Intel HD Graphics And Radeon Graphics

Question

Hope you can help me with this one, and help me to understand, I'm not really to AMD stuff. I just would like to ask multiple questions regarding with this matter. I have little understanding with this topic, for the many past years Intel was Known and used by majority of people - I believed. And every time they used Intel CPU's - iSeries it usually accompanied with Graphics card - NVIDIA (Whenever I used to view/canvas laptop in the market with the sticker NVIDIA graphics it in).

Here's the scenario: My father bought me a Laptop (No OS installed) using Intel CPU and no sticker labelled that uses RADEON just the Intel CPU Sticker that it runs i5. When I installed Windows 10 and update it, I notice that it installed AMD RADEON GRAPHICS ..... and so on with the description.

I got confused because it downloaded & installed 'INTEL GRAPHICS DRIVER' while updating the drivers. Here's my question:

1. Will AMD graphics cause conflict with the installed Intel graphics driver?
2. When it downloaded RADEON, is it not for the default graphic driver?
3. When Intel graphics was installed it has HD control panel but RADEON doesn't - from the third picture
4. Are both Intel and AMD Radeon are both enabled by default?
5. Can I both enable these two if Radeon is not enable?
6. If ever both can be enable will it auto switch if it detected heavy rendering/display - the Intel HD graphics and AMD Radeon - vice versa?

Sample from dxdiag:

Thank you in advance.

Solution

Quite often, laptops will have two graphics chips.

Will AMD graphics cause conflict with the installed Intel graphics driver?

Not unless something goes wrong, in laptops they usually supplement each other. Your Intel graphics will be used for tasks such as browsing the internet, Microsoft office and the like. If you were to boot up a 3D application such as a game, the Intel chip will hand over to your AMD card who is more suited to the task. This behaviour is configurable in the AMD catalyst control center if you wanted the AMD card to be permanently in control (Not needed.)

When it downloaded RADEON, is it not for the graphic driver?

Yes it is, the model name for AMD graphics begins with AMD RADEON. You will have 2 graphics drivers, one Intel one AMD.

When Intel graphics was installed it has HD control panel but `RADEON doesn't - from the third picture

Those are the two tabs, display and render. Display = Used to browse your computer and normal tasks. Render = Used to perform demanding graphical tasks (Gaming etc.)

Forcing AMD/ Enabling automatic switchover

To verify that the switchover from AMD to Intel is automatically occurring, you can do the following (May vary slightly according to versions of Intel Chip):

• Right Click your desktop, then graphics properties
• Click "3D"
• General Settings - Balanced (Performance for permanent AMD control) & Application optimal mode On.
• Go back to the control panel and click "Power"
• Plugged in power plan set to balanced (Maximum Performance if you want your AMD card to permanently be on)

Now on the AMD side of things:

• Open Catalyst control center
• Click powerplay
• Have Plugged into set for maximum performance (Your choice for battery.)
• Go back to the CCC home and click switchable graphics. Set plugged into optimize for switchable graphics or Maximum for permanent AMD control.
• Go back home again. In switchable graphics application settings, you can set per application if it should use power saving (Intel) or maximum performance (AMD).

Now you mentioned in your comment an emulator needs to run on Intel. Add it as an application in the switchable graphics application setting and force it to run in power saving.

If you're having problems beyond this, ensure that both the Intel and AMD drivers (and CCC) are up to their latest versions, they should both pickup each other's existence.

Comments

[Paul]

It certainly looks like you have both. This is common in laptops, where the low resource Intel graphics are used in preference to the heavy-lifting AMD graphics, which would kick in when doing something that needed extra power. The question is what do you want? If you want this mode switching, then the AMD drivers will have options for you. If not then you can disable the AMD graphics card in the bios.

[Psycogeek]

And because they work together as a team (the intel is the framebuffer) assembled by the laptop manufacture as such, aquiring the drivers for the specific laptop model, from the laptop manufactures website , is probably best, at least to get things going. Which model of laptop is it?

[RoCk RoCk]

@Paul - I did not find the RADEON Control Panel. Is this mean that It is not enable is the bios? - If enable - is their auto detect if for example I played a game Assassins Creed IV will it auto switch from Intel to AMD RADEON? And If RADEON was enable will it disable Intel HD graphics? I somehow notice in the dxdiag in the Render Tab that the last two was n/a for me RADEON is not used/enable.

[RoCk RoCk]

Is Intel and AMD graphics both enabled by default?

[Lister]

Its a good question considering you installed your own OS. I have done the same on my laptop with windows 10 this week but have not actually done any graphically intensive stuff. Let me get back to you on that tonight with a definitive answer. I know in the nvidia control panel before I reinstalled it had an option as to when to use the in build graphics and when to use the dedicated card, so it may just work with compatability between both vendors. I would hazard a guess that because Dxdiag is showing you both then both should work. Running a benchmark tool (Valley for example) would show it.

[RoCk RoCk]

Many thank you Sir, I'm along side developing an Android Application and in order to run an emulator, the processor must be INTEL, I just wondering also if I changed by dedicated Graphics card to AMD RADEON coz I'm also playing Assassins Creed IV for (leisure). I wonder if it affects by emulator rendering? Dxdiag showed both graphics installed but I think they are not both enabled, since the Render tab shows n/a below. I thought that it would be auto detect, if I play a game it will switch to RADEON . But I guess not. Looking forward for your answer. Many thank you.

[Lister]

@RoCk answer updated