how to tell if GPU or onboard graphics are being used

[gwgardner]

Just got a laptop with Nvidia Geforce 1060 and onboard Intel graphics. It has Nvidia Optimus software,which as I understand it is supposed to manage whether onboard graphics are used or the Nvidia card, based upon the needs of the application being run.

How can I tell if the 1060 card is actually being used, when I run Trainsimulator?

Thanks for any help.

[GSkid]

Well if your laptop is using the Intel onboard graphics chip, your frame rates will be very low and sluggish even on computatialy-light routes like Cajon Pass. It is usually blatantly obvious the Intel onboard graphics are being used cuz the frame rates are so bad.

Usually the Nvidia control panel is set to autodect the use of a 3D-graphic application and sets it to use a dedicated GPU card by default. You can also manually set in there on an application by application basis as to which graphics chip to use. So if you want to force it to use the onboard intel graphics GPU with Train Simulator.... you can. You can also turn off autodetect and tell it to always use the GTX 1060 on a game. But autodect works like 95% of the time, so there is rarely a need to take it off autodetect the majority of the time.

Another way to prove if the GTX 1060 is being used is to use the utility program GPU-Z to monitor the card. Leave the program running in the background with the graphic card monitoring graphing tab open after you have chose the GTX 1060 in the main tab. Then run train simulator for a bit then quickly exit the program and look at the graphs. If they are showing lots of varying, modulated, thick red lines.... then the GTX 1060 was being used. If the graphs are just thin, red flatlined.... then the GTX 1060 got no use from the sim. You can also monitor the intel onboard graphics chip the same.... just select it instead of the 1060 on the main tab of GPU-Z.

Also the laptop will usually automatically change from the GTX 1060 over to the Intel onboard graphics if battery life hits 20% or lower.

Hope this helps you.

[gwgardner]

Thanks, here are results from GPU-Z while running Cajon Pass. looks like both are being used! I have TS in windowed mode. I guess it is using the 1060, as I don't see any stuttering with everything maxed out.

[trev123]

This may help. https://www.quora.com/Can-I-change-my-l ... Force-920M

[gwgardner]

Thank you, that will help if I do determine a problem.

[GSkid]

Well I can pretty much guarantee your Intel HD 530 is contributing nothing to Train Simulator other than maybe providing the window on the desktop for the sim to run in windowed mode.

Only AMD allows their APU's onboard GPU to work in crossfire with AMD's dedicated GPU cards towards games. I have an older laptop with an AMD A6-4400 APU and a Radeon 7670M dedicated GPU card. Crossfire was not officially supported in Train Simulator nor could any of the usual workarounds force it to use both GPUs towards the sim.

Intel's onboard graphics chips will not work in conjunction with a GPU card to boost performance in 3D apps... be it a Nvidia card or AMD card or any other graphics chips.

AMD's advantage with Crossfire over Nvidia's SLI is that Nvidia requires the two cards to be the same. AMD allows you to couple a mid-range GPU card (or the one built into their APU chips) in crossfire with one of their high-end GPU cards.

[peterhayes]

GSkid

Intel's onboard graphics chips will not work in conjunction with a GPU card to boost performance in 3D apps...

With some mainboards that can happen by using LucidLogix Virtu MVP, which allows both onboard graphics and a discrete graphics card to work together.
I don't know if it actually boosts performance, however!

It may be worth noting that some laptops (not all) will only use the discrete video card if they are connected to a mains power source and/or if an external monitor is hooked up.
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