How to switch between I-GPU and GPU without restarting the PC

hi , im using a i3-3220 3.3 ghz , included Intel HD graphics 2500 , but for gaming problems , im thinking about buying a dedicated GPU for gaming , but i still wanna keep using Intel HD graphics at times while working , because it consumes less power , 5W if i remember it right , so ... is there anyway i can switch it without having to restart the PC and mess with BIOS or un-plug and re-plug the cable everytime ? i can live with 2 monitor cable plugged in my PC though , but idk if there is a way to switch between 2 of em

kk thanks guys , i guess i'll have to live with the GPU then .... although its a shame that i cant do that .... it would save alot of electricity.

Dude said:

Hook up the IGPU to one monitor, and the dedicated gpu to another. Simply disable the dedicated gpu in device manager when you only want to use the IGPU.

AddRAM said:

Even if you could, your discrete card is still gonna be drawing power, using the fan etc.

The whole purpose of a dedicated gpu is to take the work load off the cpu, so it can do a better job.

But you could give Kelly`s idea a try. Do you have a way to measure the difference in power consumption ?

i dont think i can measure it , but i believe it will consume less power than normal so yeah its worth to try

stormy13 said:

Power consumption on modern graphics cards at idle is a non-factor. Here is what the top end AMD and Nvidia cards use at idle,

MSI Radeon R9 290X Gaming 4 GB Review | techPowerUp

MSI GTX 780 Ti Gaming 3 GB Review | techPowerUp

tyvm , never thought its so low , guess i should say bye bye to Intel hd graphics