How to configure Autodesk software to use high-performance graphics

Autodesk Support

Dec 16, 2024

Products and versions covered

Issue:

How to configure Autodesk software to use the high-performance graphics card (GPU) on systems with dual video (integrated and discrete graphics)?

Causes:

To optimize battery life, many laptop PCs contain a graphics adapter integrated into the motherboard. It is used for basic graphics display, along with a faster discrete graphics adapter for more demanding graphical tasks.

When working with Autodesk applications that are graphically intense, the switching of the graphics adapter in the middle of operation can lead to display and performance issues or program crashes. Also, by default, the system may load the software with the low-end video option and not switch to the high-performance GPU. Configuring the system to always use discrete graphics for the software will avoid these issues.

Solution:

There are different ways to set up high-performance graphics depending on the video card and its software/driver version. Later builds of Windows 10 will have their own option to designate the high-performance card for an application. This is a top-level setting that should work no matter what graphics card and driver is in a system. Windows 7 does not have this feature.

You can manually choose a graphics performance setting for an app in Windows, or configure graphics card settings for your NVIDIA or AMD card respectively. Choose one of the following methods:

Windows Graphics Settings

  1. Right-click the desktop and choose Display settings.
  2. Scroll down and click Graphics settings.
Display settings
  1. Click Browse and then navigate to and select the software executable. As an example, for AutoCAD 2021, this would be C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2021\acad.exe. Double-click acad.exe to add it to the list.
Graphics settings
  1. Click the application (e.g., AutoCAD Application) to activate the Options button. Click it.
Graphics settings AutoCAD specified
  1. Select the High-Performance option, then click Save and close the Settings panel.
Graphics specification, High performance GPU
  1. Relaunch or restart the software (if it was running) and look within the program to confirm that the high-performance device is enabled.
Note: For Fusion 360 select desktop shortcut.

NVIDIA

  1. Update to the latest video driver (see NVIDIA Downloads).

  2. Right-click on the Autodesk software and choose Run with graphics processor > Change default graphics processor...

    Alternatively:

    1. Right-click the desktop and choose NVIDIA Control Panel.
    2. Click Manage 3D settings on the left and then click the Program Settings tab.

  3. Under Select, a program to customize, click the drop-down menu and select the specific Autodesk program, such as "Autodesk 3ds Max." If the program is not in the menu, deselect "Show only programs found on this computer" to expand the list in the menu or click Add and choose the software there. Further, the Browse button within the Add window might be needed to manually select the program's executable (.exe) file.

  4. Select High-performance NVIDIA processor in the drop-down menu under Select the preferred graphics processor for this program.

  5. Click Apply (might need to scroll down to see this button) and then close the NVIDIA Control Panel.

NVIDIA Control Panel

 

AMD Radeon Software (Adrenalin 2020 Edition)

  1. Update to the latest video driver (see AMD Downloads).
  2. Right-click the desktop and choose AMD Radeon Software.
Right-click the desktop menu
  1. Navigate to Gaming > Games.
Gaming > Games in AMD
  1. A list of 3D games/applications currently installed and detected by Radeon Software will be displayed. Each title listed will have its own associated profile.
  2. To manually add an Autodesk software, click the three dots on the right and then Add a Game.
Add a Game for manual adding a game
  1. Navigate to the folder where the software executable is located and double-click it to add it to the list.
Adding the software path to the list

 

Older AMD Radeon Software (pre-2020 Edition)

  1. Update to the latest video driver (see AMD Downloads).

  2. Right-click the desktop and choose AMD Radeon Settings.

  3. Click the System tab and then click Switchable Graphics.

  4. Find the Autodesk program. Click it and choose "High Performance." If the program is not shown, click Running Applications and select Installed Profiled Applications. Note: A padlock icon next to a program means that the system has it locked at that setting and it cannot be changed.

  5. Close the AMD Radeon Settings window.

AMD Radeon Settings window
 
Tip: To apply the High-Performance setting to Autodesk software, it may be necessary to click the AMD icon in the system tray and choose Graphics Profile > Optimize Image Quality.

 

Legacy AMD Control Panel

  1. Right-click the desktop and choose Configure Switchable Graphics. If this is not available, choose Catalyst Control Panel and then click the Power tab on the left and then click Switchable Graphics.
  2. Find the Autodesk program in the list and select the "High Performance" option for it. If it is not in the list, use the Browse button to manually select the program's executable (.exe) file.
  3. Click Apply.

AMD switchable graphics panel

If the above solutions don't help the user install recommended graphics card driver. Please check the following article to find the recommended driver: Certified Graphics Hardware

Note: Restart the Autodesk software product to apply the preceding NVIDIA/AMD graphics card changes.

 

Products:

All Desktop Products;

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