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Question
Thursday, June 13, 2019 4:32 PM
I noticed in Office (Outlook 2019 specifically) that there is an Advanced Option named "disable hardware graphics acceleration". What is this setting for? When it isnt checked, i assume that "hardware graphics acceleration" is enabled by default. What do i get with it enabled? What would change if i disabled it? What do IT Pros normally do in their shops.
FWIW, i prefer the "best looking/best appearance" OVER "best performance" so i dont want to disable it if there isnt a reason.
The reason i ask is that users are reporting occasional lags in typing emails, documents, etc in Office. The user is typing but suddenly the letters stop showing up in the message/document. After about 10 seconds, the letters catch back up with the user (who hasnt stopped typing). I noticed this happening on my machine in two different cases:
1. the Windows 10 background is changing when the lag occurs. I have mine set to change every 30 minutes and that is when the lag happens
2. I get a notification on the bottom right-hand corner of screen.
Do y'all think it is the "hardware graphics acceleration"? If so, why? What would i not get if i disabled it? And if it isnt related to that, what else could the lag be attributed to?
Thank you!!
All replies (8)
Friday, June 14, 2019 2:39 AM
Hi,
Office 2013 and later versions use a more efficient and accelerated method to draw the Office UI and the content. This includes relying on hardware acceleration, which is managed through the operating system. The hardware acceleration function of the operating system relies on up-to-date and compatible display drivers. For more information, read Display issues in Office client applications.
Hardware graphics acceleration in Office enables the computer hardware to perform graphics functions to increase performance so that making a user in an enjoyable experience. While, if you’re facing these issues like crashing of Office program or not running properly and freezing every now and then; the texts display blurry or the performance of an Office program is reduced. In these instances, you can fix these problems by disabling hardware acceleration.
In simple terms, the term Hardware Acceleration means using computer’s hardware for performing a certain task and function faster than would be possible using a software. This also allows for smooth rendering of graphics. In most processors, instructions are executed sequentially, i.e., one by one, but you can perform them faster if you modify the same process a bit using some technique. The idea is to move all graphics and text rendering from the Central Processing Unit to the Graphics Processing Unit. The idea is to speed up graphics performance and the rendering by moving it from the CPU to the GPU, thereby getting better performance.
Sometimes loosely called as graphics accelerators or floating-point accelerators, hardware accelerators can improve the performance of an application significantly. The term Hardware Accelerator has now been loosely replaced by more common and less descriptive terms such as graphics cards and video cards.
While the settings are best left at their default values in Windows, you can if you wish to, turn off or disable Hardware Graphics Acceleration or reduce Hardware Acceleration. Turning off the Hardware Acceleration completely will run the application in software rendering mode’.
Using hardware acceleration may increase the burden on the GPU and cause problems in the system display. This may be the cause of the problem you have encountered.
Hope the information was helpful. Anything unclear, feel free to post back to let us know.
Best Regards,
Herb
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected].
Click here to learn more. Visit the dedicated forum to share, explore and talk to experts about Microsoft Office 2019.
Tuesday, June 18, 2019 12:58 AM
Hi,
I am checking the status of this issue. Do you have any update for it?
If my reply is helpful to this question, please remember to mark it as answer. Your action would be helpful to other users who encounter the same issue and read this thread. Thanks for your understanding.
Anything unclear or any questions, feel free to post them back to let us know. I will be glad to follow up and help you.
Best Regards,
Herb
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected].
Click here to learn more. Visit the dedicated forum to share, explore and talk to experts about Microsoft Office 2019.
Thursday, June 27, 2019 6:59 PM
Thank you Herb. That was one of the most helpful explanations i have ever recieved on these forums. Well done.
Question: is there a rule of thumb for when a graphics card should be able to handle the burden of Office hardware acceleration? How do i know when i am getting close to the threshold of what the graphics card can handle, and thus need to disable hardware acceleration in Office? And are there ways to improve how Office uses the graphics card, so we can keep hardware acceleration enabled? Is there a list of graphics cards that can handle Office hardware acceleration? For example, most of our computers have Intel Graphics Cards in them, but a few have been upgraded to discrete Nvidia quadro K600 cards.
Thanks!
Friday, June 28, 2019 9:20 AM | 1 vote
Hi,
I'm glad to hear my reply is helpful.
You can keep hardware acceleration enabled. Generally, there is no issue when Office work with the the majority of graphics cards if they meet Graphics requirements for Office. The article mentioned that Office can automatically disable of hardware acceleration for some video cards :
*By default, hardware acceleration is automatically disabled in Office programs if certain video card and video card driver combinations are detected when you start an Office program. If hardware acceleration is automatically disabled by the program, nothing indicates that this change occurred. However, if you update your video card driver and it is more compatible with Office, hardware acceleration is automatically reenabled. *
The list of video card/video driver combinations that trigger this automatic disabling of hardware graphics acceleration is not documented because the list is hard-coded in the Office programs and will be constantly changing as we discover additional video combinations that cause problems in Office programs.
If display issues occur, you can manually disable hardware acceleration as a troubleshooting step.
Please note：This thread has been around for a long time. Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped. Your action would be helpful to other users who encounter the same issue and read this thread. Your contribution is highly appreciated.
Thank you for understanding!
Best Regards,
Herb
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected].
Click here to learn more. Visit the dedicated forum to share, explore and talk to experts about Microsoft Office 2019.
Friday, July 5, 2019 1:17 AM
Hi,
This thread has been around for a long time. Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped. Your action would be helpful to other users who encounter the same issue and read this thread.
Thank you for understanding!
Best Regards,
Herb
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected].
Click here to learn more. Visit the dedicated forum to share, explore and talk to experts about Microsoft Office 2019.
Monday, July 8, 2019 3:05 PM
Thank you Herb. One more note and another question.
I have noticed that Outlook is repainting the calendar every-time something in my display changes (wallpaper change, color change). And the more calendars i have selected, the longer the repainting takes. For example:
- one calendar selected - takes a few seconds to repaint Outlook window
- two calendars selected - takes about 5 seconds
- three calendars selected - takes about 10 seconds to repaint.
While Outlook is repainting the screen, all other Outlook functions are halted (typing in a new email, for example). All other apps are fine though and not impacted, including Word and Excel.
I tried disabling hardware graphics acceleration in Outlook but it made no difference. Is this a hardware acceleration issue, or something else?
Tuesday, July 9, 2019 1:32 AM
Hi,
Considering your question is mainly related to Outlook, I suggest you create a new thread in Outlook Forum to post your questions. It's a better place for you to get help.
I need your help now. This thread has been around for a long time. Please remember to mark my reply as answer if your question was answered appropriately. It will benefit all community members who are facing similar issues. Your contribution is highly appreciated.
Thanks for your kind understanding.
Best Regards,
Herb
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected].
Click here to learn more. Visit the dedicated forum to share, explore and talk to experts about Microsoft Office 2019.
Tuesday, July 14, 2020 10:59 AM
Why hardware acceleration causes graphics/performance problem when it is designed for better user experience.?