Disable nVidia Optimus (and only use nVidia card)

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weegidy

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Jun 25, 2012
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I recently got a laptop with an nVidia GTX mobile graphics card. The laptop has an intel ivy bridge CPU with an intel 4000 series integrated graphics processor.

The problem with this setup is that no software actually switched to the nVidia card. Everything is always using the intel graphics. I have downloaded a little tool that tells me when my GTX card is in use and the only time the card is in use is when I have the nVidia control panel open.

I have googled this problem a lot and I still can't figure it out. In the nVidia control panel I have added all of my games to the custom setting list and chose "high performance nVidia GPU" from the drop down list but the card still wont turn on.

Here are screen shots to help show my problem.




Here is the GPU configuration and the Optimus status showing the GTX card is OFF (which is normally shows)
VdXOX.png


Here is the only time that the Optimus status shows ON (when I am looking at an nVidia 3D image)
12FPh.png


And finally this is how I am configuring all of my games, but they are still not utilizing the GPU.
nRwP9.png


The laptop is a Sager NP9130 with a 2.7-3.7GHz i7 CPU.
I would love to completely dissable the intel graphics. But if that can't be done I would be ok with just getting the Optimus software to work properly. It seems that manly laptops have a way in BIOS to force rendering with the nVidia card, but unfortunately my laptop does not.

I have installed the latest release of the drivers from nVidia as well as Intel, even the Beta nVidia drivers, but that has not helped me use the nVidia card.
 
Solution
Okay. That really seems odd.

I've got a solution for you, but I don't know if you're gonna like it. Optimus is integrated into your windows, so the only way to get rid of it is to reinstall normal Windows 7 version (not the one that came with your laptop; though, the same key will work of course).

weegidy

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Jun 25, 2012
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Ok, I tried that, but even then it wont use my nVidia card. I tried that and then ran a benchmark in Just Cause 2 and when the benchmark finished it said that it was using the intel graphics.

I have a hypothesis. I installed 32GB of RAM right after buying the laptop. If I'm not mistaken the intel graphics use that RAM as their memory. Could it be possible that the computer thinks the intel graphics are better than the nVidia card because it has more memory? But even if that was true it wouldn't explain why the games still use the intel chip when I specifically tell them to use the GTX card.
 

weegidy

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Jun 25, 2012
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Ok, I tried out the MSI Afterburner. And oddly enough it shows my GPU frequency drop to zero when I run Just Cause. Here is a screen shot that shows what I am talking about. It is very strange. I have no idea why it would do this. Maybe my problem is not that the card isn't being used but that the frequency is going to zero. How can I force the frequency to something reasonable?
mz5DA.png
 
Okay. That really seems odd.

I've got a solution for you, but I don't know if you're gonna like it. Optimus is integrated into your windows, so the only way to get rid of it is to reinstall normal Windows 7 version (not the one that came with your laptop; though, the same key will work of course).
 
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weegidy

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Jun 25, 2012
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Hmm. Well I just bought the laptop "bare bones" actually. I just installed windows. I have a lot going on (I have Windows installed on its own SSD, while the user folder is on it's own HDD, and the program files and program data are on a second SSD. It took a couple hours to get it properly configured during install...) I would like to check every other possible solution before redoing all of that (and then re installing all of my software).
 

weegidy

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Jun 25, 2012
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10,510



Ok, it is midnight now. But I have spent the last few (4) hours reinstalling windows. This time I got all of the drivers directly from the manufacturers' sites.

My frame rate on Just Cause 2 went from 7fps to a perfect 60fps. Thank you for telling me to reinstall!
 
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