Conflict between Intel and NVidia graphic card

[Mattia89]

I have a problem with my laptop. It is a HP Pavilion - 15-cc106nl. It is equipped with an integrated Intel graphic card and an Nvidia 940MX (4GB VRAM), I have W10 64bit and the latest drivers for my NVidia graphic card (388.31 as red from the NVidia software, or 23.21.13.8831 as red from System information).

Unfortunately my NVidia graphic card is not working, as shown by poor performance with videogames: Starcraft2 has to be played with the lowest graphic settings, and The Witcher 3 is unplayable (a couple of fps) even with everything set on low.

Interestingly in the System Information (Win+R -> msinfo32) The graphic card is correctly marked to be the NVidia Gefroce 940MX, but below, where it says Card RAM it counts (1 048 576) Byte, which is 1GB, so for me this is another hint that the graphic card is not working correctly.

Already tried approaches:

-Reinstalling NVidia driver.

-Rollback the Intel driver.

-Windows in Safe Mode, then uninstall Intel and NVidia drivers, then Windows in normal mode, and reinstall the drivers. (Couldn't do the hard reset as I could not find any way to remove the laptop battery).

-From NVidia software Optimus manually assign the 940MX to the two games.

Nothing worked.

Thank you for your help

Mattia

[DavidSMP · Accepted solution]

Hi @Mattia89,

Good Day.  Thank you for posting your query in the HP community.  I read the post regarding issues with not able to play games with the computer correctly and to switch to Nvidia graphics card using the switchable graphics feature. I will be delighted to assist you here.

Superb description and commendable diagnosis of the issue before posting. Kudos to you for that. 🙂

For better clarity and to assist you better I would require more information regarding this:

• Did you try to switch the graphics card to the NVidia card and check if it works?
• Do the games lag even with the power adapter connected?

For now, try these steps:

You might want to reduce the visual effects for windows to save the amount of CPU & Graphics card usage required to run your game properly.

 Here's how you do it:

·        Go to Start Menu > click on Settings.  

·        Type performance > choose Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.   

·        In the new window, go to the Visual Effects and select Adjust for best performance.  

·         click Apply and ok...this should do the trick. 

Then try playing different games and check. If it still does not work, try playing the game at a reduced frame rate and check. make sure that the charger is connected.

• Please uninstall the ACPI battery drivers from device manager.
• Reset all power plans to factory defaults and then select high-performance option power from power options from this link: http://hp.care/2rUUbXB
• Right-Click on start button> click device manager> expand display adapters>then select the display drivers that are listed and right-click on it and uninstall the drivers.
• Check the box that states delete the software for this device.
• Then restart the computer and update the bios chipset and graphics drivers from this link: http://hp.care/2syreDe and follow the on-screen instructions.

Later follow all the relevant steps to switch between the graphics and to use Nvidia from this link: http://hp.care/2tz01So

This should fix the issue as long as there is no hardware issue with the computer. Ensure that the charger is connected to the computer always while paling games.

Please perform all these steps patiently as it is critical to resolving the issue. The trick is to remain patient. Going by your technical expertise and competence I am sure you will be able to perform these steps without breaking a sweat.

Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes. To simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care and have a blessed week ahead. 🙂

Cheers!

[Mattia89]

Thank you very much, the problem was most likely the drivers version as the one that I installed now (from the HP website) is the 22.21.13.8259 (an older one respect to the one I had installed).

I saw that NVidia is no longer fully supporting the 940MX graphic card, does this mean that I should take extra care before downloading a driver version from the NVidia website?

[DavidSMP]

Hi @Mattia89,

It has been a wonderful experience working with you.  I thank you greatly for accepting this as a solution.  You've been simply amazing with your technical expertise and thanks again for giving me the privilege to share this platform with you. 🙂

I hope the unit works great and stays healthy for a long time. To answer your question, the HP drivers are tested and hosted on the support site. It has been provided by NVidia though. So if the older driver works correctly, it is suggested to stick with it till an updated version is posted on the HP website if and when NVidia releases the update. Till then please continue using the current driver.

I for one believe it is best to continue with a working and tested driver rather than updating one that causes a conflict. With your commonsense I think you agree to it also for the time being till updated drivers are provided by NVidia if they are provided at all. Hope this answers the question.

To simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help.

Please take care, stay healthy, keep smiling big and do have a blessed year ahead. 🙂