How to disable the integrated graphics card of a laptop

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Would you like to disable the integrated graphics card of your laptop but do not know how to do it? Here we will explain how to disable the integrated video/graphics card of a notebook.

HOW TO DISABLE THE INTEGRATED VIDEO CARD OF A NOTEBOOK

First of all we must say that it is not possible to completely disable the integrated video card of a notebook. This is because the notebook screen is connected directly to the integrated video card and therefore everything that is displayed on the screen is forced through the integrated video card. Moreover, since it is a portable computer, the dedicated video card generally consumes more than the integrated video card, which is why the laptop always favors the use of the integrated video card until, for one reason or another, it is not explicitly requested to use the dedicated video card.
In light of all this it is clear that trying to disable the integrated video card of a notebook is not only not possible but, rather, is counterproductive and almost certainly could also create problems. How to deactivate the integrated video card of a notebook? The answer is to use the management program of your video card. All modern video cards allow you to manage the functionality of your video card through a program that acts as a sort of control panel. Through this program it will then be possible to disable the integrated video card of the notebook asking simply to use for a particular software dedicated to the video card instead of the integrated one.
Given that most laptops use a dedicated NVIDIA or AMD video card, I will therefore explain how to disable the integrated video card first for notebooks that mount an NVIDIA video card and then for notebooks that mount an AMD.

NVIDIA

If your notebook is equipped with an integrated Intel video card and you would like to use the dedicated NVIDIA video card, just follow these simple steps:

  1. open the NVIDIA Control Panel by right-clicking on an empty area of the desktop;
  2. from the menu on the left, select Manage 3D settings under the heading 3D Settings;
  3. click now on the Program Settings tab and from the Select a program to customize drop-down menu select the program for which you want to use the dedicated video card. If the program you are interested in is not present in this list, click on the Add button, select the program from those displayed, then click on Add selected program. If not even in this other list you find the desired program, you must then click on Browse …  and manually add the executable .exe of the program you are interested in;
  4. After locating the program for which you want to use the dedicated video card, select High-Performance NVIDIA Processor from the Preferred Graphics Processor drop-down menu, and then click Apply.

Once you’ve done that, open the program you’re interested in and check that you’re actually using the dedicated video card. However, keep in mind that although you can use the Global Settings of the NVIDIA Control Panel to set the video card as the default, I still recommend that you do it only for the programs you really need. In this way you will save the notebook battery and, at the same time, you will avoid using the dedicated video card for all those programs that do not really need it.

AMD

If your notebook is equipped with an integrated Intel or AMD video card and you would like to use the dedicated AMD video card, just follow these simple steps:

  1. open AMD Radeon Settings by right-clicking on an empty area of the desktop;
  2. now in the upper right corner, select System first and then Switchable Graphics;
  3. at this point, if the program for which you want to use the dedicated video card is in the list displayed, you can directly click on the program in question. If instead the program you are interested in is not in this list, just press first on Running Applications and then Installed Profile Applications  (if the list of programs is too large, you can also use the Search field  to search and highlight the program that you interest). If not even in this way you can find the desired program, you must then click on Browse and manually add the executable .exe of the program you are interested in;
  4. once you have identified the program for which you want to use the dedicated video card, you have to click on it and choose the High Performance item (the Power Saving item is used to use the integrated video card while the voice Based on Power Source is used to use the integrated video card when the notebook uses the battery and the dedicated video card when the notebook is plugged into a power outlet). After selecting the High Performance item for the desired program, a user icon will appear next to the program name as confirmation. However, keep in mind that programs with a padlock icon next to the name can not be edited.

Once you’ve done that, open the program you’re interested in and check that you’re actually using the dedicated video card.

CONCLUSIONS

The procedures described above should work regardless of the operating system used, provided you have the same version of the video card management program by installing the appropriate NVIDIA or AMD drivers. At this point, however, you should finally understand how to disable the integrated video card of a notebook.

PS: if you use Windows 10 as the operating system, to specify which video card should be used with the various applications, you can also follow another method in addition to those already mentioned. In particular, just go to Settings, then in System, select the Display section, scroll down and click on Graphic Settings.
At this point from the drop down menu Choose an app to set the preference choose between Classic App or Universal App, then click on Browse, then select the executable .exe of the application for which you want to specify the video card to use. Now click on the Options button, set which video card to use when the application in question is launched, and then click on the Save button.

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