@Firedog121 I'm not sure what Fn+F7 does on that laptop (or even what the "R17 4" model is -- was that supposed to be 17 R4?), but function keys wouldn't relate to what Oculus Support is talking about. The issue with most laptops is that even if they have a discrete GPU, most or all of the display outputs are still physically wired to the integrated GPU, and the discrete GPU when needed runs as a "render only" device that passes completed video frames to the Intel GPU for output to the displays. This technology is called NVIDIA Optimus. The main reason for this is battery life so that the discrete GPU can be completely disabled when nothing is going on that requires its performance. If the display outputs were wired to the discrete GPU, then it would need to remain active whenever any display was attached to those outputs, even if nothing graphics-intensive was going on.
The drawback to Optimus is that there are certain technologies that the Intel GPU doesn't support passing through and/or that require the NVIDIA GPU to have direct control of the display output, such as G-Sync and VR. Those technologies and some others can't be used when the display is connected to an output that's physically wired to the Intel GPU. And again, this is a hardware design question, not something that you'd toggle. The only toggle that SOME systems offer is a BIOS option that allows you to choose which GPU has direct control of which outputs. Newer Precision 7000 Series models offer this, but that's only possible if the motherboard design has some components that facilitate this, and I don't think Alienware systems do.
All that said, I know that on some gaming-oriented systems, at least some display outputs are directly wired to the discrete GPU specifically so that technologies such as G-Sync and VR can be used on those systems. However, in terms of VR, some Dell systems only have the HDMI output wired that way because they were designed back when all VR headsets used HDMI, and their Mini-DisplayPort and USB-C outputs remained wired to the Intel GPU. That of course became a problem when the Rift S arrived and required a DisplayPort signal. I believe the latest Alienware systems that have a Mini-DisplayPort output have it wired to the NVIDIA GPU, but I'm not sure about the setup of the 17 R4 specifically.
If you want to try to find out how your system is wired, go to NVIDIA Control Panel and select the PhysX Configuration section. In there you should see a diagram of which display outputs are connected to which GPU. It might only show display outputs that actually have a display attached, so make sure you've got something connected to that Mini-DisplayPort output. If you still don't see it even with your Rift S connected, try connecting a regular display to that output if possible. If you find that the Mini-DisplayPort output is wired to the Intel GPU, then unless you find a BIOS option like I described, the Rift S simply won't work with that system. If on the other hand you find that the Mini-DisplayPort output is wired to the NVIDIA GPU, then your issue has some other underlying cause, but you can at least go back to Oculus Support with that information.
jphughan
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14K Posts
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March 13th, 2020 09:00
@Firedog121 I'm not sure what Fn+F7 does on that laptop (or even what the "R17 4" model is -- was that supposed to be 17 R4?), but function keys wouldn't relate to what Oculus Support is talking about. The issue with most laptops is that even if they have a discrete GPU, most or all of the display outputs are still physically wired to the integrated GPU, and the discrete GPU when needed runs as a "render only" device that passes completed video frames to the Intel GPU for output to the displays. This technology is called NVIDIA Optimus. The main reason for this is battery life so that the discrete GPU can be completely disabled when nothing is going on that requires its performance. If the display outputs were wired to the discrete GPU, then it would need to remain active whenever any display was attached to those outputs, even if nothing graphics-intensive was going on.
The drawback to Optimus is that there are certain technologies that the Intel GPU doesn't support passing through and/or that require the NVIDIA GPU to have direct control of the display output, such as G-Sync and VR. Those technologies and some others can't be used when the display is connected to an output that's physically wired to the Intel GPU. And again, this is a hardware design question, not something that you'd toggle. The only toggle that SOME systems offer is a BIOS option that allows you to choose which GPU has direct control of which outputs. Newer Precision 7000 Series models offer this, but that's only possible if the motherboard design has some components that facilitate this, and I don't think Alienware systems do.
All that said, I know that on some gaming-oriented systems, at least some display outputs are directly wired to the discrete GPU specifically so that technologies such as G-Sync and VR can be used on those systems. However, in terms of VR, some Dell systems only have the HDMI output wired that way because they were designed back when all VR headsets used HDMI, and their Mini-DisplayPort and USB-C outputs remained wired to the Intel GPU. That of course became a problem when the Rift S arrived and required a DisplayPort signal. I believe the latest Alienware systems that have a Mini-DisplayPort output have it wired to the NVIDIA GPU, but I'm not sure about the setup of the 17 R4 specifically.
If you want to try to find out how your system is wired, go to NVIDIA Control Panel and select the PhysX Configuration section. In there you should see a diagram of which display outputs are connected to which GPU. It might only show display outputs that actually have a display attached, so make sure you've got something connected to that Mini-DisplayPort output. If you still don't see it even with your Rift S connected, try connecting a regular display to that output if possible. If you find that the Mini-DisplayPort output is wired to the Intel GPU, then unless you find a BIOS option like I described, the Rift S simply won't work with that system. If on the other hand you find that the Mini-DisplayPort output is wired to the NVIDIA GPU, then your issue has some other underlying cause, but you can at least go back to Oculus Support with that information.