Thought on driver switching?

This may be a stretch, and really just food for thought, but maybe a possibility. M11x R1 only allows switchable graphics or nVidia only in the BIOS.

Is there any way possible to switch manually or automatically, the video drivers on Windows 7 boot up? So you could choose switchable in the BIOS and use the Dell provided switchable drivers, but if you wanted to use the discrete nVidia, you could load the nVidia reference drivers for best performance (with discrete selected in BIOS of course)?

Best option would be for Dellienware to add an option in the BIOS to choose Intel GPU only as well, instead of just switchable and nVidia.

 

The question "to me" sounds a bit confused.

On an M11xR1 you have the following options.

• Boot using the last GPU setting (Nvidia or Intel GMA)
• Switch between Intel GMA and Nvidia. (White list application blockers if required)
• Set BIOS to load Nvidia only.

If one wants to use Intel GMA, just select it.

If one loads a Nvidia hybrid driver set, one has the option to switch between Intel GMA and Nvidia GPU.

If one loads a Nvidia driver from Nvidia that is NOT a hybrid driver set, one must set the BIOS to boot Nvidia only.

NBR members have looked at creating a Optimus 'like' driver for the M11xR1 but I've not seen a working model.

Other than timely updates of Nvidia hybrid driver set, I'm not sure what more you'd want.

I'm so sure I don't understand your question.

 

Sorry, have my 2 and 3 year old boys hanging off me and fighting while trying to compile a coherent idea / message.

Basically I'm looking for a "manual GPU switch" alternative.

Dell has not updated hybrid drivers. Dell only has "hybrid" and "nVidia only" as BIOS GPU options. Ideally it would be nice to add "Intel only" as a BIOS option to that list as well.

However given the fact that we don't and probably won't get a BIOS update with that either, then my thought is to have a way to switch to a different GPU driver set when you boot with either "hybrid" or "nvidia only" mode. In hybrid mode you can use Intel GPU for battery life and even software switch to nVidia with the hybrid drivers. But if you select "nVidia only" in the BIOS then have it automatically run whatever "nVidia only" drivers the user has installed.

But as it stands, both sets of drivers can't live together on the same machine without causing conflict. I'd like to switch manually to nVidia in the BIOS whenever I want to game and use latest nvidia drivers, and then switch back to "hybrid" in the BIOS when I want the convenience of software switching (albeit antiquated drivers) and long battery life. I don't want to be stuck with just one or the other.

 

I am also confused..but think this might be what you are getting at.

If you install the most recent drivers from nVidia, and leave it on hybrid mode, as far as I have seen, it will stay on the Intel drivers by default. You can not switch to the nVidia card in this mode , because the driver you have does not support it.

To switch over, go into the BIOS and switch the option..

So if you want to use your strait Intel drivers, just switch your mode back to Hybrid, and you will be stuck in that mode until the next switch. This is at least how it worked for me, because I installed the latest drivers for performance issues, and then panicked when I realized I could not switch to my nVidia card, and seemed stuck in Intel. Swapped it over the BIOS, and I was good.

If what you are looking for is to install updated drivers that active when you switch into nVidia mode, and when you switch back to hybrid have a working hybrid driver that allows you to switch, the only thing I can think off is if you were to duel boot..

 

Yeah, I thought about dual booting, but seems like a silly way around something that should be manageable as far as a simple driver selection.

But you've got what I was trying to say/ask. Thanks. lol.

Maybe I will toy with different drivers. I think if you install just the nVidia drivers in hybrid mode it uses the default Intel drivers in Windows 7 because if you go to install Intel GMA drivers, from what I remember, it said it couldn't.

 

dell did upgrade the hybrid drivers. like last week.

 

LOL, wups. My bad. 3/16 shows the update. I guess I checked a week or so ago and still nothing. This is good news. Guess this will have to tide me over until I buy a new gaming subcompact notebook, probably Acer 3830TG end of this year unless AW comes up with something more powerful in a similar size.

 

yeah, i hope alienware comes out with something even better for that size. and the new driver is pretty good, iv also found that you dont have to close programs for the gpu's to switch.

 

I have DELLs downloads for the M11xR1 RSS'd on my mobile phone.
So I sort of get smacked around the head the day after something is made available.
It gives a good heads up (Smack!! Doh!!!) is my thinking.

Dell M11xR1 RSS Drivers and Downloads

Dell M11xR1 Nvidia Hybrid driver set.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/562658-m11xr1-only-nvidia-263-08-whql-dell-driver-released-3-16-discuss-here.html

Interesting ideal to have what would effectively be dual/multiple boot GPU components. The logistics of managing and maintaining them may be to complex to implement, but an interesting idea none the less.

 

I wouldn't even care if it was some third party program that halted windows on bootup before it had to load the drivers and said "press 1 for switchable GPU" "press 2 for nvidia" or something like that with a timeout. I'm sure it would take a registry change and file change for it to work.

Just a thought, but maybe I need to smack myself upside the head, lol.

 

What is the advantage of trying to implement your suggestion, versus a switchable graphics system?

Is it so you can use the latest nVidia and Intel drivers directly from the nVidia / Intel websites?

 

Yes. <ten chars>