How do I check to see if I am using the graphics card?[SOLVED]

[MurphCID]

I have a System 76 Thelio with an AMD 6600XT card. How do I make sure that the software is using the graphics card instead of the onboard graphics by default? I have checked the bios, no setting, in software no setting, and if I right click on a program it asks if I want to use dedicated graphics. So how do I make sure that I am using the 6600XT rather than onboard graphics?

[furt7]

Not for some specific app but a general check:

Code: Select all

glxinfo | grep OpenGL
DRI_PRIME=1 glxinfo | grep OpenGL

The second output should be different from the first.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I have a System 76 Thelio with an AMD 6600XT card. How do I make sure that the software is using the graphics card instead of the onboard graphics by default? I have checked the bios, no setting, in software no setting, and if I right click on a program it asks if I want to use dedicated graphics. So how do I make sure that I am using the 6600XT rather than onboard graphics?

IIRC, you are using more than one monitor. If your monitors ares plugged into the graphics card and not on the HDMI port, and you are getting an image on all monitors, you are using the card. To use onboard graphics, a monitor has to be connected to the onboard graphics port on the rear I/O panel of the MOBO to get a display.

I don't recall if you are using an Intel CPU or an AMD CPU. If it's AMD and the MOBO is Gigabyte and System 76 hasn't replaced the MOBOI firmware with one that uses a different BIO interface, then I can say with certainty that there is a setting in the BIOS that allows you to disable onboard graphics.

The setting is buried, though. Once in the BIOS, make sure you are in Advanced Mode (pressing F2 toggles between Easy and Advanced Modes).

Click on the Settings "tab" up near the top of the screen.

Double click on I/O Ports (second selection down the list below the top "tabs".

Double click on Integrated Graphics (second selection down on the list below the top "tabs". The default setting is Auto. You can change it if you want but I never bothered with mine.

Then click on the Save & Exit "tab" at the right top of the screen. In the list that pops up, if you made a change to a setting and you want to keep it, double click it, the click on YES when it pops up. If you didn't make any changes or just don't want to save them, double click on Exit Without Saving and click on yes when it pops up.

The computer will exit the BIOS and reboot into the OS.

[MurphCID]

Thanks, they are plugged into the video card. And thanks for the tip on that really buried setting, I missed it completely since I did not think that the i/o would be where they hid video cards. Much appreciated.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Thanks, they are plugged into the video card. And thanks for the tip on that really buried setting, I missed it completely since I did not think that the i/o would be where they hid video cards. Much appreciated.

No worries! I'll send you a bill at the end of the month!

[MurphCID]

OH My Goodness NO!

[Lady Fitzgerald]

OH My Goodness NO!

[seasons]

I realize this is solved, but you or anyone else reading this may want to look at amdgpu_top:
https://github.com/Umio-Yasuno/amdgpu_top