Hardware acceleration is configured to dispatch some tasks of CPU to GPU, thus relieving the burden of CPU. In doing so, PC performance will be significantly enhanced since the CPU can process more faster. That can be a way to make you watch more smooth and steady videos. So if you want to turn off hardware acceleration, it should be turn off the graphics hardware acceleration.
Hardware acceleration is a term usually thrown around in PC circles. Chances are you have heard it being used but might not precisely know what it means. It is one of those labels that can make confuse because it covers with other terms like graphics card and video card rendering. It is a configure on your PC that both Windows and specific applications make use of to speed up the computing process when Hardware acceleration enabled. We shall discuss just what hardware acceleration is and either you need it. Also, we will show you how to disable/turn off hardware acceleration on your Windows 10 personal computer.
How to disable hardware acceleration in Windows 10?
With that said, there are more unique situations where it makes sense to disable hardware acceleration. Your main CPU might be able of handling the maximum demanding of applications by itself. So, You might want to disable temporarily to conserve some juice. Whatever your reason, here is how to disable the feature systemwide in Windows 10 (version 1803 and later), after which your computer will operate in software rendering mode:
- First, Right-click a space on your desktop and next click on Display settings.
- Scroll down the Display settings options page to Advanced display settings and open it.
- Next, In the next window, you must click Display adapter properties for display 1.
- The graphics properties window will open. Choose the Troubleshoot tab.
- Next, Click Change Settings.
- In the Display Adapter Troubleshooter bar, move the Hardware acceleration pointer to the left to turn off hardware acceleration on your PC.
- Next, Click OK to save your changes and exit.
Okay, If the Change Settings option in step 4 is greyed out, you can try to enable it in Windows registry (regedit). Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoft. Next, Find the graphics card registry entry and you must change DWORD DisableHWAcceleration from 0 to 1. You must know, This method only works if your PC supports hardware acceleration.
Many people have reported that the Change Settings option remains greyed out no matter what they do. Other people have complained of being unable to enjoy the advantages of hardware acceleration even with a dedicated GPU installed. Both problems are mainly due to the absence of graphics card drivers or corrupted/outdated drivers. If you are in the same boat, visit your graphic card manufacturer’s website and then download the up to date drivers for your hardware. Install them on your system (Windows), and everything should work fine.
