How to Fix Path of Exile if it's Not Recognizing Your Graphics Card

Path of Exile is a Free-to-Play video game developed by Grinding Studio Games. It is one of the best in the genre and offers thrilling gameplay and some captivating graphics. However, several users have reported that Path of Exile is not recognizing the graphics card.

This affects the in-game graphics and the overall experience of users. For a game that boasts of high-end graphics, an issue with the graphics card can be problematic.

So, without further ado, let’s walk through all there is to know about why Path of Exile is not recognizing your graphics card and the most effective solutions for it.

Why is my game not using my graphics card?

This is primarily the case on computers with two sets of graphic cards installed, the integrated and the dedicated one. Here, users often find PoE using integrated graphics rather than dedicated graphics. This could be due to a bug, improper selection, or misconfigured settings.

Other than that, you could have wrongly configured the dedicated Graphics Card settings through its native Control Panel. If that’s the case, you can manually set things such that Path of Exile starts using the integrated graphics.

Also, for some users, when the power-saving mode kicked in on their laptop, the device automatically switched to integrated graphics. So, you will have to check for this as well.

Do you need a good computer for Path of Exile?

You don’t need a computer with high-end specifications to run Path of Exile. A decent one should do the job but you must have a good dedicated graphics card.

In case you are planning to install PoE or believe that your video card does not meet the requirements to run Path of Exile, check the graphic requirements below:

• Processor: Quad core 2.6GHz x86-compatible
• Graphics: ATI Radeon™ HD 7850 or NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 650 Ti
• RAM: 8 GB
• DirectX: DirectX Version 11

What can I do if POE doesn’t recognize my GPU?

1. Manually set Path of Exile to use the dedicated graphics

NOTE

We have listed the steps for Nvidia Control Panel and it should provide you with a basic understanding of the concept. In case you are using another graphics card and are unsure of the process, check its official website for the exact steps.

1. Launch the Nvidia Control Panel, and select Manage 3D settings from the navigation pane on the left.
2. Go to the Program Settings tab.
3. Choose Path of Exile from the Select a program to customize dropdown menu. If it’s not listed there, click on the Add button, locate the game launcher file, and add it.
4. Next, select High-performance Nvidia processor from the Select the preferred graphics processor for this program dropdown menu.
5. Finally, click on Apply at the bottom to save the changes.

If the dedicated graphics card is not listed in Path of Exile, you can switch it using the dedicated Control Panel. This worked for a lot of users who were wondering how to Disable Intel HD graphics and use Nvidia.

Also, the in-game settings might still show that the integrated graphic card is currently selected, but that’s not the case, and you should notice the change in graphics right away.

2. Update your drivers

In order to run any games on your PC at maximum performance, you must have graphics card drivers updated.

You can perform this task manually if you want to, but there are efficient driver managing tools like Outbyte Driver Updater that will do the trick.

This software will scan your computer and detect outdated or broken drivers, and then update them accordingly in due time.

⇒ Get Outbyte Driver Updater

3. Switch the power plan

1. Press Windows + S to launch the Search menu, enter Control Panel in the text field, and click on the relevant search result.
2. Click on System and Security here.
3. Next, click on Power Options.
4. Now, select the High Performance power plan from the ones listed here.

Once done, restart the computer for the changes to come into effect, and Nvidia should now start recognizing the graphics card on your computer.

How do I change what graphics card a game uses?

For that, you can either use the in-game settings or the dedicated Control Panel for the graphics card.

However, oftentimes, the in-game settings, due to some issue, do not list all the available graphics cards, which is why you will have to use the dedicated Control Panel.

The changes made through the Control Panel reflect immediately and are far more effective. So this should be your preferred option.

These are all the ways you can fix issues when Path of Exile does not recognize your graphics card. Doing this ensures good performance in the game and avoids related errors like Failed to connect to instance.

Also, these methods would work on other games as well.

Besides, here’s how to fix common issues with Path of Exile, including sudden crashes, or problems with the connection and sound, among others.

Do not forget to tell us which fix worked and your review of Path of Exile, in the comments section below.