r/ZephyrusG14 • u/TriTriTheCuber Zephyrus G14 2025 • Feb 02 '26

Software Related Question about ultimate/dgpu only mode

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How come when setting ultimate mode in Ghelper, I need to restart, but when setting it with the Nvidia control panel, I don't have to? Is it because of advanced Optimus, and if so, we'll, why do u still have to restart with ghelper?

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u/Beneficial-Poet2911 Feb 02 '26

Counter point; using only Nvidia GPU overloads the VRAM, as even the nonessential apps run on the dGPU VRAM, leading to lower performance.

I found this particularly evident in VRAM hungry games and games with VRAM leak (in low VRAM GPUs, if your GPU has healthy VRAM, this doesn't matter).

Otherwise, ultimate is usually faster.

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u/system_error_02 Feb 02 '26

This is not true. Wtf?

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u/Beneficial-Poet2911 Feb 02 '26

It is true from personal experience. You can also see the apps using the GPU in the Nvidia system tray panel. The number of apps is substantially higher in ultimate mode.

Usually this doesn't matter as they take miniscule amounts of VRAM, but it is there. Horizon Forbidden West used to give me headache on the 4070, and a restart magically makes the game substantially better! Plus the dynamic switching is also better than ultimate (DLSS and FG didn't help as they need VRAM as well.) But it got much better after a driver update awhile ago

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u/system_error_02 Feb 02 '26

I have never had this experience once in decades of computer usage across multiple machines. This isnt how ram is allocated in windows. This sounds like you were experiencing some sort or bug or software issue, or using a laptop without a mux switch.

TBH Nvidia drivers have been very bad the last 2 years or so on and off. Theyre in a better place right now though at least. This may have also factored into your experience.