Video underperforming on E6540

Question

I recently bought a Latitude E6540, which I chose because I thought it would have the best compromise between my need for fairly fast video performance and my need to be able to use my power bank with it when out and about, which can only work with laptops that draw under 5A current (thus ruling out all of the Precision series). It also has a 1TB Flash drive (and no solid state drive), which I thought would also help with the video performance. However, when I try to record an HD video of myself with a 24fps frame rate, using a Logitech C922 webcam and Logitech Capture video software, it starts recording okay but a minute or two after I've started to record myself, it displays a message saying that my machine's performance isn't optimised for use with Logitech Capture and that I should try a lower resolution. But I don't want to try a lower resolution - I want to record in HD. As it records okay for a minute or two before displaying this message I am hoping that my settings only need a bit of tweaking in order to perform adequately and that it's just that the power management isn't set to take full advantage of the speed of the video controller. I did see a thread here: https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General-Read-Only/Latitude-E6540-with-BOTH-Intel-and-AMD-Graphics-Controllers/m-p/4192232#M761219 that I thought might offer a solution, but I don't understand the first line of the post that is supposed to be the solution: 'Follow the steps to open the 'Catalyst Control Center''. Where do I find the Catalyst Control Center? There's also a Dell article here: https://www.dell.com/support/article/en-uk/sln292964/latitude-e6540-system-only-utilizes-the-intel-gpu-and-not-the-amd-gpu?lang=en that seems to be saying essentially the same thing, but it doesn't say where the Catalyst Control Center is either. Can anyone help? Also I used to be able to insert hypertext links when posting to this forum, using a button - but there are no buttons visible when I try to post here today, so I've had to put the hyperlinks above in as urls separate from the text - what's happened to the button? Dave

U2CAMEB4ME · Answer

Welcome to the Dell Community @Dave_Rado

Assuming your running W10 install these 2 drivers in order.

Intel HD Graphics 4000, 5000, 500, and P500 series Driver:

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=www9y&oscode=wt64a&productcode=latitude-e6540-laptop

AMD Radeon HD 8790M Graphics Driver:

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=cyt1r&oscode=wt64a&productcode=latitude-e6540-laptop

If asked to install any “Catalyst Control Center” type of software say "YES"

Reboot.

Right click on your desktop to see if "Catalyst Control" is installed.

I have NVIDIA installed on my system so it shows "NVIDIA Control Panel"

Best regards,

U2

Dave_Rado · Answer

Hi nyc10036 I explained in my original post that it needs to draw a current of less than 5A in order to work with my power bank. Also, it needs to have a VGA port and many more modern ones don't. But it should be possible to get it working - I included two links in my original post which appear to contain a solution to my problem, but as I explained in my original post, I need help in understanding what they mean. Dave

Dave_Rado · Answer

PPS - I received a private message from 'DELL-Cares' asking for my service tag number, but although there was a textbox on the private message webpage where I could type a reply, there was no Submit button!!

nyc10036 · Answer

The E6540 is several generations old.    It is odd to me you would deliberately buy such a laptop for such video intensive work.   .

Dave_Rado · Answer

PS - The whole of my previous post has been merged into a single paragraph, making it almost unreadable! I posted it as 6 paragraphs. What's happened to this forum? Dave

ejn63 · Answer

The CCC should show up in the context sensitive properties menu for applications (usually at the bottom). If it's not there, reinstall the AMD driver package and see if it shows up then.

ejn63 · Answer

Let's step back first:

This is a seven year old system, so we'll have to assume it's "new to you" but was purchased used.

First thing to do is verify that your system does have the optional AMD GPU -- and these were indeed optional when the systems were new. It's also an option that few buyers select; the vast majority of these were shipped with UMA mainboards - i.e., Intel-only video.

Look in the control panel under Display Adapters. You should see two entries: one for Intel and the other for AMD. If there's just one, it means your system has only an Intel GPU.

If both adapters are present, verify that both have drivers correctly loaded. Then you should be able to right-click on the application as noted and choose the AMD GPU for the Logitech application.

Further in the "advisory" category - even with the AMD GPU this system is going to be unsuitable or marginal for recording in HD. The CPU is of an older generation, and that GPU, while more capable than the integrated Intel one, is decade-old technology.

Dave_Rado · Answer

Hi Hi @U2CAMEB4ME Both drivers are listed in Device Manager, but I can't find the 'Catalyst Control Center' Should I definitely resinstall both drivers? Dave Hi @ejn63 Yes the AMD driver is listed in Device Manager (as well as the Intel one) - and if I right-click the AMD one it says 'This device is working properly' - I presume that's what you mean by 'correctly loaded'? But I don't know what you mean by 'right-click on the application as noted' - if you mean the 'Catalyst Control Center', I don't know where to find it. It's not on my Desktop and I've done a search in File Explorer for the word 'Catalyst' in Start Menu/Programs, in both all users and this user - and Windows didn't find anything. Should I reinstall both drivers as suggested by U2CAMEB4ME? Dave

Dave_Rado · Answer

Hi @ejn63 I've already downloaded the drivers using the links that @U2CAMEB4ME provided which were as follows: Intel HD Graphics 4000, 5000, 500, and P500 series Driver: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-uk/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=www9y&oscode=wt64a&productcode=latitude-e6540-laptop AMD Radeon HD 8790M Graphics Driver: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-uk/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=cyt1r&oscode=wt64a&productcode=latitude-e6540-laptop I have already reinstalled the Intel driver and am in the process of trying to install the AMD driver. During the installation, the dialog shown in my screen capture at https://iili.io/2qtvyP.png is being displayed., with an error message What does the error message mean and can I safely ignore it and click Next? Or if not what should I do about it? Dave

Dave_Rado · Answer

I keep posting a reply but my reply isn't appearing in the thread - what's happening?

Dave_Rado · Answer

I'm trying to post my reply that keeps being blocked again. This time I'm missing a bit out in case it's the cause of my post being blocked. I'm trying to reinstall the AMD driver package and am getting the dialog shown at https://iili.io/2qtvyP.png . What does the error message mean and can I safely ignore it and click Next? Or if not what should I do about it? Dave

ejn63 · Answer

Drivers: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/latitude-e6540-laptop/drivers

Dave_Rado · Answer

My reply saying that my reply hasn't appeared in this thread appeared as soon as I posted it, but the reply that I've actually been trying to post still hasn't appeared in this thread although I've posted it twice. What could be stopping it from appearing?

Dave_Rado · Answer

I'm in the process of trying to reinstall the AMD driver package and I am getting the dialog box shown in the screen capture here: https://iili.io/2qtvyP.png I don't understand what it means by: 'Access Denied You don't have permission to access ' http://www.amd.com/en/support' on this server. Reference #18.4d9a7a5c.1600023888.2195d154' Is the 'access denied' message important and if so what should I do about it? Or can I just ignore it and click 'Next' in the dialog? Dave

ejn63 · Answer

Keep going.  Given that his is a 7-year old system and 5-year old driver, it's probably that the web page it's looking for just no longer exists.

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Video underperforming on E6540

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