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My X51 uses the Intel GPU by default, causing poor gaming performance
Hi all,
I have an X51, I purchased it to play games. I was initially devastated when I put my loaded my first game (an MMO called The Secret World), logged in and got a message that says "your system does not meet the performance specs, it only has 64mb VRAM". The system was a day old, and the MMO was telling me it was a dud! This cannot be right...
Then I loaded my second MMO (this one is old...like 8 years old). And that MMO that also had problems the minute I tried to run it (crashing). So I ran a diagnostics report and sent it to their customer support, and they replied saying "The video device, Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000, may lack the raw power to run the game."
So for some reason, my X51 is using the Intel GPU, instead of the GeForce GPU, to play games.
I have tried all manner of ways to force the system to use the GeForce GPU. This includes using the NVidia control panel and messing with the Windows control panel. I also disabled the Intel hoping it would force it to the GeForce. What happened is the screen went black,
My work-around solution was to set up two screens, because I found by experimenting that when you have two, you can get the second one to use the GeForce. So if I run my games on screen 2, and it works.
But is it possible to make it use the GeForce as default on a single screen?
Thanks for any advice/input.
DELL-Chris M
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September 13th, 2012 09:00
Solifugae,
To what port on the back of the X51 is the monitor connected?
Solifugae
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September 13th, 2012 16:00
Hi thanks for the question, I was using the HDMI for single screen. For dual screen I am using HDMI + DVI-D.
DELL-Chris M
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September 13th, 2012 17:00
Apologies. The X51 has an onboard HDMI port which is the Intel. What ports do you see on the add-in video card? Ideally, you want both monitors connected to the add-in video card. So in your current configuration, is there a monitor connected tot he onboard HDMI port?
Solifugae
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September 14th, 2012 04:00
If the HDMI is hard wired to the Intel, this explains it I guess. So any time I use the HDMI, the game will run using the Intel 4000, which is why I get the problems. That is a shame, but at least it explains it. There is no other HDMI output for the GeForce.
Note to self: Do not use HDMI!
Thanks for your help, I can go back to single screen using DVI-D.
Taomyn
131 Posts
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September 14th, 2012 09:00
Actually not true - the best way is to use the HDMI if you only have a single screen. The system should take care of the switching itself as long as the nVidia drivers are correctly installed. This technology is called Optimus more commonly found on laptops. This is how I use mine and it works perfectly.
It's useful as it allows you to surf, watch movies using the Intel graphics which affords you a quieter system, and then it will kick over to the faster, noisier nVidia when you need the better graphics. It seems this part isn't working.
You need to check in the nVidia control panel that the option for "Preferred graphics processor" should be "Auto-select", then it will in theory choose the correct GPU. If it doesn't it could be one of two things:
1. There is no profile for your game/application so the driver doesn't know which to choose
2. There's a profile but it's incorrect
The easiest way to fix 1. is to find the the icon for you game, right-click it and choose "Run with graphics processor..." and choose the nVidia GPU (you can also set it as default if you want). If this option does not show, check in the nVidia control panel under the top menu "Desktop", and enable the menu there.
To fix 2. you need to look in the other 3D settings tab of the nVidia control panel, find the game in the list and amend it. It's here you can also fix 1. by adding a profile manually.
Hopefully that should help you get the best use out of your X51's GPUs.