put in your own gtx video card, the total price could be similar as the custom shop prices.

alot of the desktop grade hardware is still good and should perform the same, just make sure to get the extended warranty as most only offer 1-2 years (another way they cut costs). if you want to get quality hardware from a custom shop i would suggest looking at custom shops like puget systems or adk systems. puget systems can cost more than the others, but seems to always use some of the best parts.