Does PerformanceTest support NVIDIA Optimus?

If you are using a laptop with NVIDIA Optimus enabled, for example those with GeForce GT 420M, 425M, 435M, 445M, 520M, 525M, 540M, 550M and 555M video cards, optimus may not correctly switch to the high performance video card when running PerformanceTest. Consequently the 3D score might not be as high as it should be as it may have been using the power saving and slower on board graphics.

You can change the NVIDIA settings to select the correct video card when performanceTest is started using these steps;

  • Open the NVIDIA control panel
  • Under "Select a task" open "3D settings" and select the "Manage 3D settings" option
  • On the right hand side click the "Program settings tab"
  • Under "Select a program" click "Add" and then browse to the PerformanceTest executable. The default location is C:\Program Files\PerformanceTest\. These steps will need to be repeated for the following files in this folder;
    • PerformanceTest32.exe or PerformanceTest64.exe depending on your Windows version, if you are unsure, adding both will cause no harm.
    • PT-D3D11Test.exe
    • PT-D3D12Test.exe
    • BitonicSort.exe
    • Fluid3D.exe
    • Mandel.exe
    • QJulia4D.exe
    • oclParticles.exe
  • Under the "Select the preferred graphics" section choose "High-performance NVIDIA processor" and click Apply