GPU not listed in BIOS or Device Manager

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Melmione

Melmione

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Apr 16, 2016
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I was thinking of upgrading to a better laptop when I noticed the Nvidia GeForce sticker next to the touchpad. I figured I'd been using the default Intel GPU all this time when I could've had something way better! Yet it's nowhere to be found. I downloaded the latest driver that's compatible with my laptop, but the control panel immediately told me that it couldn't "find compatible graphics hardware". Only the Intel HD 4600 is listed under Display Adapters in Device Manager, and there's no mention of anything related to video, graphics, or GPUs at all in BIOS. I downloaded Speccy and it has no mention of Nvidia, either. What's up with that?

My computer specs:

  • HP Envy 15t-j100
    Intel Core i7 4700MQ
    12GB DDR3
    Windows 10 64-bit (recently installed and updated)
    AC Adapter 90W
It's possible that HP has pulled a fast one and marketed with some false advertising, but before I throw in the towel, is there something else I can do?
 
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weberdarren97

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Aug 10, 2015
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It is possible that the Nvidia graphics are an upgrade that can be purchased separately... I found the laptop on HP's website but when I try to view the specifications the page stops loading, so I can't really help you here.

To answer your question about marketing, they may have marketed it as "this laptop is compatible with this upgrade"
 
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joshmoyer

joshmoyer

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Jun 13, 2015
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Yeah this. If its not showing up, its likely not there. Check the documentation with your laptop and see if it mentions it. (given you kept the book, check the website if not.) Other than that i cant think of a way to check without physically taking it apart and looking
 
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Melmione

Melmione

Commendable
Apr 16, 2016
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That's a good point. It's possible the laptop is compatible with an nVidia GPU, but didn't come installed with one.


The online documentation user guides tell me this:

Internal graphics:

  • Intel HD Graphics 4600 on computer models equipped with a Quad Core processor
Switchable Discrete Graphics:

  • nVidia N14P-GT GeForce 750M with 4096 MB of dedicated video memory (256 MB×16 DDR3 1 GHz×8PCs)
    nVidia N14P-GV2 GeForce 740M with 2048 MB of dedicated video memory (128 MB×16 DDR3 1 GHz×8PCs)
    N15S-GT GeForce 840M with 2048 MB of dedicated video memory (256 MBx16 DDR3 960 MHz x 4 pcs, 1 GHz bridge to 960 MHz)
That leads me to believe the laptop should have an nVidia GPU installed.


I've done both. Neither made any changes; the latter gave me the same "no compatible graphics hardware", which as others have pointed out suggests the nVidia GPU is not physically installed to the laptop.
 
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Melmione

Melmione

Commendable
Apr 16, 2016
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As I mentioned above, the documentation did include nVidia GPUs under switchable discrete graphics. Still, you're probably right and it was likely never included. That's disappointing, but not incredibly surprising.

Thanks for the responses, guys!

Update: After speaking with HP, I've been told that the nVidia driver referred to on the documentation (and sticker) is actually for the "HDMI connection to a TV or media center" and not a GPU. Thus, you were correct.
 
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