Locked Laptop discrete graphics default - how to?

[mkrleza]

Hello all!

Does anyone know how to set up the discrete graphics as a default for laptops in Win 10?

I have integrated Intel HD GPU and Nvidia GForce 2 GB on my I7 laptop.

Intel is set up as the default.

I know that I have to set up power and display options at highest and I know how to do that, but it's only for each app. That is I can choose an individual app to run with GForce, but I would like my Win 10 1809 LTSC to forget that Intel GPU even exists (no mater power consumption and battery life).

I've tried googling and YouTubing but all I get is what I already know - setting up GForce for each app individually... And I've also tried with NVidia's software.

Thanks in advance!

P.S. In case of a reply - I won't be able to test potential solutions till tomorrow noon (GMT +1)... So, sorry if you answer and I don't respond immediately. Thanx again!

 

[Cyler]

I'm afraid I got some bad news for you, my friend.

The way the Nvidia and AMD switchable graphics have worked for about the last 8 years is that the Intel integrated GPU always drives the screen. The discrete GPU acts as a co-processor. When a program you've designated to use the dGPU runs, it does whatever graphics processing is necessary on the dGPU and every time the dGPU finishes drawing a frame, it passes the completed frame to the iGPU who then displays it. (It's like the two GPUs acting as two framebuffers that one feeds the other.)

This is the main reason you're able to simultaneously run different programs, some of which are set to use the iGPU, some set to use the dGPU. The dGPU is never in control of the laptop screen (in fact it cannot draw to the screen at all) and It only passes completed frames to the iGPU framebuffer for display. So it's impossible to disable the iGPU and use only the dGPU on these laptops.

Please note that because the dGPU acts as a co-processor, there is no way to set the laptop to use only the dGPU. The iGPU is the only GPU connected to the screen. The dGPU can only get frames to the screen by passing them to the iGPU via software.

There are a handful of gaming laptops that "wired" things a bit differently. On these laptops, if you go into the BIOS settings, you can select which GPU drives the screen. If your laptop has this setting then switching the BIOS to use the dGPU will accomplish what you want, at the cost of a significant hit to your battery life. This option is similar to the old bios setting for display priority to be either IGP or PCI (or something like that)

An even smaller number of laptops have the iGPU hooked up to the built-in display and the dGPU hooked up to the external monitor port. Generally, these are laptops that have Displayport-out (or HDMI) since Nvidia added Displayport support before Intel. On these laptops, there is nothing to set. You simply plug in a monitor into the external display port, and its display runs directly on the dGPU. If the Intel graphics died, you could still use the laptop with an external monitor. But there is no way to switch the built-in display to use the dGPU to my knowledge.

 

[mkrleza]

@Cyler Thank you so very much! I did not know these things. No, there is no such option in my UEFI. So I'll do things as I did 'till now.

Thank you again, my friend!

I consider my question answered, please close the thread! Thanx!

 

[DjNaToTheS]

Thread completed & closed per request from user @mkrleza.