Laptop GPU Selection Nvidia - obsproject/obs-studio GitHub Wiki

If you tried everything in this guide and are still having issues, please make a post on the forums or stop by the OBS Discord server.

GPU selection for NVIDIA based laptops

  • This guide will show you how to select the graphics card OBS is running on using the native control panel from NVIDIA.
  • It is valid if you are running Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 10 prior to version 1903.
  • If you run Windows 10 1903 or newer, use this guide instead.

Setup

  • Close OBS if it is currently open
  • Go to the NVIDIA Control Panel by right clicking on your desktop, and then clicking on "NVIDIA Control Panel"

Context menu

  • Click on "Manage 3D Settings" if it is not already selected

Manage 3D settings

  • Under the Program Settings tab, click the "Add" button under where it says "Select a program to customize:"

3D program settings

  • click "Browse" at bottom of the dialog to search for OBS

add program dialog

  • Navigate to the .exe path for OBS and add it to the list. Default paths are:
    • 64-bit OBS (default): C:\Program Files\obs-studio\bin\64bit\obs64.exe
    • 32-bit OBS: C:\Program Files (x86)\obs-studio\bin\32bit\obs32.exe
  • Make sure it is selected in the drop down list

confirm program

  • Then below, look for "Select the preferred graphics processor for this program". Then set the option, depending on which mode you need:

For Display Capture

  • Choose "Integrated Graphics. Close the control panel and start OBS.

confirm program

For Window Capture / Game Capture

  • Choose "High performance NVIDIA processor". Close the control panel and start OBS.

confirm program