GPU Switch in unibody mac Fixed yet?

has the GPU (9400/9600) on the unibody mac been fixed yet?

before, on leopard it requires you to log out; with snow leopard coming out, has that problem been fixed yet?

 

no, it still requires logging out to switch gpu...also there's no gou switching in windows bootcamp...i'm using my laptop at 66c with less hovering in the 70's...though sometimes i does go to 70's....apple's gpu switching is badly implemented...Lenovo's have a better implementation of hybrid Power...

 

thanks luke, i wonder when they will or will they implement this feature...

switching GPU requiring a log out is not really elegant, and so un-mac like. i wonder what they were thinking. hopefully they fix this soon.

i'm still on my SR MBP 8600m gt. so its not really relevant to me, but when it came time for replacement...

so you guys that uses these feature, does the log out really bother you? do you use the 9400/9600? heat problem when on 9600?

 

i basically just end up permanently using the 9400m in os x, as i don't really have a need for it there.

all my gpu needs are basically taken care of in windows.

 

same here for using the 9400m while on os x....but not being able to switch gpu in windows is simply a pain in the a**.

 

fix?

it isn't broken...

I thought it was cool they got it to work with just a log out and not a full reboot...

asking for a new feature is nice, but saying something is broken just because it works differently than you wished is kind of strange.

 

The GPU switching isn't even supposed to require a logout. It is natively designed in the hardware to work instantaneously (ie. with a hotkey). Apple didn't implement it to work the way it was designed.

 

Which laptops have this feature with a hotkey/switch?

 

Off the top of my head, some Sonys have a switch on the laptop body (e.g. Sony Z series, and the older SZ too). However, you pull the switch and then you must reboot... so it's worse than the MBP.

 

Sony Vaio Z notebooks running Windows Vista have this feature with a hotkey/switch that do not require a logout or reboot. However, this same series running on Windows XP require a reboot.

All Sony Vaio SZ notebooks running Windows XP or Vista all require a reboot.

By the way, all the above mentioned Vaio notebooks are running on Nvidia/Intel hybrid GPUs. Therefore, I think it is very possible for Apple to implement this "switch" in the OS without a logout, although I could be wrong.

 

Maybe its how the OS accesses the hardware that is preventing them from allowing that to happen.

 

My preference would be to have a low power mode and then one where both are always on and used. Especially with OpenCL and GC.

 

Wow, alright... Forgot what it was like to own a Z already Yeah, I think you're right. I rarely switched it, totally forgot.

 

perhaps it's this, but i have a feeling that this is beyond the os....imo, it's got something to do with the efi firmware....we need an update...

 

excuse me, the hardware (nvidia) supports the switching without requiring a logout or reboot. even windows vista support this without a logout, its just instant switch, pretty painless, if i'm not mistaken; they even support hybird SLI, which enables both the GPU to works together (discreet+integrated), and automatic management.

yes, even at launch, nvidia claims that it was apple's problem, as the hardware supports this, they claim that apple might supports this in the future.

FYI, apple writes the driver themselves, not nvidia.

a lot; on top of my head. sony z, thinkpad t/w, even full-on gaming notebook with 2 discreet card+integrated like the alienware m17x.

what i want from apple is that; both ON off at the same time, without requiring us to intervene, if the power is not needed it turns off/put the discreet one on low power standby, when the power is needed, it automatically turn that one/both on, seamlessly, like its intended.

 

I remember reading that this feature will come along with 10.6. It's too bad they haven't implemented it yet. What I would have liked to see is auto switch to the 9400 when on battery and the option of either when plugged in, no log out/in required.

I agree, logging out/in to switch is not apple-like at all.

 

I don't think that it would be that big of a deal. I don't see many uses for a discrete GPU in OS X, so I don't think that you would be switching a lot.

 

I end up using the 9400 all the time in osx and then the 9600 in windows. I hope apple does implement hybrid sli now that they have open cl. Switching without having to log out will also be nice.

 

but even by having to switch the graphic without having to logout i'm still not satisfied with.

i want it all auto! thats the point of having a mac isn't it?

 

For the most part that's true but I notice a difference in Aperture and going forward with OpenCL you'll see GPUs being utilized more in OSX.