Windows 10: How to force Windows11 to prioritize one GPU over another in my dual GPU setup

I am submitting this question because I genuinely feel as though I've hit a road block that I cannot get around, no matter how hard I try. I have a brand new PC that I just built and to test it out, I downloaded a few games. With task manager open, I could see that the game was using the GPU with minimal airflow and causing it to heat up very quicklyupwards of almost 85C with just a few minutes of playwhich I would like to avoid. Upon this happening, I would go to Settings>Gaming>Graphicswhich crashes multiple times before fully openingand attempt to swap the GPU preference from GPU

:)

 

Is there a way to force a program to use a secondary GPU?

I have 2 GPU's (Nvidia GTX 970 and 1080) and I want to force a program to use the 1080 for certain programs/games. Going to Settings>System>Display>Graphics Settings should give me the option to switch GPU's. Unfortunately it does not list both of my GPU's
nor does it allow me to change to another one, only the default GPU is chosen (the 970). This is a desktop computer and I have tried the Nvidia control panel and UEFI settings without much luck. If I tried selecting a program to run on my 1080 (through the
Nvidia control panel), it would still run it on the 970. I have tried switching the GPU's around with not much luck there either. If I can suggest to Microsoft the option in the Graphics Settings to list both GPU's for selection, that would be great. Otherwise
I don't know what to do. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you for your time.

 

Can't use dedicated GPU for dual monitor setup

Hello,

Thank you for your reply and providing Information.

I appreciate for trying additional steps.

I would suggest you to please try to consider to reach out to Dell technical support if there are any Motherboard/GPU limitations or settings.

Best Regards,
Prakash

 

Can't use dedicated GPU for dual monitor setup

I have a DELL Precision 5520 notebook with an integrated Intel(R) HD Graphics 530 GPU and a dedicated Nvidia Quadro M1200 GPU and I have two screens through a DELL WD19S docking station, both screens connected via display port. I'm trying to force my Windows to use the dedicated GPU for everything, including the windows desktop environment cause it looks like the integrated GPU can't handle more than 1080p but my dedicated GPU can go with even 4k when I'm playing games. My problem is that no matter what I try, Windows won't use my dedicated GPU for the desktop environment, only for games. Here's what I've tried so far:



1. Updating windows

2. Updating all drivers with DELL support assist

3. Updating both GPU drivers from the manufacturers' websites

4. Installing a previous vesrion the nvidia driver (then went back to the latest)

5. Disabling integrated GPU completely (this way my dedicated GPU saw only one screen)

6. Forcing the use of dedicated GPU from Nvidia control panel (here I can see both screens attached to the integrated GPU despite dedicated GPU being forced from the settings)

7. Restarted my notebook after every single change or update I've tried just to make sure

8. Tried forcing dedicated GPU from BIOS but there was no such setting there

9. Maxed out everything in power settings from the control panel, nvidia control panel and BIOS too and I'm plugged in, I'm not on battery



All my video games run on the dedicated GPU, there is no problem with that part, they run perfectly. But I'm using two screens through a DELL WD19S docking station and I need both screens to run at 4K or at least 2K. My previous notebook that didn't even had a dedicated GPU could do that easily so I'm sure there's a way to do it with a Nvidia GPU. I know I'm missing something but I can't figure it out.