"Your graphics card might not be optimal to run Fusion" or crashing when launching Fusion

Autodesk Support

Sep 6, 2024


Products and versions covered


Issue:

Fusion may crash on start-up or operate with slow performance. A warning message may be received:
  • "The graphics card might not be optimal to run Fusion.... Graphics Diagnostic under the help menu to get more information."
  • "Your graphics card might not be optimal to run Fusion'' while switching to 2D from 3D environment.
  • When clicking the Graphics Diagnostics command, it shows that Fusion is using the integrated graphics card. 
Graphics diagnostic
GPU information
 

Causes:

  • This problem may be caused by NVIDIA Optimus and AMD Enduro or "Dynamic Switchable Graphics" video configurations, which are available in newer laptops.
    • Both NVIDIA and AMD have introduced technology that uses a discrete graphics card in addition to the integrated Intel HD GPU.
    • This allows the system to automatically switch between the two to save battery power or when more graphics processing is needed.
  • Sometimes, the system preferences for conserving energy can impact the behavior of the software. In other cases, the switching may be the root cause of the issue.
  • Outdated drivers and system settings may also lead to failures in graphics switching.

Solution:

To successfully start Fusion, work through the following:

Use performance settings for power options (Windows):

Try using the performance settings for the power options in Windows.
  1. Browse to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Power Options.
  2. Select the High Performance plan.
Note: In Edit Plan Settings > Change Advanced Power Settings, more options can be found to configure settings for the NVidia or AMD graphics under the Display node (Power Saver Settings). This may vary depending on the manufacturer.
 
power option
 

Use custom settings per software product for video driver (Windows)

Another option is to configure the video driver software to use custom settings per software product. Usually, Fusion can be set to use the main video card in the video driver software provided by NVIDIA and AMD. 

NVIDIA
  1. Update to the latest video driver here.
  2. Right-click the desktop and choose "NVIDIA Control Panel."
  3. Select the View (or Desktop) menu and choose 'Add "Run with graphics processor" to Context Menu.'
  4. Right-click Fusion and choose "Run with graphics processor > High-performance NVIDIA processor."
AMD
  1. Update to the latest video driver here.
  2. Right-click the desktop and choose "Configure Switchable Graphics."
    If this is not available, try choosing "Catalyst Control Panel" and then click the "Power" tab on the left and choose "Switchable Graphics."
  3. If Fusion is in the list, select the "High Performance" option for it.
    If it is not in the list, use the Browse button to manually select %LOCALAPPDATA%Autodesk\webdeploy\production\<Build ID>\Fusion.exe 
  4. Select Apply.

 

Disable graphics switching (Windows)

It may help to disable graphics switching on the machine altogether. In some laptops, the on-board Intel video can be disabled in the system BIOS. The BIOS varies depending on the make and model of the computer system or motherboard. Review the documentation that came with the PC or hardware if further assistance is needed. 

 

Disable graphic switching (macOS):

  1. Select Preferences from the Apple Menu.
  2. In the Energy Saver preferences, disable the option for Automatic Graphics Switching.

Energy saver option

 

Download latest C++ Redistributable 

Download Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable latest supported downloads


Limit effects for performance

To improve the performance on any system it may help to enable the option to "Limit all effects to optimize performance" in the Graphics Diagnostics command to be found in the Fusion Help menu. 
Graphics diagnostic.png

Products:

Fusion;


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