How to force Windows11 to prioritize one GPU over another in my dual GPU setup

Question

I am submitting this question because I genuinely feel as though I've hit a road block that I cannot get around, no matter how hard I try. I have a brand new PC that I just built and to test it out, I downloaded a few games. With task manager open, I could see that the game was using the GPU with minimal airflow and causing it to heat up very quickly(upwards of almost 85C with just a few minutes of play)which I would like to avoid. Upon this happening, I would go to Settings>Gaming>Graphics(which crashes multiple times before fully opening)and attempt to swap the GPU preference from GPU 1 to 2. Doing this only seems to work once I've made the selection and boot up said game with Settings open, because the GPU preference defaults back to GPU 1 after simply closing Settings. Is there any way to force Windows to listen and not blatantly disregard what I'm telling it to do? I understand that GPU 1 may be tied to a PCI socket that has more power behind it and that's why, but my main concern here is that Windows is disregarding what I am asking it to do and will potentially shorten the life span of my GPU(s) by operating them in the contrary to what I have specified. Also, I am unable to change the layout of my GPUs, at least at this time, without exceeding my

budget and lessening my build below what I'd need it for.

Parts:

ASUS ROG Strix Z790-E Gaming WiFi II

Intel Core i9-14900K

4x G.SKILL Trident RGB Series 32GB DDR5 6400

2x ASRock Taichi Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB GDDR6

Samsung SSD 990 PRO 4TB

Corsair MP600 Core XT 1TB

EVGA Supernova P+

Answer 1

Hello, BritishZomb117

Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

Hello, thank you for your feedback here on your issue, it seems that you want to force Windows 11 to prioritize one GPU over the other in the Dual GPU settings.

I've done some research for you and there doesn't seem to be a similar feature for the system itself that can be set directly, in addition in some cases Windows may prioritize GPUs based on power management or other system wide settings, which may be why it will revert to your choice, the internal logic of Windows' GPU management can be unpredictable.

However, I have browsed through some methods shared by other users that may help you, and you can follow the steps below:

1. use the GPU Preferences in Windows Settings:

However, as you may have noticed, if Windows reverts to the default GPU selection, this setting may not persist after you close the settings.

Go to Settings > System > Display > Graphics Settings.

Here you can specify which GPU should be used for individual applications:

Click “Browse” to add an application (you need to find the game's .exe file).

Select the application, click “Options” and then select “High Performance” to force the use of your preferred GPU (in your case GPU 2).

Save the changes.

2. Make ongoing changes via the registry (advanced):

Open the Registry Editor.

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\DWM.

Find or create a DWORD (32-bit) value called PreferredGPU and set the standby GPU to 1 and the primary GPU to 0. However, this method may not be applicable to all applications as it is more about which GPU Windows uses to accomplish its own tasks.

3. Use third-party software (if applicable):

Software like “GPU Switcher” or “Display Switch” can sometimes manage GPU switching more reliably, although they may not work for all scenarios, especially games that need to start with the correct GPU.

Your gpu is all AMD, so focus on AMD's control panel methods.

While Windows may override these settings, you can try setting preferences here:

In the Radeon software, under Games > Global Settings or Per Game Settings, you can try setting the preferred GPU.

4. Check power and thermal management:

Now that you've noticed the high temperatures, make sure that your PC case has enough airflow, due to the dual-layer graphics card installation, in which there will be hot airflow circulating, which can lead to higher temperatures on the top card and consider adjusting the fan speeds in the BIOS or through software such as MSI Afterburner for better cooling, which can reduce the airflow speeds of the following graphics card.

If this is still not possible after all these steps, then feedback may be needed to hope for improvement from the development team.

Microsoft attaches great importance to user experience, you can submit your ideas and suggestions through the Send feedback to Microsoft with the Feedback Hub app - Microsoft Support, and the development team will regularly review submissions for ideas or fixes. 

Please share the feedback link here after submitting as it will allow others on the forum to vote for your submission, including me. More votes will lead to more visibility and higher priority to the development team. 

Disclaimer: Generally, modifying registry subkeys or work group is intended for advanced users, administrators, and IT Professionals. It can help fix some problems, however, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For further protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click How to back up and restore the registry in Windows - Microsoft Support to view the article. 

Best regards

Bobhe | Microsoft Community Support Specialist