Many users quite often face the problem of how to watch a video card on Windows 10, which is installed on a desktop computer or laptop. As it turns out, you do not need to disassemble the system unit or laptop, but you can use the software of the system itself or third-party applications. Not to mention the information in the BIOS settings of the primary system, which can be useful for changing the adapter used by default.
How to watch a video card on Windows 10: classic method
In general, in any modification of Windows, including the tenth version, there is a special built-in tool for viewing all the hardware and some virtual components installed in the system. It is called "Device Manager."
The problem of how to watch a video card on Windows 10 using this tool is solved quite simply. There are several ways to call “Device Manager” (use the standard “Control Panel”, administration section, etc.).
However, these methods in Windows 10 for an ordinary user are somewhat inconvenient (the “Control Panel” has a long search, the computer icon on the “Desktop” is missing). Therefore, the easiest way is to use the Run console (Win + R) and enter the devmgmt.msc command in it.
Here you just need to go to the item “Video adapters” and expand its contents, after which all the graphic adapters installed on the computer will be displayed. The method is not very convenient, since only the name of the chip can be obtained from the information. Neither the amount of memory, nor the use of the default card can be viewed here. You can, of course, use the information tab, set the display of the equipment ID and find the complete information on the Internet using the VEN and DEV identifiers. But why do such things if there are simpler methods?
System Information
The question of how to watch a video card on Windows 10 can be solved quite simply by calling up system information (the msinfo32 command in the Run menu).
Here you need to go to the component section, expand the list and select the "Display" item. There is already more information (you can view the amount of RAM on the graphics chip, information about the driver file, the same DEV and VEN identifiers, output ports, bit depth, resolution, and much more). Here are just technical information and the average user is not particularly needed.
Note: IDs are usually used in order to find the necessary driver for the graphics card, if the operating system does not install it yourself, the installation does not work correctly, or the driver is missing as such.
Where can I see a video card on Windows 10 with a full set of key features?
You can use an alternative method. The problem of how to view video card parameters on Windows 10 can also be solved by calling the DirectX dialog (dxdiag in the Run console.
In the dialogue window, you must go to the display (screen) tab, where the main parameters of the graphic chip will be displayed, including basic characteristics, information about installed drivers and their types.
Using BIOS Settings
But the above methods may not give a complete picture when you need to solve the question of how to see which Windows 10 graphics card is used by default. The solution is to go into the settings of the primary system BIOS or UEFI when the computer boots up.
Information in the parameters can usually be found in the Advanced section, where in the Chipset menu there may be an item with a name like First Display Boot, Boot Graphic Adapter Priority or something like that. Such a technique is useful if two or more graphic chips are installed in the system and switching from one to another is required.
Third party programs
Along with the above methods, you can use some popular third-party utilities.
The most popular among users or specialists involved in the repair of computer equipment include the following:
- GPU-Z.
- AIDA64.
- Speccy.
- PC Wizard and many others.
Such programs are interesting in that, in addition to basic information about the parameters of the graphics adapter, they can also perform diagnostics, as well as give out, for example, energy consumption characteristics or display temperature indicators.
Instead of a total
What to use to determine the model and characteristics of the graphics adapter? If you need to know only the model, you can turn to the “Device Manager”, but if you need to obtain more detailed information, you will have to use more serious methods (both the operating system tools and third-party specialized applications, which in some cases look much more preferable). Well, switching from one chip to another without entering the primary system settings will fail. Even such attempts using the “Device Manager” will not succeed, because the user will be informed that an unused device must be turned on (although the BIOS is not specified directly).