Mobile GPU Faceoff: AMD Dynamic Switchable Graphics vs. NVIDIA Optimus Technology
by Jarred Walton on September 20, 2011 6:40 AM ESTVideo Demonstrations
With all of the discussion of problems and UI issues, I felt the inclusion of some videos showing exactly what I experienced were in order. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then an 11 minute video ought to speak volumes, right? I’ve already covered most of the material, but I put together two videos, one showing various games and UI interactions on the Sony VAIO C and the second demonstrating similar use of the Acer TimelineX 3830TG. The first and likely more interesting video shows the gaming experience on the Sony laptop.
[Note: I’m still working on the Acer video; it should go up some time today, but there’s not a lot to see—the games I tested all run as expected.]
Again, without a different laptop, we can’t say how many of our complaints are specific to the Sony VAIO C and how many apply to AMD’s Dynamic Switchable Graphics in general. There haven’t been any major UI changes to AMD’s Catalyst Control Center lately, but there are almost certainly some performance, compatibility, and stability changes. Take the above video as a demonstration of what the Sony VAIO C delivers, and hopefully we’ll be able to test a more recent AMD driver in the near future.
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just4U - Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - link
It's been a looong day.. I need a good chuckle.. thanks!inplainview - Wednesday, September 21, 2011 - link
Are you serial stupid? I said above that I do not play games. Are you reading challenged?ggathagan - Wednesday, September 21, 2011 - link
Thanks,I was wondering what you ended up buying.
What're you having for dinner tonight?
Mom was worried, too. You might want to call her.
sonofsanta - Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - link
I, er, I think the phrase you're looking for is "cry foul", not "fowl". Wouldn't make much sense if people started running round shouting "Pheasant!" because nVidia sent you both laptops...MysteriousAndy - Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - link
++http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british...
swx2 - Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - link
relevant:http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=119
JarredWalton - Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - link
It's simply a typo (or misspelling if you prefer); I'm fully aware that we "cry foul" and not "fowl".beginner99 - Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - link
... makes absolutely no sense."we thought it would be interesting to see just how much performance you give up by gaming with the slower Llano CPU. Ready for some fun? You actually gain 5% performance with the A8-3500M + 6630M compared to the VAIO CA. ...Can you feel my frustration (with Sony) yet?"
The Charts show the i5 being better in every single benchmark especially starcraft 2, 29 vs 62 fps and you claim i5 has a 9% lead? Sorry but in my math its over 100% faster.
Again that last paragraph makes 0 sense and contradicts the data.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - link
Crap... I had the wrong numbers in my spreadsheet. Will update the text, because I was totally flabbergasted by the percentages. Turns out I had numbers from a different laptop listed (but the charts are correct). Thanks for pointing this out!Althernai - Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - link
Actually, HP's dv6t and dv7t have the 6770M with switchable graphics. It was badly broken upon release (dynamic only = OpenGL only on Intel), but HP has since released a BIOS update which allows you to select between Dynamic and Fixed in the BIOS (not in Windows like the Sony, but at least it's possible now).
Updating drivers on the HP dv6t is not so bad: you need to install AMD's drivers on top of what HP provides, but it seems to work OK as long as you leave out the control center. AMD releases two sets of drivers: the normal type which comes with all kinds of restrictions and the "hotfix" type which can be installed on practically anything (including even FirePro GPUs). You can always get the latter for the current month if there is a problem with downloading the driver.