Right, PD14 is too old to support hardware encoding (NVENC) on any GPU because of the changes nVidia made back in 2018. The final driver with that functionaility was 411.70, and they're currently at 535.98. You can download it here if you want to try it.

Also, the GTX960M only has AVC/H.264 NVENC, so even with the older driver or with a newer version of PD, your "new" GPU can't be used for HEVC/H.265 encoding.

Quote Right, PD14 is too old to support hardware encoding (NVENC) on any GPU because of the changes nVidia made back in 2018. The final driver with that functionaility was 411.70, and they're currently at 535.98. You can download it here if you want to try it.

Also, the GTX960M only has AVC/H.264 NVENC, so even with the older driver or with a newer version of PD, your "new" GPU can't be used for HEVC/H.265 encoding.

Asoi817, don't download the driver linked in this post, it's not for your GPU. You said you have GTX 960M, that post is for a discrete GTX 960, not the mobile version.

Depending on laptop BIOS functionality, if you can turn off the iGPU, if not it's really difficult to get PD14 to function correctly with the secondary GPU even with the proper older driver as PD14 was never updated. Newer PD versions will let you at least specify secondary GPU for encoding, but primary GPU, the iGPU if enabled, will still be used for timeline and such.

Jeff

Thank you both for the replies. JL_JL, would disabling the integrated graphics in device manager achieve the same end as going through BIOS? Also, I would assume disbaling to would help out the CPU, but would making the GPU responsible for all graphic content on the system bog it down?

Thanks for pointing out that my earlier link was not for any embedded/mobile GPUs. This is the proper driver for them.

Quote Thank you both for the replies. JL_JL, would disabling the integrated graphics in device manager achieve the same end as going through BIOS? Also, I would assume disbaling to would help out the CPU, but would making the GPU responsible for all graphic content on the system bog it down?

It really depends on the laptop MB configuration and what circuitry the OEM provides. For some laptops, the iGPU needs to be functional, all graphic traffic goes through it. Disabling it disables unique drivers for say Quick Sync, however it will simply use Windows vga drivers. If not, one gets a black screen and you need to clear CMOS to remedy. So there is not a yes, do this approach, it depends on the laptop.

The most effective way to utilize the dGPU for all of PD14 functionality that results in no other significant downside is to disable iGPU in BIOS for those laptops that support. The only downside of this is lower battery life.

I'm not sure what CPU is in your laptop, but the use of the 960m for encoding is really kind of a bust depending on what type of videos you produce. You are talking 7+ year old GPU technology which for GPU's is an eternity.

What is your performance pinch point in your PD14 video editing tasks that you are trying to improve?

Jeff

My CPU is an i7 6700HQ. I'm not expecting to rip through 4k video like I have a 3090, but my previous setup was a putrid i7-5500u with 5500 hd graphics, so I'm just looking for improvement without busting the bank. I won't be working with anything over 1080p so I should at least see fairly significant gains over my previous setup should I get the GPU to function, right?

Quote My CPU is an i7 6700HQ. I'm not expecting to rip through 4k video like I have a 3090, but my previous setup was a putrid i7-5500u with 5500 hd graphics, so I'm just looking for improvement without busting the bank. I won't be working with anything over 1080p so I should at least see fairly significant gains over my previous setup should I get the GPU to function, right?

Unfortunately you didn't indicate any editing pinch points like timeline playback fluidity, produce time, color grading, so on to get any idea of benefit. Yes, your new CPU should show reasonable gains over your prior setup.

I'd probably be happy with your faster CPU than previous and simply utilize the Intel 530 graphics and use QuickSync as appropriate for your encoding needs.

Jeff