Using integrated and dedicated grapahics card simultaneously

[paper006]

Good day,

when you have enabled both your dedicated and integrated GPU, which one will be active? Is only the GPU processing to whom the output is connected to (HDMI)? In essence if no output is connected to a GPU, will it be idle?

This is an example: You are watching a Movie. The HDMI cable is connected to the dedicated GPU. Will the integrated GPU also process the Movie or will it not because it has no HDMI connected to it?

I hope I could explain myself properly. Thanks.

 

[DarthKyrie]

I know in Windows 10 that if you don't disable the iGPU in the BIOS that Windows sees it, at least it is this way with an AMD A10 7850K and R9 380 because Windows 10 is HSA aware software. Under Radeon Settings, it shows both as being active even without a monitor hooked up to the iGPU. As to you question about the iGPU processing the movie as well, I'm not totally sure. I know Windows 10 will shift things between the CPU and iGPU depending on which is best at the workload but it has to do with the software you are using to view it and whether it is HSA aware or not.

I hope this helps and doesn't confuse you more.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I know in Windows 10 that if you don't disable the iGPU in the BIOS that Windows sees it, at least it is this way with an AMD A10 7850K and R9 380 because Windows 10 is HSA aware software. Under Radeon Settings, it shows both as being active even without a monitor hooked up to the iGPU. As to you question about the iGPU processing the movie as well, I'm not totally sure. I know Windows 10 will shift things between the CPU and iGPU depending on which is best at the workload but it has to do with the software you are using to view it and whether it is HSA aware or not.

I hope this helps and doesn't confuse you more.

My computer has a setting in the bios to enable the igpu when a discrete card is installed.

 

[DarthKyrie]

My computer has a setting in the bios to enable the igpu when a discrete card is installed.

Same here but I like W10 to be able to use my iGPU if it's needed. If you have an AMD APU I'd suggest enabling it, I'm not sure how W10 handles Intel's iGPU so can't really advice on them. I really wish Intel would join the HSA Foundation now that they are going to be licensing Radeon IP.

 

[TheELF]

Either you go for software where you can specifically choose which gpu is to be used like mpc-hc/smooth video player or you try by changing which display is the main one each time, since most software will use the gpu that is connected to the main display.

 

[jkauff]

If your UEFI/BIOS supports simultaneous use, you can at least use the QuickSync functions of the Intel iGPU for programs like Handbrake and MPC-HC on Win 10. Supposedly DX12 will support simultaneous use in games, but I don't know if the current version does.

 

[Ratman6161]

Yes you can. I can vouch for this (at least with Intel systems) as I've been doing it since 2011. There are even some advantages to it.

Up until recently my my system was an I7-2600K with an Asrock Z68 Pro 3. So there was HD Graphics 3000 on the CPU and I also had a GTS450 PCIe card. Just to make it work there were no settings that had to be changed anywhere. Both worked and powered whichever monitors were connected to them with no special settings needed. To answer your specific question, the graphics are processed on the GPU that is hooked up to the monitor you are displaying your movie on. This is something Intel clarified when it realeased the sandy bridge CPU's (like my 2600K). They said if you wanted to use the transcoding features built into their graphics, you should run the software you were using on a monitor connected to the onboard graphics.

However, there was a setting in the BIOS where you could set which one was primary, Integrated or PCIe. Once Windows was running that made no difference at all. It only made a difference during boot up. During boot, all the bios screens were displayed only on the monitors connected to whatever was set as primary. I set integrated graphics as primary. Why?

1. If you are having a problem with the PCIe card, then you always get a display that works.
2. I wanted to turn on Fast Boot. To do that, all components of the system have to be UEFI compatible. My GTS 450 is not. But the Intel integrated graphics are. With the integrated graphics as primary, the PCIe card was (apparently) ignored during boot (though it still worked fine once Windows started and its drivers loaded) I was able to turn on Fast boot.

 

[2is]

I'm running both my IGP and a discrete card on my 2600k and 3770k machines. I've got my 2nd monitor connected to it on both boxes.