How to set preferred GPU in Nvidia control panel?

[ussjtrunks]

I recently installed The Witcher 2, only to realize that it is completely unplayable because it is running off my integrated graphics card.

The problem though is that I cannot set preferred GPU inside Nvidia control panel for some reason.

As you can see in the screenshot, I do not have a drop down list that lets me choose a preferred GPU. I just installed these drivers today from the Nvidia website, so that is the latest version.

My specs are:

Intel Core i5 2310 @ 2.9 ghz
Geforce 9800 GT with 512 MB
8 GB DDR2 RAM

How do I know that the game is running off my integrated GPU?

It automatically detects all my settings at the minimum. I get 5-10 FPS at 800x600 resolution, with all features turned off and all settings on lowest. Colours are completely wrong, and textures are muddy/missing.

I've been told by support from the Witcher 2 forums that this card should be able to play the game on medium-high settings at 1280x720 resolution. There are also videos of people playing this game with this card on Youtube.

I have over 70 games in my Steam collection, and this is the first time something like this has happened.

I've read that this is a common problem with this game, but most people resolve it by switching their preferred GPU inside Nvidia control panel. I don't have that option unfortunately.

I've checked under device manager as well, but the only GPU that appears under display adapter is the Geforce 9800 GT.

Is there any way to manually force the Witcher 2 to use my dedicated GPU?

 

[CraigN]

Have you tried disabling your onboard graphics altogether in your monitor's BIOS settings? There should be an option to do that, or to default to PCI-Express, and cut out your onboard gpu altogether, assuming that you really aren't using it at all. This should remove the confusion from your applications, but it is weird that it isn't switching. What is your motherboard model?

 

[huilun02]

Is your monitor connected to the motherboard's video port? It needs t be connected to the top graphics card.

You can force the integrated graphics to shut up by disabling it in the BIOS.