Radeon Switchable Graphics

I have a older-ish laptop with Radeon switchable graphics. Radeon R5 and Radeon R7 graphic cards. I’ve been into the Radeon software and adjusted the additional settings for a couple programs to use maximum performance so that it would switch to the better graphics card. However I don’t think it’s switching and it’s stuck using the R5. I had thought I had to either be in full screen or windowed full screen for it to work properly but I tried both same result. Is there anyway to test which graphics card is current in use? Or a way to force it to switch?

Windows Version 20H2 (OS Build 19042. 1503)

I remember my old Nvidia switchable graphics I could right click desktop and switch on command.

Hello

Sorry you havnt had any response on this.

Try typing into the 'Start' 'Run' menu, with the command 'DXDIAG'

This will tell you which graphics are being used.

Hope that helps

Pluginz said:

Hello

Sorry you havnt had any response on this.

Try typing into the 'Start' 'Run' menu, with the command 'DXDIAG'

This will tell you which graphics are being used.

Hope that helps

Thank you for your reply. Everytime I do this it's always the R5. How can I force it to use the other one?

Okies

From what i am reading, as this is a new problem for me but i'll try and help as much as i can.

It seems any AMD Adrenalin driver after version 19.11.1 does not provide the switchable graphics option and is unavailable in Windows 10.

See which driver version you have installed and if its later than this older version, I would uninstall and go for the 19.11.1 and see if Windows 10 shows support in the display settings.
I dont think Power Option settings will make any difference if the support isnt there to begin with.

Edit: Again, use DXDIAG to find out which version. I would personally use the main board manufacturers drivers to start with. Even if they are older, it wont matter and will be a good test to see if the options come back.

Hope that helps some and good luck

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If you could find the model spec of your laptop that would be brilliant for me to be more specific to AMD drivers.

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Windows 10 x64

Win10-64Bit-Radeon-Software-Adrenalin-2019-Edition-19.11.1-Nov4.exe

Windows 7 x64

Win7-64Bit-Radeon-Software-Adrenalin-2019-Edition-19.11.1-Nov4.exe

These are 2019 drivers and could possibly be the last drivers to support your lappy

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Also with Windows 10 you may need to disable the Device Manager from automatically downloading drivers so it doesnt just put you in a loop where you always end up with the latest which dont work. Windows 10 has a nice little habit of doing that.

Sorry for adding this data, I am learning new things every day and didnt have a clue 30 minutes ago hehe

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Ah ha, link for driver

https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/re...ad-win-19-11-1

That's the thing, I did have the older supported driver installed and it keeps automatically updating it. Right now whatever radeon software I have it's supporting the switchable graphics because it's listed in the program but it's just not switching. How can I disable the auto update?

Ok i see where youre coming from.

Windows 10 then, from memory

Goto 'System' and then the 'Advanced System Settings'. System properties should display. Goto the 'Hardware' tab and then the 'Device Installation settings' box.
Now turn off Driver software and realistic icons so select to 'Never' or 'No and you decide'

Now goto 'Settings' in the start menu. Goto Windows updates and goto the 'Optional driver update' settings for updates and take the ticks out of any AMD graphics drivers it wants to get by itself.

Ok, now goto 'Device manager' and select 'Show hidden devices' at the top. Now goto Display adapters and remove or uninstall all the AMD drivers. Now do a reboot and get yourself back to the desktop and reinstall the 19.11.1 driver.

Phew i think that should do it

Edit: To add, you can also show hidden devices and uninstall the 'Monitors' tab in Device Manager called 'Generic PnP Monitors' for any that are greyed out. Just remove them all. This should give you a proper fresh start.

This tutorial may be useful:

Enable or Disable Driver Updates in Windows Update in Windows 10

Mine has Intel iGPU and Nvidia graphics, but the principle is the same.

Basically you run benchmarks. I run 3DMark or Heaven Benchmark 4.0
Some games also have a benchmark feature. You need exact same settings to make any comparison.

With any of those you just look at fps. On mine I get 2x the frame rate selecting Nvidia graphics.

Another way to check is with the Task Manager. That assumes the graphics are Driver Model WDDM 2.0 or higher. That you can check by running dxdiag looking at the Display and Render tabs, however that will not tell you which is being used.

Use an application you know uses a reasonable amount of VRAM, and Alt Tab to the Task Manager.

Task Manager > Performance Tab > Click on the respective GPU and see which is using the Graphics memory.

Windows Updates is fine, I have had no problems with that.

"whatever radeon software I have it's supporting the switchable graphics because it's listed in the program but it's just not switching."

Exactly, you must find out for sure by testing carefully.

I discovered this while still attempting to fix my graphic issue. It looks like windows sees it, just not using it properly. Any further suggestions?