permamently disable intel hd

maybe this has been asked a hundread times but i couldn't find a relative topic...

I have an XPS 702x with 1920 matte screen (no 3D) and I'm experiencing lagging in Photoshop performance from time to time which i think is due to the intel hd graphics switching to nvidia and the opposite.

Is there a way to permanently disable the intel hd and use only nvidia? i tried switching to high performance plan but no difference. I tried to locate such an option in the BIOS, but there's none...
the intel icon is active in the notifications area and i can rotate the screen with ctr+alt+arrow, which is an intel hd option.

thanks

 

You can't eliminate it so to speak as the Intel always does the final output to the screen. That said, you can force the Nvidia card to do the grunt work.

Right-click on desktop, goto "Nvidia Control Panel". On the left, select the manage 3D settings option (something to that effect). You can then select which GPU will do the rendering on a global basis. On the second tab of that window, you can override that setting for a specific program. If Photoshop is what is giving you issues, leave the global setting on either auto-select or Intel graphics, and add Photoshop on the second tab to use the Nvidia. That way you are only using the extra power/heat when you are in Photoshop, and not say typing a Word document.

If you REALLY want you can set the global GPU to be Nvidia, but there really is no point to it. Just add the one or two programs that don't auto-detect properly to the exceptions list as I mentioned above.

BTW, the graphics processor choice does not switch back and forth while you are in a program. I believe it selects the processor when you start the program, and that's it for that program, no constant switching.

There is nothing in BIOS (as you found), Optimus is software-only through the Nvidia drivers.

 

That is what bothers me. Why just include the Nvidia graphics chip what is the point of the Intel graphics chip.

 

The final output of Optimus is through Intel HD graphics, so it's not "possible" to turn it off permanently. Optimus is supposed to switch to the on board to save battery life if you aren't doing anything graphic intensive, and what's supposed to happen is when you are like gaming, it will switch over to the Nvidia. Plus all Sandy Bridge and beyond notebooks have graphics on die, even the quad core ones, so all laptops could theoretically support graphics switching if the OEM so chooses.

 

thanks for the advice everybody. i switched the default gpu for photoshop to be nvidia, but no difference... but the problem is not that big of a deal so i guess i'll have to live with it... what happens is that sometimes when i pan, or zoom the first 1-2 seconds are kind of laggish and then fluid - something that didn't happen on my old pavilion. i have 8gb ram and an ssd so that shouldnt be the problem either.

 

Hmmm. Have you tried updating drivers and making sure that the CPU/GPU isn't underclock(ing/ed)?

Wouldn't think that photoshop would cause significant lag if everything was working properly.

 

Go to your control panel and click on Desktop -> Display GPU activity and then when you open photoshop , check the indicator to make sure the GPU is using the nvidia card.

Also, idk what you're doing in photoshop but
go to photoshop edit->preferences->performance and disable/uncheck the opengl settings. see if that speeds up things.

 

I am confused myself.

I got the 14z and the 15z and it say I have to install the Dell driver first before I install the Nvidia drivers.

It has delicated graphic. Why do we still need this Intel video drives?

I cant find the Display GPU activity. Where is it?

 

All Sandy Bridge processors have the on board Intel graphics, and your laptops have discreet video so you'll need to install drivers for both.

 

In some rare cases, the manufacturer wires their HDMI/DPI port directly to the NVidia dGPU, bypassing the iGPU. If yours is implemented that way then it's possible to disable the iGPU after startup and allow the dGPU + external LCD to take over. Can check the NVidia control panel to see if externally connected LCDs appear in it's monitors section.

 

Why cant they make a switch so we can toggle between integrated VS delicated graphic? Just like the Sony Vaio Z for example that has it.

 

Having physical switching means they must use a mux to switch the LCD's LVDS lines b/w the dGPU and iGPU. That adds cost, complexity and requires some circuit board space to accomodate; all things that NVidia Optimus tried to eliminate. A Dell M4600/M6600 is one of the few Sandy Bridge systems that has a bios setting to allow dedicated dGPU functionality only, so it too internally uses a mux.

 

learn something new everyday. I'd like to add that i like what the laptop does (switching between nvidia and intel). It helps save power (longer lasting laptop) and all that extra stuff is just more unnecessary things to break later on. but that's just me.

 

The W520 ThinkPad has the option to do Integrated, Discreet or Optimus in the BIOS which is the way it should be done. It all boils down to what your OEM wants for your machine.

 

How about 2x the battery life when not doing graphics-intensive tasks? That was a huge factor for me, 3 hours versus 6.5 is a major difference.

 

Yes now I understand. I don't run my laptop on battery it is plugged in all the time.