Why is Minecraft using my integrated Intel GPU instead of my NVIDIA card
On laptops, Windows often runs Minecraft on the weak integrated GPU, which tanks shader FPS. Force javaw.exe to the dedicated GPU in both Windows Graphics Settings AND the NVIDIA Control Panel — Global settings alone don't stick.
Confirm which GPU Minecraft is using
In-game, press F3 and look at the GPU line on the right. If it reads "Intel UHD / Iris Xe" instead of your NVIDIA / AMD card, Minecraft is on the integrated chip — that's why shaders crawl. Open Task Manager → Performance while playing to confirm which GPU is loaded.
Set Minecraft to High Performance in Windows
Windows Settings → System → Display → Graphics. Click Browse, add javaw.exe (the launcher runs Java through javaw.exe, NOT java.exe), set it to High performance, and Save.
Bedrock is listed by its app name, not javaw.exe — find "Minecraft" in the app list and set it to High performance the same way.
Force the dedicated GPU in NVIDIA Control Panel
Right-click desktop → NVIDIA Control Panel → Manage 3D settings → Program Settings tab → Add → browse to javaw.exe → set "preferred graphics processor" to High-performance NVIDIA processor → Apply.
Both the Windows setting AND the Program Settings entry must point at javaw.exe — the NVIDIA Global Settings tab alone does not reliably work for Java.
AMD users: set it in Adrenalin
On AMD, open Radeon Software → Gaming → add Minecraft / javaw.exe → set Graphics Profile to Gaming / high performance. Same idea — point the dedicated GPU at the Java executable.
Find the right javaw.exe
If you have multiple Java installs, point at the exact one the launcher uses (often under the launcher's runtime folder, e.g. ...\runtime\...\bin\javaw.exe). Setting the wrong javaw.exe changes nothing. Restart Minecraft and re-check F3.
Then tune the rest of your FPS
Once you're on the dedicated GPU, the usual shader-FPS tuning gives you the rest — Iris + Sodium, render distance, shader settings.
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