How to Choose the Right Graphics Card for " IRONCAD " and Other Programs in Windows 11

Get the most out of your graphics card in " IRONCAD " and other demanding programs

Do you have a computer with both an integrated and a dedicated graphics card? If so, IRONCAD may use the integrated graphics card instead of the more powerful dedicated one. This can affect graphics performance when you're working with larger or more complex 3D models.

This problem can occur on both laptops and desktop computers. In this guide, we'll show you how to check and change this setting in Windows 11.

Why does the computer have two graphics cards?

Many modern computers, especially laptops, have two graphics cards:

• Integrated graphics card: Built into the processor and typically used for simpler graphics tasks. It is energy-efficient and helps conserve battery life.
• Dedicated graphics card: A separate graphics card from, for example, NVIDIA or AMD, with its own graphics processor and dedicated graphics memory. It is significantly more powerful for demanding graphics tasks.

Windows normally automatically selects which graphics card to use for different programs. Sometimes, however, you need to change this manually to ensure that IRONCAD uses the dedicated graphics card.

How to Config IRONCAD to Use the Dedicated Graphics Card

Follow these steps in Windows 11:

1. Right-click on the desktop and select Display Settings.
2. Scroll down and select " Graphics " under " Related Settings."
3. Click " Add desktop app " (in older versions of Windows 11, select "Desktop app" from the drop-down list and click " Browse" instead).
4. Locate the IRONCAD program file, IRONCAD.exe. It is usually located in the folder C:\Program Files\IronCAD\IRONCAD 20xx\bin.
5. Select " IRONCAD " from the list and click " Options."
6. Select " High Performance." The computer's dedicated graphics card should appear here, such as NVIDIA GeForce or AMD Radeon.
7. Click Save.

Restart IRONCAD for the change to take effect.

Do you have an NVIDIA graphics card?

If your computer has an NVIDIA graphics card, you can also check the setting in the NVIDIA Control Panel.

1. Right-click on the desktop and open the NVIDIA Control Panel.
2. Go to Manage 3D Settings.
3. Select the " Program Settings" tab.
4. Add IRONCAD if the program isn't already in the list.
5. If this option is available, select the high-performance NVIDIA processor as your preferred graphics processor.
6. Click " Execute."

Please note that modern versions of Windows control the selection of the graphics processor and may override the settings in the NVIDIA Control Panel. We therefore recommend that you make the change through Windows graphics settings first.

If you have an AMD graphics card, the corresponding setting can be found in AMD Software under " Graphics," but even there, the Windows setting takes precedence.

Check which graphics card IRONCAD is using

Would you like to check if the change worked?

1. Launch IRONCAD and open a 3D model.
2. Open Task Manager using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
3. Go to the " Processes" tab.
4. Right-click the column headers and select the " GPU Engine" column.
5. Find " IRONCAD " in the list, and rotate or zoom in on the model while viewing the column.

If you're using a dedicated graphics card, you should see, for example, "GPU 1 – 3D," depending on how the graphics cards are numbered in your specific computer. When " IRONCAD " is not updating, the column may be empty, so feel free to work on the model in the meantime.

Tip! You can also go to the Performance tab in Task Manager to see which graphics cards are installed and how heavily they're being used.

Are you still not getting the graphics performance you want?

Choosing the dedicated graphics card does not automatically mean that all the workload is shifted from the CPU to the graphics card. IRONCAD uses both the CPU and GPU for different tasks. If you are still experiencing issues with graphics performance, it may be worth checking the graphics engine settings under IRONCAD Options. Learn more about the various 3D graphics options at IRONCAD.