Nvidia Optimus question

[w3stfa11]

I'll probably be buying a laptop with Optimus technology. I'm not a hardcore gamer, I game maybe once a week. However, I do view HD video frequently.

Questions:
1. Will the dedicated video card turn on when viewing hd content and then off right away? I'll sometimes have video open then close it. Then 5 minutes later, open up a new video. Does it automatically switch on and off and is there any sort of delay when doing this? I'm worried this frequent automatic switching might be noticeable (in performance, fan, etc).

2. How is the driver support for Optimus? Some people had trouble with Optimus not switching to the video card when loading up a game. Any experiences? Also, is this something that will likely be supported by Nvidia in the long-term?

3. Is this feature considered a major advantage compared to a ATI card that doesn't have one?

4. Which will likely have better battery life: a 6v battery with optimus video card or a 9 cell battery? (on average)

 

[NYHoustonman]

I'll probably be buying a laptop with Optimus technology. I'm not a hardcore gamer, I game maybe once a week. However, I do view HD video frequently.

Questions:
1. Will the dedicated video card turn on when viewing hd content and then off right away? I'll sometimes have video open then close it. Then 5 minutes later, open up a new video. Does it automatically switch on and off and is there any sort of delay when doing this? I'm worried this frequent automatic switching might be noticeable (in performance, fan, etc).

2. How is the driver support for Optimus? Some people had trouble with Optimus not switching to the video card when loading up a game. Any experiences? Also, is this something that will likely be supported by Nvidia in the long-term?

3. Is this feature considered a major advantage compared to a ATI card that doesn't have one?

4. Which will likely have better battery life: a 6v battery with optimus video card or a 9v battery? (on average)

1. I wouldn't notice the switch when watching HD video or starting a game if there wasn't an indicator light on the laptop itself. No flickering, etc. (although the fan does spin up to keep the GPU cool when needed).

2. Driver support has gotten better, kind of. NVidia's most recent release (257.21) supports Optimus, and although NVidia recommends people wait for their laptop manufacturer to release updated drivers, I've had no problem using these on my Asus N61Jv. The only game I had issues with was the Starcraft 2 beta, but that has since been fixed - in general, you can create rules in the driver control panel as to when the GPU switches, if it limits its clocks to save power, etc.

3. ATI seems to be working on something similar. It's definitely worth having now that secondary GPUs are integrated into Intel's newer CPUs.
http://www.fudzilla.com/notebooks/notebooks/ati-is-working-on-its-version-of-optimus

4. Probably no way to tell. FWIW I get 3.5-4 hours out of my N61Jv when doing typical office-type stuff (remote desktop, web browsing, etc.). I haven't really tested battery life when gaming.

 

[taltamir]

I'll probably be buying a laptop with Optimus technology. I'm not a hardcore gamer, I game maybe once a week. However, I do view HD video frequently.

Questions:
1. Will the dedicated video card turn on when viewing hd content and then off right away? I'll sometimes have video open then close it. Then 5 minutes later, open up a new video. Does it automatically switch on and off and is there any sort of delay when doing this? I'm worried this frequent automatic switching might be noticeable (in performance, fan, etc).

2. How is the driver support for Optimus? Some people had trouble with Optimus not switching to the video card when loading up a game. Any experiences? Also, is this something that will likely be supported by Nvidia in the long-term?

3. Is this feature considered a major advantage compared to a ATI card that doesn't have one?

4. Which will likely have better battery life: a 6v battery with optimus video card or a 9v battery? (on average)

1. it switches in a fraction of a second.

2. I do not know.

3. It is a major advantage.

4. I am not sure what you are asking. first off, do you mean 6 cell vs 9 cell battery? because you said 6v vs 9v, and v stands for voltage.
Secondly, what kind of IGP and GPU does the 9 cell battery setup have?

 

[w3stfa11]

1. it switches in a fraction of a second.

2. I do not know.

3. It is a major advantage.

4. I am not sure what you are asking. first off, do you mean 6 cell vs 9 cell battery? because you said 6v vs 9v, and v stands for voltage.
Secondly, what kind of IGP and GPU does the 9 cell battery setup have?

4. Yep, I meant:

6 cell laptop with nvidia card with optimus and IGP
vs
9 cell laptop with a similarly powered ATI dedicated graphics card (no integrated one)

 

[taltamir]

optimus also has a dedicated card, it has an IGP and a seperate card and switches between them on demand.
Whether the 6 cell laptop with optimus is better then the 9 cell with only a dedicated card depends entirely on the exact models used and their power consumption.
It can be either or depending on how much power the following consume:
1. IGP in optimus setup
2. dedicated card in optimus setup
3. dedicated card without optimus.
4. the rest of the system.

as well as on the exact amount of power in each battery type.

If I was pressed to make a semi-educated guess I would bet on the optimus system. But I would rather just see benchmark results. You could potentially calculate it if you knew all the details but:
1. claimed figures are often fudged.
2. its too difficult to actually acquire all the figures involved. its better to just find a review that compares them.

 

[w3stfa11]

Thank you for the replies.

I'll be getting this laptop with Nvidia Optimus. I just hope driver support will be good in the long-term.
http://www.amazon.com/N61JV-X2-16-In...ref=pd_cp_pc_1

 

[NYHoustonman]

Thank you for the replies.

I'll be getting this laptop with Nvidia Optimus. I just hope driver support will be good in the long-term.
http://www.amazon.com/N61JV-X2-16-In...ref=pd_cp_pc_1

Solid laptop (although I guess they raised the price in the last few months ). Bought it on the recommendation of an Anandtech review and I haven't regretted it.