mbncd - are you SURE you're just not reading the display adapter? I have the same type of laptop and for the longest time I thought XIV was using the intel card instead of the NVidia one, until I realized what XIV was showing was the DISPLAY, not the video card (meaning it was telling me my screen was being run by an intel chip set).

I verified this by installing an NVidia program that told me when my NVidia card was in use. As soon as I turn on XIV, it says the NVidia card is in use, regardless of what XIV itself is saying.