DaVinci Resolve is a video editing platform with a number of features. The powerful application is able to perform color grading, cutting, keyframing, and includes a bunch of audio tools. This is why, loading up DaVinci Resolve only to be met with the ‘No OpenCL capable GPU found’ error message is a massive annoyance for any user. In this article, we’ll guide you through the steps of how to fix this issue, looking at installing a DDU, updating your drivers, and relaunching DaVinci Resolve, so you can get back to editing as soon as possible.
Quick Answer
Fixing DaVinci Resolve’s ‘No OpenCL capable GPU found’ error message, involves indentifying your GPU, seeing if it supports OpenCL, installing Display Driver Uninstaller, downloading new drivers, or updating your current ones.
DaVinci Resolve error message – OpenCL
OpenCL is the alternative to NVIDIA’s CUDA, a system designed to support other graphics cards from AMD or Intel. NVIDIA cards can do OpenCL, but it’s always just best to choose CUDA. OpenCL is a framework developed and maintained by Khronos Group. It’s intended for use in multiple applications to use the computing power available in a graphics card. Most commonly, it’s found in various video and graphics software, or 3D programs like Blender.
NVIDIA’s CUDA is simply an alternative, but the proprietary version of it with its own benefits. DaVinci Resolve requires OpenCL 1.2 minimum, meaning that if you don’t have hardware that’s from at least 2012, you’re probably out of luck. Finding the right GPU to facilitate the features of DaVinci Resolve is an important step in getting the most out of this platform. This is why, we created our best GPUs for DaVinci Resolve buying guide, where we list graphics cards that are the most compatible with this platform.
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The earliest date and hardware that supported OpenCL 1.2 is AMD’s A-5 Series APUs from 2012, if you still run these and are currently trying to load up Resolve, then instead take a look at our specifications page for our recommendations.
How to fix DaVinci Resolve no OpenCL capable GPU found error
What happens if you do have a compatible system, and are still faced with the ‘No OpenCL capable GPU found error’ message? Here are some steps to take:
Step
Figure out what GPU you have
If you’re unsure what GPU you’re currently running, you can go into Windows to check. Head to the Start Menu and navigate to Device Management. Here, we’re going to click ‘Display Adapters’ and see what the name of your card is called. You can then do a quick search about the card to see its details.
If you want to see more in-depth information without searching, GPU-Z from TechPowerUp is a great way to quickly see what’s actually running. At the bottom there’s a few check boxes to indicate what it can and can’t do. Hovering over the check box will give you a more detailed breakdown. If you don’t have this, then maybe it’s time to upgrade.
Step
Does your card support OpenCL?
By seeing the details of your GPU you can figure out if your card supports OpenCL.
If your GPU does not support OpenCL then it may be time for a graphics card update, or potentially to use an older version of DaVinci resolve, as a last resort.
Step
Install DDU
If you’re card does support OpenCL then you’ll need to update your drivers. But before you do that you can also try this method, which involves installing Display Driver Uninstaller.
Download the application and extract the file. DDU recommends you uninstall with Safe Mode, so before you reboot, download the drivers you want to reinstall. Keep them on the Desktop for now in a folder.
Step
Setup DDU
Following that, restart your PC into Safe Mode by holding shift while you press restart to be brought into the blue screen menu and choose Troubleshoot and Safe Mode in the Advanced Options and Start-Up Settings.
Safe Mode reboots your PC into a clean environment with no network connectivity. For more, you can follow our guides about it.
Once it loads up and you’ve launched DDU, you’ll want to head to the drop-down menu on the side and select your matching GPU
Step
Restart with DDU
There are three options for how you want to shut down the PC, but for now, we’re going to choose Clean and Restart, to prevent any black screen issues that might occur.
Windows will reboot and you’ll be met with an extra chunky-looking screen. This is because we’ve removed the drivers and Windows hasn’t reinstalled them.
Now choose the drivers you downloaded beforehand and install them.
Step
Update your drivers
The next method is to update your drivers. Back in Device Manager, locate your graphics card through Display Adapters, and then right-click.
Choose update drivers and have Windows automatically search for the right drivers needed for your card. Once updated, try Resolve again.
Step
Head to the Intel or AMD website
Sometimes Windows won’t find the driver, so you can always head to Intel or AMD’s website for the most up-to-date drivers if need be.
If you happen to have a laptop from HP, for example, you might need to browse their website for the specific driver implemented for that laptop.
You might even need an alternate driver, so try a couple of others if available.
Step
Relaunch DaVinci resolve
Go through the process and your PC will deal with the rest, don’t panic if it looks like it is about to go haywire.
Relaunch DaVinci Resolve and you should now be able to get through.
Again, if this issue still isn’t resolved after all of this, you will absolutely need to get in touch with the people at Blackmagic Design, who have a well-versed tech support team and forums.
Step
Use previous version of Resolve
If you happen to still run into issues related to DaVinci Resolve not detecting an OpenCL GPU, you’ll want to uninstall Resolve and roll back to a previous version.
To do this, simply uninstall the program as you would any other by heading to Control Panel, then Program and Features, and finally, uninstall.
Then, head to Blackmagic Design’s website in their support and locate a prior version to the current version of Resolve. That or you might need to update it, so do that instead.
Blackmagic has stored all the way back to Resolve 10 in 2014.
Is CUDA better than OpenCL?
Deciding between using CUDA and OpenCL could be the choice that takes your rig to the next level. Generally, CUDA is considered to be faster than OpenCL. Therefore, if you have a Nvidia card, using CUDA may be the right choice for you. However, OpenCL is very flexible and can be run on Intel, AMD, and Nvidia.
Wrapping up
Being confronted with an error message whilst using your favorite video editing platform is an annoyance that can interrupt the creative flow of your work. The ‘No OpenCL capable GPU found’ error message found by users whilst using DaVinci Resolve is an easy fix if you follow the helpful steps outlined in the guide above. Whether you decide to update your drivers or download new ones, you should be back to video editing in no time.
