R1 intel driver?

Is there a way to install just the intel GMA ( i think thats the driver ) on the m11x in switchable mode? Just out of curiosity. And if so, where can I find it. I am lost

 

Quick answer. NO.

Unfortunately you're kinda stuck with the Dell hybrid graphics drivers unless you just live on the nVidia graphics then you can use the nVidia provided drivers.

I'm sticking with the Dell drivers until I have a definite need to do otherwise. I'm enjoying my 8+ hours of battery life for the moment.

 

yeah the reason I wanted to do this was that I was using the nvidia 260.99 drivers in discrete mode and whenever I travel (which is frequently) I would use switchable to do work (not sure if that'd work but it was worth the shot).

I am not going to venture to the community made hybrid drivers because last time I tried that I messed up my computer somehow and had to reformat =/ I would love to have those work though.

 

It would be nice if they even had a BIOS option for Intel, nVidia, or switchable. It would be a bit of a pain, but at least then you'd have the option to manually switch GPU's and use OEM drivers. To be honest, not sure why if they include an option for nVidia only they couldn't do the same for Intel only.

If Dell would get off their though and at least release updated drivers every few months, it would be nice. I can't imagine it takes much to combine the drivers into one package. Quality Control would be the biggest time and expense, but even that wouldn't be too bad. Last update was what, July 2009? Here's to hoping for updated drivers in the next month or so.

As popular as switchable graphics are becoming I'm surprised there's not better support for them. That was one thing that really turned me off to a Lenovo laptop I owned once. It had switchable graphics, (U330? I can't recall), but other than initial release drivers they never did an update. Heck they never even released drivers for Windows 7 support when Windows 7 came along even though it was listed on the Microsoft site as a Windows 7 compatible product. I think they eventually eliminated the dedicated card from the revision when Windows 7 came along.

I don't get it. If they can't support it, then don't offer it.

 

Spoken beautifully. I completely agree.

 

Not entirely sure on this either. I have to assume that there is no mechanism in place for disabling/hiding the Nvidia GPU in the BIOs. I am pretty sure something like this is possible with Nandos DIY ViDock Setup though.

This is becoming a pet peeve of mine also. Customers need to start demanding support for a longer period of time from these OEMs. Alienware seemed to be doing a descent job for a while but that has since stopped. What people need to understand is that with a product like Hybrid Graphics no support from OEMs means the graphics portion of the notebook is pretty much dead in the water.

Welcome to "Switchable Graphics" hell and the reason Microsoft discouraged against its use.
There are three generations of Nvidias switchable graphics technology.

• The first generation (aka. Switchable Graphics) required a reboot in order to switch GPUs. No special drivers were required AFAIK because the machine only saw one GPU at a time.
• The second generation (aka Hybrid Graphics) can switch on the fly due to framework introduced with Windows Vista. Hybrid Graphics requires both Intel and Nvidia drivers to be installed together in a special package in order to function. The huge drawback to this package is the fact that Nvidia can not release a package with Intel drivers and vice versa, so it was left up to the OEM to support, test, and release these drivers. (OEMs don't have the time or resources to continually test, sign and release these drivers.)
• The third generation (aka Optimus) is a different type of beast all together. From a customer understanding standpoint, Optimuis isn't really a switching technology as much as it is an acceleration technology. It activates automatically and seamlessly based on triggers and a ruleset instead of a switch. One of the biggest benefits to Optimus IMHO is the fact that they have done away with the dual driver package requirement this means Nvidia can support it and release drivers on their own.

So yeah, it is a PITA. Hybrid Graphics requires OEM support and OEMs wont spend the time, money or resources to keep the technology up to date. Frustrating for all involved and a big screw you to customers. This is were people like myself and the community come in to try to support and update the products we purchased. Sometimes it feels like fighting a losing battle though.

 

I belive my asus N10J had switchable graphics with a reboot. That wasn't so bad to be honest with you. I was usually either in gaming mode or battery life mode. If I wanted to game, I'd shut everything else down anyhow, then I'd just reboot, and bam, utilizing dedicated GPU. I loved that little machine. Only thing that held it back was the stupid 1024x600 resolution. If it used 1366x768 I would have held on to it for quite a while. Too many games required 1024x768 minimum resolution to make it useable. But I digress.

Switchable graphics are a good thing IMHO, and with Intel integrating GPU's into the CPU's, it'll be even more common. I hope AMD, nVidia, Intel, and Microsoft can all sleep in the same bed and come up with a standard to make this as seamless as possible.

 

That will be a great day I decided to switch back to the stock 197.xx driver for the time being. I lose about 5 fps but it saves me battery whenever I travel for work. I guess I shall survive Thanks everybody.