PC Drivers & Software

[sebastian165]

Hi people!Today i had a problem with my radeon video cards.I tried switching to Radeon 520 for gaming,but still it uses the R5 int. graphics.I tried all the methods on the internet!(Checking Graphics settings on windows and set to High performance each game,but power saving and high performance have both the integrated graphics(Radeon R5 Graphics.The other option i tried is to unistall the new driver and switch to an old version like the 1.9 driver that had switchable drivers.That didn't worked too because it didn't showed me that option,but i did some changes in the additional amd overdrive options.There showed me the ,,Switching graphics options,,.The last option was to change settings from power options,that didn't worked too, i setup all to ,,Maximize Performance,,).I mention that my radeon 520 is detected by the control panel of the driver,and by device manager too!

Here are my specs:

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/ID/content/model/NX.HCWSN.002 (These are the right specifications!)

Sorry for bad english,i wrote this thread very fast!

[kingfish]

I would clean install the latest driver for your APU using DDU in safe mode.

Here is the latest driver for your laptop  https://www.amd.com/en/support/apu/amd-series-processors/amd-a9-series-apu-for-laptops/7th-gen-a9-94... 

Clean Install AMD Graphics Drivers 

https://community.amd.com/thread/207699 

[sebastian165]

I tried your method,still the same thing.I booted into safe mode,unistalled the drivers with DDU,booted up into windows and installed the drivers.

[elstaci]

This Acer Thread on your laptop model explains how the Integrated and Discrete GPU works together from Acer employee: https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/546431/aspire-3-a315-21g-2gb-dedicated-vram-underutilized 

Also check to make sure your Laptop has the latest BIOS/UEFI and CHIPSET versions installed. Plus your laptop Windows MUST be fully updated via Windows Update for AMD Drivers to work correctly: https://www.acer.com/ac/en/ID/content/support-product/7304?b=1 

VGA

VGA Driver

Date:2018/04/09

Version:22.19.163.1792

Vendor:AMD

Size:599.6 MB

Download

BIOS

Support Acer Elinux OS.

Date:2019/06/24

Version:1.23

Vendor:Acer

Size:4.8 MB

Download

First I would install Acer's AMD driver to see if your laptop works correctly. If it does then try installing AMD latest APU driver for your laptop.

This is the latest AMD Driver for your APU A9-9420 Graphic Driver: https://www.amd.com/en/support/apu/amd-series-processors/amd-a9-series-apu-for-laptops/7th-gen-a9-94... 

Same one that Kingfish posted.

This  driver will install both the Integrated and Discrete AMD Drivers for both of your GPUs in your laptop.

Try installing using this basic method:

Uninstall the current AMD Driver using DDU as per this method:

It could be due to a corrupted AMD Driver installation.

Download free program DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller). Run it in Safe mode with the internet disconnected.

You can also run it in Windows Desktop but then you would need to Reboot the computer for DDU to finish erasing all of  the AMD Driver traces from your computer.

 Once it finishes uninstalling the current AMD Driver in Safe mode and boots back to Windows Desktop, still with the Internet disconnected, delete the AMD Installation folder C:\AMD if it was created before.

Now install the full AMD Drive package you downloaded manually from AMD Download page. Not the express package. Run the package and if it installs correctly again delete C:\AMD folder and reconnect the internet.

This should prevent any conflict when installing the new version from the previous version.

By the way, C:\AMD is always created whenever you run the AMD Driver package

[sebastian165]

Hi!I tried your methods.I didn't installed the old vga driver.I reinstalled the windows(1909 version and wiped all the disks) on uefi boot,updated the bios and installed the newest radeon drivers(the recommended ones),and made all the settings from power options.But here's the same problem:

It shows the same GPU.

And here's how windows is using the discrete GPU:

Any solutions??

[elstaci]

Start playing a game and while the game is running see if the Discrete GPU is being used.

As it was mentioned by the Acer Employee, the Discrete GPU is used ONLY when it is needed like during a game.

Also make sure you have Radeon Settings are configured correctly to run switchable graphics in your laptop: https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/dh-017#SGApplication 

[sebastian165]

Ok,the drivers work ok,but my radeon uses same memory as the Radeon R5.How can i increase the memory usage of my raden 520?

[elstaci]

The laptop's Discrete GPU 520, as far as I am aware,  the vRAM is fixed. The only vRAM you can increase is the Integrated Graphics. Normally 2 gbytes of vRAM is the maximum RAM you can assign to your R5 Integrated GPU via BIOS Settings.

[sebastian165]

Hey,thanks for your reply.I ran minecraft on the radeon 520 gpu and it shows in debugging mode.The problem is it uses the same memory as the R5(80 Megabyes).Are they the same gpu?And yes!How can i access those settings through bios?Are they hidden features?

[elstaci]

From what I have read about Minecraft (JAVA base game) is that it is a CPU dependent game. It uses mainly the CPU to run the game rather than the GPU.

Which might explain why the 520 is not being used.

Found this old but more recent thread that explains how you can enable your laptop GPU to use Minecraft instead of the CPU: Minecraft is not using my AMD Graphics card instead using my Integrated graphics card 

The Radeon 520 is a separate GPU in your laptop with either 1 or 2 gbytes of RAM memory.  The R5 is the Integrated GPU that is built into and is part of your processor.

The R5 uses your Laptop SYSTEM RAM MEMORY as it vRAM.  That is why, at least on Desktop PC, you can change the amount of RAM MEMORY your R5 can use from your PC SYSTEM RAM MEMORY.

It is possible on some Laptops you can't change the amount of SYSTEM RAM MEMORY your R5//6/7 uses. You need to ask your Laptop Support about that and how to get into BIOS Settings to change it if possible.

[sebastian165]

You know,wasting money on a Radeon 520 2GB GGDR5(and does not work) is not a good idea.I've posted a thread on Acer(English Community) and they said i need to get a moddded bios?! I need to invest into a usb programmer in order to do that(bcz it is rewrite protected.)!What a scam,don't ever buy cheap  dedicated video card laptops from Acer!They really suck at bios configuration :/

EDIT:I think they can fix that if they can make a bios update on this model :thinking_face: