DR Studio 17 missing GPU decode/encode

Hello,

I am using DR 17.4.3 Studio version with older GPU Geforce 960 2GB (desktop).
Recently I´ve noticed, that DR stopped using GPU (decoding of H264/H265 not available in settings, GPU encoding also not available) and with CPU, workflow is really slow (I must now use proxy/optimized media everytime).
I know, that previously I had GPU decoding/encoding available. So I´ve tried to reinstall older versions of DR 17, but it didn´t helped. After reinstalling DR, I´ve saw in DR Quick Setup guide on HW compatibility check step, that GPU have yellow exclamation mark next to it. So I was suspecting GPU drivers...
I´ve noticed that around November 2021, my nVidia GPU drivers somehow was updated from Studio drivers to new version of Game drivers and now, Studio drivers are no longer available for Geforce 9xx generation. I´ve searched for some information why Studio drivers are no longer available, but I cannot find even older version of Studio drivers for my GPU. Like if nVidia deleted all tracks about Studio drivers for my GPU generation and made them available only for newer gen.

Are the Studio drivers necessary to use the GPU in DR or is my GPU really not supported anymore in newer DR version? Or is somebody aware what can cause this?

2GB VRAM is not enough. BMD has stated for a previous version of Resolve that a minimum of 3.5GB VRAM is required to enable hardware acceleration of those codecs, but it also depends on the timeline resolution.

Only 10-series GPU:s or later support Studio drivers, but Resolve runs fine with the normal drivers for older cards.

I have acceleration on my 960 4GB. I was never aware that Maxwell had Studio drivers because I was looking for them but found nothing.

Sent from my Mi 9T using Tapatalk

I have also been keeping an eye on Studio drivers since the very first release and I have never seen Studio drivers for the Maxwell generation.

2GB VRAM is not enough. BMD has stated for a previous version of Resolve that a minimum of 3.5GB VRAM is required to enable hardware acceleration of those codecs, but it also depends on the timeline resolution.

I have acceleration on my 960 4GB. I was never aware that Maxwell had Studio drivers because I was looking for them but found nothing.

So it will be caused by the VRAM? Even when on BMD Support Center, they say that for the latest version 17.4.3, minimum requirements are "Integrated GPU or discrete GPU with at least 2GB of VRAM". But I agree that my VRAM is really small for this kind of work.

I have also been keeping an eye on Studio drivers since the very first release and I have never seen Studio drivers for the Maxwell generation.

Well I am 100% sure that I had Studio drivers installed till the November 2021 (shame that I didn´t made any screenshot). I´ve once installed it with Geforce Experience software and then made many sucessfull driver updates. Then in November, out of nothing, my Studio switched to Game drivers and since then I couldn´t find any trace about Studio drivers for Maxwell (either nVidia is hiding something or pushing people to upgrade to non-available new models).

The Nvidia website only shows Game ready drivers dating back to July 2021. There are no Studio drivers listed at all.

Right, that's just the search parameter, you have always been able to select it but it's never returned any results.

I have acceleration on my 960 4GB. I was never aware that Maxwell had Studio drivers because I was looking for them but found nothing.

So it will be caused by the VRAM? Even when on BMD Support Center, they say that for the latest version 17.4.3, minimum requirements are "Integrated GPU or discrete GPU with at least 2GB of VRAM". But I agree that my VRAM is really small for this kind of work.

That is actually correct, the minimal amount of RAM refers to image processing, not codec decoding/encoding which can still be decoded by the CPU so a 2GB GPU will work fully...

I had a GT 1030 with 2GB VRAM but really can't remember if HW decodog was available, but I think not...not sure...perhaps I'll install it sometime to check

The Nvidia website only shows Game ready drivers dating back to July 2021. There are no Studio drivers listed at all.

Yes, I am aware of no Studio drivers availability on nVidia website. But I´ve always used nVidia Geforce Experience which makes whole update driver process faster and automated.
Maybe nVidia had some "bug" in their Geforce Experience software which allowed to search and install Studio drivers for unsupported Maxwell generation and now they fixed it.
I don´t want to create conspiracy theories, but I wish that I had created some proof, that I really had Studio drivers.

Anyway, my conclusion from this is, that missing GPU decoding/encoding is caused by low VRAM on my GPU and I need at least 4GB of VRAM. Studio drivers are not necessary for correct GPU acceleration.
Can you please point me to version of DR, which had lower GPU VRAM requirements?

In terms of H.264 acceleration I don't expect an older version to help since the GPU memory requirement comes from the dimensions of the video frame.

Previously I had working GPU decoding/encoding with similar video clips (same device, resolution -1080p and H264 codec settings). Since then, only 2 things changed - my DR version and GPU driver version.
And GPU decoding can be enabled in main program settings (not in project settings), so I would assume that its availability is not caused by video clips parameters in project, since it´s not available even in empty project.