Which GPU to use?

[Train27]

A couple of days ago a weird thought came to my mind about my laptop. So I have two gpus, a dedicated one (Nvidia GeForce GTX 950M) and an integrated one (Intel Iris Pro 6200) which, in theory, is equivalent to a mid-range dedicated graphics, something like a GTX 760.

 

The thing is, I'm not sure if I'm using the Nvidia graphics when I play my games or the Iris Pro. How can I see that on my computer?

The hunch comes from the regular performance on 2011~2014 games. For example, Borderlands 2 runs kinda fine (~45 fps) but when a lot of things are happening at once on the screen (new horde of enemies, lots of grenades...) it drops to ~20 fps. Also, for example, the game Sniper: Ghost Warrior doesn't run higher than 35~46fps. Both games are running at max settings.

 

Is my computer using the Iris Pro for everything? Am I not even using the Nvidia card? And how can I check that? Is my computer actually using it and that's the max performance I'll get out of it? Maybe I have overestimated my Nvidia card?

 

As always, thanks beforehand

[Castdeath97]

I would take a look at Nvidia's control panel and the rest of their driver suite to see what's up.

[Aereldor]

Consider manually disabling the iGPU through device manager before starting up a game.

Rule of thumb- if your performance is horrible, you're using the iGPU.

[I am an SSD]

3 minutes ago, Train27 said:

 

You can :-

 

1. Check under device manager-> display adapters to see whether the 950m is recognised

2. Download msi afterburner and check the graph to see whether you GPU is under load when playing games.

3. Check in your BIOS to see if you have the "enable discrete graphics" switched to yes.

[Train27]

So I found this looking over the Nvidia Control Panel:

Apparently it was set to "auto". Would it be enough to change it to Nvidia?

[I am an SSD]

Just now, Train27 said:

So I found this looking over the Nvidia Control Panel:

Apparently it was set to "auto". Would it be enough to change it to Nvidia?

Actually auto is fine....setting it to nvidia all the time will cause it to use too much power=poor battery life..

 

But if youre concerned try it out and see if you have a better performance

[Train27]

Just now, I am an SSD said:

Actually auto is fine....setting it to nvidia all the time will cause it to use too much power=poor battery life..

 

But if youre concerned try it out and see if you have a better performance

I was worried about that and so I asked

Apparently then... the optimal choice would be to manually select which programs do I want to use with Nvidia and which one with the iGPU, right?

I mean, like desktop management, windows and low-requirement games with the iGPU and more demanding games with the Nvidia card.

[I am an SSD]

Just now, Train27 said:

I was worried about that and so I asked

Apparently then... the optimal choice would be to manually select which programs do I want to use with Nvidia and which one with the iGPU, right?

I mean, like desktop management, windows and low-requirement games with the iGPU and more demanding games with the Nvidia card.

yes that would be a good choice.. Its just that the switching mechanism usually does fine with tasks like that. Did you see any improvement in gaming after switching it completely to Nvidia?

[Train27]

Haven't tried yet, I'll edit later with more info to see if it fixed it.

[Messisan321]

1 hour ago, Train27 said:

Haven't tried yet, I'll edit later with more info to see if it fixed it.

Youve tried it yet op?

[Train27]

3 hours ago, Messisan321 said:

Youve tried it yet op?

Sorry I was kinda busy. Yep, I tried it, no difference at all. Guess the automatic choice was doing it's job, maybe the gpu isn't powerfull enough to fluidly run the game at max settings.

However, if I lower the sight & rendering range the performance greatly increases