Can I upscale video with AI without an NVIDIA graphics card?

Many AI video tools are built on NVIDIA's CUDA, so they need an NVIDIA card. AI Video Upscaler+ is built on Microsoft's DirectML instead. Here is what that means for your PC.

Short answer

Do I need an NVIDIA card for AI video upscaling?

No. AI Video Upscaler+ runs on Intel, AMD and NVIDIA graphics, even integrated laptop GPUs.

AI Video Upscaler+ runs its AI models (Real-ESRGAN, RIFE and GFPGAN) through Microsoft DirectML and ONNX Runtime, the official Windows path for AI on any graphics card. If your GPU supports DirectX 12, it can run the app.

  • NVIDIAGeForce and RTX cards. No CUDA install needed.
  • AMDRadeon cards and Radeon integrated graphics.
  • IntelIntel UHD / Iris Xe integrated graphics and Intel Arc.
  • OfflineAll models ship inside the app. No internet needed to process.

Real numbers

Tested on a laptop with integrated graphics only

All of our sample videos were made on an ordinary laptop with an Intel Core i7-11800H, Intel UHD integrated graphics and 16 GB RAM, with no dedicated graphics card. Each clip took about 10–12 minutes: 720p to 4K, 30 to 60 fps, face restoration, and an old phone video upscaled and made smooth in one pass. See the before & after samples.

Two graphics cards?

Choose which GPU does the work

  1. Open SettingsIn AI Video Upscaler+, open Settings from the left menu.
  2. Pick the GPUUnder Performance → GPU, choose the card you want, usually the dedicated one on gaming laptops.
  3. Restart the appThe change takes effect after you restart AI Video Upscaler+.

Tips

How to make it faster on a laptop

  • Trim first. Use Trim / Rotate to process only the part you need.
  • Pick the size you need. 1080p or 1440p finishes much sooner than 4K or 8K.
  • Face restoration only when it matters. It runs on every frame and adds time.
  • Plug in your laptop. On battery, Windows may slow down the GPU to save power.
  • Queue and walk away. Add several videos; they process one after another in the background, and a notification tells you when each is ready.
Get AI Video Upscaler+ free on Microsoft Store See before & after samples

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