If you have a gaming computer, chances are you’ll find two graphics cards in it. An integrated onboard graphics card and a more robust dedicated graphics card.
Some games use onboard graphics cards instead of dedicated ones, and since onboard graphics cards are not powerful enough to process games, you will get very few frames and graphics.
That is, providing your game does not collapse first.
You can, however, instruct your computer to use a specialized graphics card for specific apps and games.
Integrated vs. dedicated graphics cards
The big difference between integrated and dedicated graphics cards is that integrated GPUs do not have their processor or RAM.
Instead, the integrated graphics card uses CPU and computer RAM resources. So if you have 8 GB RAM and 1 GB shared graphics RAM, it will reduce your available RAM to 7 GB.
All of these disabilities reduce the processing power of the integrated graphics card and make it unsuitable for playing demanding video games.
On the other hand, a dedicated graphics card comes with its processor, RAM, and cooling system.
It not only makes the dedicated graphics card easier to play high-end video games, but also makes it heavier and more expensive.
For further details, see our article on the difference between integrated and dependable graphics cards.
The majority of current processors include an onboard integrated graphics unit. So, if you have a dedicated graphics card with an existing processor, you have two working graphics cards.
In this case, your computer software decides when to use each graphics card so that you get better performance or longer battery life.
How to set up a video game to use a dedicated graphics card.
The software responsible for converting graphics depends on your dedicated graphics card.
If you have NVIDIA, it will be the NVIDIA control panel, but if you have AMD, it will be AMD Radeon software.
This article will cover the steps for both of these software. However, the first step is to identify the program.
1. Identify actionable for your game
The feasible or .exe file that runs the game is usually evident because it’s mainly like GAMENAME.exe, but sometimes it doesn’t.
An absolute way to determine which process is responsible for running a contest is through the Task Manager.
- Start a video game.
- Once the video game has fully loaded, minimize it. To do this, press Win + D to access the desktop.
- To open Task Manager, use your keyboard’s Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Alternatively, the Task Manager can be found in the Start menu.
- Locate the game’s action and right click on it.
- From the menu, select Open File Location.
- A window will open in Explorer, showing you the executable file in its place. It is the file you need to instruct using a dedicated graphics card.
2. Change the settings in the NVIDIA control panel
Now that you know what a file is and where it’s located, you can add it to your graphics card’s control panel and set it to use a dedicated graphics card at all times.
It is done through the NVIDIA control panel for NVIDIA graphics cards.
- Right-click on your desktop.
- From the menu, select NVIDIA Control Panel. If you are on Windows 11, select Show more options and NVIDIA Control Panel.
- Inside the NVIDIA Control Panel, from the left sidebar, select Manage 3D Settings.
- Click on program settings.
- Under Select Custom Program, choose Add. It will open a limited list of your programs.
- In the ad window, click Browse.
- Go to the location of the file you discovered in the previous section and then select the game file.
- Click Open. Your game will now appear on the program list.
- Choose the best graphics processor for this program, such as the high-performance NVIDIA CPU.
- Finally, from the bottom right, click Apply.
- Your game will now use your dedicated graphics card for a much better performance.
Top premium quality CPU for gaming you need.
| IMAGE AND SPEC | PRICE LINK |
|
|
Check out the latest price here. |
|
|
Check out the current price here. |
|
|
Check out the current price here. |
|
|
Check out the current price here. |
3. Changing settings in AMD Radeon software
If you have an AMD graphics card, you must install the AMD Radeon software and configure the gaming profile.
- Right-click on your desktop.
- From the menu, select AMD Radeon Software. So If you are utilizing Windows 11, select Show more options and then choose Radeon AMD software.
- Within the AMD Radeon software, select the Gaming tab from the top.
- Click Add a Game after selecting the three vertical dots on the right.
- Select the file and then click Open. It will install and transport you to the game’s settings page.
- Under Graphics, click Graphics Profile and then select Gaming.
- That’s it! The next time you launch this video game, it will be your AMD graphics card that will do the hard work of processing and earn you more FPS.
Dedicated to performance.
Although integrated graphics have greatly improved recently, you have learned to switch to your dedicated graphics card; your games should play better.
This strategy is primarily applicable to laptop PCs. Scroll down to the form below for desktop PCs.
You can still use this strategy on a desktop computer. It will work if both GPUs are shown in the settings, which we shall demonstrate later.
Final Thought
Most people are unaware of a function in Windows 10 or 11, which is particularly beneficial if your laptop PC has a dedicated GPU and integrated graphics.
Suppose you wish to compel Chrome, Firefox, or any other app or game to utilize a dedicated GPU (such as Nvidia or AMD) instead of integrated graphics or in different ways.
In that case, you must first understand How to choose the GPU to Run. Windows 10/11 graphics settings.