Reposting, as suggested, from Games&Hardware, with the additional steps I’ve taken to try and fix this issue.
“Hi! I’d like to preface this by saying while I love gaming in general, I never really was interested in the technical part of things, so I apologize if I don’t get a couple of details correct or require a more dumbed down explanation.
With that being said I’ll start off by listing my specs:
Lenovo Legion Y520 - Windows 10
Intel Core i5-7300HQ CPU@2.50GHz
8.0GB RAM
Intel HD Graphics 630
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
With this set-up I’ve been able to run games such as Senua’s Sacrifice, Diablo III, HoTS and LoL, on pretty high graphics with no issues on FPS. My MS is stable as well.
Now when it comes to WoW ever since BFA launched and they removed the full screen option, I’ve been dealing with horrendous FPS drops and stuttering, often times playing with 5-10 FPS even on 1 graphics. I eventually got used to it, but recently I’ve been starting to do more serious content in raids and dungeons, and it’s been an absolute hell. This problem is often very inconsistent, with some days functioning normal and getting a steady 50-60 FPS on the recommended 7 graphics settings then other days just simply refusing to work at all.
Here I’ll skip the journey I took looking through old threads and solutions online, and get to the core problem that I’ve finally figured out why this is happening. While in theory and through the options I’ve changed (System>Advanced>Graphics Card:set to Nvidia; Nvidia Control Panel, both Global and Program Settings for WoW, set to Nvidia, etc.) when opened due to the lack of a fullscreen mode that enables the switch, WoW still runs on the Intel card, as the windowed fullscreen is considered part of the primary display, that uses it.
Unfortunately due do how my laptop is wired, there is absolutely no way I can change the default display to use Nvidia. While there are BIOS and other control panel options for desktop users, my laptop simply doesn’t have them.
So, to finally get to my question, is there any way in which I can make WoW stop using the primary display and make it use the Nvidia one like it’s supposed and set up to? It’s the only game I encountered this issue with, and it has negatively impacted my gameplay severely.
Thanks in advance if you read so far! LF serious replies if possible.”
In no particular order, here are the things I’ve done to try to solve this issue:
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>Have a clean reinstall of WoW, with no addons and everything returned to default
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>Use the Scan and Repair option
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>System>Advanced>Graphics Card: changed from auto-detect to Nvidia.
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>System>Advanced>Graphics API: played with all 3 options, slight performance increase when Directx12 selected but issue still prevails
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>Clearing cache regularly
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>Opening up Task Manager and closing apps that weren’t needed
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>Never having Chrome, Spotify or other apps open alongside with WoW, expect for Discord during raids.
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>Adjusting the power plan to be as optimal as possible
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>Followed every step from this post https://us.battle.net/forums/en/wow/topic/20766306520?page=1
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>Opened WoW directly from GeForce Experience
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>Opened WoW from the retail folder, both normally and as administrator
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>Had a clean reinstall of both drivers, making sure they are always up to date
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>In Nvidia Control Panel>3D Settings>Manage 3D Settings>Global Settings set to Nvidia and Program Settings WoW set to Nvidia
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>Tried disabling the Intel driver in hopes it will use Nvidia as primary, but it just goes using Microsoft instead…
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>BIOS>Configuration>Graphics Device>Only two options Discrete or UMA only; switched them around no difference
I’ve possibly tried some more things but essentially these are the most important things I think were worth noting I tried to do.
EDIT: I’ve also opened a ticket, and uploaded a vid with my current situation, since I didn’t think screenshots could help as much as this.