Wondering what the “hardware acceleration” setting does? Or if you should have it turned on or off? This depends on your GPU usage, find out more in this article!
What is Hardware Acceleration?
Hardware acceleration is a process that uses your computer's hardware, rather than the Shift software alone, to optimize Shift's performance. Hardware acceleration helps to 'shift' processing from the CPU to other hardware units in your device such as your GPU (graphics card).
When should I use Hardware Acceleration?
If you have a powerful and stable GPU, enabling hardware acceleration in Shift will allow you to utilize your GPU to its full extent when you're using multiple apps, extensions, and emails. Using hardware acceleration in Shift will allow you to browse through Shift and use media apps such as YouTube or Discord in a smoother fashion. Hardware Acceleration is enabled by default in Shift.
How to disable Hardware Acceleration in Shift
Hardware Acceleration is enabled by default in Shift. If you're experiencing high GPU usage, and want to avoid this, try disabling hardware acceleration in your settings. Here's how:
- Go to Quick Settings (top-right corner) Scroll down to Advanced Settings System
- Find "Use hardware acceleration when available" and disable it
- Click on the "Relaunch" option
*This GIF displays the Shift screen and following the steps listed above, going to settings and turning off hardware acceleration
What's next?
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