Laptop may not be using nVidia GPU, uses Intel instead?

heatman323

New member
Member
Local time
2:26 AM
Messages
47
So I came across a couple of threads about people having the same laptop as mine and saying theyre able to at least play Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn on medium settings(not sure, think it was high) on 30 fps. I use medium too(no low settings unfortunately, tried lowering all the subsets and fps was same as medium/standard settings). They had the same problem as mine at first about the very low fps in crowded areas(<10fps) and 20ish fps on non crowded places or areas that arent too graphically intricate. But then they say it was the settings/setup that was causing the problems, about our laptop using the Intel gpu instead of the nVidia GTX 660m one. I remember it was sort of 2-3 threads I saw that had these problems, but some of the answers werent too direct or were pretty vague like this oneCan't get above 8 FPS on a Lenovo y580 | FFXIV ARR Forum - Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.
He said he "put the whole computer to use the Nvidia card exclusively... and now it runs between 30 and 60 FPS" though I dont know how and didnt quite understand how to do it based on his answer, but I guess thats on me not being a techie guy "Swapping between Auto Select and Nvidia exclusively is as easy as right clicking on my desktop". I tried to check where when I right click but the only related ones I see are Graphics Properties which is wholly related to Intel, and couldnt find anything about switching entirely to nVidia and Graphics Options was more of a notifications and keybind thing. If anyone could clarify how all of these works or how to finally get these games to run decently, it would be greatly appreciated.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Lenovo Ideapad Y580
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
CPU
Intel Core i7 @ 2.30GHz 55 °C Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology
Motherboard
LENOVO Product Name (U3E1) 56 °C
Memory
Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes Channels # Dual DRAM Frequency 79
Graphics Card(s)
Generic PnP Monitor (1366x768@60Hz) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio
Screen Resolution
1366 x 768
Hard Drives
932GB Seagate ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB (SATA)
Internet Speed
7 mbps
You could look in your BIOS for a setting that lets you pick what graphics to use. Look at startup for what key to press to get in to your BIOS, it varies by manufacturer.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Build
OS
Windows 7 Profession x64
CPU
Intel Core i5
Motherboard
Intel DB75EN
Memory
16 GB DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
Intel HD Graphics
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual Viewsonic TD2220 touchscreen displays
Hard Drives
Seagate 500GB 7200 RPM
Case
Slimline
Cooling
Standard Intel heat sink / fan.
Keyboard
Microsoft boring keyboard - it works!
The only other option in the BIOS was UMA graphics though, didn't know if that was what I wanted so googled it and seems another guy with the same prob as mine also tried switching to UMA but it didn't solve it. Tried it too but it was still the same
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Lenovo Ideapad Y580
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
CPU
Intel Core i7 @ 2.30GHz 55 °C Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology
Motherboard
LENOVO Product Name (U3E1) 56 °C
Memory
Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes Channels # Dual DRAM Frequency 79
Graphics Card(s)
Generic PnP Monitor (1366x768@60Hz) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio
Screen Resolution
1366 x 768
Hard Drives
932GB Seagate ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB (SATA)
Internet Speed
7 mbps
Do you have a control panel for your NVIDIA graphics? If not make sure you have the proper drivers installed for your NVIDIA card, these drivers may govern how your laptop handles switchable graphics.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Build
OS
Windows 7 Profession x64
CPU
Intel Core i5
Motherboard
Intel DB75EN
Memory
16 GB DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
Intel HD Graphics
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual Viewsonic TD2220 touchscreen displays
Hard Drives
Seagate 500GB 7200 RPM
Case
Slimline
Cooling
Standard Intel heat sink / fan.
Keyboard
Microsoft boring keyboard - it works!
Always enable High-Performance mode, your laptop switches to Intel UMA because of the battery saving mode
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
ASUS X550ZE
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-BIT
CPU
AMD A8 7200P
Motherboard
N/A
Memory
8GB 1600mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Radeon R5 (APU) + Radeon R5 M230 2GB Dual Graphics
Sound Card
Realtek ALC269 with SonicMaster
Monitor(s) Displays
Laptop Display
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 @60hz
Hard Drives
WDC WD50 00LPVX-80V0TT0 (500GB)
PSU
Laptop Charger
Mouse
ARMAGGEDON TEXTRON SCORPION 7
Internet Speed
100 mbps DOWN / 50 mbps UP
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Browser
Mozzila FireFox, Valve Steam in-game internet browser
Yep I'm always on Dynamic Graphics, and a good guy just gave me a link to the Lenovo Windows 8 drivers, here's hoping control panel opens after I update it
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Lenovo Ideapad Y580
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
CPU
Intel Core i7 @ 2.30GHz 55 °C Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology
Motherboard
LENOVO Product Name (U3E1) 56 °C
Memory
Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes Channels # Dual DRAM Frequency 79
Graphics Card(s)
Generic PnP Monitor (1366x768@60Hz) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio
Screen Resolution
1366 x 768
Hard Drives
932GB Seagate ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB (SATA)
Internet Speed
7 mbps
It's possible you have a configuration such as mine, where the discrete graphics collaborates with the Intel one and you control which GPU is used per-app. Though it should be able to detect that that game is a game amd NVidia would activate automatically.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows XP Pro x64
Back
Top