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    Switchable Graphics?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Mercury53, May 23, 2012.

  1. Mercury53

    Mercury53 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I was having a lot of trouble playing Civ 5 on my new M17x R4, and it seems it was only running on the Intel graphics chip, not the 7970 because when I manually switched the card (FN+F7), it worked fine. My question is, why didn't it switch automatically like I thought it was suppose too? Also, it seems the 7970 driver was not installed, so I had to do that before I could use the card.
     
    Mercury53, May 23, 2012
    #1
  2. GTRagnarok

    GTRagnarok Notebook Evangelist

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    While running on the integrated graphics, you can assign a particular program to use the integrated or 7970M graphics in Catalyst Control Center. However, there's an issue where the 7970M doesn't perform 100% in most things unless the integrated graphics are off.
     
    GTRagnarok, May 24, 2012
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  3. Xenn0X

    Xenn0X Notebook Evangelist

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    for now i advise to run in FN f7 mode on full dedicated ati card to get most performance. drivers are still sketchy at best.
     
    Xenn0X, May 24, 2012
    #3
  4. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    Enduro isn't working properly. Its just like when Optimus first came out, it didn't work properly either.

    Just wait till the drivers are more mature. In the meantime, i would FN+F7 as the others have said
     
    SlickDude80, May 24, 2012
    #4
  5. Mercury53

    Mercury53 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Is it bad to run in 7970 all the time, or should I just use it when I need it?
     
    Mercury53, May 24, 2012
    #5
  6. mark_j

    mark_j Notebook Consultant

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    The only thing it will hurt is battery life. If it is plugged into the wall, running the 7970 for everything is fine.
     
    mark_j, May 24, 2012
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  7. raydenray

    raydenray Notebook Enthusiast

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    When I do FN+F7, after the reboot it doesnt seem to detect the 7970m, even when I go on CanYouRunIt. Is that normal? Haven't tried a game yet.
     
    raydenray, May 24, 2012
    #7
  8. Mercury53

    Mercury53 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Mine did not detect it at first either, but once the driver was installed, it was fine. Make sure the drivers are installed on your PC.
     
    Mercury53, May 24, 2012
    #8