Should I disable onboard graphics controller in BIOS?

[mjslakeridge]

Reading through my motherboard manual this morning and there is an option in the BIOS to disable the onboard graphics controller in order for the system to not allocate memory to this device. I only have 4GB of RAM, 3.2GB available (Windows 8 Pro 32 bit OS). I am using an old GPU that I pulled out of another computer and it has been working pretty good for the last 3-4 months. Maybe once per day the monitor screens will kind of flicker for a second. I have the latest legacy drivers from Nvidea for the GPU.

I guess my concern is if the GPU suddenly dies, and if I have disabled the onboard graphics controller in the BIOS, how would I be able to change the setting back in the BIOS with no display available?

 

[mmaatt747]

Reading through my motherboard manual this morning and there is an option in the BIOS to disable the onboard graphics controller in order for the system to not allocate memory to this device. I only have 4GB of RAM, 3.2GB available (Windows 8 Pro 32 bit OS). I am using an old GPU that I pulled out of another computer and it has been working pretty good for the last 3-4 months. Maybe once per day the monitor screens will kind of flicker for a second. I have the latest legacy drivers from Nvidea for the GPU.

I guess my concern is if the GPU suddenly dies, and if I have disabled the onboard graphics controller in the BIOS, how would I be able to change the setting back in the BIOS with no display available?

Is there a BIOS reset button on the motherboard

 

[Wayfall]

I see reason to really as the GPU just takes over and say in the future if it dies you have your backup IGPU. You can easily and cheaply get another stick of 4GB if you really need it, if your gaming I would advice it.

 

[mjslakeridge]

Reading through my motherboard manual this morning and there is an option in the BIOS to disable the onboard graphics controller in order for the system to not allocate memory to this device. I only have 4GB of RAM, 3.2GB available (Windows 8 Pro 32 bit OS). I am using an old GPU that I pulled out of another computer and it has been working pretty good for the last 3-4 months. Maybe once per day the monitor screens will kind of flicker for a second. I have the latest legacy drivers from Nvidea for the GPU.

I guess my concern is if the GPU suddenly dies, and if I have disabled the onboard graphics controller in the BIOS, how would I be able to change the setting back in the BIOS with no display available?

Is there a BIOS reset button on the motherboard

Not that I am aware. It is a Gigablyt GA-78LMT-S2P. It does have dual BIOS, and a clear CMOS jumper.

 

[Low Profile Gamer]

My H61 motherboard has a small blue thing in it, that you can probably move using tweezers. If you move it in the right location, it would reset bios settings. Your motherboard probably has some kind of feature like this as well

 

[mjslakeridge]

I see reason to really as the GPU just takes over and say in the future if it dies you have your backup IGPU. You can easily and cheaply get another stick of 4GB if you really need it, if your gaming I would advice it.

No, I am not gaming on this PC. I am limited to 4GB by the 32 bit operating system. The motherboard supports up to 8GB.

 

[mmaatt747]

That clear CMOS jumper will work if you ever had to reset it without needing a monitor

 

[mjslakeridge]

That clear CMOS jumper will work if you ever had to reset it without needing a monitor

That is good to know. I will probably try disabling the onboard graphics controller this afternoon to see how much memory it frees up. If it is significant, I will leave it that way, if not then I will probably set it back to enabled.

 

[mmaatt747]

I'd be surprised if it was very much but I'm interested to know the results

 

[mjslakeridge]

OK, I am going to re-boot the computer in a few minutes and make the change. I will let you know the results.

 

[mjslakeridge]

Well, that was a waste of time! Before disabling the onboard graphics controller the Hardware reserved RAM was 770MB. After - 770MB. So I guess I will re-enable it the next time I restart my computer.

Thanks for the help though!

 

[mmaatt747]

lol i guess it was. Good to know though. Thanks for the update!