17 R4, AGA not functioning correctly

Question

I recently got an AGA (Alienware Graphics Amplifier) for my 17 R4 with internal 1060 graphics card and a RTX 2080 in the amplifier. After plug in everything went smooth except that the internal graphics card (1060) is not disabled and when I try to disable it myself with device manager, all games stop recognizing and using the 2080. When I play game, it seems like that both cards are utilized but some of the games I play will crash upon launch (Star Craft 2). Not sure if this is a new feature with NVIDIA or is this just another glitch with the AGA.

Eimy_B · Answer

Hi @PRT SCRN,

Amplifier was not made for that card (it is not officially compatible). Issues may arise from its use. This said, the Amplifier does disable the internal card most times when a fully supported card is used. You can bypass any issues by connecting a monitor directly to the card in the Amplifier.

PRT SCRN · Answer

@Alienware-Eimy Thank you. I thought for the Version 1.5.0 System BIOS the NVidia 20x0 series graphics cards for Alienware Graphics Amp is supported and here is the link https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=F8RK2&osCode=WT64A&productCode=alienware-17-laptop

Eimy_B · Answer

Yes, that BIOS is indeed required for the Amplifier to recognize the card. However, there are many cards out there with the same name and being manufactured by several different companies. Then, it is not possible to confirm functionality of all versions of the same card. We recommend to try the monitor directly to the Amplifier if any issues arise from its use.

TomC69 · Answer

I have a 17r4 w/gtx1060 and AGA w/gtx1080ti and I can confirm that in order to get the best /stable performance you really need to connect an external gaming monitor to the card in your AGA, plus use your win10 display settings and only project to the external monitor. This is the only way you can bypass your internal intel igpu and maybe in your case, your internal gtx1060. Def worth trying imho. You probably also want to make sure that you are using the latest nvidia drivers that support the new 20 series gpu's.

There is a guy in another AGA forum that is using the new 20 series gpu (he's tried both the 2080 and 2080ti) so you may want to have a look over there;

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/official-alienware-graphics-amplifier-owners-lounge-and-benchmark-thread-all-13-15-and-17.770323/page-377

Good luck sorting this out.

PRT SCRN · Answer

Thank you for your information :)

I also asked the nvidia people about this, they said that in order for the laptop screen to work, the igpu must be on in order for the external graphics card to work. In other words, the 2 card must be on at the same time and if you disable the internal one, the external one would not be recognized. I'm not sure when alienware graph amp driver is going to update and how they are going to disable the internal graphics card for laptop screen.

@TomC69

Pootootooi · Answer

I noticed in another thread you mentioned that the card in the AGA and the internal card can't be used at the same time. When I purchased my amplifier, I through in a 1660 just to see how it works. for fun, I did some ethereum mining and was very pleased to see that BOTH the 1660 in the amplifier as well as the 2080 maxq in my laptop were both being utilized. That is no longer the case. It is one or the other now. How do I get back to that original state it was in?

MoNeart · Answer

I do 3d rendering, I want both GPU’s functioning too.

A51-06 · Answer

Hope it got fixed.

Alienware

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