Hardware acceleration is the process of transferring a computing task from your computer’s software to specific hardware components. The goal of this is to improve either speed or performance, usually both, of an application in question. Hardware acceleration performs a complicated task that would otherwise require your CPU and delegates it to hardware components that are master of a particular trade but can do it with ease and can reduce processing time and improve performance.

For example, in video editing/rendering programs Hardware acceleration is used to transfer complex processes such as 3D rendering and complex animation from the central processor to a dedicated graphics processor. This lets the GPU to complete these tasks faster and more efficiently than the CPU. Overall program performance is enhanced.

The same principle is used in web browsers, with the majority now using hardware acceleration by default. This results in faster page loading speeds, smoother animations, as well as http://silminds.com/news/ higher frame rates for games. It reduces CPU use on mobile devices, and also saves energy.

There are also negatives. For instance, if it is apparent that your computer has trouble handling the demands of hardware acceleration (often considered to be lag), then you may be able to turn off the acceleration. To do so, open Chrome and type chrome://flags in your address bar. Then move the Override software rendering slider entirely toward None. You might be asked to restart your browser. Daisy is a Senior Editor for EaseUS and has been writing for more than 10 years.