Skyrim not detecting 525m on XPS 15?

N

Nosenuggets45

Limp Gawd
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Jun 6, 2008
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I was playing Skyrim and noticed I could barely get a good framerate on all low at 720p (I have the 1080p screen). In the launcher under graphics adapter all I can see is the Intel HD Series as the GPU.

I'm running the newest beta drivers and even tried to force it to use the Nvida GPU in the Nvidia control panel but still no go. As soon as the Skyrim menu loads up, GPU usages goes right down to 0% (presumably because it's using the integrated).

Also, if I delete the Skyrimprefs.ini and Skyrim.ini, the first time I load up the launcher it shows the 525m under Graphics adapter, but as soon as I close it out and start it up again, it's back to Intel HD. Any thoughts? It's driving me mad! Luckily I still have a desktop to play on.
 
Was the nVidia setting you changed the preference for Optimus? If so, try non-beta drivers.
 
nVidia CP -> Manage 3D Settings -> Global Settings -> "High Performance nVidia Processor"

edit: no "optimus" setting, sorry about that!
 
Yepp. Tried that as well... It still only shows the integrated card under options. The only way I can even see the card is if I delete render info, skyrimpref.ini, and skyrim.ini... but it only shows it on the first boot and still won't use the GPU in game actually. I'm going to try a reinstall of skyrim. Just reinstalled the 290.53 beta drivers and still no-go.
 
One thing more, make sure Steam is restarted after changing that setting; games launched (for me) seem to abide by the GPU Steam is using (integrated or otherwise).
 
Same thing.... Tried forcing the global setting to high performance, restarted steam (after a fresh install of Skyrim) and it showed it the first time. I closed out and went back into options and right back to the Intel HD.... oh man this is KILLING me.
 
disable the intel video device, in device manager? / uninstall its drivers?

/shot in the dark
 
I gave that a shot, just for the hell of it.... When I rebooted, it said the display wasn't connected to an Nvidia GPU.... this is just getting worse and worse....
 
Have you actually asked the tech support of the company (which you didnt specify) that made your laptop?
 
It's a Dell. :p

OP, any update? Not sure what disabling the GPU would accomplish, but let us know.
 
I had a Lenovo with switchable graphics. Not sure if yours is the same, but in the BIOS, there were settings for which GPU to use or to allow the OS to switch with software. Might be worth checking if everything is set properly in there.
 
Plug in an HDMI monitor. The laptop can't use integrated on HDMI (guessing this is a XPS 15 or 15z) *doh* says right in the title

If you have a picture you are using the Nvidia card. Check your frame rates they should be better. This would point to a driver issue.

If not you are stuck on Intel and probably have something goofy in either BIOS or a hardware problem.
 
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I'm using the 285.62 WHQL drivers on my XPS 15 (not z) with Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit, and I didn't have any issues running Skyrim FWIW. I've never touched any of the settings in the Nvidia control panel, nor the bios.

I also have the 525m graphics card, and haven't run into issues with it not switching over to the discrete card when needed.
 
Update. Still haven't been able to fix it. I'm going to try another driver install, as the new beta drivers sure aren't helping me at all.

CEpeep said:
I had a Lenovo with switchable graphics. Not sure if yours is the same, but in the BIOS, there were settings for which GPU to use or to allow the OS to switch with software. Might be worth checking if everything is set properly in there.
Click to expand...
I looked in the BIOS but couldn't find anything related to the GPU.

bigddybn said:
Plug in an HDMI monitor. The laptop can't use integrated on HDMI (guessing this is a XPS 15 or 15z) *doh* says right in the title

If you have a picture you are using the Nvidia card. Check your frame rates they should be better. This would point to a driver issue.

If not you are stuck on Intel and probably have something goofy in either BIOS or a hardware problem.
Click to expand...
Hmm, I'll have to give that a try.

Sgraffite said:
I'm using the 285.62 WHQL drivers on my XPS 15 (not z) with Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit, and I didn't have any issues running Skyrim FWIW. I've never touched any of the settings in the Nvidia control panel, nor the bios.

I also have the 525m graphics card, and haven't run into issues with it not switching over to the discrete card when needed.
Click to expand...
I'll try those drivers and see if ti works. Since you have the same hardware and software, it seems like I'm having more of an isolated problem here. I know the GPU is functioning because when I load up any other game, the GPU usage goes way up. The second I load up skyrim, BAM right back down to 0% :(
 
FINALLY! I uninstalled all of the Nvidia stuff, ran a driver sweep, then installed the 285.62 drivers instead of the new 290.53 beta drivers. Made sure to set Skyrim in the Nvidia control panel to use the GPU and it now works!
 
Though there seems to be a new issue... now my GPU WON'T stop working. It stays in 3D mode, causing the fan to spin up, slow down, spin up, slow down, every few seconds. One problem leads to the next...

Edit: Scratch that. It just took awhile for it to downclock.
 
Glad you got it working! The fan speed rubberbanding is a well known issue, but I'm not sure if Dell plans on fixing it. I run folding at home on mine so it's a non-issue, as the fan is on constantly :D If you are running some software that detects temps, GPU usage, etc it MAY contribute to making the issue worse.

By the was some less known facts about this laptop in case you didn't know:
1. It has been confirmed to support 16gb of ram with 2x 8gb sticks. These are on sale now for $149.
2. It has been confirmed to support 1866MHz RAM, which the XPS 17 does not for some reason.
3. You can put a second hard drive in the optical bay with a cheap caddy.
4. The e-sata port on the right side also functions as a USB port (I didn't realize that for a few months!).
 
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How does Skyrim run on your 525M?

I got my XPS 15 with the 420M last year, and am thinking about upgrading since I have to drop the settings into the basement to get anything near playable, and even that is pretty bad.

The best graphics available on the XPS 15 on the Dell website is the 540M, which doesn't seem very good, and I really want something that can play modern game with decent settings at 1920x1080.
 
With a solid OC, I've been playing at 1600 x 900 with most high settings and rarely go below 30 fps, usually around 40 fps. I could play at 1920, but I'd rather a slightly lower resolution with higher settings than vice versa.
 
I set the resolution to 720p, and it played very smoothly at that. I don't try to game on high settings on my laptop as it is my fallback *shrug*. I've never tried to overclock anything on it.

According to Fraps, the framerate generally hovers in the 40s. In tunnels and smaller spaces it hits 60, and in large room it hits low to mid 30s. Occasionally it will dip into the 20s, but very rarely. I tested at 1600x900 with low detail, and antialiasing and ansiotropic filtering off. Nothing is overclocked.
 
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Sgraffite said:
Glad you got it working! The fan speed rubberbanding is a well known issue, but I'm not sure if Dell plans on fixing it. I run folding at home on mine so it's a non-issue, as the fan is on constantly :D If you are running some software that detects temps, GPU usage, etc it MAY contribute to making the issue worse.

By the was some less known facts about this laptop in case you didn't know:
1. It has been confirmed to support 16gb of ram with 2x 8gb sticks. These are on sale now for $149.
2. It has been confirmed to support 1866MHz RAM, which the XPS 17 does not for some reason.
3. You can put a second hard drive in the optical bay with a cheap caddy.
4. The e-sata port on the right side also functions as a USB port (I didn't realize that for a few months!).
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks!! I knew first and third one. The second is interesting as well, but the e-sata/USB BLEW my mind haha. Right as I read that, I grabbed my friends USB cord and tried it, then just stared at it in awe. He had no idea what was going on :p

Sgraffite said:
I set the resolution to 720p, and it played very smoothly at that. I don't try to game on high settings on my laptop as it is my fallback *shrug*. I've never tried to overclock anything on it.

According to Fraps, the framerate generally hovers in the 40s. In tunnels and smaller spaces it hits 60, and in large room it hits low to mid 30s. Occasionally it will dip into the 20s, but very rarely. I tested at 1600x900 with low detail, and antialiasing and ansiotropic filtering off. Nothing is overclocked.
Click to expand...

Same here. It's for at college or if I want to play some games at a friends house or away from my desktop. I can easily play skyrim on ultra with my rig (which surprised me considering they said you'd need more than a 260 for ultra) even with texture mods and I rarely ever go below 30 fps. Usually 40-60 for the most part.
 
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Sgraffite said:
4. The e-sata port on the right side also functions as a USB port (I didn't realize that for a few months!).
Click to expand...

lol, I've had mine for over a year and never realized that. Thanks for adding a 3rd USB slot to my laptop, it's one of few things that bugged me about it.
 
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