If you’re a gamer or someone who relies on graphics-intensive tasks, you know how important it is to have your GPU working correctly. However, there are times when your system may not be using your dedicated GPU, and instead, it is using the integrated graphics instead, which can lead to a significant loss in performance. In this article, we’ll show you how to make sure your GPU is being used.
First, you need to check what graphics card your system has. On Windows, click on Windows Key + X, and then click on Device Manager. In the Device Manager, you can see your Display Adapters, which will show you the graphics card you have. If you see an Intel HD Graphics and an NVIDIA GeForce graphics card, then you have both.
It is important to understand that the graphics card is a physical component inside your computer. If you don’t have a dedicated graphics card, you can’t download or install an NVIDIA card. Intel graphics are integrated into your processor. NVIDIA is a company that makes graphics cards. If you have a physical NVIDIA card installed, you can install an NVIDIA driver. If you have both integrated and dedicated graphics cards, the system may use the integrated graphics by default.
To switch from Intel to NVIDIA graphics, right-click on your desktop and go to the NVIDIA Control Panel. From there, go to Manage 3D Settings. Under Global Settings, select Preferred Graphics Processor, and choose the high-performance NVIDIA processor. Click Apply. If some programs require you to use the integrated graphics of your motherboard, like OBS, go to Program Settings and set it to integrated graphics. Otherwise, make sure that the preferred graphics processor is NVIDIA.
For desktop computers, it is essential to connect the display to the graphics card. If you connect it to the motherboard, you will bypass the NVIDIA card, and the system will use the integrated graphics instead. This can lead to a significant loss in performance.
In some cases, your integrated graphics card may be set as the default or preferred one in BIOS. If this is the case, you need to change it in the BIOS settings.
In conclusion, if you want to make sure your GPU is being used, you need to check if you have a dedicated graphics card installed and connect your display to it if you do. Then, you need to make sure that your system is using the preferred graphics processor, which is your NVIDIA card. This way, you can have the best performance possible.