GP60 Graphics aren't kicking in

Hi, I'm new to this forum, and am unsure of the proper way to format this question, but here goes nothing:

i have a new MSI GP60 , core i7, 8gb ram, 2gb Nvidia 840m. I was told that applications will automatically switch between the integrated and discrete gpu, depending upon the load placed on them. I opened up Autocad, Solidworks, 1080p movies, and even the Windows Experience index, but the numbers and performance I get are only ever consistent with the Intel HD capabilities. I also had Dragon Gaming Centre open throughout all of these actions, and the GPU percentage never moved from 0. Does anyone know if I can just disable the Intel HD completely, and run the 840 the entire time? And not through device manager, I don't want a black screen again, and have to load safe mode to re-enable. Battery life is not an issue, I'm usually very near a plug. I welcome any and all assistance and plans of action!

Thank you

 

how is the indicator in the lower right part of your screen when you run autocad ?

 

Autocad says hardware acceleration is on, but I honestly get a nearly indistinguishable experience on an older lapop with no discrete gpu. Solidworks benchmarks numbers equate to other laptops running HD 4000, which are twenty to thirty times slower than where they should be.

 

Have you tried forcing the software to run via dedicated GPU on the nvidia control panel? I can right click .exe and select which graphics card to launch as well as force nvidia control panel to always use nvidia gpu.

 

This is what I've ended up doing, however I still cannot verify the extent to which Autocad or Solidworks use it. In the control panel under Desktop, I've clicked Display GPU activity icon, but that only shows which programs are using the gpu, not the extent, or any other useful information.

 

Have you checked if they work with optimus setups?

 

This is important. Does GP series also have video out routed directly to the dGPU like in Gt series? Maybe that will help solve the problem, even if you are forced to use an external monitor.

 

No, they don't, which is why it could be a road block.

 

I have not tried this, and unfortunately cannot locate a driver for the 840m

 

If the color of LED light changed then it's working.
However, 840M isn't much of performer so don't expect a dramatic increase in performance.
The performance of 840M is slightly under GTX 280.

 

The 840m driver can be downloaded at msi.com

 

I've never used the programs you mention but they could only need the dGPU for certain tasks so thats why you are not seeing any load on it. Adobe Premiere Pro works in that way which I am familiar with.

 

It depends on what they use, say just to accelerate a 3d preview or if they use cuda for acceleration of final renders etc.

 

Thank you all, I ended up just reinstalling the driver, and everything works perfectly! (lol, "Have you tried turning it off and on again?")