Help with Inspiron N5110 graphics issue :(

Hey :)

I am having trouble with my Dell Inspiron 15R N5110. My OS is Windows 7 64-bit.

The issue is to do with the video card. From what I am aware, the laptop comes with a discrete 1gb nVidia GEforce GT525m graphics card, alongside the basic Intel (R) HD Graphics Family that comes standard.

The problem I face is that I cannot seem to find evidence of the GEforce card anywhere: system checks, device manager....nowhere does it say that I have such a card onboard.

However, as a discrete card should, when I attempt to play quite taxing graphical games (The Darkness 2 etc.) my laptop runs them, indicating that the 64mb Intel card has been replaced by the discrete 1gb GEforce card, as for example The Darkness 2 requires a minimum graphic capability of 512mb.

I'm really running out of options now. Everyone online claims it should appear under device manager, and if it doesnt then all I have is the Intel card. Yet I can run quite powerful applications far beyond the Intel chip's capacity. I've also read much about the so called nVidia control panel or 'Optimus', and yet I do not have either of these on the computer either. I cannot install the latest GEforce drivers as the installs never recognise that the GT525m exists.

I sincerely hope that you guys can help me out on this one, as nobody else can.

Thanks,
Nick