Question How can you tell if a laptop has two video chips BEFORE you buy?

[semmelbroesler]

Hi.

A laptop I bought has two video cards inside which is causing issues. Neither the manufacturer's website nor the site where I purchased it mentioned the additional card.

How can I tell BEFORE MAKING A PURCHASE if a laptop has two video cards like that so I can avoid this situation?

I am currently looking at:

• MSI Raider GE Series 17"
• MSI Stealth GS Series 17"
• ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE

Neither of these mention a second card, but then the ASUS TUF A17 I have doesn't mention it either, and yet there it is.

(I know how to check the Device Manager, but I can't do that until I own the product)

Details:

I have run into trouble with my Oculus Quest 2 not working properly with my laptop because it has both the main nvidia card AND a cheaper AMD card inside, and the two cards seem to be fighting over who gets to run what. I understand the idea that lower-end tasks can run on the lower-end card, and I understand that Windows has a settings location where you can pick which application uses which card - and yet I still run into trouble. So I'm looking into a new laptop, and I want to avoid the same scenario.

Note, I am not looking for advice on how to fix my issue - I just want to know how to buy a laptop that won't have this issue. If I buy something with an nvidia card, I want ONLY the nvidia card.

Thanks!

 

[rgd1101]

don't remember any laptop cpu that don't have a igpu.

 

[semmelbroesler]

don't remember any laptop cpu that don't have a igpu.

Hm, I could be wrong, but my 6 year old ASUS ROG only seems to have its nvidia...

If laptops these days ALWAYS have two cards, well, then I'll have to research deeper into which laptops specifically are known to not cause issues with the Oculus software...

 

[semmelbroesler]

Hm, I could be wrong, but my 6 year old ASUS ROG only seems to have its nvidia...

If laptops these days ALWAYS have two cards, well, then I'll have to research deeper into which laptops specifically are known to not cause issues with the Oculus software...

Yes, my current laptop: Asus ROG G752VT - Device Manager only shows the nvidia GTX 970m and no other Display Adapter. So I guess that changed in the last 6 years...

 

[rgd1101]

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-ROG-G752VT-Notebook-Review.153805.0.html

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-i7-6700HQ-Notebook-Processor.149420.0.html

you might have disabled it in device manager

 

[semmelbroesler]

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-ROG-G752VT-Notebook-Review.153805.0.html

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-i7-6700HQ-Notebook-Processor.149420.0.html

you might have disabled it in device manager

Geeze, I'm behind on the times - the integrated graphics are now part of the CPU?!?

Well, the weird thing is: There is no disabled item in the Device Manager! I enabled "Show Hidden Devices", too.

Whenever I disable anything, it still shows up as inactive.

So no, this laptop for some reason does NOT seem to have a second video card...

But I guess my question is answered - it doesn't look like i will find a modern laptop without an integrated video chip, so I need to go another route in my search.

Thanks for your replies!

 

[laurafinn]

you can check that on the manual or on the side of the laptop.

 

[rgd1101]

could be a bios setting