Windows 10 is gaining a new setting for power users with multiple GPUs

(Image credit: Microsoft)

We do not recommend running multiple GPUs in SLI (Nvidia) or Crossfire (AMD) these days, but for anyone who still is, there is a semi-new feature headed to Windows 10 that is of interest. It's a graphics setting that will let you manually configure which GPU should be used for high performance workloads.

Microsoft notes this technically is not a brand new feature altogether, but it is a significant change it implemented based on customer feedback through.

Those who are running the latest Windows 10 test build (20190) can label a GPU as being the default high performance one by heading to Settings > System > Display > Graphics settings, or Settings > Gaming > Graphics settings.

"If you’re a power user that has multiple high performance GPUs and would like to specify which of those GPUs should be the one used for high performance use cases, you can now do that...What this means is that an application that asks for a high-performance GPU will by default use the high-performance GPU you specify on this page," Microsoft explains.

Perfect peripherals

(Image credit: Colorwave)

Best gaming mouse: the top rodents for gaming
Best gaming keyboard: your PC's best friend...
Best gaming headset: don't ignore in-game audio

Microsoft also updated the Graphics Settings box to allow users to which GPU specific applications should run on, rather than letting Windows choose for them. It's not exactly a game changer, but if you're running multiple GPUs and one of them tends to run hotter than the other, I suppose this could be helpful.

You could also potentially squeeze out a bit of extra performance this way. For example, if one of your cards runs cooler, it's more likely to maintain a boost clock for a longer period of time. That would be the GPU you would want to attach to a specific game or other application that doesn't benefit from SLI or Crossfire.

This feature will roll out to all Windows 10 users at some point. In the meantime, if you want to access it now, you will need to become a Windows Insider and install build 20190.

Thanks, Betanews

Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).

Latest in Graphics Cards
Nvidia headquarters
Nvidia CEO sets sights on making 'several hundred billion' dollars worth of electronics in the USA over the next four years, increasing the chance of your next GPU being made in America
The Asus ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Dhahab Edition, a gold-plated graphics card on a sand dune background
A Jensen Huang-signed version of this golden Asus RTX 5090 will be auctioned off to support relief efforts for the California wildfires
An MSI Vanguard RTX 5080 launch edition next to a Dragon Lucky figurine
You can win an MSI RTX 5080 in Taiwan if you collect nine dragon figurines given away with *checks notes* MSI RTX 50-series GPUs
Screenshots from Half-Life 2 RTX, showing the various new effects delivered by full ray tracing and enhanced assets.
Microsoft announces DirectX Raytracing 1.2 claiming 'game changing' performance benefits but it looks like the important stuff is already in Nvidia's RTX GPUs, even the old ones
Colorful iGame RTX 5070 Ti Vulcan OC graphics card from various angles
Colorful iGame RTX 5070 Ti Vulcan OC review
Nvidia Blackwell GPU with specs annotated.
CEO Jensen Huang reveals that Nvidia is now making chips in the USA but will that help with gaming GPU supplies?
Latest in News
Gabe Newell
Gabe Newell is hooked on Stalker 2 and once he's got the fourth ending (!) will 'figure out what I'm going to play next'
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth money farm - Super Crazy Delivery
Like a Dragon series director sums up why sidequests are essential to a great RPG with a single metaphor: 'a good main dish alone will not earn you a Michelin star'
Valve logo with a man with a steam valve for an eye.
Valve's DRM was inspired by an exec's nephew, who 'used a $500 check I'd sent him for school expenses and bought himself a CD-ROM replicator… he sent me a lovely thank you note'
Image of a sweetroll with a candle in it
Bethesda marks Oblivion's 19th with a sweetroll, a candle, and absolutely no happy birthday gift for fans eager for the still-unannounced remaster
One of Repo's player characters, resembling a yellow pedal bin with googly eyes, encounters a skeletal, open mouthed face with glowing yellow eyes.
REPO dev says it wasn’t actually inspired by Lethal Company, and started as a singleplayer cleaning game: ‘It was nice, but far from what REPO is now’
Destiny 2: Season of Plunder promo image.
'We made one big mistake': Destiny 2 developer reveals how a small team dedicated to player retention led to a 20 hour server outage and character rollback