Enable high-performance GPU for Edge browser
There are two types of GPU, one that came integrated with the motherboard of your computer and the second which was either installed by you or by the manufacturer later. Integrated GPUs are just fine and do well for normal day to day tasks. But given the complexity of modern websites, browsers just cannot rely on the integrated GPU. On the other side, the second GPU is more capable and performant but consumes more power. So, if you are okay with lesser battery backup but you want optimum browser performance, you can follow these steps to enable high-performance GPU for Microsoft Edge. This feature lets you control what GPU is used by an application. Using this feature, we will set high-performance GPU for Microsoft Edge.
For Microsoft Edge Chromium
Open SettingsClick open SystemSelect Display from the left sideScroll down and click on Graphics SettingsUnder Choose and app, from the drop-down, select Desktop appBrowse to the Edge Program folder.It is C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\ApplicationSelect msedge.exeNow set its options as per your choice:Let Windows decidePower savingHigh performance.
Save and exit.
For Microsoft Edge Legacy Universal app
Step 1: Open Settings. Navigate to System, then Display. Step 2: Scroll down and click on Graphics Settings.
Step 3: Now you need to choose an application to set preference. From the drop-down menu select Universal App as Microsoft Edge is a Windows Universal App.
Step 4: Now in the second drop-down select Microsoft Edge and click Add. Step 5: Once Edge has been added to list, you can set your preference by clicking the Options button corresponding to it. By default, the graphics preference should be System default. There are three options: The dialog will also display the names of Power saving and High-performance GPU available on your computer. In my case, I have an integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 and a High-performance NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti. So, on this dialog select High performance and click on Save.
Step 6: Restart Edge if you haven’t already.
Final words
A way of verifying whether Edge is using your external GPU is by using the software that came with the graphics card. For instance, if you are using Nvidia GPU, then your PC must have Nvidia GPU Activity or any other similar tool install. You can usually access them from the system tray, and it would display the list of programs that are using this GPU. From here, you can verify whether Edge is using this GPU or not. Very similarly you can set a different GPU for any other application. High-performance GPU has its own perks and trade-offs, it can give you better performance but consume more power at the same time. So, you might not want to use it when you are on battery. If that is the case, you can easily switch back to Power saving GPU. Better performance for a browser means more responsiveness, lesser loading times and less frequent crashes. If you are looking for all of these, go ahead and make these changes and do not forget to share the results in the comments down below.
