M11xR2/R3 - NVidia Optimus Issues/Whitelisting Problems

What happens if we force install "normal" nvidia drivers or Hybrid Drivers on the m11x R2 ? Will it just use the 335m all the time or will it fail badly?

thanks

 

As far as right now, the only steam game that worked for me is CounterStrike Source. I don't know for other owners.

Dirt 2 - No Launch
RE5 - Crash (Both DX9 and DX10)
AC1 - Crash

It's definitely an Optimus issue.

 

Im trying to do the mod deal with the new 257.21 drivers & i don't see a verde file in the extracted files.

 

I originally had no problems with Optimus switching correctly until I installed the 257.21 drivers (using a fix posted on here somewhere). Now Heroes of Newerth wants to use integrated. When I try to add the exe in Nvidia Control Panel it won't accept it for some reason. I can manually switch to the 335 before I boot HoN though so its a temporary workaround at least.

 

That is what i am trying to do i used universal extractor to put the files in a folder and then i am supposed to copy his file with downloads as text to me into a verde file which i don't see in the extracted files.
This is the first time i have had to mode any files like this.

 

I recommend downloading the driver from laptopvideo2go as it is already decompressed from its executable file and easily modifiable.

 

When I was downloading the document I had to actually copy/paste the text from Chrome into a .txt document and rename the file to nvdm.inf (just change the .txt to .inf). Then when you move the document into the extraction folder you'll be asked to replace a file.

 

I downloaded the 257.21 driver & extracted it & i don't see the file i am supposed to overwrite.

Perhaps i didn't the right driver. This is bumming me out haven't been able to play one game yet since i got the R2.

 

After you download the 257.21 driver.

The file you are looking for is here for example C:\Downloads\257.21_notebook_winvista_win7_64bit_international_whql\Display\nvdm.inf

The file name is NVDM.INF, Open that and overwrite it with this text.

http://nautisiandesigns.com/drivers/INFs/optimus/m11xr2/nvdm.inf

After you overwrite the text. You can run the setup.exe

This is the guide i followed in case you are confused. Hope it helps.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6360625-post17.html

 

i made the mod revisions & its installing now. How long is it take to install? its been at the installing components for quite a while now.

 

Since there is no way to force the desktop to use the GPU I have a question. Doe watching HD video rely on the CPU for smooth playback or GPU? I plan on using players like VLC and The KMPlayer. I should be getting my laptop this Monday.

 

Cyber: Ive been wondering about using the GPU for the desktop and video as well but never got an answer. My laptop is due on Monday as well. I guess the Intel will work but it seems dumb that the laptop comes with a nice Nvidia card that you cant use for the desktop. Especially considering I will have this plugged into wall power 95% of the time.

 

the modded file never installed.

UPDATE: I tried a few more times then started over and was able to get it to install. Now it seems to be working although not all the files stay saved in the Nvidia control panel list even though it is an .exe file. This happen to you as well? Do i have to right click on the file itself every time i wanna run with the GfxCard?

 

Well then, let's work together to figure stuff out.

The first thing I'm gonna do is replace the stock HD with my 500gb Hybrid and reinstall all the drivers. Then get the special nvidia drivers from this thread. I don't get home from work till around 7pm so I have a feeling it's gonna be along night!

 

I have read through all the Optimus threads and I'm still not clear where the issue lies. Who are we waiting on to fix the issues? Do we need a new driver from Nvidia or something else?

 

Hey to all again, how is Mass effect 2 on the new r2? Is optimus being an issue.

 

ME2 is working fine for me.

 

Thanks all for posting this thread! So I followed Nautis' tips and was able to install the verde driver, but there is also a Geforce/Ion Driver Release 256 on nvidia's site that I wanted to install. Downloaded the driver but it gives me an error and says setup could not locate compatible drivers and kicks me out. Please help!

Edit: Just to clarify - this is the updated driver for the Intel(R) HD Graphics from nvidia.com. Nautis - I've been following your posts and you are very knowledgeable in this area, can you please help out a newbie?

 

So I can't tell who is using which driver in this thread... When you report that a game isn't working, can you please post which driver you are using? This will help me when trying to duplicate issues and get engineering to fix them...

Thanks

 

Very important indeed.

It is also worth reiterating that using any unofficial drivers/mods (those not provided by Nvidia or Dell/Alienware) can cause unforeseen issues. Unofficial drivers/mods do not go through the stringent testing procedures official drivers do and in turn come with a certain amount of risk. It is always recommended to use officially released drivers over unofficial ones.

-

Will hopefully have something up soon that may further help Optimus users. It is something that people have been looking for since it was released.

 

One point to note about using the nvidia control panel. This is what happened to me.

When you add an .exe to the list, you must choose the nivdia card, I know it shows by default, but clicking it will cause the "Apply" button to appear. Only when you click on "Apply" will the .exe be added.

Brian, I have anno 1404 and venice addon. So there are 2 .exe : anno.exe and addon.exe. I could add addon.exe but not anno.exe, using the method above. However, playing anno 1404 and venice both trigger the nvidia card.

nvidia last updated remain at 6/22. Current driver version 189.69A00

 

Guys,

I have recieved my R2 today and have been doing a lot of testing against the R1.
One thing I have noticed is that the idle power consumption is 20Watts! the R1 on intel was 11w and the R1 running the nvidia was about 20w. this leads me to believe that the nvidia card is not turned off when not in use.

I thought the whole idea of optimus was that it shut down the nvidia when idle/low use was in play. I feel as though I have all the bad points of optimus (problems launching games and hassle adding exe's) without the benefits!

Hopefully I have missed something obvious

 

Thank you erawneila..

I found out during the weekend that optimus automatically kicks in if the program is using a rich 3D engine. (Alienware stock 189.69 Driver)

The only thing that's buggy is the part where you can't add the .exe to the list. But for my experience, i kept adding and adding and i eventually gave up, but all the games i play right now are running smoothly and fine. Except for assassin's creed 1 where it just stops working before the game is loaded.. before the first mission.

The tech is still in its baby state. Considering in the future it would have good drivers to optimize its performance. Otherwise, why would they name it "optimus?"

 

isnt it the cpu that's adding up to the power? I don't know anything much about power but my fan doesnt turn on while surfing the net or doing basic tasks..

 

We're in the process of posting the Dell 257.30 version of the nVidia driver to support.dell.com now, so I'm hopeful that this will resolve many of the issues that you are experiencing. Please uninstall your old version prior to installing the new beta release. It should be online later today.

Keep me posted on which games are causing problems.

Thanks.

 

Thanks Brian,

Do we just uninstall nvidia or do we also need to uninstall the intel? sorry for my ignorance, I only got it today and still getting my head around optimus.

 

I really dont think so (although I cant proove it). looking at cpuz the i7 clocks right down to about 600mhz when idle. I would imagine its as low as the C2D if not lower. I expect it will have a much higher wattage on load compared to the C2D though.

Does your fan really not turn on whilst idle? mine does, every few minutes. just like the R1. How loud is yours whilst gaming? maybe I have a screwy fan profile as mine is also really quiet on load

 

Just the nVidia in this case. For the M11xR2, the driver is broken into two different files, one for Intel and one for nVidia. For the R1, they are bundled together.

 

Thats great, thank you. I will keep my eyes peeled.

Also Brian, having spent the day testing my R2, the overclocking gives no performance increase over the standard clocks. Are you guys aware of this yet?
If not and you want my findings please let me know

 

anyone know how to do this? sorry im technologically retarded...

 

Hi Guys,

I'm living in the UK and received my m11x R2 last week, I haven't gotten round to doing much gaming on it yet but I have played some League of Legends and was only getting around 30-35 FPS. I was wondering if this is down to the game not utilising the nVidia GPU as other people have been having issues with several games. Anyone else play LoL and what are your experiences? Personally I was expecting around 50 fps+ on the m11x.

 

If you can't figure it out, it should be OK to just install right over the top of the existing driver.

 

There is an error in the manual. The ethernet is 10/100 only, not 1000 Mbps. Sorry for the confusion.

 

Ok, I'm running into trouble with the updated drivers from this post. Just received my R2 today and I am doing a clean install of Windows 7. I installed the 257.21 notebook winvista win7 64bit international whql drivers with the modified inf file from Nautlis. When I try to set the screen resolution, the highest I can go is 1024x768. What did I do wrong?

 

you need to install the intel driver too.

 

I did that and restarted but still same resolution. Do I have to install the Intel driver first?

 

False alarm. I think I'm good now. Restarted again after installing more drivers and got my Nvidia control panel and my native screen res back. Phew! That's a relief!

 

When you go to the control panel does it show both the intel and the nvidia display?

If you can see it, you can right click from there and update the drivers for the intel. I know win7 usually does the update for the intel drivers.

If that did not work, start up in safe mode, then uninstall the nvidia driver, then restart, and check your resolution. If its ok, install the nvidia driver, if not, restart again, go to safe mode, and uninstall the intel driver. And restart.

You should be able to find it through trial and error.

 

Oh lol. you're way ahead of me.. I type slow.

 

AFAIK You should also be able to download and install the latest drivers for "Intel HD" from the Intel website. ( Currently 2141 - Quick Link)

Here is to hoping the new official driver release will fix issues for some when it is finally up.

 

How can I tell if a game is using the 335m chip? I just installed Transformers and this thing is running painfully slow. I've already added the executable in the Nvidia control panel (Manage 3D panel) and set it to use High Performance Nvidia Processor. The default settings for the game is the native res and medium texture.

Update - Just installed Mass Effect 2. Now I know this game works as I've read other people were successful in running this on the R2. But when I run it, I'm probably getting fps in the teens. I've added this to the Nvidia Profile like I did with the Transformers.exe but still get below playable results. Just Cause 2 won't even load. Comes back with an error that says fatal directx error.


Update 2 - Alright I obviously don't know what I'm doing. After almost none of the games I installed worked, I decided to go back and install the Dell drivers for Nvidia and now Transformers works like charm. Everything set to max with V-sync on and playing smoooooth! I will report back with the other games.

 

So now we need to know when the new official driver will be released!!!!

 

Also either this a great idea or a terrible idea but couldn't someone just make some stupid batch file and add that to the list of programs to use the nvidea card then just run that anytime they want to game?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/495489-m11xr2-optimus-test-tools.html

 

Wow! Thanks! This board is da best!

So far Mass Effect 2, Just Cause 2, Transformers, and Resident Evil 5 all work without flaw. I am getting 40's to 50 fps on all of them except for Transformers. I think the game is locked down to 30fps. I couldn't use a program called nhancer which let's you play with the the visual settings of games cause the GPU is not active on the desktop. When I run the program, it doesn't detect it.

 

I haven't seen this mentioned in too many threads...can those who have issues with certain games try right clicking the shortcut to the game and go to Run with graphics processor > select High-Performance Nvidia processor. This should tell the laptop to run the particular executable with the Nvidia processor...worth a shot.

 

Does anyone know how to remove the optimus logo which appears in the top left corner while playing games?

Thanks.

 

So it looks like there's a Nvidia beta driver posted on Dell's driver page for the M11x R2 now - the date on it is 6/29, version on it is 257.30. I just got my M11x yesterday (and formatted it) so I'm going to try these drivers... Does anyone have any more information about this new file?

 

I'm pretty sure that this won't work right if you only click on the short-cut. You need to locate the actually .EXE file. Keep in mind that many games have different .EXE files for single player, multi-player, etc. versions of the same game. You will need to repeat for each .EXE file.

 

Hi Erawneila, any news on the new official nVidia R2 driver from the dell side? Hoping that it will be out soon as you mentioned that it should be on the way by yesterday.