Device is changing its graphics processing unit unexpectedly between dedicated and integrated options.
Device is changing its graphics processing unit unexpectedly between dedicated and integrated options.
I own a reasonably strong laptop—a XPS 15 9510 paired with an i9-11900H processor and a 3050ti dedicated GPU running Windows 10 Pro. I recently upgraded my graphics drivers and applied the latest system patches. Until now, everything worked smoothly. Now, games that previously ran quickly are experiencing stuttering and lag. The issue appears to switch the laptop from my dedicated GPU to the integrated one after a few minutes of use. Performance logs in Task Manager show a jump in iGPU usage followed by a drop in dGPU usage, visible in the sidebar graphs. I’ve observed this in both graphically demanding and less so games. I attempted to adjust graphics settings per application to "high performance" and used the NVIDIA control panel to set the overall preference to the 3050ti. However, the problem remains. I found another discussion a few years ago about the same problem, but no solution was mentioned. If I can’t resolve it here, I’m considering disabling the integrated GPU to test. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Edit: I also tried other titles—TF2 doesn’t seem to use the 3050ti at all, even though it was set that way on my previous systems, and it keeps flashing black screens constantly. The “graphically intensive game” I mentioned earlier is now even worse, using less of the dedicated GPU before switching to the integrated one. Only games that rely entirely on the iGPU seem to run fine. Updated December 4, 2022 by tempo1080
Welcome to the redesigned Microsoft post from 2014! It should work now. Make sure your BIOS is unlocked. Open Bios and turn off the iGPU. If it doesn’t work, check Device Manager in Windows and disable it there—there’s no guarantee. On Windows, pick Disable instead of Uninstall, since uninstalling can trigger driver reinstalls and re-enable issues. Also, turn off hibernate and sleep features.
Update: I tried disabling the integrated GPU through Device manager. here's what happened: What was good: > Laptop was still usable, it seemed to have automatically switched to the 3050ti > Built in laptop display refresh rate changed from 60.001Hz to 64Hz. I was worried I would have to finagle with Booting in Safe Mode but that was a non-issue. What was less good: > external display stopped working completely, no matter what port the HDMI cable was plugged into > the built in display was forced to the maximum resolution available, and was stuck there > brightness controls for the built in display were no longer available - At first it was stuck at maximum brightness - after a restart it seemed to have stuck at 50% brightness > HDR was unavailable for the built in display > certain applications suffered from display issues, while others were unaffected - Brave browser visibly suffered and struggled to load even a basic web page. > There was no visible improvement to game performance, some games performed worse in fact. I do not advise disabling the Integrated GPU in an attempt to fix this issue, as it does not do so. After I re-enabled the integrated GPU and things went back to the way they were before without any issues. I am back to square one, but at least I know the results of the option. Looking into it, my next thought would be that upgrading to windows 11 might fix the issues in some way, or at least offer some improvement. Quick preliminary seems to suggest it may have some performance benefits.
Performed a complete uninstall and reinstall of the GPU firmware. The problem appears mostly resolved now. Applications operate stably compared to before, though some minor artifacts remain. This might be linked to factory presets in the NVIDIA Control Panel. I used Display Driver Uninstaller to reset the firmware to defaults and then refreshed it via the GeForce Experience app.