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Game runs on the integrated GPU instead of the NVIDIA one

Last verified August 2026Tested against Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2, Windows 10 version 2004 (20H1) and laterWell documented

Set it in Windows, not in the NVIDIA Control Panel. Since Windows 10 version 20H1, the operating system assigns the GPU per application and overrides whatever Manage 3D Settings says — NVIDIA documents this itself. Go to Settings > System > Display > Graphics, add the game's own executable under Custom options for apps, set it to High performance, and restart the game.

Start here

  1. Set the graphics preference in Windows Settings
  2. Restart the game and confirm the switch actually happened

The reason this problem is so persistent is that the most-repeated advice for it stopped working years ago. Guides still say to open the NVIDIA Control Panel, choose Manage 3D Settings, and set the preferred graphics processor — and on any current Windows install, that setting is overridden by the OS for applications Windows already has a preference for. NVIDIA's own documentation says to use the Windows Graphics Settings instead.

Symptoms

  • Frame rate is a fraction of what the laptop's GPU should manage
  • Task Manager shows GPU 0 (the integrated chip) busy while the NVIDIA GPU sits near zero
  • The game's own video options list Intel or AMD integrated graphics as the renderer
  • Setting the preferred graphics processor in the NVIDIA Control Panel changes nothing
  • The NVIDIA GPU is used in some games but not this one
  • Performance is fine on mains power and terrible on battery, or the other way round

Why this happens

Windows owns the decision, and it overrides the NVIDIA Control Panel

From Windows 10 version 20H1 onward, Windows assigns the graphics processor per application, and NVIDIA states plainly that this overrides anything set in NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D Settings for that application. The NVIDIA setting is a fallback that only applies when Windows has no preference recorded. This is why so many people set it in the control panel, see no change, and conclude their GPU is broken.

Set the graphics preference in Windows Settings · Use the NVIDIA Control Panel only as a fallback

Hybrid graphics is designed to use the integrated GPU by default

On a laptop with both GPUs, the system deliberately runs light workloads on the integrated GPU and only wakes the discrete one for heavy work, to save power. That is normal behaviour, not a fault. It goes wrong when the switching heuristic does not recognise a title as heavy — common with launchers, emulators, older engines and games run through a wrapper.

Set the graphics preference in Windows Settings

The change was made but the game never restarted

A program that is already running keeps the graphics processor it started on. NVIDIA is explicit about this: the preference only takes effect when the program is restarted. Changing the setting with the game minimised and then alt-tabbing back proves nothing.

Restart the game and confirm the switch actually happened

The preference was applied to the launcher, not the game

Most games start through a launcher that then spawns a separate executable. A preference set on the launcher does not follow the process it starts. The entry has to point at the executable that actually renders — the one you can see running in Task Manager while the game is on screen, not the one you clicked.

Set the graphics preference in Windows Settings · Restart the game and confirm the switch actually happened

Fixes

Set the graphics preference in Windows Settings

about 5 min

This is the setting that actually decides, and it is the one NVIDIA's own documentation points you at.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2, Windows 10 version 2004 and later

  1. Open Settings > System > Display > Graphics.
  2. Under Custom options for apps, check whether the game is already listed. If it is, select it and choose Options.
  3. If it is not listed, add it. Choose Desktop app for a normal game, or Microsoft Store app for anything installed through the Xbox app or the Store, then browse to it.
  4. Point it at the executable that does the rendering, not the launcher. If you are unsure, start the game, open Task Manager, and look on the Details tab for the process consuming GPU — that name is the one to add.
  5. Set Graphics preference to High performance. The other choices, Let Windows decide (Power saving) and Power saving, both leave the integrated GPU in play.
  6. Save, then close the game completely.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: Microsoft, NVIDIA

Restart the game and confirm the switch actually happened

about 5 min

A running program keeps the GPU it started on, so the only honest test is a cold start followed by a look at what is doing the work.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2, Windows 10 version 2004 and later

  1. Close the game and its launcher entirely — check Task Manager that neither process is still alive.
  2. Start the game again from scratch.
  3. With the game running, open Task Manager, go to Performance, and watch both GPUs. The discrete GPU should now be the busy one.
  4. Cross-check inside the game: most engines name the active adapter in their video or display options.
  5. If the game moved but performance is still poor, the GPU was never the bottleneck — that is a different problem and this article will not solve it.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: NVIDIA

Use the NVIDIA Control Panel only as a fallback

about 5 min

It still works for applications Windows has no preference for. It is the second thing to try, not the first.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2, Windows 10 version 2004 and later

  1. Do this only after the Windows setting is in place. If the two disagree, Windows wins.
  2. Open NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D Settings > Program Settings, select the game, and set the preferred graphics processor to the high-performance NVIDIA processor.
  3. Restart the game — a running program keeps its original GPU.
  4. If the option is greyed out or reverts, that is the expected outcome when Windows already holds a preference for that application. Go back and fix the Windows entry instead.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: NVIDIA, NVIDIA

Known issues

  • The NVIDIA driver can override the user's choice outright when a program requires a specific graphics processor — for example a title needing CUDA or a DirectX feature the integrated GPU does not implement. In that case neither the Windows setting nor the control panel will move it.

    Affects Windows 10 version 2004 and later, Windows 11 · Status: open

If none of this worked

If both GPUs sit near idle while the game runs badly, the bottleneck is the CPU, storage or a frame cap, and none of this applies. If the NVIDIA GPU does not appear in Task Manager or Device Manager at all, this is a driver or hardware problem rather than a preference problem — reinstall the vendor driver before anything else. On a desktop rather than a laptop, check which port the monitor is plugged into: a cable in the motherboard's video output routes the display through the integrated GPU regardless of what Windows is told. And if performance changes sharply between mains and battery, look at the power settings and the laptop maker's own performance modes before blaming GPU selection.

Common questions

Why does the NVIDIA Control Panel setting not work any more?
Because Windows took the decision over. NVIDIA's documentation states that from Windows 10 version 20H1 onward, the OS assigns the graphics processor for applications and overrides the Manage 3D Settings preference. The control panel setting is not broken — it is a fallback for applications Windows has no preference for. Guides that lead with it are simply out of date.
Should I just disable the integrated GPU in Device Manager?
No. On most laptops the integrated GPU is what drives the built-in display, and disabling it can leave you with a black screen. It also breaks the power management the machine was designed around. The per-application preference achieves the same result without any of that risk.
Does High performance hurt battery life?
For that application, yes — it keeps the discrete GPU awake whenever the app runs. That is the trade the setting exists to make. It is per-application, so setting it on a game does not affect your browser or anything else.
The game is not in the list and Browse cannot find it. Now what?
Store and Game Pass titles install under a protected folder and will not appear in a normal file browse. Use the Microsoft Store app option in the dropdown rather than Desktop app — that lists them by name. For everything else, start the game, find the rendering process on the Details tab of Task Manager, right-click it and choose Open file location to get the real path.
Do I need to do this for AMD switchable graphics too?
The Windows setting is vendor-neutral and applies the same way on AMD hybrid laptops. The specific claim about being overridden is documented by NVIDIA for its own control panel; treat the AMD equivalent the same way in practice — set the Windows preference first, and use the vendor panel only if Windows has no entry for the app.

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Related problems

Sources

  • Setting the Preferred Graphics ProcessorOfficial

    NVIDIA · Documentation · checked Aug 22, 2026

    • NVIDIA states that beginning with Windows 10 20H1 the OS assigns the graphics processor for applications and overrides any setting made in NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D Settings
    • NVIDIA directs users to change the GPU preference from the Windows Graphics Settings
    • The NVIDIA Control Panel preference only applies when the OS has no GPU preference recorded for that application
  • Using NVIDIA's Power-Saving GPU TechnologyOfficial

    NVIDIA · Documentation · checked Aug 22, 2026

    • The NVIDIA driver selects the graphics processor automatically for best performance
    • Programs already running keep the graphics processor they started on, so the program must be restarted for a preference change to take effect
    • The driver may override the user's selection when a program requires a specific graphics processor, for example for CUDA or DirectX features the integrated GPU lacks
  • Optimizations for windowed games in Windows 11Official

    Microsoft · Support page · checked Aug 22, 2026

    • On a PC with more than one GPU, Windows lets you pick the graphics performance setting for an individual app or game
    • The setting lives at Settings > System > Display > Graphics > Custom options for apps, then Options
    • The choices offered are Let Windows decide (Power saving), Power saving and High performance
  • All about graphics processing units (GPUs)Official

    Microsoft · Support page · checked Aug 22, 2026

    • On laptops with both an integrated and a discrete GPU, the system uses the integrated GPU for lighter work and switches to the discrete GPU for heavier work to balance performance and power
    • Integrated GPUs are built into the motherboard and are less powerful but more power-efficient than discrete GPUs