Optimus on Hybrid Graphics

[Guest Vithrell]

I've got intel drivers from here http://wikidrivers.com/wiki/Intel_GMA_15.%E2%80%8B17.1.%E2%80%8B2086 (nautis link is dead)

nivia drivers from here http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook-win7-winvista-270.51-beta-driver.html

and your inf, i'm sure.

[zipper]

Driver from NVidia + Inf from here is most probably a no go as the drivers from LV2Go are more efficiently/differently packed. Get your drivers from here - the pack is smaller.

[Sedlo]

Hello guys,

I am happy to report that I got Optimus working on UL80VT (thanks to Idontknow12 and others) :-)

I tested using Optimus tools on the first page of this thread, and when running a movie (I also tried one game and Furmark) the Nvidia was activated.

I also checked via the Device Driver -> Power Data (thanks Guest_schiu_*)

I also tried using Battery Bar (Nvidia Movie - 18 525 mW; Intel Idle Desktop - 13 815 mW)

I installed using the latest 2302 Intel drivers (February 2011), and using Idontknow12 nvam.inf file copied to the 270.51 Nvidia Verde beta drivers.

I got a warning and I had to confirm that I want to install not certified Windows drivers.

I then install latest Power4Gear hybrid utility 1.1.44 and was worried it will screw up the Nvidia Optimus, but the utility seems to be aware of Optimus drivers and does not even offer the possibility to choose integrated or dedicated graphics ( I am sure it was there with Asus Hybrid Drivers installed) :-)

One more tip: Go to Nvidia Control Panel -> Desktop -> Display GPU Activity Icon in Notification Area (after you activate this you can see if Nvidia is on or off in your taskbar :-)

Thanks again

Tomas

[Guest David]

The ID seems to be missing in the INF. Just alter the INF in the following way.

Add a line under the heading "[NVIDIA_SetA_Devices.NTamd64.6.1]"

%NVIDIA_DEV.0A74.02% = Section059, PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0A74&SUBSYS_1AF21043

Instructions are for 270.51 for older drivers the section changes.

This step was required for my UL30VT on 270.51. I got a few BSOD type reboots right after the install but they seem to have cleared up.

It's easy to tell its working by the icon sedlo mentions. As far as I can tell there are no issues. I haven't tested the battery life long enough to know if there is an impact.

[Guest itsy]

Hey guys,

I managed to get the 270 driver and the latest Intel driver working on my Acer TravelMate 8572G (Core i7/Intel HD and GT 330M)

Had to add my DeviceID (0A29) and SubSys (040B1025) to the inf posted in this Thread.

According to Optimus Tools, the nvidia GPU powers on and off, but even in off mode its using more energy than with the old hybrid drivers.

With the old drivers in Intel mode, BatteryBar reported ~13W power consumption, with old driver and nvidia mode it was about 22W.

Now, with the Optimus drivers I am getting ~18W with nvidia GPU off and the said 22W with nvidia GPU on (running BridgeBuilder, just an simple OpenGL game to test).

Anyone knows how I might lower the power consumption? All tests were made with 50% brightness.

Thanks a lot guys :)

[Idontknow12]

Hey guys,

I managed to get the 270 driver and the latest Intel driver working on my Acer TravelMate 8572G (Core i7/Intel HD and GT 330M)

Had to add my DeviceID (0A29) and SubSys (040B1025) to the inf posted in this Thread.

According to Optimus Tools, the nvidia GPU powers on and off, but even in off mode its using more energy than with the old hybrid drivers.

With the old drivers in Intel mode, BatteryBar reported ~13W power consumption, with old driver and nvidia mode it was about 22W.

Now, with the Optimus drivers I am getting ~18W with nvidia GPU off and the said 22W with nvidia GPU on (running BridgeBuilder, just an simple OpenGL game to test).

Anyone knows how I might lower the power consumption? All tests were made with 50% brightness.

Thanks a lot guys :)

Can you see what the method from here says with optimus (nvidia off). Also does disabling the nvidia driver in device manager make a difference?

[Guest egleb]

Working fine on an UL30vt here... autonomy seems a little reduced but i don't care. Thanks for your help guys

My only problem is i can't get flash vids on full screen, my screen just goes black.. *sadpuppyface*

[Guest itsy]

When GPU is off, the energy state is D3 (off). If I disable the card, energy consuption is still ~18W.

Don't know, I've read somewhere that normal hybrid drivers sometimes deactivate the complete graphics port. With normal hybrid drivers, the nvidia GPU doesn't even show in device manager.

[Idontknow12]

Working fine on an UL30vt here... autonomy seems a little reduced but i don't care. Thanks for your help guys

My only problem is i can't get flash vids on full screen, my screen just goes black.. *sadpuppyface*

Disable acceleration in flash that can workaround that issue.

[Guest egleb]

No real point going to full screen mode if it isn't HD ^^

Anyway, i forced firefox's "plugin-container.exe" to run on the integrated chip, and it works like a charm.

Now i gotta find out why L4D2 makes mes CTD when i take control of my character...

[Guest Adrian]

Many thanks to everyone who was involved in getting the optimus drivers to work! I installed the latest intel and verde drivers on my ul80vt, using the .inf posted by Idontknow12. Everything seems to be working, and in integrated graphics mode, BatteryBar reports 9-12 W power consumption. However, I did notice that even though my GPU (G210m) idles, it never completely shuts down (it doesn't disappear from device manager). When I had the stock hybrid drivers installed, the discrete GPU would disappear from device manager. I just wonder whether idling the GPU draws significantly more power than shutting it down.

Any ideas?

[Idontknow12]

Many thanks to everyone who was involved in getting the optimus drivers to work! I installed the latest intel and verde drivers on my ul80vt, using the .inf posted by Idontknow12. Everything seems to be working, and in integrated graphics mode, BatteryBar reports 9-12 W power consumption. However, I did notice that even though my GPU (G210m) idles, it never completely shuts down (it doesn't disappear from device manager). When I had the stock hybrid drivers installed, the discrete GPU would disappear from device manager. I just wonder whether idling the GPU draws significantly more power than shutting it down.

Any ideas?

I don't think the nvidia card disappears on the optimus laptops either from device manager so thats not really a indicator. The driver being loaded or unloaded has no impact on if the card is actually active. I don't think optimus notebooks depend on an ACPI call to turn off the GPU (i.e. on UL80 you can write a mini-driver for linux to do this disconnects it from the PCIE bus to save power).

[Guest itsy]

I think I have to withdraw my statement with Optimus working on Acer 8572G.

Just tested Dragon Age II (which should run better according to nvidia changelog) and it is quite lagging compared to the old 187 hybrid driver from Acer.

nvidia GPU is ON, the systray icon shows that DragonAge2.exe is running at the nvidia chip but performance is much lower compared to the old drivers.

Settings were the same.

Just did a test only on the Intel card and it is lagging much more than with Optimus. Now I'm totally confused.

Ideas anyone?

Just another thought: May I be unable to use Optimus because my nvidia chip (GT 330M) isnt even listed in the standard nvidia .inf?

[Madswk]

I think I have to withdraw my statement with Optimus working on Acer 8572G.

Just tested Dragon Age II (which should run better according to nvidia changelog) and it is quite lagging compared to the old 187 hybrid driver from Acer.

nvidia GPU is ON, the systray icon shows that DragonAge2.exe is running at the nvidia chip but performance is much lower compared to the old drivers.

Settings were the same.

Just did a test only on the Intel card and it is lagging much more than with Optimus. Now I'm totally confused.

Ideas anyone?

Just another thought: May I be unable to use Optimus because my nvidia chip (GT 330M) isnt even listed in the standard nvidia .inf?

First, the Intel graphics have nothing to do with the optimus driver, except that Optimus makes it possible for the computer to switch between the iGPU and GPU on the fly when needed.

Second, you should make sure you use the correct driver which supports your GPU (in this case GT 330M).Try to find the GPU in the .inf and if it's there make sure to add the correct GPU hardware id found in device manager.

Do you use beta or WHQL driver?

[itsy]

Just registered, more comfortable :)

I used the beta drivers (270.51) and when I searched the ini for 330 I didn't found anything. Don't know about normal drivers, but they've got the overlay?

Still, I modified the driver for my DevID and Subsys, pointing to the same Section (059) as in the modified .ini found here.

[Madswk]

Just registered, more comfortable :)

I used the beta drivers (270.51) and when I searched the ini for 330 I didn't found anything. Don't know about normal drivers, but they've got the overlay?

Still, I modified the driver for my DevID and Subsys, pointing to the same Section (059) as in the modified .ini found here.

I think your problem exist there because you can't just add your device if it isn't supported. Your device doesn't need the same files as 'our' g210m does.

I can try help you make a inf. for your device but I can't promise it to work properly. The 'old' 26x.xx have overlay but they aren't beta, so I'll stick to them until a stable 27x.xx driver is released.

Can you post your device hardware id please?

Edited April 13, 2011 by Madswk

[itsy]

Well, just looked at the nvidia site and my graphics Card (GT 330M) is listed as compatible with the 270.51 beta driver, but not shown in the .ini (searched for GT 330). Even in the normal 267.24 drivers my graphics card is not listed in the .ini...

Whole Hardware ID is: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0A29&SUBSYS_040B1025

So DeviceID: 0A29

Subsys: 040B1025

Appreciate your effort, thanks!

[Madswk]

Well, just looked at the nvidia site and my graphics Card (GT 330M) is listed as compatible with the 270.51 beta driver, but not shown in the .ini (searched for GT 330). Even in the normal 267.24 drivers my graphics card is not listed in the .ini...

Whole Hardware ID is: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0A29&SUBSYS_040B1025

So DeviceID: 0A29

Subsys: 040B1025

Appreciate your effort, thanks!

OK! I found your device and made some changes to support it. I assume you're on windows 7 64 bit.

The modified .inf is attached in the post (make sure to copy and replace it in the driver folder I linked in the post)

Please report back if you experience problems.

Driver:

Edit: I have also made one for 270.51

nvac(270.51) 64bit FOR GT330M.inf

Edited April 13, 2011 by Madswk

[itsy]

Thanks, will try that out when I'm at home.

Just wondering. Always edited only the nvam.ini to install the driver at all (otherwise it said hardware not supported), will see what happens if I use your nvac.ini too.

Will give you feedback later on, and yeah, Win7 x64 was perfectly right :)

EDIT: Almost broke my system. Was using your 270 .ini and while installing the nvidia installer said install error for the graphic driver. I restarted then and the nvidia card was missing in device manager, no way to get it back. Maybe because I installed it right after the Intel HD driver and did not reboot.

In the end I managed to restore my PC by removing a Intel PCI express slot (was marked as not working) from device manager. Windows looked for new drivers and found then the nvidia card also. Won't play on drivers again until next week, having an exam on monday and I need my PC for that.

Still, many thanks, will give you feedback soon (what happens when I reboot properly)

Edited April 13, 2011 by itsy

[Madswk]

Thanks, will try that out when I'm at home.

Just wondering. Always edited only the nvam.ini to install the driver at all (otherwise it said hardware not supported), will see what happens if I use your nvac.ini too.

Will give you feedback later on, and yeah, Win7 x64 was perfectly right :)

EDIT: Almost broke my system. Was using your 270 .ini and while installing the nvidia installer said install error for the graphic driver. I restarted then and the nvidia card was missing in device manager, no way to get it back. Maybe because I installed it right after the Intel HD driver and did not reboot.

In the end I managed to restore my PC by removing a Intel PCI express slot (was marked as not working) from device manager. Windows looked for new drivers and found then the nvidia card also. Won't play on drivers again until next week, having an exam on monday and I need my PC for that.

Still, many thanks, will give you feedback soon (what happens when I reboot properly)

I saw a mistake I had made in the .inf but it should be fixed now. Sorry for the trouble I made but that's just part of the experience when customizing :).

Just download the .inf from the same post (it's updated)

[itsy]

No problem :)

Will try that one out after Monday. Just how do you know what you have to add or change in those files?

Is it just experience?

EDIT: Had to try it out now, runs smoothly including on-the-fly change of GPUs. (So Optimus works) :)

But I still have 17-18W power consuption even if nvidia GPU is disabled, compared to the 12W before. Any idea to fix that? Do you need any ini or file from the old driver? I looked at it but I don't have a clue what might cause that.

Cheers!

Edited April 14, 2011 by itsy

[Madswk]

No problem :)

Will try that one out after Monday. Just how do you know what you have to add or change in those files?

Is it just experience?

EDIT: Had to try it out now, runs smoothly including on-the-fly change of GPUs. (So Optimus works) :)

But I still have 17-18W power consuption even if nvidia GPU is disabled, compared to the 12W before. Any idea to fix that? Do you need any ini or file from the old driver? I looked at it but I don't have a clue what might cause that.

Cheers!

Hmm, I'm glad that you worked it out. It sounds like the GPU is enabled, how do you know that it's disabled?

[itsy]

Well, the Optimus Tools show nvidia GPU as off and in Device Manager the energy state is D3. When using the nvidia GPU with Chess (not that much to do) I am getting a power consumption of 23-24W. So there is a difference of ~6W, so something must happen...^^

Oh and btw, I think you sorted it out^^

Edited April 15, 2011 by itsy

[Guest cKm83]

Hey guys, anyone able to help me? I'm using a acer aspire 4750g with a GT540M on board. I've been trying to mod the 270.51 drivers so that I'm able to install it but so far no luck :/

Here's my hardware ID

PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0DF4&SUBSYS_05071025

[Guest dnsmo]

I got Dell vostro 3700

PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0A29&SUBSYS_044F1028&REV_A2

PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0A29&SUBSYS_044F1028

PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0A29&CC_030000

PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0A29&CC_0300

this is the hardware id, any way you can put that in the inf or it is totally not supported? thank you very much