# Dxdiag not displaying graphics card



## ruswit (Jan 12, 2012)

Hi knew to the forums so I apologise if Im accidentally offensive or anything 

Anyway on we go

A few weeks ago Got a dell xps 15 laptop, Im supposed to have a " Nvidia Geforce gt540m" graphics chip. However whenever i run a dxdiag only the integrated chip is displayed (Intel (R) hd graphics family).

However when I go to device manager, display adapters both are present...
I recently downloaded the drivers for my chip off the nvidia website so I am currently ruling that out as a problem.

My main concern is that games and the like are not actually using my graphics chip and instead the integrated chipset, 

Any ideas? thank you


----------



## pip22 (Aug 22, 2004)

"_I recently downloaded the drivers for my chip off the nvidia website_"

Only Dell has the correct drivers for it's laptop models because they are custom-made and differ from those that the device manufacturer supplies to the public. That applies to all OEM computers & laptops.


----------



## ruswit (Jan 12, 2012)

Well it downloaded and installed correctly from the Nvidia website, for my gt540, now if i try and get one off the dell site it just says its an older version...


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Uninstall all graphics drivers and use ONLY the drivers from the manufacturer. 
Retail drivers are commonly not the same as OEM versions.
Nvidia Geforce gt540m is a graphics chip.


----------



## ruswit (Jan 12, 2012)

right having done a bit of deep searching I have come to conclude that this graphics chip is only put to use when an external display is attached to the monitor.

In the nividia control panel it shows both the integrated chip and this extra one are present, but it says the laptop display is connected to the integrated one.

Would there be a way to change this?


----------



## shashank.uniyal (Jun 14, 2011)

In a desktop u can by tweaking ur bios.
I dont have any idea about the laptop motherboards but still give the following steps a try.
In your bios menu:
go to advanced>>north bridge configuration
select Initiate graphic adapter 
hopefully you'll see a drop down menu try selecting different options to change your display.
Hope it works for you.


----------



## makinu1der2 (Jan 1, 2008)

ruswit said:


> right having done a bit of deep searching I have come to conclude that this graphics chip is only put to use when an external display is attached to the monitor.
> 
> In the nividia control panel it shows both the integrated chip and this extra one are present, but it says the laptop display is connected to the integrated one.
> 
> Would there be a way to change this?



The laptop uses the Nvidia Optimus Technology. The laptop will use the integrated Intel adapter for normal use.

The Nvidia chip will be used for more graphical intensive applications.

You don't need to connect an external monitor for this to happen.

If you open the Nvidia Control panel you can make sure that the games/applications are using the Nvidia graphics.

nVidia Optimus Technology | Dell

How can I tell if an application is being rendered on the IGP or GPU with Optimus?


----------

