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Optimus on Hybrid Graphics


Nautis1100

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Guest splinterC3LL

Run Optimus Tools. NvGPUStateViewer64.exe will tell you whether the nVidia GPU is ON. It is really quite remarkable - if you run 3DMark the tool indicates the GPU switching on at each test, and off during the period when one test ends and the next is being prepared.

When the Optimus tool tells that the GPU is OFF, does it mean that the only one that is running is just Intel GMA and the NVIDIA is totally off???

And then, if the GPU is ON (in Optimus tool), it is automatically switched to the NVIDIA GPU and the Intel GMA is switched to OFF ???

Is it like that???

Thank you for the explanation ( I'm still newbie... :) )

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When the Optimus tool tells that the GPU is OFF, does it mean that the only one that is running is just Intel GMA and the NVIDIA is totally off???

And then, if the GPU is ON (in Optimus tool), it is automatically switched to the NVIDIA GPU and the Intel GMA is switched to OFF ???

Is it like that???

Thank you for the explanation ( I'm still newbie... :) )

More or less. Actually, the nVidia GPU when it is ON, does the heavy lifting (rendering) and sends the rendered output to the Intel which then sends it to the display, but for all practical purposes your explanation above holds good.

Try running a GPU intensive program, like a game or an HD movie or AutoCAD, and the nVidia GPU should come on automatically, and switch back to the Intel GPU when you close the app.

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hi all,

installed the new driver successful, but after that i cant get into the nvidia controll panel program. Someone have this issue? thanks john.

by the way: i have a UL50VT which works fine with driver version 270.61

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hi all,

installed the new driver successful, but after that i cant get into the nvidia controll panel program. Someone have this issue? thanks john.

by the way: i have a UL50VT which works fine with driver version 270.61

Did you clean your system to remove the previous nvidia control panel? Uninstall the driver, use driversweeper or nfr to clean, then reboot and reinstall.

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Did you clean your system to remove the previous nvidia control panel? Uninstall the driver, use driversweeper or nfr to clean, then reboot and reinstall.

yeah, i did use driversweeper after uninstall nvidia driver, but have this issue all the times. Installed 4x now. strange huh?!

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Here is the nvam that I used to get 275.33 running on my ul80vt. Hope it helps others. nvam.inf

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Guest splinterC3LL

For your Information, we can play The Witcher 2 smoothly using UL80VT with NVIDIA 275.33 driver...

But, it is in all low settings and in 1280 x 600 resolutions (almost full screen... hehe...)

But, I don't know if we can play it in a higher resolutions by overclocking the CPU and GPU first...

Has anyone ever tried overclocking CPU or GPU especially UL80VT ??? Is it good to oc notebook???

Thank you... :)

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This week I finally installed optimus drivers v 270.61 on my UL80VT.

After few days of testing i noticed increase of power consumption in idle mode from 11-12 W on hybird drivers to 15-17 W.

On the other hand i just overclocked G210M GPU to 760/940/1640 and SU7300 CPU to 1906 and achieved 4101 pts in 3Dmark06 with default settings.

Is there any way to fix this issue with power consumption?

Can optimus drivers turn off discrete card completely like hybird ones?

Edited by vithrell
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If somebody has issues with unsupported devs for 275.33 try this>

Edited by gr9zev
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yeah, i did use driversweeper after uninstall nvidia driver, but have this issue all the times. Installed 4x now. strange huh?!

Confirmed not working on UL30VT. But 270.61 does fine.

With 275.33, Driver install well, but when trying control pannel, the software says there is no suitable nvidia Hardware.

Games using nvidia chrashes...

Akta

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Here is the nvam that I used to get 275.33 running on my ul80vt. Hope it helps others. nvam.inf

Hi, man. I have met some trouble when using your nvam file. After the install of Nvidia driver 275.33 done checking the system compatibility it says missing file and won't allow me to install. I have installed the latest GMA driver 151717. If this could be the issue can you please advice which version of Intel driver should I use?

Thanks for your help!!

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Allow me to jump in.

I have just purchased an Asus-refurb UL80VT from eBay. I had been following this tread before I even received the lappy. Once it is out of the box, I immediately unstalled both the hybrid Nvidia driver. Rebooted. Ran DriverSweep to clean up any leftovers. Rebooted again. Now both graphic device showed up as Generic graphic in the device manager. I then installed the Intel GMA 151716. Rebooted and found the Intel GMA "working." Then I installed Nvidia Optimus 275.33 (replace the nvam file with whyhellothere's file). Everything worked fine.

The only different thing was I was using Intel GMA 151716 instead of 151717(?). But I think if you do the reboot/driversweep step, it should work. Hope this help.

Edit: Updated to Intel GMA 151717 today. Still working fine.

Hi, man. I have met some trouble when using your nvam file. After the install of Nvidia driver 275.33 done checking the system compatibility it says missing file and won't allow me to install. I have installed the latest GMA driver 151717. If this could be the issue can you please advice which version of Intel driver should I use?

Thanks for your help!!

Edited by buzzbuzz
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  • 2 weeks later...

Did you try right clicking the game shortcut and selecting start with discrete GPU? You can also add the entry for the game in question in nVidia control panel and make it always use that GPU. Or you could set nVidia GPU as the default.

In PhysX settings (nVidia control panel - menu), set it to always use the nVidia GPU (default setting is auto).

The whole point of using Optimus on Hybrid graphics hardware is that you can use the latest drivers. 275.33 WHQL has been out for a while now. :)

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Guest candy

Did you try right clicking the game shortcut and selecting start with discrete GPU? You can also add the entry for the game in question in nVidia control panel and make it always use that GPU. Or you could set nVidia GPU as the default.

In PhysX settings (nVidia control panel - menu), set it to always use the nVidia GPU (default setting is auto).

The whole point of using Optimus on Hybrid graphics hardware is that you can use the latest drivers. 275.33 WHQL has been out for a while now. :)

Well the game is a Steam game, so I can't right click and run with the GPU. Also, my control panel only has settings for "3D Settings" and "Video". I'm not sure if I have an updated control panel... any ideas?

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Guest candy

Never mind! I went through 3D Settings and figured out how to make some of the stuff work. I still don't see PhysX settings though. And I am not sure how to get 275.33 to work correctly on my UL50. I got it to install my modding my own nvam, but then I had no control panel and the GPU was always on.

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Before installing 275.33 you need to uninstall the previous drivers and reboot, and possibly do it again until device manager shows both graphics adapters as VGA compatible (ie. generic). Then run Driversweeper or NFR to get rid of all traces of the previous drivers, especially the nVidia Control Panel (if that is left lying around, the new nVidia control panel will not be installed correctly).

When you install the new driver, select the clean option (resets all previous driver settings).

PhysX settings are under 3D settings> Set PhysX configuration.

To uninstall 275.33, run the installer again and uncheck all the boxes. Remember to clean up before installing another driver.

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Guest candy

Before installing 275.33 you need to uninstall the previous drivers and reboot, and possibly do it again until device manager shows both graphics adapters as VGA compatible (ie. generic). Then run Driversweeper or NFR to get rid of all traces of the previous drivers, especially the nVidia Control Panel (if that is left lying around, the new nVidia control panel will not be installed correctly).

When you install the new driver, select the clean option (resets all previous driver settings).

PhysX settings are under 3D settings> Set PhysX configuration.

To uninstall 275.33, run the installer again and uncheck all the boxes. Remember to clean up before installing another driver.

Well I make sure I uninstall correctly and what not, I just have trouble installing 275.33 I'm not sure I edited my nvam correctly. I added my hardware ID under the 64bit line with a section number that I got from hardware with the same section number on an nvam that worked before. Is that all that I have to change? When I had installed it it said that I did not have an nvidia device installed when I tried to access the control panel.

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Well I make sure I uninstall correctly and what not, I just have trouble installing 275.33 I'm not sure I edited my nvam correctly. I added my hardware ID under the 64bit line with a section number that I got from hardware with the same section number on an nvam that worked before. Is that all that I have to change? When I had installed it it said that I did not have an nvidia device installed when I tried to access the control panel.

That might not work. Section numbers change with each driver release. :)

Look at the nvam.inf of the driver that worked before. You know the section number that you used there. Look up which other device(s) used that same section number. Say you find that 2 other devices DeviceA and DeviceB used that same section number.

Now look at the nvam.inf of the new driver. Find DeviceA or DeviceB in that nvam.inf. See which section number they are using and use that section number for your device. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

A newbie question: Is there any progress update on the power-saving front?

I love the automatic nature of Optimus driver, just wish there is progress on the power-saving.

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Sorry. AFAIK there is no change in the status. If you must use the very latest drivers, consider modding your BIOS so you can turn off one graphics adapter completely. This will mean rebooting every time you want to change graphics adapters which is a bit of a pain, but those who have tried this are not reporting excessive power related issues.

I've heard some people have modded their BIOS to use the three position switch in some non-standard way, but you'll have to do your research into these claims. I have no first hand knowledge of this, and am personally very reluctant to modding the BIOS. Make a mistake there, and it will probably need an expensive paid visit to the service centre to put it right.

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If I understand you correctly, there is a version of Optimus driver (for natively Hybrid Graphic lappy) that can completely turn-off the right graphic adapter. Which one? I must have missed something along the way. I don't need the latest driver; just need one that has maxi. power saving. DO tell.

Sorry. AFAIK there is no change in the status. If you must use the very latest drivers, consider modding your BIOS so you can turn off one graphics adapter completely. This will mean rebooting every time you want to change graphics adapters which is a bit of a pain, but those who have tried this are not reporting excessive power related issues.

I've heard some people have modded their BIOS to use the three position switch in some non-standard way, but you'll have to do your research into these claims. I have no first hand knowledge of this, and am personally very reluctant to modding the BIOS. Make a mistake there, and it will probably need an expensive paid visit to the service centre to put it right.

Edited by buzzbuzz
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No. Drivers won't do the trick. You'll have to mod the BIOS (make a dump of the BIOS, extract it, change some stuff, and then flash it back into the laptop). Then you'll have additional settings in the BIOS that will let you turn off the undesired graphics adapter just like any other hardware device.

Check out this thread and similar threads:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/473226-insyde-hacking-new-vaio-z-advanced-menu-bios.html

http://computercowboy.com/VAIO/

Note: I am not recommending this stuff - only alerting you to the fact that it exists.

Don't forget to see if there is anything useful to you in our own BIOS section:

http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/24-system-video-bios/

My recommendation: if you don't care much for the latest drivers and want good battery performance, stick with hybrid drivers. This thread is where I look for latest information for my VAIO:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/342947-my-discoveries-vaio-z-s-hybrid-graphics.html

Edited by anytimer
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Thanks for the clarification Anytimer. I am running Optimus 275.33 on my Asus UL80VT. I will wait and see if I can live with the less-than-perfect power saving on this Optimus 275.33. May be if I go on a long travel, I will reinstall the Hybrid driver. Thanks for your help.

Edited by buzzbuzz
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