Which GPU is my PC using? I see two

[lingyai]

Sorry, this is an ultra-newb question...

I seem to have two graphics cards on my PC. One, I see under my Windows 7 Control Panel : it is the NVidia Geoforce GTX 670M.

The other, I see when I run the PC tuneup utility CCleaner. When I launch it, under my system specs, it says "Intel HD Graphics 4000"

Uhm ... why do I have two? And which is my video editor using by default?

In Sony Movie Studio Platinum 13, under Video preferences, there is the "GPU acceleration of video processing" drop-down list. It has three options: each of those two GPUs, and "None". Which of the two should I use?

Are there any other respects in which the GPU choice impacts MSP 13's performance? Is there some other setting I need to adjust to tell MSP 13 which to use? Am I thinking too much? Help a brother out please

[davejavu]

You most likely have integrated graphics in your motherboard or CPU (the Intel one) and a separate dedicated graphics card (the Geforce one). Which one is your computer monitor plugged into as this is the one that is actually processing the graphics you see on your screen?

I have just check and the windows device manager and CCCleaner are both showing the same dedicated Nvidia card on my PC, so I am not sure why you are getting different ones on yours.

[lingyai]

Which one is your computer monitor plugged into as this is the one that is actually processing the graphics you see on your screen?

Thanks dave... uhm, but sorry, how do I check this? Yes, uber-newvish question.

In Control Panel under Display I don't see anything which tells me. I am using two monitors -- one is the laptop's, the other is an external.

[davejavu]

Ah, you are using a laptop not a desktop! What brand/model laptop is it? Need to be able to check the specs to see what the graphics configuration is and what CPU it is running.

The fact that the control panel shows the Geforce card would suggest that is the main one, and I would have expected it to run all the graphics. CCCleaner might just be confused because the the CPU is a model that normally has integrated graphics but that it isn't doing anything in this case. It all depends on how the manufacturer has configured the hardware in the laptop.

[sophisticles]

What happening is that you have a discrete video card (the NVIDIA card) and the on built into the cpu (the Intel gpu). They are both enabled in the bios and you have the drivers for both installed.

I am perplexed by one thing, you say you are using Windows 7, which doesn't support headless gpu's, in other words it usually doesn't let you use 2 gpu's in a non-SLI mode without some sort of trickery. Yet you say that Sony Media Studio allows you to choose either gpu to speedup the encode. Usually in order to use Intel's quick sync under Win 7 if you have a discrete gpu installed you either have to have the Intel chip set as the primary gpu with the monitor attached to it, you need to have 2 monitors installed one for each gpu or you need to have some 3rd party software installed that adds this functionality.

In your case your PC is using the Nvidia card as it's primary card but it seems that you can use the Intel gpu as a secondary card with some apps.

[ackboo]

Thanks dave... uhm, but sorry, how do I check this?

Your laptop is most likely using nvidia optimus. For day to day use you are using the intel card and when better performance is needed your laptop switches automatically to the nvidia card.

[davejavu]

Also, if you right click on the desktop the menu that comes up should give you an option to control the graphics. If the Geforce chip is the main chip there should be a menu option called 'Nvidia Control Panel' and if it is using Intel as the primary graphics the option should be something like 'Graphics Properties'.

Further to what sophistacles says above the Sony software might be seeing the graphics built into the CPU, but it may not do anything. I don't know if laptops can have multiple graphics cards usable at the same time. Most that I have seen have one graphics chipset that controls all graphics.

[Arnold_Layne]

My laptop (MSI) lets you know which GPU is in use by the color of the power button. White = Intel, Orange = Nvidia. I have the Nvidia set up to be the default GPU when gaming. Otherwise the Intel is active. There should be a setting in the Nvidia control panel to let you choose which programs to use that GPU with.