Video card question on the New macbook pro 17"

I just recieved my new macbook pro 17"

I havn't opened it up yet but I've always been curious about why they show

9400M and 9600M GT

are there 2 video cards in this notebook ? and why if so.

 

Yes, there are essentially two video cards. One is integrated, the other is discrete.

You would use the 9400 for when you dont really need graphic intensive tasks, and the 9600 when you do.

It allows you to save battery life, since the 9400 uses less battery.

 

do you manually make a choice or does it do that automatically ?

 

yes,you chose manually.

 

Question on the video card, what do most of you keep your card set at 9400 or 9600m GT does it matter ? I have not tried the 9600 card yet !

I'm wired 95% of the time and not sure which to use.

 

Well - obviously when you need more GPU power, or want to cook eggs on it

Frankly most of my mobile use doesn't need a higher powered GPU so in both my Sony Z/SZ and Crapbook Pros, I keep it on the power saving IGP when on the move.

If you're tethered to a desk most of the time, I guess you should be on the High Performance setting.

 

your right about cooking on it, changed it to high and after 10 min. the book is cooking compared to no heat with the lower graphics setting and I have not done anything, I was going to download smcfan control but they said it hasn't been tested for this macbook yet so I didn't download it.(actually I downloaded it but it told me it hasn't been tested when trying to open it up) then I went to windows for the coretemp but not sure which version to get and was woundering if it'll work with this macbook also.

 

Just leave it on the 9400m unless you need to do something graphically intense like playing games or something else GPU accelerated.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/08/17-inch-mbp-fan-overheating-issues-causing-geforce-9600m-to-bu/

It also might be getting super hot because there is currently a problem with the fans not spinning up faster when the laptop is getting warm. Read the link for more info. Not sure if this has been fixed yet.

 

i leave it on 9400 all day and i can run warcraft 3 with maxed out settings...
the only time i really use the 9600 is when i switch over to windows (you dont have a choice) to play games like l4d or tf2

 

I run on 9600 almost all the time, doing normal tasks it won't go above 55 C.

 

another question, my video card with VMware software, shows my video card as (VMware SVGA II ) in windows and in can you run it program and in safari it shows it as what it is a 9600M GT 512MB

does this vmsoftware degrade the card in anyway in windows ?

should games played on this be in a seperate patition made with boot camp ?

will the video card show up as the 9600M GT with the partition and vista ?

 

Use SmcFan Control to adjust the fan speed and see if you can get it to be cooler without making it too loud

 

I use the 9600 when I connect my MBP to my big 24 inch LED Cinema Display. I've noticed that the 9400 tend to lag a bit when on dual display mode but the 9600 is silky smooth.

 

im seriously considering buying a macbook pro as a desktop replacement. I'll be using it mainly for my last 2 undergrad years and possibly gradschool. The only gaming im planning on doing is diablo 3 so i want to be sure the laptop i buy will be able to run it effectively. i know its a long way in the future..but do most of you think the new mbp will be able to run it?
also...can you download torrents on macs??

 

My notebook isn't as hot as it was as was it for the first time booting up with the 9600 as it was the first time and a few times after that now it seams to run a lot cooler then ever maybe it was because of it being new